Prayer's Potential

Y'all will not believe this! I experienced the miraculous and complete healing power of Jesus for the first time in my life yesterday! Now, let me backtrack a bit—I hurt my back last Friday. And let me tell you, this wasn't your run-of-the-mill stiffness after a sweaty day of manual labor. No, this was the kind of pain that made me feel like I'd been run over by a semi-truck! I could barely walk straight. My daughter even looked at me and asked, "Mama, why are you limping? You didn't hurt your leg; you hurt your back!"

To give you a little context, I had a similar episode approximately three years ago, and believe me, it was a week in the clutches of agony. I ended up in the ER. This time around, I thought, "Hey, I know the drill. They'll just tell me to rest and treat the symptoms." So, I figured I'd let my body mend itself—what could go wrong, right?

Fast forward to yesterday, and I found myself in a situation I had never experienced before! I had paraded myself around the house, trying to find some semblance of comfort, but the only position that didn't scream out in pain was lying flat on my back. I hate to admit it, but I basically became one with my bed for the better part of three days. It wasn't until Tuesday morning that I thought, "Enough of this! It's time to sit up and watch some Winter Ramp 2024 on YouTube." (Yes, I'm living my best life over here.)

By late yesterday afternoon, I was knee-deep into session 3 when I suddenly felt the Holy Spirit come right into my living room. Seriously, folks, it was a divine moment! During the praise and worship, a young man suddenly pops up on stage and says, "I feel the Holy Spirit calling out to someone with back pain, hip pain, neck pain, and possibly something going on with the right leg." I think he even threw in a random "you with the curly hair"—kidding, he didn't go that far, but you get the picture! He said he wanted to pray for those of us afflicted by pain.

Now, I'm sitting on my couch, wrestling with my thoughts. "I want healing," I tell myself, "but will anything actually happen?" So, in a moment of indecision, I hesitantly lift my left hand halfway—think elbow lift, not full-on jazz hands. Then, I hear the Holy Spirit clearly say, "Do you want this or not?" And let me tell you, that was a wake-up call. In that instant, I realized that if I truly believed in God's ability to heal me, I had to raise both hands up high and receive whatever heavenly goodness He was about to throw my way.

So, I lifted my arms fully and embraced the moment. The young man prayed, and just like that, we wrapped up with a resounding "Amen."

Now, I'd been lounging like a queen on my throne—aka my LazyBoy—while a cozy electric heating pad worked its magic on the low setting, directly targeting that pesky spot on my back that had been throwing a pain party for four days. But out of nowhere, the heating pad cranked up like it was trying to audition for a cooking show. For a brief moment, I wondered if it had gone rogue.

I jumped up and—wait for it—I realized I was pain-free! Standing there in my living room, I was in a mix of disbelief and pure joy, just short of doing a happy dance. I started bending at the waist like I was auditioning for a very enthusiastic version of Pilates, probably looking like the world's craziest contortionist. You see, for the last four days, bending had been a distant memory, and now? I was touching my toes like it was no big deal. I did it so often that my hamstrings filed a formal complaint.

It was just after 5 PM, but I was so beside myself that I called my mom in South Africa to share the news that Jesus had just pulled off a miraculous back-healing feat. Lucky for me, it was just after midnight, and she was still awake, fueled by the fireworks popping outside, making her far more forgiving of my call. Y'all, the Holy Spirit was so thick in the room that it felt like I was swimming in pure joy—I laughed, I cried, and I apologized for my chaotic message delivery, but honestly, holding it in was not an option.

Then, I called one of my dear friends here in the US, and as my blubbering self-mixed half-shouting and half-laughing, I declared that Jesus had just performed a miracle on my back! It was the kind of moment where you just have to share the good news, even if it means sounding like a giddy toddler at a candy store.

Here's the exciting part! Session 3 of Winter Ramp took place on December 30 at 2 PM, and I was tuning in on December 31 at 5 PM. Isn't it amazing? God is NOT limited! He transcends time and space, and I want to share something powerful with you: your prayers can reach into the future and touch someone's life! Our prayers hold incredible potential—the potential to eliminate pain and suffering, free those who are captive, and lay the groundwork for missionaries to walk out and share the gospel. Just think about it! Our prayers can genuinely change the lives of people we may never even meet, in places we might not ever visit.

There truly is power of life and death in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21, NIV). If we could only fully grasp this profound truth, we could harness that power through prayer, bringing glory to God and offering salvation and more to nations.

Prayer's potential is only limited when left unspoken.