All About Visions: When Healing Comes

**For the previous posts in this series on visions, search the labels for "all about visions"**

One reason that God gives visions is that they quickly and effectively convey to us messages and thoughts.  They allow us to conceptualize and see something that might be hard to explain with words!  For these reasons, God often uses visions to reveal how He wants to carry out a healing.  In the context of prayer for others--healing prayer in particular--a mental image or vision can bring us into line with God's will.  And these visions might apply to a situation in any number of ways.  And these ways might overlap!  God is so dynamic. Anyways, here is a list of common reasons for visions as they relate to healing.  There are many more, but this post is just an outline.  Below are some common ones....

1)  The vision reveals what is physically wrong

For example, you may be praying for a stranger and see by a vision that their ankles have been damaged.  And God reveals the negative so that you can pray for the positive!  This type of vision is a pretty literal word of knowledge.

2)  The vision reveals what is spiritually wrong

Or, you may be praying for someone, whether with them in the physical or in spirit, and see many pins and needles all over their body.  This probably isn't the case literally!  It's more likely a symbolic representation of many sharp, tiny spiritual attacks.  I find that visions that highlight spiritual issues are usually more symbolic than visions that highlight physical issues.

3)  The vision reveals the healing taking place

Let's say someone you're praying for does have that ankle injury.  While in prayer for healing, you let God lead.  And when you're praying into His will, He shows you a ray of light coming down and touching that bruised ankle!  Praise God!  He wants to encourage us.  This type of vision also builds faith in that very moment when faith is needed for God to work.

4)  The vision reveals how we should pray

Reasons 1-3 have one major thing in common: they all show us how we can best pray.  Which leads us to number four--the vision shows us more literally just what we should do.  Why do you think Jesus put mud into the blind man's eyes?  Probably because it was an idea--which was imparted through a vision--from the Father.  In the same way, we may not know exactly what is wrong with that stranger, family member, church friend, etc., that we're praying for.  And that's OK!  But it is important to understand how to pray, how to lay hands, how to impart, and so on.  And that's where a directive vision comes in.

This is actually all pretty simple.  If God is going to heal someone, He might also give the one praying encouragement as to what's taking place.  That's what He wants to do!  All we need to do is have eyes to see and eyes to accept whatever the Holy Spirit wants to show us.

STREET MINSTRY TOUR UPDATE #6: SPRINGFIELD

On Saturday I went alone to the mall in the morning. while Vanessa went out to coffee with a friend.  The Lord gave us so many blessings throughout the day--which was our first Valentine's day together!  We had fun with friends and enjoyed the favor of the Lord.

AT THE MALL

So, I went to the mall alone, as I said, and it was tough at first.  Nobody seemed open, and I felt like I was just walking around with nothing to do.  This went on for about twenty minutes--just walking around and praying silently.  This can be rewarding, yes, but I was hoping for this and also more. The circumstances weren't 'flowing' like they often do.  The first thirty-five minutes were pretty uneventful.

After a while, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to sit down and wait.  I looked around and saw some people around me, but I didn't feel especially drawn to them.  I felt the Lord telling me that all I needed to do was rest.  I felt Him encourage and ensure me that He would do the work.  These words of His were talk as well as power, and they comforted me and drew me into alignment with His Love.

All I needed to do was rest!  I didn't need to think about anything.  I didn't need to 'know' anything.  I didn't need to do anything, either.  The Lord showed me that all I needed to do was see my surroundings as He sees them.  He hasn't ever changed, and neither has how He's felt about the world. He has always "so loved the world", and we should too.  We need to give to others the extent of what we ourselves have received.  We need to receive from God His Love--His mind, heart, and emotions--towards people.  Human affection cannot heal.  Human sympathy is not enough.  Human effort cannot convict.  Apart from Him we can do nothing, but in Him, all we have to do is rest.

ANKLE PAIN

And as I was resting and receiving from God, I saw a lady across from me walking across the outside of the show store.  And with God's love came a download--'she has ankle pain'.  I wanted to be sure that I should approach her, so I asked the Lord for a sign.  If she turned left, I thought, I would talk to her, but if she turned right, I would not.  I figured that was easy enough for God to arrange.  She proceeded to turn left--thank God!  So I got up and walked over to her.  She did have ankle pain, although she wasn't feeling it at that moment.  She wanted to know what kiosk I was selling things from at first.   I said I was just going around and praying.  We prayed that God would take away that pain, and even though she wasn't suffering from the pain at the moment, I believe that He would not allow it to return.

FAMILY ENCOURAGEMENT

After this, I got ready to leave the mall--I had to pick up Vanessa--but I was hoping to get to talk with another person first.  I saw a younger guy working at the DQ and God gave me a word for him.  I approached him and shared it--praise God!  The guy was touched by what the Holy Spirit did and took away from this some good encouragement.

BROKEN FOREARM--PARTIAL HEALING

Then I left the mall the long way, out through Macy's.  I felt like it was right for me to do this, but wasn't sure why.  I was walking along the outside of the building when I saw three guys a little older than me.  One of them was wearing a sling on his arm--and I figured, why not?  I believe God had me there for a reason--if I had not went out of the mall the long way, I wouldn't have ran into them.

So, I asked the guy wearing the cast if we could pray for his complete healing.  He was actually pretty open to it.  He said he had broken a bone in his forearm last week, and that it was still hurting some.  So I prayed once, and he replied that the pain was gone.  I didn't want to be obnoxious, so I then asked, "does it still feel like it's broken?".  He actually moved his wrist a little, and said he couldn't tell.  We prayed again, and it felt even better.  We prayed a third time, and he said it felt pretty good.  He did not take off the sling or unwrap his arm, and I didn't force him.  I believe God for a total healing nonetheless--I don't believe that a partial healing is like God, nor does it personify His goodness. So I told the guy, "when it starts feeling perfect, take off your sling". Glory to God!  I explained to the guys that this marked God showing His love in a tangible way. I encouraged them to get into the Word to find fulfillment.  Hopefully this experience gave those guys something to talk about once inside the mall.  If somebody is not so close to God, then it's up to us to show them that the Word can indeed become flesh and dwell among us.  It's up to us to show them something, just a little something, that points towards the dynamic and supernatural love of Jesus.

WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE COFFEE SHOP

With this I left the mall and met up with Vanessa at the coffee shop. She and her friend were still having a great time talking, so I walked to a different part of the coffee shop and sat down.  Right away the Lord showed me that a certain women had right wrist pain.  So I approached her, and asked her about this.  She said she did have this pain, but didn't feel it just then.  I explained that I'd like to pray with her for that pain to never come back...and we did so.  She and the lady she was meeting with were both very nice Christian women, and they were open to and thankful for prayer.  I was blessed to meet them.

On our way out, I talked to a middle-aged guy typing up something in the corner of the shop.  The Lord had told me that this man had back and knee pain, "especially in his right knee".  Thank you Lord!  I began talking to him, and he said he did have back and knee pain.  I said, "Is it especially in your right knee?".  He said "yes, why are you asking?".  I replied that I had felt the Lord telling me this, to encourage him and so that we could pray for a healing.  He was pretty open to prayer--it turns out that his right knee was worse than the other problems, because of a patella surgery he'd had a while back.  As it happens, he happened to not be feeling the pain at the moment when I was with him.  Just like with the others!

It turns out that this man was a Christian as well--he was actually writing some sort of article about the 'Seal of the Holy Spirit' when I first went up to him.  Awesome!  We talked for quite a while, and he shared with me a lot of wisdom.  This guy really blessed me--he said he'd been in the education field in the past.  I could tell!  We talked about God, and prayed that God would heal his body.  I believe that this is God's will, that his pain never comes back.

SUMMARY

All in all, Saturday was a great day.  After a rough past few days, the Lord really made a breakthrough and allowed for much more effective ministry.  These words of knowledge create such an opening for opportunities, and make people more receptive to prayer.  I am so thankful that God revealed what he did, and I am thankful that he used this knowledge to bless others.  I do find it interesting that none of the people who had pains were actually experiencing them at the time I came into contact with them.  I find that in this training, the Lord separated the words of knowledge from any witnessed healings in order to take things step by step.  He doesn't give us more than we can bear, or reveal to us things that are too awesome for us to handle. He takes us progressively from glory to glory!

DANI'S SCOLIOSIS HEALED BY JESUS!

On Monday, we visited a friend of Vanessa's from her music.  We had already seen her last week at a frozen yogurt place, where we prayed for her healing from scoliosis.  That night, she said that almost all the pain left her back.  She also felt her back muscles become "very relaxed".  Nonetheless, the scoliosis was still visible in that her spine was still crooked.We wanted to pray for the complete healing while there, but we felt it wasn't the right environment.

Since then, we've been very impressed by the Holy Spirit to go visit Dani at her home.  We only got to pray twice at the frozen yogurt place, and lately we've learned that deeper rooted issues sometimes require more persistence in prayer. So, tonight was when we managed to make it over to Dani to keep praying until the scoliosis was completely gone.

 It snowed today in Springfield, so we experienced some trouble getting out of the driveway.  It took a lot of pushing the car, but God allowed us to make it safely to Dani's house.  We got there, and encouraged her that God would do a complete healing.  And then the best part came--we prayed!

After the first prayer, we all opened our eyes and Dani seemed speechless for a moment.  Then she said, "This is really weird...I feel like I need to go look at this in the mirror, because the place in my lower back where it's been really stiff feels like it's moved."  So, she went off to the mirror, and when she came back, we noticed that her shoulders looked a little more level.  So we prayed again.

After the second prayer. she said that all of her pain was completely gone.  Praise God!  Her shoulders still weren't perfectly aligned, but she continued to say that things were feeling really "different".   All this time, she was pretty astonished at what was happening.

Vanessa took over for the third prayer...she prayed specifically for the alignment of the shoulders and the spine.  This is where things began 'popping'.  Dani told us that tightened areas were loosening and that loose areas were tightening.  Jesus was doing the surgery and realigning things as necessary.

We said a fourth prayer and things continued to pop.  Dani would say, "Oh, the left side just popped", and then, "the right side just loosened up".  Thank you Lord!  We continued to look at her back and her shoulders.  Her spine was straightened, and her right shoulder was almost no higher than her left. The difference in her spine's appearance was pretty amazing.  She then said she felt something change in the 'hole' at the bottom of her spine.  She said she'd had surgery there.  She then said that it felt like someone's hand was brushing her back, and that it was very soothing.  She also described a tingling sensation, which is something that many people experience as God is healing them.

After this point, the power of the Lord stayed "present to heal" (Luke 5:17).  We were no longer praying, but we were resting in this truth.  Every minute or so, there would be another 'pop' or movement in Dani's spine.  We didn't know what remained of the scoliosis, but the Lord did, and He confirmed Himself and ensured that the realignment, loosening, and tingling sensations continued. Dani was feeling better and better and better!

After about thirty more minutes of just visiting with Dani, we were confident that the scoliosis had been taken away!  Awesome!  So we just prayed one more time...the Lord instructed that we should pray for "perfect peace and perfect health" for Dani.  When I said the words, 'perfect health', her hips popped.  We didn't know there was a hip problem, but God did!  And He wants to give us whatever we ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22).  We are satisfied that we left Dani having witnessed God completely heal her.  And now she has a wonderful testimony.  Doctors had told her that she'd need back surgery unless she wanted to acquire arthritis in her twenties, but God's reality is different. Thank you Jesus for what you've done!

SEAN'S WRIST HEALED (written by Vanessa)

We were in the car, headed downtown, with Alex and two of his friends. One of them, Sean Miller (take note of his last name) said how much his wrist was hurting. He had recently had a wrist injury. Alex suggested it was a good opportunity to pray for a healing, so Thomas did. After commanding the pain out in Jesus' name, Sean remarked that it did feel much better, but confirmed that the pain wasn't totally gone. We definitely wanted to pray again. This time, Thomas boldly just thanked God for a perfect wrist, and Sean said, "Woah!!" He felt a strong sensation in his wrist, and then said, "It's totally gone!" Everyone in the car burst into praise to Jesus- it was amazing!! We all felt so uplifted. Not even three minutes later, we pulled up behind this ambulance!

"Emergency Medical Services.... MILLER"

Haha! We see the Lord do things like this sometimes, just to encourage and excite us. So cool! Jesus confirmed Himself to be Sean Miller's medical services that night. 

There are a few instances in scripture where the Holy Spirit does things like this: 

"Then the disciples went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it." Mark 16:20

Acts 14:3 and Hebrews 2:4 also 2:4 tell of the Holy Spirit's interaction by signs and wonders to confirm His testimony. 

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Well, we are in Houston, Texas now. We are spending time with family here and hope to get out for some ministry this weekend. I (Vanessa) could use prayers for my back- it's been a long standing issue that has progressed (worsened) since August. Some days lately, I haven't been able to do ministry with Thomas. Please pray for my emotions (which are involuntarily affected by the shoulder/back issues,) and that I will rest in the Lord's Grace. He has chosen not to heal my back yet, and I accept that completely and still declare His goodness. He has brought me out of an offended heart about it. I am thankful that He has healed my eating disorder that I thought would be impossible to heal, and that has been such a blessing and I am thankful for it. Him lifting that from me also gives me faith that He will indeed heal my back in the future. All in His perfect time! Thank you again for keeping me in your prayers. 

On Beat & Awake

Three days ago, on Tuesday morning, I woke up and began to just say "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" throughout the morning. I began doing it again in the early afternoon, and by the late afternoon, I was saying it to make it through some regular chaos.

It feels like this is my "waking up" cry. You see, I have been through some very spiritually dry patches since August. When I "press in" to God, it hasn't been the same as in past times. It hasn't been as passionate. I have been sick, which has made me very uncomfortable, and I have been frustrated with God about it. Three weeks ago, I had to make it a personal goal to not say a word against the Lord. He has been using the book of Job to speak to me a lot through it all. I have also been meeting a lot of other "Jobs."

Also on Tuesday morning, I began to feel better physically. Last week, I noticed Thomas had been writing a series of blogs on Revival. He said that God had been telling him that He was bringing revival. When I hear that word, I think of large groups of people being spiritually refreshed, coming back to God. But I had a thought, and I asked God, "Are you going to give me revival too? I need this so bad; I want this so bad! I opened the Bible randomly and the first thing my eyes saw was Hosea 6:2, which says, "After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence." I decided to believe that He was going to bring revival to even me, and soon!

Today is Friday, and ever since Tuesday, I have been feeling oppression lift off of me. I feel freer, lighter. I say, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" all the time, and it brings me peace. I am able to come to Him easier, unashamed. I have also only used two tissues today, and not too long ago, I used a whole box in a day. Spiritually, I testify that He really is reviving me, and physically, I clearly witness that He is restoring my body!

Yesterday, my brother Daniel gave me an interesting gadget with loud speakers that plays by bluetooth what is playing on my iPhone. It is called a JBL ONBEAT AWAKE, which I thought was appropriate :-)

I'm continuing to pray for this revival and restoral to keep happening in me, as I am not fully restored yet and I know that spiritually I could still be more alive. I have had to keep constant my begging to be revived and restored. I believe He wants to revive us all!! But we have to want it too. We have to show Him that we want it. If He just gave it to us, we may take it for granted and fall away easily again without recognizing the shifts in our spiritual state. It's easy to get lackadaisical that way, but it's strengthening to constantly be aware of where we are; it helps us to keep pressing in for more Revival!


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"I give myself away... All I want is You."

I love this song-
 (thanks to Thomas for finding it!)