Before my time with the World Race, I did not really understand the relationship I could have with the Spirit. It seemed like he was a far off part of the trinity that I never really could communicate with. Then, I was introduced to the truth that the stirrings I feel inside, the voice of confidence and discernment has a name. I learned that when I am told that the Lord lives inside me, it isn’t a metaphor. The Holy Spirit is part of who I am and He gives me strength and power.
Now, I want to tell you a story.
We are currently in the middle of month 4, but the first part of our month was spent traveling from South America to Southeast Asia. This travel included several planes, trains, buses, and even a boat. By the time we made it to our new home for the month, we were all ragged and worn from the adventure of transitioning to a new continent.
I was specifically having a lot of trouble with my legs and ankles being ridiculously swollen from all the travel. I was struggling to get my legs in my pants and my feet in my shoes. The whole thing seemed very silly and my team and I made more than a few jokes about my enormous cankles. However, on the real I was experiencing a ton of pain and discomfort and was doing anything I could think of to get the swelling to go down.
During our first few days here, everyone slowly started to voice their concerns about the fact that the swelling wasn’t going down and some days I was sure it was getting worse. Each of the girls individually mentioned that they were praying that the pain and swelling would diminish and I was randomly praying for it throughout the day.
During a feedback/team time we were all sitting on the floor and I was so uncomfortable. I was having a particularly difficult time folding my legs to sit because the swelling was simply so intense. Out of frustration, I straightened my legs out in front of me, into the middle of the circle and with tears in my eyes I asked my team to pray for the swelling in my legs and feet to go down. Of course, not a single girl hesitated. Together, seven women of God laid their hands on my legs, ankles, and feet and I instantly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Wow.
They all prayed at once and I tried to pray along with them, but was overwhelmed but their love and will that I spent most the time just listening. They stopped three different time to see if any of the swelling was down.
The first time there was no visible change, so they started again.
The second time we could see the beginning of my normal ankle shape and we were all super encouraged.
They all quickly agreed to pray more. The third time they prayed over my swelling I felt a heat move through my body like I’ve never experienced before. About 5 minutes later, they slowly lift their hands and we all witness a miracle. My right ankle was completely back to normal and the left was significantly smaller. The discomfort in my legs was gone. My immediate reaction was to jump up and test it out. I quickly jumped about our room and was nearly moved to tears when I felt no pain. I was healed.
Both Carly and Kat said they felt the swelling going down as they were praying and Kat’s hands were fire hot when lifted them from my feet. We were witness to healing that night. I was witness to the power my teammates have through the Holy Spirit! The Lord gave us authority to heal and they evoke that authority to heal me from my discomfort.
I wish I had captured this on video or had before and after photos to show, but this testimony is one of pure faith and will. I still feel a little surprise that I experienced healing on my own body, but mostly feel completely humbled and empowered by the experience. I am thankful to my team for their diligence and authority. I am thankful to the Father for answering the prays of my teammates and showing us His glory.
Healing is real. The Holy Spirit is real and alive in all who believe and follow the Father. Our authority to bring forth the power of the Spirit is real. My legs and ankles are healed. This is a testament to the power of God the Father.
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
Romans 8:11 NIV
With love,
Lina
