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(John 20:21) Jesus speaking: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
This series is about how GOD is believed to communicate with us all. This next part is through (16) TESTIMONY (witness)—Honest (vulnerable) testimonies always invite — not coerce! GOD uses these Spirit-empowered testimonies to encourage believers and multiply faith as people encounter both the story AND the living GOD behind it.
TESTIMONY - continued "... What followed was mortifying and absurd. On the microphone, the speaker asked if I would give my life to the Lord Jesus. I kept saying I didn’t know what that meant. The audience kept laughing; I felt exposed. Finally, I blurted out in frustration, “Whatever you want—just get it over with.” He prayed, and the room said Amen. I turned to leave. Then he surprised me again. He leaned forward, hand on my shoulder, and announced into the microphone that GOD had told him that He wanted to heal me. I protested—and tried to muffle the microphone with my hand—there was nothing wrong with me. He insisted, “GOD doesn’t lie.” I insisted back. He insisted more. Eventually, in exasperation, I admitted, “Okay. I have bronchial asthma.” He smiled and said calmly, “GOD doesn’t want you to have bronchial asthma. Can I pray for you?” I muttered some assent—anything to stop the embarrassment and get it over with.
I don’t remember the prayer, and I didn't 'feel' anything. I only remember bursting out of that hotel afterwards as if the hounds of hell were chasing me!
I went to the car park and sat trembling, like a child. I fished out a cigarette, then, with hands that wouldn’t steady, reached for my bronchial inhaler. I raised it to my mouth and stopped. The memory of the vision—of the dead child brought back to life—came back so sharp. So I looked up to Heaven and said, “OK, big guy. Let’s see if you really have healed me.” I closed the case, started the engine, and drove home as if the road might betray me. What a crazy day, I thought, and it wasn’t even noon!
My mother owned a Newsagent's. She was arranging papers and gossiping with the customers when I arrived. “Where did you run off to this morning?” she asked casually. I couldn’t tell her. I mumbled something vague, pretending errands called me back to my apartment.
By four in the afternoon, my routine had become ritual: the inhaler every eight hours like clockwork. If I missed it, my lungs would tighten, and my lungs would squeeze as if I were drowning. Now I felt nothing. I checked the clock again, drew in a long, deep breath—there was no rasping, no clawing for air. Silence where panic normally lived. I was afraid: was this real?
My mother had hung a crucifix over the bed when I moved into the apartment above her shop; I had once laughed at it. That night, in a mixture of bravado and fear, I spoke to GOD: “I’m not taking my medicine tonight. If I die, it’s your fault.” In the grey of morning, I woke with that sentence burning in my mouth and couldn’t tell whether I had been bold or blasphemous.
Later, I shuffled downstairs for coffee, still half in a dream. My mother looked at me—more than looked; she saw me. “Figlio mio, what has happened to you?” she asked. I lied, feeling uncomfortable and getting up to leave, “Nothing, Mamma.” She didn’t believe me. As I was leaving the room, I heard that soft, patient voice that had worn down many of my defences over the years, “Yes, there has, and I can wait because you will tell me…” (to be continued - Warren)
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Let’s pray, “Heavenly Father, you sent my Lord Jesus, send me now. Fill me with your Spirit and your courage. Let my words and deeds carry your love and truth to others. Use me to bring healing where there is hurt, hope where there is despair, and light where there is darkness. Teach me to listen, to serve, and to witness with humility. Keep me faithful to your calling and faithful to those you place before me. In your Name I go.” Amen!
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URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS (Please keep checking as more are being added almost daily)