I was standing there talking with Terri and Becky like it was no big dea… I was busy not being Kingdom-oriented unlike two others. We were waiting expectantly for the Pneumatix’s performace of “facebook’ to begin. There were high schoolers running around everywhere, seeing as we were standing in their school about an hour outside of Gordon’s Bay. Some of the Pneumatix students were mingling with the high schoolers or setting things up for the performace.
Then we hear a girly squeel. It wasn’t the kind that beaconed from the soul, “God help me!” but instead, the rare melody of “God healed me!” Our attention was drawn to the back of the auditorium to Fissy, one of the Pneumatix students, running towards us while Caroline and Sarah stood in the same doorway she emerged from in unbelief… but delight. I have to be honest: I couldn’t believe it myself. This was the same girl who I had talked to moments earlier limping around with a cane!
I guess there are no canes in the Kingdom of Heaven, eh?
Here’s Caroline’s first-hand account…
Last night marked one of those moments
in my faith that will stand as when things once again have changed.
For so long I have heard about a God who heals the sick and calls the
Kingdom forth. Last night I saw it before my very eyes. I witnessed
the beautiful reality of Heaven invading earth.
Our team went to see a Christian group
of South African dancers perform at a local high school. We walked
into the large auditorium of the school and immediately my eyes went
to Fissy, one of the girl dancers who was leaning against a cane and
had a knee brace on. She told us that during a routine dance move,
she had torn the ligaments in her right knee. Instantly what went
through my mind was: This is not how it should be. She should be
up there dancing. I turned to
my teammate Sarah and at the same moment we both cried out, “We
need to go pray for her.”
Without even much thought, we left to
go find her. Running up to her, we told Fissy we wanted to pray in
the authority of Christ for the healing of her knee. It’s something
we’ve been learning a lot about. The truth is, when Jesus prayed for
the Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, he meant
it. There are no crippled in Heaven, so why should there be here on
earth? Every sick and crippled Jesus came in contact with, He
healed. And then Jesus gave all
authority and power to his followers to go do the same as they call
the kingdom forth on earth. (Matthew 10:1) It’s something I
am just beginning to learn how to truly walk in.
Sarah and I knelt down before Fissy, laid our hands on her, and said, “In the name of Jesus, we speak
healing into your knee and all its torn ligaments.” Then we looked
up at her for that lightning bolt effect where all of a sudden she
would feel a difference and start jumping around healed. It didn’t
happen. Instead, she said, “Thank you. I believe it will be healed
soon” and we walked away.
Walking back to our seats I started
asking Sarah why she thought God didn’t just heal her knee right
there. I know He could have, so why didn’t He? When we got back to
the seats we told Tom, whose house we’re staying at, what happened.
Tom replied by saying, “You know what you didn’t do. The next step
in praying by faith for healing is to test it.” Before he could
finish talking, Sarah and I were out of the room and running back to
Fissy.
We’ve prayed healing over a lot of
people this year and have rarely seen the Lord work instantaneously.
I have always trusted the Lord knew better what He was doing than me.
I mean, He’s God and I am definitely not. But this night, something
was different in my spirit. There was this fire that was burning.
Running back to her, I just kept thinking that we had nothing to
lose. So often we think we do. That we’ll appear as a fool if we
step out in faith in a big way. But last night, I just didn’t care.
So what if I look like a fool to man? In God’s eyes, He’d see
children stepping out in childlike faith regardless of what happened.
“Fissy, we need you to take off your
knee brace and test out your knee.”
Looking a little unsure, she pulled it
off and cautiously started to put weight on her right knee. And then
more weight. Next minute she was standing on both legs walking
around without any pain. Then, before we knew it, Fissy began
dancing, jumping and it hit all three of us: the Lord healed her torn
ligaments before our very eyes. Once it hit us, chaos broke
out as we all began jumping up and down screaming and praising the
Lord for how awesome He is.
me, Fissy, and Sarah last night
Tonight Fissy will
dance. And she’ll dance her heart out for Jesus. Last night affirmed
to all of us again who are Heavenly Father is. Everything that the
Lord does here on earth is for His name to be glorified. Last night
was about Him shining through as Jehovah-Rophe, God the Healer in a
way only He could.
The
kingdom of Heaven invaded that school auditorium last night. All I
keep thinking is, that is how it should be. Everywhere we
walk, everyone we talk to, we, by the power given to us in Jesus,
should bring the kingdom of Heaven forth. That is doing the will of
the Father. What does the Kingdom look like? Healing the sick,
bringing freedom to the captives, joy, life abundant, and showing the
very face of the Father.
May thy kingdom
come, thy will be done on earth AS IT IS in Heaven.
