I just prayed for a guy who was wearing a medical boot and using one of those scooters you kneel on. He said he'd broken his ankle (a couple of weeks ago, at least) and that it constantly hurts. Following the advice Art Thomas gives in his videos I asked the guy to do like Lazarus (i.e., nothing: no trying to receive) and told him I was not going to pray because Jesus didn't tell his disciples to pray—he told them to heal. I explained that I can't heal, but Jesus does. Then I put my hand on the boot and said, "Be healed in Jesus name," doing my best just to trust Jesus and not try myself to do anything.
When I asked if anything had changed, he said there was very little pain now, so I asked if I could do it again. We did the same again (although with an apology from me because I could feel myself starting to try to effect something and then repeating the command reminding myself that Jesus heals and does it because he loves to do so). The guy said there was no pain now, and took his boot off so he could test his flexibility. He could point and flex his foot, which he could not do yesterday at physical therapy with the therapist pulling on a bandage looped under his foot. He also moved his foot a little side to side, although he didn't comment on that so I don't know if that's relevant.
A couple of times he mentioned his ankle feeling warm and tingly. I think he may have been healed, or at least mostly healed. If I get the chance, I'll check with him tomorrow to see if it's still improved. I want to be sure it's not some momentary, imagined improvement.
I had to leave because the two people he was having a meeting with had arrived. I wonder if I should have prayed again and asked him to try standing on it? I stopped before Jesus got everything he prayed for, and I think that was a wrong thing to do. Also, it would have been smart to have the first person who arrived for the meeting while we were doing this and the guy was taking his boot off to be the one who did it again, rather than me doing it. That way, there would be no confusion that I somehow did this (by my own power or holiness—hah! [see Acts 3:12+16])
UPDATE: I prayed for the guy with the broken ankle yesterday. Today we had an all IT planning meeting (that's the department I work in), and the guy I prayed for was there, still using his scooter and wearing the boot. However, he was doing part of the presentation, and before he started he stood in front of everyone and said he could not stand before I had laid hands on him. And then he stood on just the leg with the boot and said, "And I certainly couldn't do this!" I
Apparently, he broke his ankle slipping on the ice in early December. They did surgery on December 12 and added some metalwork to hold the bones in place while they heal. He's supposed to get the boot of in late April or early May (today is January 6), and he isn't supposed to walk without crutches. He even took the boot off and walked around a little to show me how good it feels to him. He says his ankle feels great now, and he's excited to see what his next x-ray shows. I asked him to let me know what they say, no matter what that is. I think he said that was happening later this month.
UPDATE2: I talked with this guy yesterday (2/17/2020). He had an appointment with the doctor the day before, and they did an x-ray and told him he's about a month further along in the healing process than he should be. They gave him an ankle strap to replace the boot as he no longer needs that. He still uses the scooter if he has to go fa long way, but otherwise he's just walking. The physical therapist was also very surprised at how far along in the healing process he is.
I am grateful that he has experienced unexpectedly fast recovery. And it does seem as though that all happened when I "ministered healing" (I really don't have a good term for that that doesn't sound precocious). So I'm encouraged by this. Even so, I would have liked a full and immediate recovery. Art Thomas talks about Jesus getting what he's paid for, and I can't help but think that Jesus paid for it all. Some of my reasoning is no doubt selfish as well: how much more impressive and exciting is complete immediate healing! I guess this is what the Christian and Missionary Alliance mean when they say, "Healing is all about glorifying Jesus. It’s not about us—it’s all about Him!"
When I asked if anything had changed, he said there was very little pain now, so I asked if I could do it again. We did the same again (although with an apology from me because I could feel myself starting to try to effect something and then repeating the command reminding myself that Jesus heals and does it because he loves to do so). The guy said there was no pain now, and took his boot off so he could test his flexibility. He could point and flex his foot, which he could not do yesterday at physical therapy with the therapist pulling on a bandage looped under his foot. He also moved his foot a little side to side, although he didn't comment on that so I don't know if that's relevant.
A couple of times he mentioned his ankle feeling warm and tingly. I think he may have been healed, or at least mostly healed. If I get the chance, I'll check with him tomorrow to see if it's still improved. I want to be sure it's not some momentary, imagined improvement.
I had to leave because the two people he was having a meeting with had arrived. I wonder if I should have prayed again and asked him to try standing on it? I stopped before Jesus got everything he prayed for, and I think that was a wrong thing to do. Also, it would have been smart to have the first person who arrived for the meeting while we were doing this and the guy was taking his boot off to be the one who did it again, rather than me doing it. That way, there would be no confusion that I somehow did this (by my own power or holiness—hah! [see Acts 3:12+16])
UPDATE: I prayed for the guy with the broken ankle yesterday. Today we had an all IT planning meeting (that's the department I work in), and the guy I prayed for was there, still using his scooter and wearing the boot. However, he was doing part of the presentation, and before he started he stood in front of everyone and said he could not stand before I had laid hands on him. And then he stood on just the leg with the boot and said, "And I certainly couldn't do this!" I
Apparently, he broke his ankle slipping on the ice in early December. They did surgery on December 12 and added some metalwork to hold the bones in place while they heal. He's supposed to get the boot of in late April or early May (today is January 6), and he isn't supposed to walk without crutches. He even took the boot off and walked around a little to show me how good it feels to him. He says his ankle feels great now, and he's excited to see what his next x-ray shows. I asked him to let me know what they say, no matter what that is. I think he said that was happening later this month.
UPDATE2: I talked with this guy yesterday (2/17/2020). He had an appointment with the doctor the day before, and they did an x-ray and told him he's about a month further along in the healing process than he should be. They gave him an ankle strap to replace the boot as he no longer needs that. He still uses the scooter if he has to go fa long way, but otherwise he's just walking. The physical therapist was also very surprised at how far along in the healing process he is.
I am grateful that he has experienced unexpectedly fast recovery. And it does seem as though that all happened when I "ministered healing" (I really don't have a good term for that that doesn't sound precocious). So I'm encouraged by this. Even so, I would have liked a full and immediate recovery. Art Thomas talks about Jesus getting what he's paid for, and I can't help but think that Jesus paid for it all. Some of my reasoning is no doubt selfish as well: how much more impressive and exciting is complete immediate healing! I guess this is what the Christian and Missionary Alliance mean when they say, "Healing is all about glorifying Jesus. It’s not about us—it’s all about Him!"
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