On Tuesday, we enjoyed some downtime in the morning. This blog takes some time, as do several other things...Vanessa usually has a music project to work on. So, it was very nice to relax a little, but by lunchtime we were excited to head to the mall.
MALL MINISTRY
We went to the Springfield mall in the afternoon, and had some fun. Alex and Lane went with us, and we had an awesome time! After some time walking around, we prayed for two people with intermittent back pain. They didn't have any pain at the time we had prayed for them, so we couldn't witness a tangible healing. But we trust that God has healed them, and that their pain will not return. They were both kind people who were open and appreciative of prayer, and that was refreshing to see.
The Lord then gave a word of knowledge about a younger, teen guy. I hesitated to share it with him, and waited for a confirmation. We walked on and away from him...oh no! But I felt I'd get another chance to share later.
We walk around the mall a little and enjoy the food court's samples...and then learn via one of Alex's friends that we needed to return to the house. At this point I was hoping in the Lord to align us with someone who needed a healing. So we turnaround and begin heading back the way we came, and I see that same teen guy again. It turned out he worked in that area, so he wasn't going anywhere! God was gracious to have him working there, so that we could see him again.
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE CONFIRMED
Anyways, we see the guy again and he looks right at me. I walk up and share with him the word. He's pretty surprised, and that provides a way for us to talk more! I asked him if he knew God. He said that he used to go to church, but was now going back and forth with God. I encouraged him to seek God in order to see the fulfillment of what I'd told him first. I was thankful for the word of knowledge, but more thankful that God touched his heart. Walking away, I had faith that God really used that moment to bring that guy back towards Himself! Praise Jesus!
Were almost out of the mall, having been turned down from prayer a few times. Then we see a man with a cane walking towards us slowly. He's with two ladies. I feel God saying yes, so I ask him if we can pray for his healing. He says yes! He has pain in his foot and weakness in his hip. The Lord shows me it was a long-standing injury...the man then confirms that it was from his time in the military. I asked if he has forgiven the military (we have met several people who were not healed because of unforgiveness toward the military,) and the man said he had forgiven them, so we are set to pray! The Lord impresses that one prayer would be enough, and it was! The foot pain, arthritis, was totally gone. Praise God! We then prayed for the man's hip, and afterwards he said it felt better. We didn't get verbal confirmation that the hip felt perfect, but when we asked if his feet felt perfect, he said yes! He had such a kind heart and gentle spirit, and we were blessed to come into contact with him. On that note, we headed home from the mall, having been there only an hour or so.
On Wednesday, we return to the mall again, in the afternoon. We again took the morning easier, as Vanessa caught a bad cold from a night we had about 20 youth at the house. A pretty bad nose/throat thing has been sweeping through Springfield. God still permits us to get sick, and sometimes we command it out, and it goes instantly, but sometimes He allows it to stay. We are learning that the gift of healing is primarily for others, and not ourselves! However, the Lord gave me a vision of Vanessa praying for healing in others while herself still being sick, and them both getting healed! So we both felt that going back to the mall was God's will, despite the circumstances.
SLOW START AT THE MALL
We get to the mall and ask a few people for prayer, and they all say no. I feel sad when that happens-many just don't know what they're missing out on. So our time starts off encountering hardened hearts and few opportunities. That doesn't stop us from having joy and ourselves receiving from God, and you can always pray silently as the Holy Spirit leads. Nonetheless, we are always thankful when a lot of people say 'yes' to prayer.
WOMEN'S FOOT PROBLEMS HEALED
Finally we run into a lady walking with a crutch--yes, just one--and favoring her left leg. I quickly ask her if she wants prayer for healing, and she replies that she believes in such things, but has to go right to work. Essentially she said no, but she did seem to want it...Vanessa had been praying for someone else when I started the conversation with this lady, and walked up just as the lady was saying, "I would, but I have to get to work." Vanessa was led with boldness by the Spirit to just put out her hand and say, "In the name of Jesus, I command all of the foot pain out!". The woman looks up, looks down, looks back up, and says her foot pain is completely gone. She was surprised by the healing and praised God. I told her jokingly, "Well, you better hurry off to work," and with that, we said our goodbyes. We don't know what the original foot problem was, but we do know that God healed it instantly.
We watched her walk off... she worked in the mall, just a few stores down. Having been healed, she picked up her crutch and carried it under her arm like a kid would carry his skateboard! She then walked up a set of stairs, all without the crutch and apparently normal. Then, she stopped and looked down at her foot, and moved it around a little--yes, it's healed!--before going right into work... still carrying the crutch!
We were not able to get this one on camera due to the quickness of it all, but we praise God that He touched that lady and made her day. The day before this one, the Lord had spoke to me that today we would see the biggest healings so far on this trip. I believe that He was referring to this one! Glory to God, and praise Him that He always makes good His Word.
BACK PAIN HEALED
Vanessa was stopped by a make-up kiosk, and accepted the offer to have a demo done on her (later found out she was able to share the Lord with the artist,) so Lane, Alex and I keep walking around the mall together. We are looking for people to pray for, when all of a sudden I get a pain in my upper left shoulder and also in my right knee. I look around wondering who it may be for...but no one nearby gets our attention. There's a woman sitting on the edge of the food court with a John 3:16 shirt on, so I figure, why not talk to her? She's a very sweet lady and wants prayer for her sister who was in a car accident and is now in a nursing home. She explains to me that her sister has injuries in her upper left shoulder, her right knee, and her right abdomen area. Hmm, that sounds familiar! I didn't share with her the word of knowledge because I didn't want to weird her out, but I am thankful that God built my own faith through it.
I want to pray for her sister, but I ask the lady if we can pray for her, first. (In general, we prefer to pray for the person present first, in order to build their faith when it comes time to pray for things unseen. If someone is healed through prayer, I feel that it encourages them that the prayers following also are having tangible effects). She says yes--she has some back pain, and after prayer she is healed. She says that the pain is gone, and I encourage her to move around a little and test it out. She does so, and demonstrates that she is able to rotate her back pain-free! We also prayed for her sister, and I believe for her healing.
PEOPLE WHO "GO TO CHURCH" REFUSE PRAYER
Just having fun with the title...
We pick up Vanessa, and then walk around a little more. We ask a few people if they would like prayer for anything, and they make replies such as, "Oh, I pray everyday", or, "Oh, I go to Church". You go to Church? That's great! We can pray for your church community! You pray everyday? Well, OK, but let's pray now, also, and pray without ceasing! Many Christians give this kind of response, when they ought to accept prayer from others and unite as the body of Christ. Anyways...it's so important to abide in God's Love when dealing with such people. Otherwise, it's really easy to get offended. But if we abide in love and love one another, that's when we can bear all things (1 Corinthians 13:7).
HEALING FOR HOSPITALIZED SISTER
On our way out, we were passing the food court, and saw the lady with the John 3:16 shirt again. She explained to Vanessa most of what had happened. We prayed again for her sister, and it was so powerful. I've said this in the past, but there is a cumulative effect when believers come together in prayer. Vanessa prayed, and as she spoke healing for each injury, I saw the Lord doing the operation. I saw a new knee being set into place, the left shoulder being straightened...I saw pins being taken out of joints and healing being done! Glory to God! I choose to believe for the healing. I choose to believe that these visions weren't just my imagination--they never are. I choose to believe that the pains I felt just prior to talking to this women were a confirmation of her sister's injuries and God's desire to heal her from them. Thank you Jesus!
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24
....and again,
"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
John 14:13
So, we spent much of our time at the mall having been refused the opportunity to pray with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This can really be frustrating. There should be openness and humility in the Church. If someone ever approaches me out in public and wants to pray, that'd be awesome! I'm not above it, and if I start to feel like I am, I've got a problem. Nonetheless, we are thankful for those who accepted prayer. We are thankful that the two people who wanted prayer for healing were both fully healed. We are thankful and choose to believe that God also healed the lady with the John 3:16 shirt's sister. And we're thankful that the Lord is blessing us with joy and fun!
THURSDAY
Today we saw a few healings, and we were blessed with praying for people with open hearts. We were only in the mall briefly today, but the Lord healed a man who had been resigned to sitting down due to chronic foot pain. This guy had a quiet joy about him, and he was more enthusiastic after some prayer. Praise God!
We also had the unique opportunity to pray for some friends who were unsure of the power of God. Vanessa prayed for her friend's daughter who had strep throat. After one prayer, she said it felt only a little better. Vanessa vigorously commanded the pain to leave a second time, and the daughter said, "Wow! It feels ALOT better!" Vanessa prayed one more time, and she enthusiastically said it still felt a lot better. No confirmation on a perfect throat, but we encouraged her to believe that it would keep getting better and better. It's easier to do this when you've seen God take away the majority of your pain! Vanessa then prayed for her friend's neck pain and arm stiffness. Not much of a difference after the first prayer, except a little relief from neck pain. Vanessa asked if she could pray again, and her friend was open. After the second prayer, she said it felt better, but she wasn't completely delivered. We are continuing to pray for her healing in our own time.
In the next few days, we plan on spending more time at the mall. We are praying for open hearts. We'd also like to get back downtown. We'll be in Springfield a little while longer, until next Monday or Tuesday. We are excited and have hope in the Lord that He will release greater healings, greater miracles, and greater convictions.
MALL MINISTRY
We went to the Springfield mall in the afternoon, and had some fun. Alex and Lane went with us, and we had an awesome time! After some time walking around, we prayed for two people with intermittent back pain. They didn't have any pain at the time we had prayed for them, so we couldn't witness a tangible healing. But we trust that God has healed them, and that their pain will not return. They were both kind people who were open and appreciative of prayer, and that was refreshing to see.
The Lord then gave a word of knowledge about a younger, teen guy. I hesitated to share it with him, and waited for a confirmation. We walked on and away from him...oh no! But I felt I'd get another chance to share later.
We walk around the mall a little and enjoy the food court's samples...and then learn via one of Alex's friends that we needed to return to the house. At this point I was hoping in the Lord to align us with someone who needed a healing. So we turnaround and begin heading back the way we came, and I see that same teen guy again. It turned out he worked in that area, so he wasn't going anywhere! God was gracious to have him working there, so that we could see him again.
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE CONFIRMED
Anyways, we see the guy again and he looks right at me. I walk up and share with him the word. He's pretty surprised, and that provides a way for us to talk more! I asked him if he knew God. He said that he used to go to church, but was now going back and forth with God. I encouraged him to seek God in order to see the fulfillment of what I'd told him first. I was thankful for the word of knowledge, but more thankful that God touched his heart. Walking away, I had faith that God really used that moment to bring that guy back towards Himself! Praise Jesus!
Were almost out of the mall, having been turned down from prayer a few times. Then we see a man with a cane walking towards us slowly. He's with two ladies. I feel God saying yes, so I ask him if we can pray for his healing. He says yes! He has pain in his foot and weakness in his hip. The Lord shows me it was a long-standing injury...the man then confirms that it was from his time in the military. I asked if he has forgiven the military (we have met several people who were not healed because of unforgiveness toward the military,) and the man said he had forgiven them, so we are set to pray! The Lord impresses that one prayer would be enough, and it was! The foot pain, arthritis, was totally gone. Praise God! We then prayed for the man's hip, and afterwards he said it felt better. We didn't get verbal confirmation that the hip felt perfect, but when we asked if his feet felt perfect, he said yes! He had such a kind heart and gentle spirit, and we were blessed to come into contact with him. On that note, we headed home from the mall, having been there only an hour or so.
On Wednesday, we return to the mall again, in the afternoon. We again took the morning easier, as Vanessa caught a bad cold from a night we had about 20 youth at the house. A pretty bad nose/throat thing has been sweeping through Springfield. God still permits us to get sick, and sometimes we command it out, and it goes instantly, but sometimes He allows it to stay. We are learning that the gift of healing is primarily for others, and not ourselves! However, the Lord gave me a vision of Vanessa praying for healing in others while herself still being sick, and them both getting healed! So we both felt that going back to the mall was God's will, despite the circumstances.
SLOW START AT THE MALL
We get to the mall and ask a few people for prayer, and they all say no. I feel sad when that happens-many just don't know what they're missing out on. So our time starts off encountering hardened hearts and few opportunities. That doesn't stop us from having joy and ourselves receiving from God, and you can always pray silently as the Holy Spirit leads. Nonetheless, we are always thankful when a lot of people say 'yes' to prayer.
WOMEN'S FOOT PROBLEMS HEALED
Finally we run into a lady walking with a crutch--yes, just one--and favoring her left leg. I quickly ask her if she wants prayer for healing, and she replies that she believes in such things, but has to go right to work. Essentially she said no, but she did seem to want it...Vanessa had been praying for someone else when I started the conversation with this lady, and walked up just as the lady was saying, "I would, but I have to get to work." Vanessa was led with boldness by the Spirit to just put out her hand and say, "In the name of Jesus, I command all of the foot pain out!". The woman looks up, looks down, looks back up, and says her foot pain is completely gone. She was surprised by the healing and praised God. I told her jokingly, "Well, you better hurry off to work," and with that, we said our goodbyes. We don't know what the original foot problem was, but we do know that God healed it instantly.
We watched her walk off... she worked in the mall, just a few stores down. Having been healed, she picked up her crutch and carried it under her arm like a kid would carry his skateboard! She then walked up a set of stairs, all without the crutch and apparently normal. Then, she stopped and looked down at her foot, and moved it around a little--yes, it's healed!--before going right into work... still carrying the crutch!
We were not able to get this one on camera due to the quickness of it all, but we praise God that He touched that lady and made her day. The day before this one, the Lord had spoke to me that today we would see the biggest healings so far on this trip. I believe that He was referring to this one! Glory to God, and praise Him that He always makes good His Word.
BACK PAIN HEALED
Vanessa was stopped by a make-up kiosk, and accepted the offer to have a demo done on her (later found out she was able to share the Lord with the artist,) so Lane, Alex and I keep walking around the mall together. We are looking for people to pray for, when all of a sudden I get a pain in my upper left shoulder and also in my right knee. I look around wondering who it may be for...but no one nearby gets our attention. There's a woman sitting on the edge of the food court with a John 3:16 shirt on, so I figure, why not talk to her? She's a very sweet lady and wants prayer for her sister who was in a car accident and is now in a nursing home. She explains to me that her sister has injuries in her upper left shoulder, her right knee, and her right abdomen area. Hmm, that sounds familiar! I didn't share with her the word of knowledge because I didn't want to weird her out, but I am thankful that God built my own faith through it.
I want to pray for her sister, but I ask the lady if we can pray for her, first. (In general, we prefer to pray for the person present first, in order to build their faith when it comes time to pray for things unseen. If someone is healed through prayer, I feel that it encourages them that the prayers following also are having tangible effects). She says yes--she has some back pain, and after prayer she is healed. She says that the pain is gone, and I encourage her to move around a little and test it out. She does so, and demonstrates that she is able to rotate her back pain-free! We also prayed for her sister, and I believe for her healing.
PEOPLE WHO "GO TO CHURCH" REFUSE PRAYER
Just having fun with the title...
We pick up Vanessa, and then walk around a little more. We ask a few people if they would like prayer for anything, and they make replies such as, "Oh, I pray everyday", or, "Oh, I go to Church". You go to Church? That's great! We can pray for your church community! You pray everyday? Well, OK, but let's pray now, also, and pray without ceasing! Many Christians give this kind of response, when they ought to accept prayer from others and unite as the body of Christ. Anyways...it's so important to abide in God's Love when dealing with such people. Otherwise, it's really easy to get offended. But if we abide in love and love one another, that's when we can bear all things (1 Corinthians 13:7).
HEALING FOR HOSPITALIZED SISTER
On our way out, we were passing the food court, and saw the lady with the John 3:16 shirt again. She explained to Vanessa most of what had happened. We prayed again for her sister, and it was so powerful. I've said this in the past, but there is a cumulative effect when believers come together in prayer. Vanessa prayed, and as she spoke healing for each injury, I saw the Lord doing the operation. I saw a new knee being set into place, the left shoulder being straightened...I saw pins being taken out of joints and healing being done! Glory to God! I choose to believe for the healing. I choose to believe that these visions weren't just my imagination--they never are. I choose to believe that the pains I felt just prior to talking to this women were a confirmation of her sister's injuries and God's desire to heal her from them. Thank you Jesus!
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24
....and again,
"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
John 14:13
So, we spent much of our time at the mall having been refused the opportunity to pray with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This can really be frustrating. There should be openness and humility in the Church. If someone ever approaches me out in public and wants to pray, that'd be awesome! I'm not above it, and if I start to feel like I am, I've got a problem. Nonetheless, we are thankful for those who accepted prayer. We are thankful that the two people who wanted prayer for healing were both fully healed. We are thankful and choose to believe that God also healed the lady with the John 3:16 shirt's sister. And we're thankful that the Lord is blessing us with joy and fun!
THURSDAY
Today we saw a few healings, and we were blessed with praying for people with open hearts. We were only in the mall briefly today, but the Lord healed a man who had been resigned to sitting down due to chronic foot pain. This guy had a quiet joy about him, and he was more enthusiastic after some prayer. Praise God!
We also had the unique opportunity to pray for some friends who were unsure of the power of God. Vanessa prayed for her friend's daughter who had strep throat. After one prayer, she said it felt only a little better. Vanessa vigorously commanded the pain to leave a second time, and the daughter said, "Wow! It feels ALOT better!" Vanessa prayed one more time, and she enthusiastically said it still felt a lot better. No confirmation on a perfect throat, but we encouraged her to believe that it would keep getting better and better. It's easier to do this when you've seen God take away the majority of your pain! Vanessa then prayed for her friend's neck pain and arm stiffness. Not much of a difference after the first prayer, except a little relief from neck pain. Vanessa asked if she could pray again, and her friend was open. After the second prayer, she said it felt better, but she wasn't completely delivered. We are continuing to pray for her healing in our own time.
In the next few days, we plan on spending more time at the mall. We are praying for open hearts. We'd also like to get back downtown. We'll be in Springfield a little while longer, until next Monday or Tuesday. We are excited and have hope in the Lord that He will release greater healings, greater miracles, and greater convictions.
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