Without Limits
The Lord has blessed me with three wonderful gifts. One is that I have been blind since I was a baby. God uses this as a testimony which helps to draw people to Him.
The next gift is my love and talent for music. Though I love just about any type of music, country music has recently become my favorite genre. Songwriting isn't one of my main activities at the moment, but I do enjoy it and engage in it from time to time. The last gift is my love for reading and writing. I read all types of books, from the present-day to classics. I've found writing to be an effective way to reach folks with the message of Jesus.
I'm still single, yet I'm learning every day to cultivate the most important relationship of all, without which it's not possible to live—my relationship with Jesus, who is everything to me. It's thanks to Him, my devoted and loving parents and family, and a host of others who have helped and influenced me in some way that I am the person I am today.
The Lord has blessed me with three wonderful gifts. One is that I have been blind since I was a baby. God uses this as a testimony which helps to draw people to Him.
The next gift is my love and talent for music. Though I love just about any type of music, country music has recently become my favorite genre. Songwriting isn't one of my main activities at the moment, but I do enjoy it and engage in it from time to time. The last gift is my love for reading and writing. I read all types of books, from the present-day to classics. I've found writing to be an effective way to reach folks with the message of Jesus.
I'm still single, yet I'm learning every day to cultivate the most important relationship of all, without which it's not possible to live—my relationship with Jesus, who is everything to me. It's thanks to Him, my devoted and loving parents and family, and a host of others who have helped and influenced me in some way that I am the person I am today.
When I first felt the call to start laying hands on and praying for healing for the sick a few years ago, and saw how marvelously the Lord worked when I did so, I was inspired and amazed.
To briefly mention some of the miracles He did:
I was conversing by phone with a friend who asked if we could pray together for a relative of his back in South America who’d recently been diagnosed with cancer and was about to undergo surgery. I had prayed over the phone for folks with minor ailments before, but this was my first time to pray for someone with cancer since I’d received the gift of healing. I would have felt more confident if I were able to lay hands on this person, but she was too far away.
For a moment I thought praying for her over the phone wouldn’t help her, but the Lord’s voice whispered in my heart, “Try it.” Though I was not comfortable with this, I did so. I felt glad that I’d obeyed the Lord’s nudge.
About a week later I heard that my friend’s relative had gone in for a pre-surgery checkup, which had revealed that there was not a trace of cancer to be found. Praise the Lord!
Sometime later my dad and I were visiting some good friends of ours in Austin. We prayed together before leaving, and I felt compelled to pray specifically for a relative of theirs in Kentucky who had bone cancer and whose chances of survival were not good. I did so, somehow feeling certain that the Lord was healing her right then. Just weeks later, when I wrote and asked how this woman was doing, our friend told us that the cancer had gone into remission.
While I was in Mexico, another man in California sent me an email informing me that he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma. The first chance I got, I called him up and prayed for him. About three weeks later I heard from him again. After two chemotherapy treatments he’d gone for a checkup, which revealed that the cancer was completely gone. This surprised the doctors, who’d expected him to need at least three sessions. “We can’t explain this,” they’d told him. But he replied, “I can. It’s an answer to prayer.”
There is no distance that the power of prayer cannot traverse. God hears, and He answers. His power is infinite and without limits.
To briefly mention some of the miracles He did:
- A woman’s failing kidneys were restored.
- Another woman’s tumors, which doctors had said could become cancerous if not surgically removed, miraculously disappeared without any surgical intervention whatsoever.
- Not long afterward, when I laid hands on her little boy’s broken nose and prayed for it, it was completely healed. His sense of smell, which the doctor had said would never return, was totally restored.
I was conversing by phone with a friend who asked if we could pray together for a relative of his back in South America who’d recently been diagnosed with cancer and was about to undergo surgery. I had prayed over the phone for folks with minor ailments before, but this was my first time to pray for someone with cancer since I’d received the gift of healing. I would have felt more confident if I were able to lay hands on this person, but she was too far away.
For a moment I thought praying for her over the phone wouldn’t help her, but the Lord’s voice whispered in my heart, “Try it.” Though I was not comfortable with this, I did so. I felt glad that I’d obeyed the Lord’s nudge.
About a week later I heard that my friend’s relative had gone in for a pre-surgery checkup, which had revealed that there was not a trace of cancer to be found. Praise the Lord!
Sometime later my dad and I were visiting some good friends of ours in Austin. We prayed together before leaving, and I felt compelled to pray specifically for a relative of theirs in Kentucky who had bone cancer and whose chances of survival were not good. I did so, somehow feeling certain that the Lord was healing her right then. Just weeks later, when I wrote and asked how this woman was doing, our friend told us that the cancer had gone into remission.
While I was in Mexico, another man in California sent me an email informing me that he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma. The first chance I got, I called him up and prayed for him. About three weeks later I heard from him again. After two chemotherapy treatments he’d gone for a checkup, which revealed that the cancer was completely gone. This surprised the doctors, who’d expected him to need at least three sessions. “We can’t explain this,” they’d told him. But he replied, “I can. It’s an answer to prayer.”
There is no distance that the power of prayer cannot traverse. God hears, and He answers. His power is infinite and without limits.
Without Limits, Part 3
As I wrote in a previous post, I strive to follow the biblical commandment to lay hands on the sick when praying for them, as much as possible. Just recently when I did so, I literally felt God do a very tangible miracle. I prayed for my grandmother’s swollen foot, and the swelling went down right under my hand. This is something that had never happened before.
I’ve heard a number of testimonies of sick people who felt heat when hands were laid on them; this happened to one lady I prayed for several years ago. I’ve prayed with folks on the phone and Skype, and they were healed, but none of them mentioned having felt heat when I prayed for them; that is, until just a few days ago. Perhaps some of you reading this post have had this happen when praying for others by phone. If you wish to comment about it below, please do so. Meanwhile, here’s what happened to me.
It was a Saturday, and I had set aside the afternoon to work on a writing assignment. In the middle of the task my cell phone rang. The call came from Ortencia, a good friend in Mexico. She told me about her friend, Juana, who lives in the U.S. and was experiencing a reoccurrence of breast cancer and was very depressed. Ortencia had told her about me and my ministry of praying for the sick. Juana had agreed to my calling her, so Ortencia gave me her phone number.
Being introduced to people for the first time by phone isn’t my favorite scenario, but the Lord has allowed things to work out this way a number of times to help me grow in boldness. Though I have always initially been nervous when calling those my friends and acquaintances would introduce me to, afterwards I’ve always been glad for having done so. I reminded myself of this as I dialed Juana’s number and waited for her to pick up.
My first thought when I heard Juana’s voice on the phone was that no one could sound any sicker. She told me she was coughing up blood, and breathing was a struggle for her. This was very evident in her voice. Also the tumors in her breasts were causing her much pain. Even so, she was very grateful for my call.
I asked her if she had accepted Jesus, and she said she had. I offered to pray for her healing, and she readily agreed. “God healed me from this same cancer once before when someone prayed for me,” she said. “He can definitely do it again.”
I prayed, speaking directly to the cancer, commanding it to leave her in Jesus’ name. She thanked me again and agreed to me calling her back the next day.
When the time to call her came, I did not recognize the voice I heard on the other end of the line. Thinking it belonged to a member of Juana’s family, I politely asked to speak to Juana if she were available. I almost dropped my cell phone when I heard, “This is Juana. My voice sounds different today, doesn’t it?”
“Uh ... yes ... it sure does!” I said. “What happened?”
“When I hung up the phone after your prayer yesterday,” she said, “I felt heat hitting my whole body from head to toe. The tightness in my chest disappeared, and I can now breathe easily. The tumors are still there, but they don’t hurt anymore. I also quit coughing up blood.”
“Praise God!” I said. “Let’s pray some more.”
When I called again the next day, Juana sounded even better. She said she’d felt the same sensation after our prayer the previous day, and that now she felt the tumors shrinking. She also told me, “My blood sugar has gone down as well since you’ve been praying for me.” I had no idea she’d been having trouble with her blood sugar.
She will soon go for a checkup, which I trust will confirm all the Lord is doing. Meanwhile, we are continuing to persist in prayer until she is totally healed. Please join with us in fighting for Juana’s healing. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
This experience reminded me that, as powerfully as God works through the laying on of hands, He is not limited to it. “The prayer of faith” can still save the sick and raise them up (see James 5:15), even when offered from a great distance, and regardless of the means through which it is carried.
As I wrote in a previous post, I strive to follow the biblical commandment to lay hands on the sick when praying for them, as much as possible. Just recently when I did so, I literally felt God do a very tangible miracle. I prayed for my grandmother’s swollen foot, and the swelling went down right under my hand. This is something that had never happened before.
I’ve heard a number of testimonies of sick people who felt heat when hands were laid on them; this happened to one lady I prayed for several years ago. I’ve prayed with folks on the phone and Skype, and they were healed, but none of them mentioned having felt heat when I prayed for them; that is, until just a few days ago. Perhaps some of you reading this post have had this happen when praying for others by phone. If you wish to comment about it below, please do so. Meanwhile, here’s what happened to me.
It was a Saturday, and I had set aside the afternoon to work on a writing assignment. In the middle of the task my cell phone rang. The call came from Ortencia, a good friend in Mexico. She told me about her friend, Juana, who lives in the U.S. and was experiencing a reoccurrence of breast cancer and was very depressed. Ortencia had told her about me and my ministry of praying for the sick. Juana had agreed to my calling her, so Ortencia gave me her phone number.
Being introduced to people for the first time by phone isn’t my favorite scenario, but the Lord has allowed things to work out this way a number of times to help me grow in boldness. Though I have always initially been nervous when calling those my friends and acquaintances would introduce me to, afterwards I’ve always been glad for having done so. I reminded myself of this as I dialed Juana’s number and waited for her to pick up.
My first thought when I heard Juana’s voice on the phone was that no one could sound any sicker. She told me she was coughing up blood, and breathing was a struggle for her. This was very evident in her voice. Also the tumors in her breasts were causing her much pain. Even so, she was very grateful for my call.
I asked her if she had accepted Jesus, and she said she had. I offered to pray for her healing, and she readily agreed. “God healed me from this same cancer once before when someone prayed for me,” she said. “He can definitely do it again.”
I prayed, speaking directly to the cancer, commanding it to leave her in Jesus’ name. She thanked me again and agreed to me calling her back the next day.
When the time to call her came, I did not recognize the voice I heard on the other end of the line. Thinking it belonged to a member of Juana’s family, I politely asked to speak to Juana if she were available. I almost dropped my cell phone when I heard, “This is Juana. My voice sounds different today, doesn’t it?”
“Uh ... yes ... it sure does!” I said. “What happened?”
“When I hung up the phone after your prayer yesterday,” she said, “I felt heat hitting my whole body from head to toe. The tightness in my chest disappeared, and I can now breathe easily. The tumors are still there, but they don’t hurt anymore. I also quit coughing up blood.”
“Praise God!” I said. “Let’s pray some more.”
When I called again the next day, Juana sounded even better. She said she’d felt the same sensation after our prayer the previous day, and that now she felt the tumors shrinking. She also told me, “My blood sugar has gone down as well since you’ve been praying for me.” I had no idea she’d been having trouble with her blood sugar.
She will soon go for a checkup, which I trust will confirm all the Lord is doing. Meanwhile, we are continuing to persist in prayer until she is totally healed. Please join with us in fighting for Juana’s healing. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
This experience reminded me that, as powerfully as God works through the laying on of hands, He is not limited to it. “The prayer of faith” can still save the sick and raise them up (see James 5:15), even when offered from a great distance, and regardless of the means through which it is carried.