These people are crazy.
They’re all crazy.
They’re all crazy.
When I was in Romania, the missionaries said that they
needed prayer more than they needed money for their ministry. “If you want to help us, ask people to pray,�
they said.
needed prayer more than they needed money for their ministry. “If you want to help us, ask people to pray,�
they said.
In Moldova, time was carved out in the squad’s schedule for
worship. Teams who had 3,000 different
responsibilities to deal with on a given day still had that precious time built
into their agendas – not to work, but to sing and play the guitar and dance
around a cramped room for Jesus.
worship. Teams who had 3,000 different
responsibilities to deal with on a given day still had that precious time built
into their agendas – not to work, but to sing and play the guitar and dance
around a cramped room for Jesus.
In Nepal, the first hour and forty-five minutes of church (yes,
you read that correctly – the first
hour and forty-five minutes of church) was spent singing loudly and praying
fervently, peppered with random outbursts and shouts in Nepalese. The first thing out of Megh’s mouth every
morning was always, “Alleluia, praise the Lord!�
you read that correctly – the first
hour and forty-five minutes of church) was spent singing loudly and praying
fervently, peppered with random outbursts and shouts in Nepalese. The first thing out of Megh’s mouth every
morning was always, “Alleluia, praise the Lord!�
Now I’m in India, again surrounded by worshiping, praying
fools. My team’s ministry in India is varied
and oftentimes spontaneous to the untrained eye, but there is something
familiar about the place – the foundation is prayer with a generous heap of
worship on the side.
fools. My team’s ministry in India is varied
and oftentimes spontaneous to the untrained eye, but there is something
familiar about the place – the foundation is prayer with a generous heap of
worship on the side.
This is new, holy ground that God is covering with me. Growing up in a nondenominational,
evangelical community, the meat and potatoes of my faith came from
organization, from sermons and Bible studies and outreach events and lots of doing.
God moves and works through those things in very fundamental, important
ways. But what do I know of the kind of
worship that lasts for hours? Since when
did prayer become a viable option for ministry?
Isn’t the pattern that you pray for God’s guidance and then you do something?
evangelical community, the meat and potatoes of my faith came from
organization, from sermons and Bible studies and outreach events and lots of doing.
God moves and works through those things in very fundamental, important
ways. But what do I know of the kind of
worship that lasts for hours? Since when
did prayer become a viable option for ministry?
Isn’t the pattern that you pray for God’s guidance and then you do something?
Our pack went to the Home of Hope the other day, a place for
the homeless women to “die in dignity.�
Trust me when I say there was no dignity involved. The first time our team went there, the
spiritual darkness was oppressive. Some
women stood off by themselves, screaming and hitting their own faces, while
others just lay on the ground, staring up with gaunt, haunting eyes. My teammates cried when they left and the
only thing they could really say was, “We have to go back.�
the homeless women to “die in dignity.�
Trust me when I say there was no dignity involved. The first time our team went there, the
spiritual darkness was oppressive. Some
women stood off by themselves, screaming and hitting their own faces, while
others just lay on the ground, staring up with gaunt, haunting eyes. My teammates cried when they left and the
only thing they could really say was, “We have to go back.�
So we did. We went
back the next day and prayed over the place before we even walked in. I approached the compound with horrific
expectations and I wasn’t too far off – the place was dirty and awful and it
smelled like urine and sweaty, broken bodies.
There was no organization or designated translator. We were just told to head to the dormitory
and start whatever we had planned.
back the next day and prayed over the place before we even walked in. I approached the compound with horrific
expectations and I wasn’t too far off – the place was dirty and awful and it
smelled like urine and sweaty, broken bodies.
There was no organization or designated translator. We were just told to head to the dormitory
and start whatever we had planned.
We were faced with a roomful of women, some of whom looked
legitimately insane, others who were mangled and deformed, and others who just
stared back at us blankly. Nobody paid attention
to us – it was chaos in one of the more unwelcome environments I’ve ever
experienced. But then we started to
worship and everyone fell silent. We sang
and spoke for a bit, then broke into groups to pray for the women – we intended
to pray over every single woman in that room and we intended to see God move in
big ways.
legitimately insane, others who were mangled and deformed, and others who just
stared back at us blankly. Nobody paid attention
to us – it was chaos in one of the more unwelcome environments I’ve ever
experienced. But then we started to
worship and everyone fell silent. We sang
and spoke for a bit, then broke into groups to pray for the women – we intended
to pray over every single woman in that room and we intended to see God move in
big ways.
Now, before this trip, I never put my hands on strangers’
bodies and asked Jesus to heal them. I
never prayed, said amen, and then repeated the process if the person still had
pain. I never sang prayers to God or
prayed in unison with a bunch of other people or prayed that God would reach
down and touch bodies now, that He
would show up and heal a sick person right
now because I have the Holy Spirit in
me and I’m supposed to be able to do that, through Him.
bodies and asked Jesus to heal them. I
never prayed, said amen, and then repeated the process if the person still had
pain. I never sang prayers to God or
prayed in unison with a bunch of other people or prayed that God would reach
down and touch bodies now, that He
would show up and heal a sick person right
now because I have the Holy Spirit in
me and I’m supposed to be able to do that, through Him.
I also never saw
miracles. So take that for what it’s
worth.
miracles. So take that for what it’s
worth.
On this day, we prayed and sang and prayed some more over
more than thirty women and they were all healed. Legs did not ache. Lungs filled with air. Backs bent and stretched in ways that they
hadn’t in years. One woman was practically
carried up to me, because she could not walk.
I put my hands on her hips and prayed and after a few minutes of Amanda,
Brittany, and I praying, she walked across the room on her own.
more than thirty women and they were all healed. Legs did not ache. Lungs filled with air. Backs bent and stretched in ways that they
hadn’t in years. One woman was practically
carried up to me, because she could not walk.
I put my hands on her hips and prayed and after a few minutes of Amanda,
Brittany, and I praying, she walked across the room on her own.
SHE WALKED ACROSS THE ROOM ON HER OWN.
I have no idea what happened in the Home of Hope that day,
except to say that the Spirit of the Most High God showed up. We walked out of the place and there was a
tangible change in the atmosphere – there was a lightness and a life that
wasn’t there when we arrived. Trust – it
was still sad. But for the first time in
perhaps a long time, the Home of Hope seemed to deserve its name, just a little
bit.
except to say that the Spirit of the Most High God showed up. We walked out of the place and there was a
tangible change in the atmosphere – there was a lightness and a life that
wasn’t there when we arrived. Trust – it
was still sad. But for the first time in
perhaps a long time, the Home of Hope seemed to deserve its name, just a little
bit.
I know this looks insane from the outside. I know.
I remember scrolling through World Race blogs three years ago, then reading
about the first bit of healing in one of them, freaking out, and completely
ignoring the Race for the next two years.
God doesn’t show up like that…not today, anyway. It’s all dramatic, it’s all exaggerated, it’s
all sensationalized, right?
I remember scrolling through World Race blogs three years ago, then reading
about the first bit of healing in one of them, freaking out, and completely
ignoring the Race for the next two years.
God doesn’t show up like that…not today, anyway. It’s all dramatic, it’s all exaggerated, it’s
all sensationalized, right?
It’s not. It’s really
not. I don’t care anymore that this all
looks and sounds insane… I mean, I guess if the definition of insanity is to do
the same thing and expect different results, then it is kind of insane. But I’m
starting to find out that the work of the Spirit looks like that
sometimes. It seems too good to be true
in a lot of instances – uncontrollable and scary and weird and just too good to
be true. Somebody somewhere is
manipulating the circumstances and people are faking stuff and it’s all a big
ruse…somehow.
not. I don’t care anymore that this all
looks and sounds insane… I mean, I guess if the definition of insanity is to do
the same thing and expect different results, then it is kind of insane. But I’m
starting to find out that the work of the Spirit looks like that
sometimes. It seems too good to be true
in a lot of instances – uncontrollable and scary and weird and just too good to
be true. Somebody somewhere is
manipulating the circumstances and people are faking stuff and it’s all a big
ruse…somehow.
But it’s not. It’s really not. And I realize that I probably say this a lot,
but it is seriously just beginning
and God has so much more of Himself to release into this life. So now I’m
the one sitting on an air mattress in India, writing the insane-sounding blogs
about lame people walking… but Paul wasn’t kidding when he said that “the
kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power� (1 Corinthians
4:20). There is power in prayer. There is power to heal and to be healed. James says that the prayers of a righteous
man are powerful and effective – and that means today, right now, a person can pray in faith and see miracles. They just can, because God says so.
but it is seriously just beginning
and God has so much more of Himself to release into this life. So now I’m
the one sitting on an air mattress in India, writing the insane-sounding blogs
about lame people walking… but Paul wasn’t kidding when he said that “the
kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power� (1 Corinthians
4:20). There is power in prayer. There is power to heal and to be healed. James says that the prayers of a righteous
man are powerful and effective – and that means today, right now, a person can pray in faith and see miracles. They just can, because God says so.
It’s news to me. It’s
weird to me. And up until last week, it
was crazy to me…but I guess I’m going to need a new definition of the word
“crazy,� because my crazy just got kind of normal.
weird to me. And up until last week, it
was crazy to me…but I guess I’m going to need a new definition of the word
“crazy,� because my crazy just got kind of normal.
