This morning in church, our (wonderful) pastor opened up the floor for us members of the congregation to share how we have experienced God in our lives, or in the lives of folks we know. This could have gone one way or the other - people could have sat in their seats, looking around, waiting for someone to make the first move. Gladly, one person stood up, followed by another, another, and so on. Soon it was dismissal time and we got to know eachother in ways we didn't expect. I had a story to share, but never made it to the mic (there was a line!). I will share it here....it's a story of being moved by the Holy Spirit and of great healing.
A couple of years ago, in our Friday morning bible study, a friend of a regular attendee came for a few weeks to visit our group. She was young, maybe 27 or 28, a mother of a sweet little toddler girl. She always shared herself so openly, and with wisdom beyond her years. It was great to have here there, even for that short time. She had been suffering debilitating back pain. It was so bad that sometimes she had to crawl to get from one place to another. It was a real sacrifice for her to make it to the study. We made a custom of standing in a circle for prayer at the end of each meeting to lift each other up and support each other, to intercede for one another. Our visitor remained seated, with tears in her eyes, in so much pain that she could not stand up to pray. The group of women, in a moment filled with the Holy Spirit, encircled this young woman, laid our hands on her and prayed for healing.
I didn't see her for two years, then ran into her at a holiday gathering this summer. I asked how her back had been feeling, and she looked at me, almost confused. Then she realized what I was asking her....THREE days after that prayer, her back pain totally and completely disappeared. She has been pain free since! When she first told me it took three days, it didn't strike me as having any significance, but after recounting the story to a friend, she pointed out the absolute significance of the three days. That was NOT coincidence.
2 comments:
As the pastor of the event this morning I, too, was wonderfully amazed at the level of participation on the part of the community of faith. I was proud to be a part of such an experience.
God is indeed an amzing God, and still works miracles - we just need to pay attention more.
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