Many of you know that in the beginning of November, right after we hosted a SARF team, I went to help translate in the mountains for a spiritual healing team that came in. Once again, it was quite the experience! Blind people walked away seeing, deaf people walked away hearing, and a whole bunch of pains and aches were healed.
The views were breathtaking!
I was telling Missy that I don’t know if it is because I had experienced it before or what, but it didn’t seem as “amazing” as last year. It’s not to say that there weren’t awesome miracles that we witnessed, but it seemed more normal of an occurrence to me. I had moved past the shock and awe of it all and just really looked forward to seeing God show up and do some cool stuff. This past year I have been really digging into the “background” of healing and miracles from a biblical perspective. I wanted to know more so I could start to help answer some of the questions people were asking me after hearing about what we witnessed last year. (Click here if you didn’t get to read about it last time).
We also helped a family by building them a kitchen onto the side of their house
What I have learned is that there is no formula to see miraculous healings, deliverance from demons, a washing over of peace and comfort, or even salvation. As humans we try so hard to create an equation out of it all and cram God into this machine so we can predict and dictate how He operates. Every time we try to do so or think we have succeeded, He breaks our system and disappoints us but also amazes us at the same time. A very important verse I found in John 3 says:
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Not everyone we pray for runs away screaming they have been healed. It’s possible that not everyone who says they feel better actually does. This isn’t our concern. God instructs us to come forward with our ailments so we can be prayed for. He also tells us that if someone is sick, downtrodden, hurt, or in any other way in need of prayer to do so. We simply provide the opportunity for these folks to come forward and receive this prayer.
This woman came to us hunched over with back pain and was blind in her right eye. She left walking straight and seeing!
For most people we ministered to on this trip, it’s the only option they have for relief! This past year I have been trying to come to terms with realizing that it isn’t about the length of my prayer, the tone of my voice, nor the words I use when I pray for someone. It’s about my obedience to God in actually praying for those who need it and trusting Him to do the rest. Yeah, we want to see that 92 year old man with back issues jump out of his wheelchair and run down the street yelling and praising God, but it isn’t up to us. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. Jesus said to Thomas once He proved Himself to the doubting disciple:
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
We have developed a saying in our American culture, “seeing is believing.” I lament this phrase as it has caused us to stray away from our faith in God. It has caused us to stop believing in the impossible. It has deterred us from trusting in God’s promises even though He has proved over the course of history that He is true to His Word. I say these very things as an exhortation to all of us, since even after seeing with my own eyes the miracles of the Lord I return to my regular routine and do not act as if I have. What a travesty for the Kingdom of God!
We also had 2 kids activities where we played games, gave out prizes, and made “story of salvation” bracelets
Let us stop being an unbelieving generation and start believing, whether we see or not, in God for who He really is and who we are because of Him.
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