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From Students in Rev. Charles Heater’s Theology Class Church of God Bible Institute |
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“This Is What You Prayed For!” Testimony of Healing of My Son By Rev. Jessica Hall, Pastor, Beulah Church of God, Eubank, KY
When my son Zach was born, he was a healthy normal baby. By the time he was 4 months old, he was not trying to hold his head up, not attempting to roll over, had respiratory difficulties, and was losing weight.
The doctor ordered blood work and tests then told us he was afraid he had cystic fibrosis. This is a very painful disease that shortens the life span of a child to about 17 years. The doctor scheduled us to go to UK Children’s Hospital the next day to confirm his diagnosis with further tests.
My husband and I were so devastated. We drove to church that night with our hearts breaking. We were so burdened that we couldn't even tell anyone what was going on. We just carried our son up front and asked to have him anointed and prayed for. The congregation gathered round, he as anointed, and the prayer of faith was prayed.
The next day we drove to the Children's Hospital prepared to face whatever God's will was for our son. The tests were performed and we were sent home without any news. The doctor called early the next morning—not his nurse, not a receptionist but the doctor himself! He said all tests are negative! All tests showed there was absolutely nothing wrong with our baby in any area! He said he just couldn't understand. All outward symptoms showed major medical and developmental issues but the tests were all normal!
The doctor wanted us to have our son undergo therapy to compensate for his motor skills and speech delays. So we agreed knowing that God already had taken care of it. For 8 months, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists came and went from our home on a weekly basis.
Each week they would arrive with their goals for his progress all charted for the next week and leave shaking their heads because he was exceeding their goals before they ever got there!
Occasionally we will still see those therapists in the grocery or department stores. They are so amazed to see this tall, lanky, healthy young man who is an avid piano player, artist, and who competes on his middle school academic team! They always call him the miracle boy because of the condition he was in when they first saw him compared to now, They know it was not they but God who worked a miracle in our son's life!
We prayed for a rambunctious, healthy, happy boy 14 years ago. And through the years as he has run through the house like a tornado leaving mud tracks, slamming doors, dropping toys everywhere, falling out of trees, breaking collar bones, and yelling at the top of his lungs . . . I have had to remind myself, “Don't get frustrated! This is what you prayed for.” Thank you, God, for answering our prayer!
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My Childhood Healing By Carol Frazier, Athens Church of God, Athens, AL Youth Teacher and Secretary of Christian Education Committee
I was raised in Oklahoma. When I was five I developed Rheumatic Fever. I had to rest 4-5 hours each afternoon. It was so bad the Doctor told my parents that the family should move to a drier climate to see if that would help my condition. We moved to California for about 4 years.
After I got better I still had a heart murmur and had to be very careful. We moved back to Oklahoma but I still had to take medicine and the doctors were always very concerned about my heart.
We had a revival at church and one night and they had a prayer line for people who needed healing. My Mom took me through the prayer line and from that point on I got better and better. Soon I could live a normal life.
However, every time I went to the doctors they heard the murmur—this happens even today. Each time I changed doctors, I would have to go through a series of tests which included EKGs, stress tests, and injecting dye, just to name a few. The results are always the same—they cannot find anything wrong with me and cannot find anything that would cause what they are hearing. I praise the Lord for his healing power and for healing me.
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A Firm Footing By Theresa Saganes Associate Pastor, First Community Church of God, Lorain, OH
I'm not sure why, but this question of healing makes me well up with tears—maybe because I have been so blessed to see so many miracles in my life. I see how miraculous God is and I get to experience a small morsel of His power.
I would like to share something that happened to me when I was a little girl around 3 or 4 years of age. I will share both my Mom's account as she told me and bits that I remember. This will be a compilation.
I started having seizures without warning. My right leg would draw up and I would start screaming for my Mom. I would fall on the floor writhing in pain and it would last a short time and then stop. My parents took me to doctor after doctor and no one could find out what started the convulsions and how to stop them. I wasn't put on any medicine and I was never diagnosed as epileptic. They ran tests but nothing showed up.
My mother was distraught. She couldn't stand to see me in so much pain. She prayed and prayed and cried out to God but received no answer. She couldn't bear the thoughts of losing me.
Finally, in one worship service, she took me by the hand down to the altar and placed me on the altar. She cried out to God that if this was His will, then to take me, then she would accept it. And from that moment on, I never had another seizure in my life. Praise God!
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Stepping out in Fear and Trembling By Robert D. Bouton, Ministerial Candidate for the Church of God in Virginia Currently attending Marion First Church of God, Marion, VA
In November of 2014, a young lady in her late twenties and the daughter-in-law of my fiancée began having severe problems and pain. This young lady went to her doctor, who gave her medicine to help and set up medical testing to be performed to find exactly what was wrong. During this time, the church that her family attended put her on the prayer list to be remembered in prayer.
When the medical testing, which was invasive, was completed, she was informed that she had cancer, but they were not sure how to proceed with treatment for it. More medications were prescribed—well over a dozen, in fact. The young lady told her doctor she wanted another opinion, and contacted a specialist who performed the same testing over, and again the confirmation came that it was cancer.
All the while her family church continued to read her name off the prayer list, her family was praying and seeking God on her behalf. I was praying along with my fiancée on her behalf. Many prayers were going up for her. The doctors informed her they were going to have to do yet another invasive procedure, this time to come to terms with exactly how extensively it was growing and how to remove it, and the proper chemo treatment to use.
One Sunday night several days before the procedure, we were at the evening worship service, and the pastor mentioned the prayer list and reminded people to pray for the folks on it. The young lady's sister during prayer request stood and asked that they please pray for the girl, but in fact the general prayer list prayer was said. From that point on through the service I felt the Holy Spirit dealing with me, that something was being missed, that He in fact wanted to heal the girl, but I did not know what to do.
This continued until the end of service, and God seemed to be prompting me to do something, but what? What could I possibly do? And at that point God seemed to remind me of the scripture for calling the elders of the church to anoint the sick with oil with the laying on of hands and praying the prayer of faith. So I then felt that I knew what God wanted me to do.
As the pastor was beginning to dismiss the service, it was with fear and trembling that I thrust my hand into the air. When he acknowledged me, I mentioned the gravity of this young lady’s situation, and he asked me what I would have him to do. Again I spoke in fear, saying that since the young lady was not there, could we not allow her sister to stand in for her and anoint her and pray?
Saying, "Okay, we can do that,” he then called me to the front. I went, heart pounding, but sensing God dealing with me. The pastor said, "Well, Robert, this was your idea, so you handle it.” I called her sister up there, tears streaming down her cheeks. The pastor said, "I will apply the oil, then you pray." After he applied the oil, I called the elders of the church to lay hands on her and for the congregation to gather around in faith believing and praying. I prayed as I held her sister’s hand. I prayed hard and long for her healing through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and through the power of His victory over death at the cross, and for that healing to be a testimony to God’s glory. I had never felt God so strong in my being before. The pastor prayed just as usual, and service was dismissed.
When the young lady went for the procedure, there was a problem—the cancer was mysteriously and miraculously gone. It is not a mystery to me, a miracle, yes; but no mystery. I thank God that I was able to step out in fear and trembling (terror actually) but having faith in my heart that I could be used by Him and witness to His power in divine physical healing. Praise the name of Jesus!
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The Faith of a Child By Russell Lloyd
I remember as a child we didn't have much money or many fancy things, but we had God, faith, family, friends and neighbors. We were always going to church singings on Saturday nights and rarely missed a service. I grew up knowing about healing. I remember once my hip and leg hurt so bad I couldn't stand it and I asked dad to pray for me. He was studying and he said he would in a little bit, but he kept studying. I asked him about 3 times at least. He took me and the best I remember he set me up on the wood stove, he anointed and prayed for me. When I got down I stomped my foot on the floor and said, “See—it’s healed! It doesn’t hurt anymore!
Dad also talks about my oldest sister—how she had such a hot, burning fever when they touched her. He had not been saved long, so he went to get our Grandma. She came and they prayed and within 5 minutes she was playing and the fever was gone. My God can still heal today!
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Zach Hall |
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Carol Frazier |
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Robert D. Bouton |
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Theresa Saganes |
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Russell Lloyd |