I AM BLOWN AWAY!!
Honestly, I AM IN AWE!
I have heard it all my life, but until this week I guess I never really realized the TOTAL TRUTH behind it.
PRAYER WORKS!!!
PRAYER WORKS IN MIGHTY WAYS!
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Last Saturday, which I can now say is quite possibly my favorite day on the race thus far, we had the chance to go to a medical camp in Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa. We have lived next to this slum ALL month, and FINALLY we had the chance to go there.
We arrived at the site of the clinic, and many of my teammates were assigned jobs of sorting and handing out medicine, BUT Ezekiel asked me if I would want to do something else. He asked me if I would want to evangelize and pray for the people waiting to receive the medicine.
COUNT ME IN!!!
He grabbed a bag of wordless bracelets, and after I had taken some, I approached the Kenyans waiting in line one by one. I asked them what was wrong physically, if they knew Jesus, and if I could pray for them.
At first, there wasn’t much happening . . . . . . . .
THEN . . . .
The healing BEGAN!
And I don’t just mean one or two people were healed, I mean a BUNCH of people experienced the healing power of God!
I prayed over a girl in a green sweater named Diana who had an awful toothache, and by the end of the prayer, the pain was slim to none.
I prayed over a joyous girl in a red dress named Gloria who had a fever and chest pain, and by the end, her fever was no more. I had my hand on her head as I prayed and felt the heat dwindle. It was awesome!!
I prayed over a woman named Emily who had been injured by a stick a year back. It had stabbed her in the leg and left her with pain in her leg and hip, lack of circulation to her foot, and a blood clot. I probably prayed six times for her, but by the end, her hip and leg pain were gone, she had circulation to her foot, AND her blood clot was a bit smaller. She also got up and walked quite well for someone her age!
I prayed over another woman with Tricia, and although I do not remember her name, her leg hurt. She could only walk by limping, and she was in pain. After praying several times, the pain had pretty much subsided and she could walk quite well.
I prayed over a little girl who did not feel well, and by the end she was smiling a little and felt much better.
I prayed over a woman in a blue dress named Carolina. She had stomach pains, and after I prayed, the pains had moved to her chest. I prayed again, and although the pain was still there, change was occurring.
I prayed over a man named Paul, who was a definite believer. He was having a hard time breathing, and when I prayed, he started fealing a tiny bit better. When seeing the doctor, he found out he had asthma. He told me he KNEW healing was happening. He may not have been healed then, but he knew, healing was coming!
However, there was one woman who no matter HOW MANY times I prayed, nothing would happen. Her name was Mary, and a few of us prayed for her SEVERAL times. Her fingers and legs were swollen and in pain. She had been sick a year back and still had many physical ailments because of it. We prayed and prayed to no avail.
Mary was not healed . . . . not during that day at least.
BUT, even though she was personally not healed, that is NOT the end of the story involving the prayers over Mary.
Half an hour after praying for Mary, a woman by the name of Furnace came up to me. I had talked to her earlier but hadn’t yet had the chance to pray over her. I asked her how her back was and she said it was all better.
“Wait,” I said, “I didn’t pray for you yet. You are saying you are healed? When did that happen?”
“My back was healed while you were praying for Mary.”
WHAT????
My mouth must have dropped all the way to the floor. While we were praying over Mary, FURNACE was healed?? WOAH! It almost reminded me of the Bible times, when the disciples would walk by and people would be healed.
This woman, must have a strong faith.
“Now, I want you to pray for my sister,” Furnace stated.
Well, at that time, I was in the middle of praying for another woman, but first chance I had, I found her sister. Her sister, who I think her name was Janet, had knee pain and ankle pain. (She is the one in the white shirt.) When I started praying, her pain level was at a ten, but after praying several times, her pain went from a ten to an eight to a four to a zero. By the end she was up and walking quite strong!
As the line of those waiting to see the doctor dwindled, we were running out of people to pray over. But I was ON FIRE!! I just wanted to pray for any person I could find. I searched for people waiting to leave and ended up finding those who had been overlooked.
One man that I met during this time was named Charles. (He is the one weaing the white shirt.) My new friend Paul placed his hand upon him as well as we prayed. He was at the clinic because of his lower back. I prayed over him once, and afterwards asked how it was feeling. He said there was no more pain. Actually, he said that a coolness had flooded through his back while I was praying. Woah . . . . the Holy Spirit continued to do His work!
Soon, it was time to go, but it was crazy just how fast the six hours went by! Praying for people is invigorating. It is powerful! It is something we should do MUCH MORE OFTEN!
AND, it wasn’t just me who had seen healing that day. Ashley and Amy had also seen big miracles. One boy was healed of bronchitis, another of stomach pains, another of blindness in his left eye, and another had close to full healing in his neck.
In addition to that, it wasn’t just physical healing I had seen. I had also seen spiritual healing. At one point in time, a group of children flocked around me to receive bracelets, and I had the chance to share the gospel with all of them. One boy named George had asked if he could know more about Jesus, and it led to a HUGE CROWD of children listening to me preach the good news. George prayed the prayer of salvation, and I am very sure he meant it. Many of the other children prayed the prayer too, but I am not sure how many actually knew what they were doing. Either way, the more little kids can hear about Jesus at a young age, THE BETTER!!
Although the camp was over, I have still been BLOWN AWAY by other prayers being answered this past week.
On Sunday, we drove to Garissa, a town plagued by drought. They haven’t seen rain in days. While in the bus, I prayed for some time that God would bring rain and heal the land. AND, what ended up happening that night after dinner? Rain came and lightning filled the sky. One of Ezekiel’s friends even said to him that we had brought the rain. In the land of famine, God had shown up!
And THEN, yesterday, I received several messages on facebook that showed me ONCE AGAIN just how BIG God is. I have been praying fervently for a family back home, and the breakthroughs that have happened these past few days leave me in AWE! I am caught between wanting to break into song and dance or cry. I could harldy sleep last night I was so excited!!!
GOD IS GOOD . . . . . ALL THE TIME!!!
Put on your “dancing shoes,” for GOD IS GOOD!!
Pray continuously because you have direct access to a Heavenly Father who is ALWAYS listening and who HEARS your prayers!
DO NOT GIVE UP!
Keep praying!
Sometimes, God answers prayers immediately.
Sometimes, God answers prayers quite soon.
But SOMETIMES, God answers our prayers over time.
Regardless, GOD HAS GOOD GIFTS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM!
He is listening and is ready to shower you with His love.
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” -Matthew 7:9-11
