School of Healing Testimonies

I have been taking a Healing Class through Global Awakening the past two months.  It's been a tremendous learning experience and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in pursuing this gifting.  During the class we were asked to apply what we learned.  So below are testimonies from some of my learning experiences.  The testimonies are about learning to step out in words of knowledge and using a  prayer model that is designed to focus our prayers on the root matter that is causing sickness or disease in others.  Its a journey well worth the venture!  Jesus has called us to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, and cast out demons.  Freely we've received, freely give.  Its time to rise up and walk in this authority that the Lord has given us!


Case Study 1 - Prayer Model

Testimony of the Woman with Migraines

I am part of a prayer team that calls ministry partners.  We receive many prayer requests from our ministry partners; some of the prayer requests are explicit and others are not.  Most of the time I do not know these partners, since we have an extensive network.  I called this woman one night and asked her what could I pray for her.  She said that she had horrible migraine headaches and she had spaciness.  I asked her about when the migraines and spaciness started.  She told me they had started 5 years ago.  So then I asked her if there was a significant event that occurred around this same time when the headaches occurred.  She said yes.  She explained that at that time a horrible tragedy happened.  She had been counseling a husband and wife who were in the process of divorce.  During the counseling sessions, she found out they were both cheating on each other.  However the husband didn’t know the wife was cheating and the wife didn’t know the husband was cheating.  Subsequently, the husband ended up finding out that the wife was cheating on him.  So in a fit of rage the husband drove to the boyfriends house, shot, and killed him.  He then went to his house and shot his wife four  times.  She didn’t die but ended up being paralyzed.  The husband in now in jail.  Her migraines started around this time.  

I asked her if she had any un-forgiveness, either towards herself or towards the husband.  She didn’t think so.....believes that she had dealt with any of this in her heart.  She told me that she had left the church where she had been doing the counseling and had stopped counseling for a period of time.  She just recently started doing some of this type of work at another church that they now attend.  

So I told her to just receive, that I didn’t want her to pray right now.  Then I began praying for healing to be released in her heart and forgiveness to be released in her heart toward herself and any others involved in this incident.  I then commanded guilt to be broken off of her.  I was silent for 20-30 seconds.  Then I asked her what was going on.  She said she felt the peace of God surrounding her.  She also said she was so blessed because she is often in the place of ministering to others and rarely in the place of receiving.  When I asked her to just receive, that blessed her immensely.  

I then prayed again, this time commanding torment to leave her and canceling the assignment of torment off of her.  As soon as I pronounced this she began coughing and immediately had relief from headaches.  She was so excited and beside herself.  She was exclaiming over and over, you don’t know what this means, oh my gosh, you don’t know what this means.  She was overwhelmed with joy.  I told her to thank the Lord for what He had just done for her.

Case Study 2 and 3 - Two Words of Knowledge in One Meeting Time

Testimony of Praying for Daughter/Niece - WOKs

On this night my niece and nephew who live in our hometown came over to visit us, pray, and to have dinner.  I began talking to my niece, nephew, wife and 3 daughters about what I was learning in the Healing Certification class.  I told them about some of the miracles we heard of through the various video interviews and then all of a sudden I started getting a headache.  I don’t usually get headaches so I thought to myself this could be a word of knowledge for someone here.  So I asked if anyone had a headache in the room.  My daughter said she did, so we prayed for her and her pain went away.  (WOK 1)

When we get together as a family, we pray for different family needs as the holy spirit leads us.  So as we were praying for family members who were not with us that evening, I started getting another headache which I felt again it was not mine but a WOK.  This time I felt my niece was the one who had this headache.  So I asked my niece if she had one, and she said yes.  So I started praying for her, and her headache also went away.  Praise God!  (WOK 2)

What was interesting about these two incidents was that as I prayed for them, I could feel the headache I had go away at the very same time theirs went away.  I checked with them during the prayer time to verify this phenomenon.  Very cool!

Case Study 4 - Prayer Model

Woman with paralysis

I called one of our ministry partners regarding a prayer request they had sent in.  Mrs. X had paralysis on one side of her body.  So I asked her how this happened...was she born this way or did something happen to her.  She told me that she went in for a routine surgery on her neck and ended up with a blood clot from the surgery.  The clot ended up causing a stroke and she became paralyzed on one side of her body. 

I asked her if she had any bitterness, resentment, or un-forgiveness in her heart because of what happened.  She told me that wasn’t in her heart.

So I prayed for the Lord to minister to her body.  I think I used more petition prayers this first time.  I stopped and interviewed her to find out if anything was happening.  She told me she felt peace, but she didn’t feel anything in her body.  I blessed what the Lord was doing and then I prayed for her a second time.  This time I commanded nerve endings to come alive.  Synapses to fire again, blood flow to increase.  When I interviewed her the second time she could feel a hot stone with electricity moving through her body.  She felt that was rejuvenating things in her body.  She wasn’t able to move anything that was paralyzed at the time.  And nothing more happened at that point.  I prayed again and it seemed that was all that was happening at that point.  So I thanked the Lord for what he did do.  I didn’t feel led to do anything else at this point.  Wasn’t sure what else to do after praying with her 3 times and not seeing any more progress.  I counseled her that the sign she had of the hot stone and electricity was evidence that God was working in her.  And that he may be doing a progressive work in her.  I haven’t spoken to her again but hope to if she comes up in the ministry partner prayer requests.

Case Study 5 - Prayer Model and WOK

Bus Terminal - Cane

Just went to pray with people today. I felt led to go in the bus seating area where Bojangles is. I sat on the chairs and was asking the Lord to lead me to the right one. I sat and prayed for a while (10-15 minutes). And afterward felt led to go sit by a man with a cane and talk to him. I asked why he had a cane and he said he’s had two hip replacements. He used to be a truck driver. I asked if he still had pain in the hips and he said yes. I then told him that I came down to the terminal to pray for people and asked if I could pray for his hips. He said sure, but wait a minute I’m busy and then we can go outside. So I sat while he was texting someone. 

After about 5-7 minutes I noticed he was just staring off into space not texting anyone. So I asked him again if I could pray for his hips and he said yes, but also told me that he was busy. So he bowed his head and I asked the Lord to touch his hips. Commanded pain to leave and asked God to heal his arthritis. He looked up and started talking to me. I asked if there was any difference. He said no. So I asked him on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is your pain right now. He said a 6. So I said lets pray again. Again I asked the Lord to minister to his body and commanded pain to leave. We were silent for 20-30 seconds. Then he looked up at me and said, wow my pain is much better. Its now a 3. He was amazed. 

I sensed he may have un-forgiveness or bitterness blocking things.  So I then asked him if he had any bitterness or un-forgiveness in his heart toward anyone.  He told me yes, his sister.  He needed help to get a prescription and needed a ride and $22 to help him get the medicine. He was texting her trying to get her help, but she didn’t want to help.  She told him no. He contacted his mom to get his sister to help and so he was upset. I talked to him about the need to forgive and how this is important for us personally.  Bitterness only hurts us, not the other person. He wasn’t ready to forgive right then but was willing to talk with God more about it when he goes home. I then prayed for him again asking God to help him release un-forgiveness and bitterness and to release healing completely in his body. After this he was feeling really good with hardly any pain at all. He told me that he was in misery up until that time and really was feeling bad. 

He then looked down at his phone and saw that his sister had texted him and told him that she would be picking him up. He looked at me and said, you have some power. I noticed that you prayed in the name of Jesus. Are you one of his disciples? I told him yes I was a disciple of Jesus, but only he has power. I told him that Jesus has commanded his disciples to pray for the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out demons…freely we received freely give. And that any of Jesus disciples can have this ability. He then wanted to know what church I went to. So I told him. And he asked if I would take him to my church.

So I picked him up the next Sunday, took him to church and then out to lunch with me and my family.  We had a good time and he really liked our church.  He told me that he hadn’t been to church since being a little boy and when I had talked with him he felt that he was supposed to start going again.  He asked if we had bible studies and I told him through home groups.  But that I could meet with him at my lunch break during the week and do a bible study with him.  He said ok.  Woohoo!

Case Study 6 - Prayer Model and WOK

Bus Terminal - Raining

Went to the bus station today to pray for someone there. It was rainy and cold and I was getting drenched on my way to the station. But I felt compelled to go. I asked The Lord to lead me. As soon as I got there a man asked me for money. I told him I had none, but asked if I could pray for him. He said sure. I told him that I am learning how to pray for the sick and asked him if he had any ailments. He said yes and pulled up his coat sleeves to show me a horrible case of eczema. His skin looked like elephant skin.  He said he had it all over his body. 

So I asked him how long he's had it and he said since he was a kid. His father had it, and other relatives...it runs in the family. So I told him that this could be a generational curse and told him that I was going to pray for deliverance from generational issues.  I then began to pray for him and invited the Holy Spirit to minister to this man. He said while I was praying he all of a sudden started breathing in more deeply than before. His chest and stomach area were moving noticeably. I stayed silent for a little while letting the Holy Spirit minister directly to him.  [Although I didn’t think about this at the time, one of the manifestations I’ve learned when a person is getting delivered from generational curses or demonic activity they will have laboured breathing or begin breathing deeply as if something was released off them and they can now fully breath.]

I asked him what was going on.  And he told me that when I had commanded the generational curse to break off him he started breathing deeply.  And this stayed with him for a few minutes.  It was like his lungs were being cleaned out.  I then received a word of knowledge about what was happening. I told him that God was healing his spirit and soul. And that God wanted him to know what God thought about him. That God sees him as a son and not a cast away. He is valuable in Gods eyes and that God wanted to heal the broken image that he had of himself. He asked me how did I know this, because one week ago he was talking to God and he told The Lord that he didn't want to know what anybody else thought about him but just what God thought about him. In fact he posted that message on Facebook just a couple of days ago. I then got to pray with him about deliverance from addictions and other inner healing issues. I told him that the Lord wants to heal the inside and the outside. I spent most of my lunch hour talking with him.  It was an awesome encounter with Jesus!

Case Study 7 - WOK

Eyeshadow and Lashes

Prayed before going over to bus terminal. Asked Holy Spirit to lead me. Prayed for break-through, anointing, ability to minister. Asked God for words of knowledge. As I prayed I saw a woman’s eye, with long eyes lashes and light colored eye shadow. So I walked down to the bus terminal looking for this. I walked the whole terminal and kept looking at each woman’s eyes. Amazingly no one was wearing eye shadow that day! After looking in the last place, I thought ok, I’ll go back to one girl who was wearing long eye lashes and try to look more closely to see if she has some faded shadow on. As I did, another woman who wasn’t there before came into view. She had long eyelashes and a light white colored eye shadow. I introduced myself. Told her this was a God appointment. Asked her what I could pray for her.  She told me she is newly pregnant. So I started praying for her, God to help her anxiety as a single mom (didn’t know this at the time), God to help her with her education, give her a man that will stand with her, and financial provision. After prayer she said everything I prayed was what she needed. She said she felt peace that everything was going to be ok. I counseled with her about church…she has one but hasn’t been there in a while. I encouraged her to go…she’ll find support there.  Wonderful God encounter!

Case Study 8 - WOK and Prayer Model

Encounter at Church Conference

I was attending a church conference where we were all going to pray with others who stood up asking prayer for healing.  I walked up to a man I had never met.  As I walked up to him, I had dizziness in my head (which I do not have).  I asked him why he stood up for prayer and he said that he had dizziness and one of his ears was clogged so that he was hearing through a tunnel...everything was muffled.  He thought he might have an inner ear infection.  

So I told him what I had felt before talking with him and that I believed this was a WOK for him.  I then asked him when did this dizziness begin with him.  He told me it started a few days after he had a really bad argument with his son.  He took a swing at his son.  He said that he did not hit him, but almost did and that his son had fallen backward to the ground.  He told me that he had apologized to his son.  

I told him since this started around that timeframe that we first needed to go through a prayer of repentance for anger and then asking forgiveness from the Lord and then to forgive himself.  He did this.  

I then commanded dizziness to leave, infection be healed and his ear to open.  He felt something open up in his ear when we prayed.  He told me that he could now hear clearer than before; like the muffled sound was gone.  So we thanked God for what the Lord was doing.  I saw him two other times during the conference to which he proclaimed that it felt the healing was continuing, like it was progressive.

Case Study 9 - WOK

Neighbor Girl

I had heard that a neighbor girl had hurt her foot and went to the emergency room.  I asked the Lord which foot as a sign to pray for her for healing.  I had an impression it was the right foot.  I saw her later that day as she had come over to visit with my daughter.  It was her right foot.  So I asked to pray for her and talked to her about healing prayer.  Prayed...she didn’t feel anything and she had a large walking boot on it, was leaving our home to go home.  So I told her to check it out when she got home and try to do something she couldn’t do without pain.  She said she would.

How to Raise the Dead Course

     Recently I took a course through the Wagner Leadership Institute called “How to Raise the Dead.”  Did you know that at this moment in history there are more incidents and testimonies of God raising the dead than any other time in history?  There are more salvations occurring, more nations turning to Christ, more unprecedented miracles occurring than any other time in history.  This blogpost is about some of the lessons I learned during this course.  I believe they will bless you too as you read!

     This course was extremely good for my spiritual health.  I was affected by all the video and audio teachings, particularly with David Hogan, Heidi Baker and Pastor Surprise.

     Honestly, I was challenged by everything that David Hogan had to say.  After listening to his testimony I wondered if I was a Christian.  For those of you who have not heard of him, he is a missionary for the last 20 years to some of the most dangerous territory in Mexico.  I have been very diligent at times and seasons in my life, but not as consistent as what I heard from David's ministry.  So at this season in my life I can use more discipline in most every aspect of my life:  personal devotion time, prayer time, fasting, and physical exercise.  I work full time, have a wife and four daughters so that keeps me pretty busy.  Over the past 6 months or so I have found myself trying to wake at 4:00am or close by...not by my own prompting but I believe God has been waking me then.  Since the course started I have been trying to cooperate more with getting to bed early so that I can get up early.  I haven’t been as consistent as I want in this, but I have definitely been better.  And I can honestly say the presence of the Lord during these times have been wonderful for my soul.  On several occasions I’ve found myself just worshipping in awe of God...barely able to say anything...just gazing at His majesty.

     After listening to David the first week I realized that I needed to get more disciplined in fasting as well.  So I started off on a fast that lasted 14 days.  And then every other day I would fast 1 or 2 meals.  Oh the Lord was sweet to me.  I felt weak during the 14 day fast, but I was able to enter into His presence much more easily.  I also noticed an increase of spiritual awareness and empowerment during that time.  The church I attend has prophetic prayer teams and I was able to participate on these during this fasting time.  I believe the clarity and power of the words the Lord gave me increased during this time.  So I’m encouraged to make fasting a regular part of my life.  I had done this once before when I was younger, but had gotten away from making this a regular part of my life since then. 

     I've also been more challenged by the Lord and now David Hogan regarding standing in faith as to what God has spoken to me, regardless of what others think or say.  Over the years God has given me many words, promises, and prophecies.  Some of these words I wonder - how is God going to do that?  I was inspired with David’s testimony on how he ended up in Mexico and then received a vision for the area he was to go to.  Along the way his wife was discouraged, he had people tell him about the dangers, and others looked at David in disbelief.  I appreciate the attitude David ministered in that he was after pleasing one...and that was God, regardless of those who believed or went with him.

     Another thing that encouraged me is when David said they didn't get some special feeling or an angel appear to them to go after healing and raising the dead.  For the most part, they just are responding in faith to what Jesus declared, that we are called to raise the dead, heal the sick, cleanse the leper, freely we've received, freely give.  I can do that.  Yes, praise God, the Lord does give signs following that confirms His word; but that's not what David is pursuing...he's pursuing obedience to the call of Jesus.  That’s a good perspective.  I can respond in obedience to do that.  We walk in faith, believing and leave the results to God.  That to me is mature faith...I believe the Lord so much and know that He will confirm His word that I will obey what He says regardless of what I see with my eyes.  I also appreciate David’s candidness when he shared that he felt he really failed the Lord and a young boy who he didn't pray to be raised from the dead when he first started ministering there in Mexico.  Despite his failing, God still worked with David...the Lord knows I've failed him many times, but this encourages me to keep presenting myself to God and follow His leading.  We can’t let past mistakes create present failings and lose future destiny.  Let the past be the past...and let today be the day the Lord reigns.

     While listening to Heidi's testimony, I can't help but think about I Corinthians 13 where Holy Spirit reminds us that love has to be the primary motivation behind any ministry.  Personally, I haven't walked in the level of power that David or Heidi have experienced...I've seen God use me in prophetic ministry, some healings, and other power gifts.  Mainly, I have operated in a lot of teaching and preaching mixed with evangelism.  And there have definitely been seasons of burnout.  I like Heidi’s testimony that she has to spend much time in prayer and seeking God each day to find the strength she needs.  With the amount of things on her plate and seeing her renewed with passion each day...to me that is evidence that this woman has High Connections.  And it’s an inspiration...because God can provide day after day all we need to be a blessing in what He calls us to.  I'd have to confess that the main thing that restores me is making intimate contact with God...basking in His love, being touched by His presence when no one else is around.  Hearing His voice speak like no other man can speak to my heart.  

     I get a charge out of seeing the miraculous...but what thrills my heart more than anything is seeing someone really buy into the love of God.  That usually doesn't happen overnight.  You get the initial spark, but seeing someone going after God with hunger and passion, week after week, year after year is what captures my attention more than anything.

     The part of the message from Heidi that struck me the most was when Randy shared how Heidi and Roland are ministering the full gospel message...caring for the whole person; their physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs.  I love the model they put together in the villages where the widows care for orphans and cook for them, the pastors come and minister the father's heart to the widows and orphans, and the organization helps provide food and other supplies.  That is wonderful success on so many levels.  Maybe what Heidi stated is a key ingredient to full ministry...what does love look like?  I like that question.  I think Holy Spirit likes that question too, cause whatever love looks like is what I believe our Jesus would want to do.

        I really appreciated listening to Surprise's testimonies.  I feel God gave me impartation of faith just through listening to his testimonies.  I love his simple faith in God and I'm asking God to help me operate in this simplicity even more.  I also appreciate how Surprise emphasized how God wants us to enjoy life.  Come into the rest of God and enjoy life!  That has been on my heart the last few weeks and this really hit home for me.

     Regarding raising the dead, seems to me the most practical means of seeing this happen in the U.S. is for us to begin praying for those who die.  Pastor Surprise said that he will pray for all those he comes across.  Some are raised, others are not.  He leaves that to the Lord, but I think he sees result partly because of obedience and willingness to pray.   This attitude and simple obedience by Pastor Surprise has encouraged me. 

     Some of the other Mozambique pastors mentioned that they look for a sign regarding who they should pray to be raised from the dead.  It’s God's economy, so I believe there is room for both methods regarding who to pray for (everyone versus those whom you have a sign about).  I actually see both of these methods working in Christ's life...there are many occasions that is recorded where Jesus heals all who came to Him.  And there are instances where He is directed to the "one".  I prefer praying for everyone as I would not want to assume my accuracy in hearing God or picking up on His signs is more important than following his command to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse the leper.  I had an unusual encounter with the Lord on a mission trip to Mexico several years ago.  In that trip we did a lot of street ministry.  On our first day out, I was appointed as leader of one group.  We headed down the street and the first house we came to looked like no one was home and seemed unwelcoming.  So I thought lets skip that house and go to the next.  My interpreter asked me, "Aren't we going to knock on the door?"  So I said sure go ahead.  There was a pregnant young woman in the home and we ultimately led her to salvation that day.  As our group left this home I heard the Lord say to me..."Don't skip anybody."  All through that day our group spoke with everyone we saw...I remember there were some that we talked with that I thought...oh they are definitely going to come to our meeting that night.  Others I thought...oh they will never respond.  And that night it seemed like everyone I thought would respond didn't and those that I thought wouldn't did.  In fact one man who had such a hard countenance came to the meeting and I ultimately got to lead him to the Lord at the meeting that night.  So this was a good lesson for me to trust more in God's command than my ability to hear. 

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

I pray that your heart is filled with joy during this wonderful season of Hope and a Future!  The Son was given so that we might have Hope that life can be meaningful and everlasting.  And each new day we wake is God's promise that we have a future!  May the Lord bless you during this time and in the new year, may His Face shine upon you, may you have peace in your home, and may the grace of God make a way for you!  May the due of heaven surround you and cover you!  May the presence of God satisfy your deepest longings!  May the Lord answer you when you call!  And may this year be the year you enter into the destiny and dreams that God has planted in your heart!

I have a favorite song that I wanted to share.  The song is called "Hymns" and is beautifully sung by Cynthia Clawson.  It is a wonderful inspiration to me and speaks of the grace, majestic splendor of God, and hearts that were inspired by beauty from heaven.  It speaks of lives that were changed and impassioned with adoration for the King of Heaven...lives that became a sacrifice and a light for generations to come.  This is my desire for you this year and for my family.  May we be inspired to greater passion for Christ!  May this coming year be a mark in time that one day we'll look back to and say "God met me that year and I entered into the Joy of His Life"!

HYMNS

I hear their songsTheir words of beauty reaching deep
Within cathedrals of my heart
Angelic choirs
Reverberate the stained glass windows
Of saints and sinners in their place
Singing out “Amazing Grace”
While in the glory of their faith
I’m drawn to find my part
And sing with all my heart

I know their words
Their thoughts reflecting simple truth
Of testimonies rich in love
Their eyes can see
The mystery of loving kindness
Of chains and blindness torn away
Power found in each new day
The Lord’s compassion on display
His touch from Heaven above
Gave words to speak their love

Composer of my soul
Show me all You show to them
The hymnwriter, hymnsinger
Let me know their eloquence
Let me share their offering
Put the notes in my heart,
The lyrics on my lips,
And let the essence of my life
Be a song that others will want to sing

I see their lives
Like tears that fall upon a page
A mark indelible in time
What sacrifice!
Their hearts poured out like raging water
For sons and daughters to believe
And generations to receive
The harvest white from all their seeds
No greater love sublime
Could change this heart of mine

Composer of my soul
Show me all You show to them
The hymnwriter, hymnsinger
Let me know their eloquence
Let me share their offering
Put the notes in my heart,
The lyrics on my lips,
And let the essence of my life
Be a song that others will want to sing

Glory in Costa Rica

My recent mission trip to Costa Rica was the most glory intense trip I’ve ever been on, from beginning to end.  I went with great expectation, but God exceeded that.  I want to share with you some of the wonderful experiences we had on this trip to encourage you and to give you expectation.  I believe we are just on the brink of the greatest move of God’s spirit on the face of the earth.  To me this trip was a taste of the first fruits of glory to come when the spirit of the Lord is poured out on all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your old men (and women) will dream dreams (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17).

Four weeks before going on the trip, I had a dream about going to Costa Rica.  This is the journal entry I made the night after the dream.

Last night I had a dream where I flew to Costa Rica. When I stepped out of the airport all of the roads were filled with water at least a foot deep. I wondered how am I going to get to the property with all this water. I drove a car through the water to get to the property.

I also recognized that I was in a hurry and I hadn't packed my bags with any clothes. When I got to the property I started walking towards the door and hung on a line right in front of me were two shirts. One shirt was green and the other blue. The green shirt I recognized was a shirt I used on many mission trips where I would use it when I was preaching at a meeting. The blue shirt was a longsleeved shirt and more formal. In the dream I thought I must have forgotten these although I didn't remember ever leaving any shirts in Costa Rica.  Neferty (the property manager) was in the house and she came out to greet me with a kiss on the cheek and told me about how she was so glad to see me there.  That was the end of the dream.

To me this was a dream about part of what God is going to do while I'm in Costa Rica. The water symbolizes the holy spirit and that he's going to be in every road and every junction like rivers of living water filling the streets. The fact that I forgot my clothes was not as important as God made provision and gave me clothes.

I also believe that the shirt style and colors represent a message.  The green shirt was something I was familiar with and had worn there before.  To me this spoke of God continuing the ministry I've had there before.  The color green also stands for new life, freshness, prophecy, and new beginnings The blue shirt I believe represented a new role I will have in Costa Rica...more formal.  The blue shirt was something I would wear at work so it could stand for a more formal work of ministry there or business role there.  Blue also stands for the Holy Spirit, revelation, river of God, healing, and God's throne.

Part of my prayer in going to Costa Rica is that God would open up the ministry of healing to me and more supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I think this dream is an answer that God is going to answer my request.

Now that I look back at what happened, I realize how true this dream was.  Everywhere we went, the Lord’s presence was there and we witnessed many miracles, answers to prayer, salvations, healings, and deliverances.  All in all, we saw 12 people give their life to Christ, we saw more than 15 healings occur (there were more than that, but we didn’t get a chance to interview people from the last service we were at), a family of 8 received deliverance from demonic oppression, I had opportunity to preach at 4 gospel meetings on the father’s heart, we prayed for impartation to 3 young leaders who have the heart for evangelism, we saw miraculous answers to prayer, and met with over 24 pastors in making connections for future ministry opportunities.  All in one week!  When I went to Costa Rica, I had no agenda established.  Not that I didn’t try, it just didn’t happen.  I remember praying on the first morning there for God to lead me and the mini-team that we had.  And He did.  It was so perfectly orchestrated, I marvel at what happened.  

So, to write about all that happened would make this a really long blog post.  Instead, I’ll share just some of the stories.  Maybe there will be a part two blog later.  Our mini-team consisted of myself, Bob Wyant, Judy McCrea, and our interpreter Emerson.  

I arrived in Costa Rica Sunday afternoon.  That evening we met with a local pastor, counseled with a young leader, and showed the video “Father of Lights” to a couple who one day will pastor a church.  After the video, we prayed for this young couple.  As we did, the power of the Lord came in that room so strong.  My hands were burning like fire and heavy.  I thought, what will happen if I put them down by my side?  As I did, the power began shooting up my arms up to my elbow, like electricity.  And it didn’t leave, it remained.  Not knowing what to do, we layed hands on the couple and began blessing them in the name of the Lord.

The next morning we went to see a pastor whose church was nearby.  He confided in us about some things for us to pray for.  And he told us about his father who was very sick.  His father had not been out of his bed for 15 days, and was so weak that he couldn’t control his body functions.  Consequently, they were constantly having to clean him and his sheets.  I felt before we prayed for the pastor that we should honor his father and pray that God would raise him up.  So, we all went into his father’s room and began praying.  The presence of the Lord was there and it was good.  Nothing appeared to have happened immediately, but we released our faith in God to touch his father.  Just to fast forward, two days later (on Wednesday) his father was up and moving around.  He was able to get to the kitchen and rest room without any help.  Praise God!  And then on Saturday (six days later) I walked into the church right before the Saturday evening meeting.  An older gentleman was sitting on the back row and I felt compelled to go up to him to bless him.  And to my surprise, it was the pastor’s father!  Hallelujah!  He had enough strength to make it into church and participate in a gospel meeting!  Come on!

On Monday evening we went to a small home group meeting in a very poor neighborhood.  But the Lord was there!  I shared a word out of Acts 3:20 and Revelation 3:20; having been given Acts 3:20 a week before and given Revelations 3:20 that night.  Emerson shared a message with the group and then we began to pray for those who were sick or had a loved one that was sick.  One woman who came to the meeting was so touched by the presence of the Lord. She didn’t want us to stop praying and she didn’t want to let go of the Lord’s presence.  It was intense.  Afterward she was so touched that she asked if we could please come to her home Tuesday morning and pray for her daughter who had chronic headaches.  We agreed.  

The next morning we went to this woman’s home.  We interviewed her daughter to find out what might be the source of these headaches.  She started receiving them when she was four years old and they grew more intense over the years to the point that she got them everyday and was in pain almost all the time.  As we interviewed her we found out that her grandmother had been involved in witchcraft of some sort.  So we first annointed to the door posts of the home, took authority over unclean spirits, and then broke the curse of generational sin over this girl.  Just as we pronounced this, their dog came up right behind this girl and began throwing up.  That was weird!  But I took it as a sign.  After we prayed, the girl had no more headache!  This was on Tuesday.  We saw her again on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday and she had no more recurrence of headaches!  Praise God!  Fast forward to Thursday, we went to pray for the grandmother, two other sisters, and a brother of this first woman.  God sent deliverance, we led the grandmother to renounce practices she was involved in earlier in her life, she confessed and received joy!  The brother who had been practicing witchcraft repented and received Christ as his savior.  And a sister got saved as well.  All in all, God redeemed a family of eight, three generations of this family during this week!

On Wednesday morning we went to visit an orphanage and another woman who was starting a foster care-type home for orphans who couldn’t be placed in a home for various reasons.  While visiting with the woman, I felt impressed to tell her that the next time I saw her she would have children in her home.  She has been working on establishing a home and getting approval to have children for the last four years.  At the time we saw her, the paperwork was in an agency to be reviewed but there was no indication as to when approval would come.  Everything in Costa Rica takes time, and she’s had many delays in this process.  She said that would be wonderful, but that she would really like to have kids before Christmas.  So I said, let’s pray and ask God to do the impossible, because nothing is to big for Him.  So we prayed.  The very next day (no lie) she got approval from family services to have 7 children in her home.  Fast forward 6 days, she then found out she would get some of the children 12 days before Christmas!  Praise God!  Oh I think the Lord likes surprising us with impossible answers to prayer!  I love you Jesus!

Wednesday night we held a healing service.  Prior to the service, I asked the Lord for words of knowledge regarding what He wanted to heal that night.  The morning of the meeting, I woke with two visions; they were both x-rays, one of a heal and the other of a knee.  I also received 10 other words of knowledge through impressions in my body, one of which was a pain in the back right below the rib cage on the left side of the body.  I called these out in the meeting and then opened up the altar for anyone to come forward that had these problems.  We then prayed over the group of 20 or more people who came up.  We stopped after a few minutes and told everyone to check themselves and see if there was any difference.  Four people began waving their hands that they had a difference in their body!  I said ok that’s good, but let’s pray again.  Then I told them to check themselves again.  This time eight people began waving their hands that something was different and they were healed.  Praise God!  

But then I said, ok lets have some of you come up and give your testimony.  So then a young girl comes up and testified that she had pain in her heels constantly whenever she walked.  But after prayer, it was completely gone!  Another came up and said her knee was bad and constantly popping when she bent down.  She had to stop playing soccer.  But when she went to check her knee that night, it popped one time going down the first time, but not anymore after that.  She also got healed of headaches, which was another word of knowledge given that night.  These two girls also testified again on Saturday night, having continued to bear witness that they had been touched by the Lord on Wednesday night.  The next woman came up to testify, that she had the pain in the back under her rib cage.  It resulted from her lungs.  She had received a doctors diagnosis that she was not getting the proper volume of air in her lungs and would not be able to live much longer in that condition.  That night as we prayed, breath came into her lungs!  She was able to breath deeply again!  She was so touched that she couldn’t stop crying!  Hallelujah!  All in all we had more than 10 people testify of healings they had received that night; there were more but we didn’t get a chance to speak with all those who had waved their hands at the end of the meeting.

Thursday afternoon we went to a men’s prison and while there Emerson gave his testimony.  This was key, since Emerson had been in this prison a few years ago.  God set him free while there and now he is on fire for Jesus!  The men were very receptive of Emerson’s testimony and afterward 10 men gave their life to the Lord!  Go God!

Saturday night was the last meeting I was in before leaving Sunday morning.  At this meeting, the prayer time was more intense than the meeting on Wednesday.  We weren’t able to interview anyone after the prayer time because it had gone on so long and the people had to leave to get on their buses to get home.  But this was evident; after the prayer time, the scene looked like a battle field, with people laying everywhere, people weeping at the altar, and others praising the Lord!  As Bob prayed for one woman who came up with a tumor, he literally felt the tumor disappear!  It was as large as an orange, but went away!  

Many more things happened  of which only God could do.  I only marvel at how intense this week was and how wonderful it was.  This is just the beginning of what is to come with greater intensity and I believe in all parts of the world.  

Acts 3:20  Get ready for the appointed time of refreshing that is coming from the presence of the Lord!

Blessings to you!

David Bates

Your Call to Greatness

In Matthew 14 we read of two of the most astonishing miracles recorded in the New Testament.  This chapter is packed full of powerful insight and I believe keys to what God is calling the church to in this hour of history.  The first of these amazing miracles is the feeding of the 5,000 (which actually was more like 15,000 since they only numbered the men).  Jesus had compassion on the crowd and wanted to feed them.  His disciples counseled Jesus to send them away.  But Jesus said, let’s look at this with a different set of eyes.  First, bring me what you have.  So they did.

They were able to find five small loaves of bread and two fish.  Not even close enough to feed five people, let alone 15,000.  But again, Jesus didn’t flinch.  He said bring them to me and He took them, blessed the food, broke it, and distributed it to his disciples.  How do you think these disciples felt when they were carting over the tiny amount of food they had to the first group of 50 people they were to feed?  I can hear Peter saying...”does Jesus think this is a joke?”  And as Peter handed out what he had, to his amazement the food kept multiplying.  THE FOOD WAS MULTIPLYING IN THE DISCIPLES HANDS AS THEY GAVE!!!

What was this that Jesus was teaching?  Yes, you are weak.  Yes, what you have isn’t enough.  Yes, the task is too big.  But these are not the deciding factors.  JESUS IS THE DECIDING FACTOR!!!  You have been sent by Me to feed the hungry.  The Lord will bless and multiply what you have.  I just want you to be faithful to give what you have been given.  In the giving, the provision will be multiplied.

Now, what would have happened if the disciples took the little bit of food they had and kept it for themselves; or worse thrown it down in doubt.  The walk from Jesus to the crowd was a test.  Each step another step of faith or yielding to doubt.  For the disciples this day became a day of triumph, though it started in doubt and weakness.

However, the day’s lessons were not over after the crowd went home.  Jesus told the disciples to go in the boat and cross over to the other side and He would meet up with them later.  After they left, a storm rose and was tossing their boat all over the sea waves.  They struggled for hours, but didn’t seem to make much progress.  It was then that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the boisterous waves.

Peter said if that’s you Jesus then command me to come to you.  And so Jesus did and now a man was walking on water.  

On this day, two impossible things happened.  Something was created out of nothing, and man walked in a place that defied natural laws.  On this day, Jesus invited the disciples to broaden their perspective, expand their horizons, and participate in the unthinkable.  He was assaulting unbelief and giving them grander vision.

Since the Lord is no respecter of persons and His mission for the church today is just the same as 2,000 years ago, guess what that means?  He’s inviting you and I to enter into the impossible-possibilities of God.  And I find that wonderfully exhilarating!!  What kind of a God would we have if all that can be accomplished is that which has been done already?  God has no boundaries, except that which is good and right and glorious.

The generation we live in now in America is perhaps as wicked as its ever been.  Since the passing of Roe vs Wade, our nation has slaughtered 55 million innocent babies.  We have kicked God out of our schools and out of our government.  We refuse to allow prayer in school, but instead teach safe-sex, homosexuality, evolution, and pass out condoms.  Our children are learning ever efficient ways of killing people through video games, movies, and television programs.  We praise and admire those who make millions, have nice homes, and hold powerful jobs while ridiculing Christianity as weak, powerless, and polite but misinformed.

And here we live...sounds impossible?  But God is not finished!!!

One of the greatest moves of God is about to occur in the history of earth.  A great harvest of souls is about to come to the church.  And we are going to feel strained, under equipped, and overwhelmed.  But, we are to take what little we have to Jesus and ask Him to bless it, break it if necessary, and then distribute what He hands us.  God will  multiply it to satisfy the hungry.

God wants us to believe in the unbounded power of His love, and trust Him.  Launch out onto the impossible waves you face!!!  God will catch you.  Stretch out your horizon, God has more He wants to do.  Believe and exercise yourself in running toward Jesus!!  You will experience the thrill of victory.  

Arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord is upon you!!  Read Isaiah 60:1-9 and see what you've been called to and what God will do in this day.  

What God Did While I Was in Texas

I was in Texas the past two weeks and while I was there the Lord blessed me with some wonderful encounters.  This blog post records those encounters and the nuggets of wisdom God gave me through them.

On the plane ride to Dallas, I asked the Lord if He would give me someone that I could speak to about Him.  When I got to my seat, a young woman was sitting in the middle seat.  She was very friendly and introduced herself to me.  We chatted about normal things that strangers chat about and then she mentioned that she works for a consulting firm helping financial institutions develop controls for mortgage operations.  I said "Oh what a coincidence; I'm a bank examiner going to Dallas to examine a mortgage operation."  I then asked her what company she was consulting, and she told me Bank of America.  I said that's who I examine.  And then she said, what office do you work in while in Charlotte?  I told her the location and then she said their firm works in the same building.  By that time, I realized God had sent this person to me to speak to.  After talking for a little longer, she took a nap since it was a long flight.  

While she was napping, I asked the Lord to give me a prophetic word for her.  I figured, hey, God speak anywhere, why not on the plane?  And he showed me two things.  One that God was going to give her revelation while she journals.  And the second thing I felt was heat on the side of my face.  I knew that stood for healing, but then I wondered what God wanted to heal.  God then touched my lower forehead, nose and mouth area.  I didn't understand what that meant at the time, so I wrote down what I thought it meant.  Later when she woke, I handed her the two messages I received.  She thanked me and then we talked about churches we go to.  In passing she mentioned that she had been to the doctor the day before the flight.  She came down with a sinus infection and had to get antibiotics since it wasn't getting better.  And then I knew why God had showed me healing, and touching my lower forehead, nose and mouth...He wanted her to know that He's going to heal her sinuses!  I didn't realize she was sick, so I didn't understand why God had touched me this way before; but then I realized it and told her about it.  She was very encouraged!  And so was I!

What did I learn from this...I had asked the Lord to speak to me and give this woman a word from Him.  And this is what He showed me.  God is interested in healing and touching every aspect of our person, and every person we encounter.  He could have told me anything, but this is what He chose to show me.  I'm still stunned by that revelation.  Although maybe I shouldn't, because Jesus demonstrated this while He walked the earth.  And He said greater works shall we do (who are His disciples) because He goes to the Father...and will send the "Helper" to annoint us with power and authority.

The weekend of September 22nd I was in Waco, TX where I had gone to college and lived several years.  I visited a church on Sunday where a few of my friends were attending.  As I walked in, a greeter gave me a bulletin and I sat down waiting for the service to start.  I read through the bulletin to see what the church was doing and then noticed their address...it was 4777 Lake Shore Drive.  Immediately I knew this was a prophetic address; in fact the Lord had led me to learn about the meaning of the number 4 that very weekend.  In the Hebrew alphabet and number system, every number also is correlated with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  And each letter has a meaning; unlike the English alphabet.  The number 4 means "doorway" in the Hebrew system.  Within scripture, 7 represents completeness and 3 represents the trinity.  So putting this together, this church is a doorway into the fullness of God...that's their ministry and calling.

As worship was being held, I again felt surrounded by the Lord's presence and could hear hundreds of voices worshipping Him there, although there was only 70 or 80 in the service.  I knew this was supernatural what I was hearing and again felt God dropping messages in my heart for this church.  I told the Lord if He wanted me to share this with the pastor He would have to make a way since I didn't know Him and didn't want to interrupt their service.  

The pastor spoke after worship service and gave a message that I had actually wrote about on this blog site several months ago..."Who Am I?"  He went through many of the same scriptures that I detailed in one of the Who Am I blogposts.  And He talked about part of the vision of this church was to minister in every Spanish speaking nation on the earth.  In fact, they were broadcasting this service on Telemundo television network (a Spanish speaking broadcast).  After speaking, he invited anyone to come and receive prayer.  He and his wife prayed along with several elders prayed for all who came.  I went up and stood in the pastor's line and when I got to him he asked what my prayer need was.  I told him that I had a word for him and the church.  So he listened to what I shared regarding their address and the "sound of many voices" and how this church would get larger and need more capacity.

I expected the pastor to thank me and that would be it, but to my surprise he asked me if I would tell the congregation what I had told him.  "Sure" I told him and he directed me to sit down on the front pew while they finished praying with others.  He called me up later and I told the congregation what the Lord had showed me.  After I sat down, the pastor got up and told the church that long before they even moved to this property (they had been located somewhere else in the city just a few years ago) he had been asking the Lord to give them a prophetic address.  The church they were now in had been vacant for several years and was deeded over to them just over a year ago.  When they received the property, the pastor didn't want to keep the old address, so he petitioned the city of Waco to change it to a different street the property was on.  The city of Waco told them he could have any address from 4700 to 4999 since the frontage of the property was so long on Lake Shore Drive.  So they picked 4777...but the pastor confessed he had no idea what "4" meant, he just liked having three seven's in the address.  When I declared this word to him, it was an answer to his prayer for a prophetic address!

The pastor then told us that over 30 years ago another prophetic-evangelist had been to the church building that they now occupied.  And this evangelist prophesied that God was going to use this church to be a major revival center for the city of Waco; however it was not going to be the church who occupied the property at that time, but another church that would be multi-cultural.  When I prophesied that God was going to use this church in touching hundreds and thousands and that they would need a bigger facility this was a confirming word to the "multi-cultural" church that now occupied that property.  Whew...go God!

What did I learn from this...I'm still downloading lessons on this, but the first impression I have is not to doubt the still small voice of the Lord.  The revelations I received during the service did not come from a loud booming voice or an angel appearing to me.  They came from the still small voice of the Lord speaking to my heart.  And I just acted upon what the Lord gave me.  I didn't try to draw attention to myself by stopping the service and declaring things, I went to the pastor and told him.  The pastor was directing the service and it was his call to do with what I had heard that morning.  And I learned that God is interested in establishing His word...sending me to that church 30 years later to confirm what He declared many years before.  Get ready Waco...God is going to invade your land with shouts of praise and victory!  The spirit of the Lord shall flood the earth and Waco will be a place of refuge for the weary and thirsty.  The Lord will come in mighty waves in that city...just watch and this church called "Christ the King" will be a mighty influence of good in that city.

I have many other things to share, but this blog has already become long enough.  Until then...may the mighty one of Israel flood your home with joy and victory!

David

Walking on the Water

1 Corinthians 14:1-3 (NET) Pursue love and be eager for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to people but to God, for no one understands; he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit.  But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation. 

Over the past few weeks I have been extremely encouraged in the gift of prophecy.  God has been stirring my heart in this gift and I’ve had an unusual vision given to me while working in New York.  This blog post is to encourage you to move forward in the admonishment that the Holy Spirit gives us through Paul in 1 Corinthians 14.  

The gift of prophecy was given to strengthen, encourage, and edify the body of Christ.  It is uniquely designed to speak into the moment to help the recipient stand strong, move forward in confidence, and receive vision and resolve to pursue.  

Paul goes on to say in this chapter that he has a desire that we we would all prophesy, because of the power that’s released through this gift. 1 Corinthians 14:5 (NET) I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be strengthened. When this gift operates in its effectiveness, it uniquely provides strength to the church.

Is it possible that anyone can prophesy?  I believe the answer is an absolute yes.  Consider that the root of prophesying is listening to God.  For a person to prophesy or speak according to God’s Spirit, he or she must first hear what the Spirit is saying.  Who does God want to talk to?  Only people who are designated as prophets?  Only pastors?  Only apostles?  The scripture is emphatically clear that God’s desire is that all of His people hear his voice and communicate with Him.  A person who is prophesying is combining listening skills with faith to declare what he or she has heard.  I believe this is a skill that takes time to develop but is so worth pursuing because of the tremendous benefit given to the body of Christ.

With that said, I wanted to share a few stories of how God has been encouraging me in developing this gift and how God used this to encourage others in the body of Christ.

Two Sundays ago I was at a meeting where we were planning how we could minister to people coming to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention.  A group of us were practicing ministering in the prophetic gift.  I was called on to prophesy over anyone in the group.  I felt a little pressure since this was a new group of people and I didn’t really know anyone more than saying a casual hello.  I prayed silently under my breath and asked God to speak to me.  Immediately after I received a brief vision (mental picture) regarding an elderly gentleman sitting across from me.  In this picture I saw this man as if he was in the prime of his youth, dark hair, and wind blowing across his face and hair.  So I began relating to this man the vision I had received about him and told him that I was getting the impression of his youth being renewed.  The wind represented the spirit of God moving over him and restoring him in many aspects of his person (emotions, health, and spiritual condition).  And as I spoke this, I sensed that this was a work going on in his life right now.  

As I spoke to this man, he began getting tears in his eyes.  Later when I had finished speaking, he told the group that for the past 4 months God has been moving on him in unusual ways.  He has been feeling an unusual amount of tenderness in his heart during this time and will often begin crying as he feels God’s spirit coming upon him.  He looked at me and said “I can’t believe how accurate your word was to me...I’m amazed.”  This man went away from this meeting with a renewed encouragement of what God was doing in his life and that he wasn't just getting "weird" by being so tender.

Later that night I received the beginning of a vision for a prophetic team leader but felt I should wait before speaking this to him.  I prayed for more revelation regarding the brief vision I had received about this man.  On the way to church the next Sunday, I began “seeing” more regarding this initial vision.  It was unusual to me because the entire vision revolved around a medieval setting.  The vision spoke of this man’s character, how he was being trained, and future purpose of his life.  That day I got to share with the leader what I felt God gave me for him.  I figured afterward that either this guy is going to think I’m totally off my rocker and I just blew my chance of having any relationship with this man or just maybe there might be something redemptive to what I shared.  So I asked “Did any of this speak to you?”  And to my surprise he said “totally.”  He then related to me that if I had asked him to describe what God’s call was on his life and what goals he has, he would have related it to me using medieval pictures and language.  He thinks that way all the time!  Oh that was so cool.

A few weeks ago the Lord gave me a vision right before I went to bed one night.  In this vision I saw Jesus standing on the water and he was looking at me sitting in a boat.  In the vision Jesus reached out his hand to me, but he didn’t say anything.  But as I looked in His eyes, I could hear a message coming from His heart.  His eyes said, “Come walk on the water with Me”.  I didn’t exactly know what He meant by this at the time, but I wrote it down and pondered its meaning.  Just this week God showed me more about what He meant by this.  I was reading a book by Steve Thompson called “You May All Prophesy” and in the book Steve relates that every time we prophesy its like stepping out of the boat and walking on the water!  We don’t know if we’ll sink or walk; but if we keep our eyes on Jesus he’ll catch us and lead us.  

So how about it?  Want to walk on the water?  The Lord's body needs to be encouraged and strengthened.  It needs you and I operating in the gift of prophecy.

I believe God is calling many in this generation living to come walk on the water with Him.  In the last days, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy... (Joel 2).