"If I believe that God allows sickness in order to build character, I’ll not have confidence praying in most situations where healing is needed. But, if I believe that sickness is to the body what sin is to the soul, then no disease will intimidate me. Faith is much more free to develop when we truly see the heart of God as good." -From "When Heaven invades Earth" by Bill Johnson
As Sammie Jo, Hosanna, Julie and I walked through the streets of Apestepeque, El Salvador we knew that God had a plan for us being there. Esperanza means "hope" and that is what we have been bringing to the people of this town.
As we walked down this dirt road I was just praying that God would show up, that he would allow me to be a part of his magnicifant plan. There comes a time when simply knowing about stories in the bible no longer satisfy, I have a hunger and a calling to live out the stories from the bible.
And I have been. My walk with Jesus isn't just limited to my knowledge of the stories but my experience of my own stories.
We arrived at this home, at what seemed to be the end of civilization and this is right where God wanted us to be. As Hosanna and Julie turned around I noticed some girls in the field playing and yelled, "Hola."
Julie invited them over and we began to talk.
I mean, look at that little boy in the picture. Pretty cute set of kids but also very shy. As we began to talk to them, we asked them if we could pray for them. As we were trying to figure out what to pray for, we asked if any of them were sick or if anyone was hurt.
They said, "Our mother is sick."
There wasn't a moment of hesisation and we said, "Where is she, can we come and pray for her?"
We entered into this beautiful home, nestled deep in the tropics of Apastepeque, and we met Alicia. She was a very humble lady who quickly got out chairs for us to sit in. We began to speak with her, asking her about her sickness and about her life. She was living alone and taking care of these five girls.
She said that her back was hurting and causing her a lot of pain.
So we prayed for her, all 4 of us prayed a simple prayer to Jesus asking for the lady to be healed. The power of prayer has been amazing me.
After our prayer, we asked her, "How does your back feel."
She said, "When you prayed I felt the tension leave my back."
Since our Spanish is a little rusty, we wanted to make sure that we heard her correctly. So Sammie Jo asked her again.
With tears in her eyes, she said, "There is no more pain."
What an amazing moment. We then asked her if she trusted in Jesus and she said that she does trust in Jesus.
This is the second time since I have been in El Salvador that I have been apart of Jesus healing someone right before my eyes. The first time was healing a lady who couldn't walk without limping.
This is the God that I serve, a God of power and a God of healing.
He is ready to show His power, He is ready to show you that nothing is impossible and He is ready to use you.
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matt. 10:7, 8.
Aren't you hungry for more than just knowledge? Aren't you hungry for experiences of your own? God is calling each of us to take a risk, step out in faith, He won't disappoint you.
Sammie Jo wrote a blog about the same experience! Check it out by clicking here!
