DAY 13: Meetings That Heal

Ananias

Dutch Sheets shared of miracles of healing that took place as God met with people on of his many journeys into Guatemala.

On one occasion he, his wife, another couple were ministering to an elderly lady who had recently been saved. Six months earlier this lady had fallen from a stool and severely broken her ankle.

Her ankle was still badly swollen and she was in much pain. While they visited with her, he and the other gentleman both sensed that God wanted to heal her ankle-right then.

After sharing this with her and obtaining her agreement, we asked her to prop her leg on a stool. When he stepped between her and God to effect a meeting, the presence of God came so powerfully into the room that he stopped in mid-stride and mid-sentence. He had taken one step toward her and uttered one word, "Father."

It's as though God was so eager to touch her that He couldn't wait any longer. The presence of the Holy Spirit filled the room so strongly that he froze in his tracks, stopped speaking and began to weep. His wife and the other couple also began to weep. The lady they were ministering to began to weep. Her foot began to bounce up and down on the stool, shaking uncontrollably for several minutes as she had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit-a meeting! The Lord healed her and filled her with His Spirit.

On the same visit to Guatemala, Dutch and his wife, along with same couple, were asked to pray for a woman hospitalized with tuberculosis. They found her in a ward with approximately 40 other women, the beds being only about three feet apart. It was simply an area in the hospital where the doctors and nurses could attend the very poor. As they talked and prayed with her, they noticed the lady in the next bed observing them closely. When they finished she asked if they would be willing to pray for her. Of course they were glad to and inquired about her need. She pulled her arms out from under the covers and showed them her two hands, curled back toward her body, somewhat frozen in that position. They were totally unusable. Her feet were also the same way.

While in the hospital for back surgery, the doctor had accidentally cut a nerve in her spinal cord, leaving her in this condition. There was nothing they could do to correct the problem.

Compassion filled their hearts as we asked the Lord to meet her need. Nothing noticeable happened, but they encouraged her to trust the Lord and drifted across the room to see if they could share Jesus with anyone else. No hospital employees were present, so they had relative freedom to do as they pleased.

Just as they began to visit with another lady across the room, they heard a sudden commotion and someone screaming, "Milagro! Milagro! Milagro!" they turned to look and saw the lady moving her hands wildly, opening and closing them, wiggling her fingers, kicking her feet under the covers and shouting the Spanish word for miracle. A meeting had taken place!

The next thing they knew, every woman in the room was begging them to minister to them. They went from bed to bed-leading women to Christ and praying for their recoveries. They were having revival in a hospital ward! Several were saved, the lady with tuberculosis was also healed and another lady who had been scheduled for exploratory surgery the following morning was instead sent home healed.

What on earth can turn a sad, hopeless, disease-filled ward into a church service? God! God meeting with people. And prayer meetings create God meetings!

I don't want to mislead you into thinking that miracles will always happen as easily as they did on these two occasions. However, we can bring individuals into contact with God and that is the very meaning of the word intercession. It often requires much intercession; but whether it takes days or minutes, it's always worth the effort. The important thing is that we do it.

Shalom,

Rev. Obadiah Swen

Pastor, Bethel World Outreach Church - Virginia