Have you ever been touched by the Lord in a tangible way? The kind where you, and no one else, can deny that what you just experienced was unexplainable by natural terms, but completely understood in the supernatural sphere?
I’m talking about physical healing; when the Holy Spirit works through our prayers to bring relief and resolve to the things in our bodies keeping us from the abundant life Jesus intends for us.
Now, I’m all for heart healing, mending emotional wounds, and picking up our beds to walk free from shame. By all means, be healed of those infirmities.
And before you close out of this window with eyes rolling that I’ve gone off on some kooky religious rant, hear me out:
I, McKenzie Bryce Kuhn, was healed through the prayer of a 9-year-old boy today.
I can’t explain it. I can hardly wrap my head around it. Yet I experienced it first hand and even my human limitations can’t convince me I didn’t.
I’ve actually had to stop myself several times from using the words “I can’t believe I got healed!”
I can believe it because I walked through it. I hope you can believe it too through this testimony.
I think it’s a shame that many people, Christians especially, go through life missing out on the lively, active identity of God as a supernatural healer.
If you’ve spent anytime reading the Gospels, you might notice that healing physical ailments was a huge part of Jesus’ ministry.
There are innumerable accounts of Jesus healing people in the Bible. That’s not counting the individual people, for it says that He healed many in the crowds He taught.
Truthfully, I used to read those stories and go straight for the heart lesson in them. Jesus told Bartimaeus that his faith made him well (Mark 10:51), which meant I should have faith. End of story, yeah? I didn’t piece it together that Jesus was revealing himself as He was, is, and will be forever.
He did many signs and wonders during His time on earth, yet He tells us that we will do even greater things than He did (John 14:12).
Who am I to doubt His power? The same power that lives in deep communion with my very soul?
In Mark 5, a woman was healed by simply touching His clothing. If all it took was a grab on His robe, why would the Holy Spirit skip using His children, even in 2018, to relieve people of disease and affliction to their bodies?
This is my “why” behind my faith in healing.
I’ve pushed into healing prayer much throughout the World Race so far. In Guatemala, I witnessed our school principal’s knees be healed and a student’s blind eye opened. The contrast between before and after these healings was plain for me to see, thus empowering me to continue to ask God for relief in all circumstances.
When we got to Africa, I expected to see healing like never before. In Côte D’Ivoire, many people were put in front of me that needed healing, and I prayed for them continually.
I laid hands on them. I trusted God. I prayed boldly. I checked every box that I could check, yet I didn’t see even one person instantly healed through my prayers. I began to call out to God, asking why He wouldn’t just relieve them.
My teammates even prayed over a pregnant woman in one of the villages we visited, only to find out she and her unborn baby passed away a couple weeks later. What the heck, God?!
Still, I wasn’t willing to let doubt win over God’s unseen promises. I’d witnessed Him heal in the past, and I believed I’d see it again. Little did I know it would be in my very own body.
Today we arrived at basketball ministry and I started the training running around, dancing, shooting (and missing) baskets, and laughing with the kids. I felt fine for the first hour.
When 5 ‘o clock rolled around, we split the kids into two groups for a Bible study. The moment my teammate Emma and I started our small group, my stomach was plagued by sharp pain that was acute and overpowering. I was so uncomfortable.
I was so distracted by this sudden pain, I couldn’t even contribute to the discussion. I tried to think of what to say, and suddenly a strong pain would shoot through my upper abdomen. I apologized to Emma for my lack of input on the conversation, and I even said “I feel like my stomach is being attacked right now.”
In that moment, I didn’t think the word attacked meant what it actually means. Now I believe that something was attempting to stand in the way of what I could have shared with those kids.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
I’m now reminded of the truth behind this scripture. Yes, my physical body was in pain, but it was a spiritual attack of some kind that was at work behind the scenes.
After teaching on the armor of God (Ephesians 6), Emma led the group in a healing prayer. She explained to them what I’ve already explained to you, how healing is possible through faith.
She prayed for relief. She prayed that I would be healed before walking off that basketball court, all the while I was uncomfortably squirming around to evade the continual agitation running through my torso. She then left space for any kids who wanted to make petitions to God on my behalf.
A few short moments later, a spunky 9-year-old boy named Emma (short for Emmanuel), asked God to heal me.
I believed God. I silently said Your will, not mine, Lord.
I thanked them for praying and we got up to meet the rest of the kids for more basketball. I walked over to my backpack, sitting on the grass next to the court, with hopes high that I would soon see relief.
I stepped off the court and instantly the pain left me. I was in awe. Jaw halfway to the ground, I squirmed around to test out whether the ailment was actually gone. I waited a few minutes to be sure and it never returned.
I jumped for joy and gave high fives. God finally answered my prayer! It was in such a way that was better and more personal than what I could have expected.
Now it’s several hours later and I’m still in the clear. This is what God is about – loving His kids and putting that love into action through healing and other miracles.
Now, for the doubters still hanging around, I have to be clear this was not a simple stomach cramp that left me at a convenient time. I felt like an organ was bursting inside me. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced before, and I would have probably gone to a hospital had it not been relieved.
God healed me through the prayer of 9-Year-old Emma and my teammate. He can use anyone to build His kingdom; to do the awe-invoking things Jesus did during His ministry.
My encouragement to you is this: believe God.
Believe that what you read about Him can and will happen to you and others in your life. All it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed. He finishes the rest of the job.
Even if He doesn’t do it today, tomorrow, or any time that we can see, the Great Physician is more than faithful to His promises.
