As I watch TV coverage from the Arab world, my heart breaks as I see women walking around in burquas...you know the head to toe dress that keeps not only her face covered but her entire body covered. Like a drop cloth, it covers her. It is a metaphor for the all encompassing spiritual oppression of Islam. Looking from our viewpoint, we wonder why they don't just rebel, throw off the shackles and be free. But they don't....they won't....they can't. They don't even know they can because they have lived with oppression their entire lives. It is all they know. We can only see it because we have known freedom.
But how different is it for us? We are born into a spiritual paradigm of freedom in Christ or the oppression of a religious system that pretends like they have freedom in Christ. How would those born into oppression know anything else? How could they know when it is all they have ever known? The thing about oppression is...those in power say oppression is best...that any other way is wrong or sinful. They say that rules, laws and suffocating decrees are the best way to live, to know you are living "right." In wanting to maintain oppression, they tell their followers to reject and actively fight against freedom.....fight against Christ, grace and the Spirit.
As I think about it, there can be spiritual oppression in Christ. If we take away love, joy, peace and kindness, we are left with an idealistic set of rules that must be followed....no grace, no mercy. It just becomes another set Pharisaical laws to follow with a Christian Taliban to enforce them. Ugh. The Christian Taliban see to it that anyone who believes differently than they do is banned, excommunicated, and tried for heresy with themselves as judge and jury. Ever seen it happen?
We need to pray for freedom. For ourselves, for other brothers and sisters in Christ, for the Arab world. Freedom in Christ is the only way out....Democracy won't help and neither will war. Christ is it. Pray for it. Only God can make it happen.
Showing posts with label Healing Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healing Prayer. Show all posts
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Gift of Healing...Jenny and Mark's Story of Infertility
Has God ever laid someone who is sick on your heart for you to pray for them? If so, you may have the gift of healing.
Have you ever had the urge to get up and lay your hands on someone in church who has come forward for prayer for an illness or injury? If so, you may have the gift of healing.
The spiritual gift of healing is an interesting gift. As with all Holy Spirit gifts, it is given by God for the glory of God. When a person has the gift of healing it's not like you can go to the hospital and heal everyone there. You heal who God wants you to, when God wants you to, and how God wants you to. The gift of healing is not one of my primary gifts, but it is a gift God has given me upon occasion to do His will. That is the story of Jenny and Mark.
Jenny and Mark had been dealing with infertility for 7 years. They had been to numerous doctors and had been through many medical treatments to no avail. They were telling me about their journey one day when God spoke in my ear, "I am going to heal her. She is going to have a child by this time next year." So I told Jenny and Mark what God had just spoken to me. He crossed his arms and got mad. She started crying.
I asked them if it would be OK if I pray over Jenny. They agreed. So I laid my hands on her and prayed something similar to this:
"Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask you to heal Jenny's uterus, ovaries and Fallopian tubes. God you created Jenny to be productive, for her womb to produce children. Father, she and Mark have done everything to no avail. So Father, we are asking you to fix the problem. In the name of Jesus, we speak fertility health into Jenny. Father, make right what disease has rendered useless. Bring forth life from Jenny and Mark..."
Anyway, I prayed over this couple for 20 to 30 minutes, just speaking what the Lord placed on my heart. I encouraged Mark to pray similar prayers over her every night until Jenny got pregnant. I prayed for them every time God laid them on my heart, usually at least once a day.
So, three months passed and I got a call from Mark. "We are pregnant." I celebrated with him over the phone. For some reason I knew it was going to be a daughter, I told Mark. I prayed with Mark over the phone for God to keep his daughter healthy and viable for a full term pregnancy. He was so excited about God answering our prayers.
Their daughter is now 6 years old, but I remember praying for them like it was yesterday. She is bright, a light everywhere she goes. She is as beautiful and smart as her mother and has a passion for life like her daddy. God is good.
Do you have any stories of God miraculously healing someone? Please share your story.
Have you ever had the urge to get up and lay your hands on someone in church who has come forward for prayer for an illness or injury? If so, you may have the gift of healing.
The spiritual gift of healing is an interesting gift. As with all Holy Spirit gifts, it is given by God for the glory of God. When a person has the gift of healing it's not like you can go to the hospital and heal everyone there. You heal who God wants you to, when God wants you to, and how God wants you to. The gift of healing is not one of my primary gifts, but it is a gift God has given me upon occasion to do His will. That is the story of Jenny and Mark.
Jenny and Mark had been dealing with infertility for 7 years. They had been to numerous doctors and had been through many medical treatments to no avail. They were telling me about their journey one day when God spoke in my ear, "I am going to heal her. She is going to have a child by this time next year." So I told Jenny and Mark what God had just spoken to me. He crossed his arms and got mad. She started crying.
I asked them if it would be OK if I pray over Jenny. They agreed. So I laid my hands on her and prayed something similar to this:
"Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask you to heal Jenny's uterus, ovaries and Fallopian tubes. God you created Jenny to be productive, for her womb to produce children. Father, she and Mark have done everything to no avail. So Father, we are asking you to fix the problem. In the name of Jesus, we speak fertility health into Jenny. Father, make right what disease has rendered useless. Bring forth life from Jenny and Mark..."
Anyway, I prayed over this couple for 20 to 30 minutes, just speaking what the Lord placed on my heart. I encouraged Mark to pray similar prayers over her every night until Jenny got pregnant. I prayed for them every time God laid them on my heart, usually at least once a day.
So, three months passed and I got a call from Mark. "We are pregnant." I celebrated with him over the phone. For some reason I knew it was going to be a daughter, I told Mark. I prayed with Mark over the phone for God to keep his daughter healthy and viable for a full term pregnancy. He was so excited about God answering our prayers.
Their daughter is now 6 years old, but I remember praying for them like it was yesterday. She is bright, a light everywhere she goes. She is as beautiful and smart as her mother and has a passion for life like her daddy. God is good.
Do you have any stories of God miraculously healing someone? Please share your story.
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