I just love those times in church or at a conference where the worship is amazing, words of knowledge are flowing and people are being instantaneously healed. Cancers leaving, backs restored that were damaged in motor accidents, skin problems etc. etc. I have lost count of the wonderful testimonies that I have heard over the years that have encouraged and stirred faith to believe God for the same.
I rarely hear testimonies now yet I know that God is still in the healing and deliverance business. Maybe it’s because we don’t give space for them, or that people are too shy, or that they compare what God has done for them against another and then downplay their breakthrough. Testimonies are as powerful today as when first spoken!
A testimony is a spoken or written account of what God has done in our lives. Testimonies prophesy what God is willing to do for you. Testimonies are important because they reveal His nature and His heart. They reveal His values, His interactions with people, His history with mankind, and every time someone shares their testimony an opportunity is created for that story to be duplicated.
Part of the root word testimony means a commitment to do the same thing again. Someone’s testimony of a miraculous healing or financial provision or a person receiving Jesus releases into the atmosphere a seed that can be multiplied over and over again. Testimonies remind people of the nature and goodness of God and his readiness to do it again in the lives of those that simply believe and receive.
Listen to testimonies, share them, share your own testimony and you will change the atmosphere around you to one of hope. Biblical hope is an earnest expectation of something good going to happen!
“For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [His life and teaching are the heart of prophecy].” Rev 19:10
Some thirty plus years ago a person was sharing their testimony of how they had heard another’s testimony about trusting God with the care of their teeth. This person was sharing their story in hope that it would give someone else hope that God would do the same for them. As a result of that testimony, he ‘gave’ his teeth to the Lord to keep healthy and twenty plus years later his teeth were still in good condition with no dental work necessary. From within me came, ‘I’ll have that!’ It was like I jumped up and grabbed it, it was surreal! However, I still have all my own teeth and no dental work! Maybe I should have asked Him to also keep them white!
I have known many people who have maintained their miracle, their healing, their breakthrough and I know of others that for whatever reason lost their healing and are worse now. Often God gets the blame, and His goodness is doubted! Very few times have I heard anyone say, ‘That devil is trying to steal my blessing, my healing.’ A thief when caught must pay back seven-fold. The devil is a thief and a liar, he’s called the father of lies.
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]”. John 10:10 AMP
Not every single problem we have comes from the devil – let’s not give him too much credit. Some things are just life happening. Bad choices have consequences. Smoking, over-eating, drinking and drugs can all destroy our health. But it is important for us to remember that the devil is out to destroy.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
I have received physical healings from having others physically pray for me. I’ve received healing from a word of knowledge - Holy Spirit just touching my body as I heard the word of knowledge, no one praying for me. I have received healing by faith as I obeyed what Holy Spirit was telling me what to do. One time I was at Toronto during that move of God and Randy Clarke called all the ministers out; there must have been more than 500 out for prayer, men and women, with no catchers. Well, we all went down under the power of God and the next thing I knew was a very heavy man landed across my legs and I thought that he had broken them. The pain was unbelievable! They weren’t broken but I had a dent in my leg that two days later started to go black. Some of you might be thinking that if you go down in the spirit then you shouldn’t get hurt; well you shouldn’t, but if there are no trained catchers or people are falling on top of one another then someone can and does get hurt.
I had prayer while I was there and our team prayed for me but nothing changed. We flew home a few days later. I went to the doctors and was given antibiotics and other stuff, but it was getting worse. One of the team asked if she could pray and spit on my leg. I was up for anything by this time. She started to pray and as her spit hit my leg, she smacked her hand down hard on the spot that was black and said, ‘Be healed in Jesus’s name.’ Pain surged through my leg; I could have killed her! But by the time she had finished praying for my leg, the dent and the blackness had all gone. I was healed! I have never had problems with that leg since then. The lady who smacked my leg asked Holy Spirit how and what to pray. She stepped out in faith, took a risk and obeyed, doing what she believed Holy Spirit was telling her what to do.
There have been other times when I have been healed, and some time later all the symptoms return. It’s a sucker punch from the enemy.
How do we deal with a sucker punch?
An unexpected attack that we didn’t see coming.
One minute healing takes place and the next the symptoms are back.
I am specifically looking at physical healing, but you can get sucker punched in lots of ways; unexpected bills, a death, a relationship breakdown… the list is endless and all unexpected.
You might call it having the rug pulled from underneath your feet - you get badly winded and struggle to get back up!
I have lost count of the times unexpected situations have happened in my life, some of which could have destroyed me!
While we are all susceptible to the sucker punch, what can we do to avoid being an easy target? And if we are attacked, how do we deal with it, feel the real and intense pain associated with it, but not lose spiritual consciousness?
You maintain your healing that you get from the gifts of the Spirit by the Word of God.
When the enemy comes back to steal your healing, being full of the Word is our greatest weapon.
Jesus used the Word himself when in the wilderness; every time the devil tempted him, Jesus would say, ‘It is written…’ and the devil would have to leave.
More battles are lost in counter attacks! Satan is already defeated. But he runs a guerilla campaign, he probes our defences.
Some of the best sucker punch stories are those where the intended victim turns the situation around and gives the would-be attacker a bloody nose! We are not defenceless! But if we do not spend time with God and in His Word, we will not know what our defences are. Read your Bible and memorise scriptures that help you maintain health. Find ones that encourage you during those hard days at work. Our weapons are useless if we don’t learn to use them or take them into battle.
"The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses". 2 Cor 10:4
What scripture are you standing on?
What scripture has Holy Spirit revealed to you?
The power of agreement is powerful; if you have no one to agree with you in prayer, you can always come in the power of agreement with Holy Spirit.
“Again, I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” Matt 18:19AMP
‘What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?’ Rom 8:31
The Bible tells us to speak to our mountains:
"Jesus was matter of fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or hemming and hawing—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.” Mark 11:23 MSG
Will you speak faith or fear to the symptoms of sickness in your body?
What is second nature to you? What comes out of your mouth when you become ill? What is second nature to you! That’s why it’s important to build some spiritual muscle by declaring truth using God’s Word, putting it into your heart so that it will come out of your mouth as and when needed.
‘So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.’ James 4:7 AMP
What are you submitting to - the doctors report, the symptoms, the enemies lies? If you submit to the doctor’s report or the symptoms then you can’t resist the devil, because by submitting to those things you are in effect coming into agreement with them.
If you submit to God, then you are submitting to a greater, a higher, a final authority that says, “……………His wounds became your healing. ………..” 1 Peter 2:24 MSG
Sometimes we just need to laugh at our symptoms!
“But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them”. Psalm 2:4 NLT
“Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting;Then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them.”Psalm 126:2 AMP
All medicines take time to work; the Word of God has to be first planted in your heart, faith has to come, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God! Just like fear comes by the word of the negative report from the doctor, by the symptoms you experience, by the words that come out of your mouth. The enemy is after the seed, the Word that is planted in your heart to give you the manifestation of healing.
While that may be his desire, it is not our destiny. Our destiny is victory. But to walk in our destiny it will take us being intentional. We will not accidentally be an overcomer or follower of Christ. We must do it on purpose. Make your choice today! Choose to walk with purpose, trained in the weapons that Jesus provides us. When you do this, you’ll find you’re not living on the defensive, you're actually living on the offensive. You’re a conqueror!
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37
If you’ve been hit with a sucker punch, you could choose to focus on the pain. You could choose to dwell on how unfair your sucker punch was in your life. You could choose to allow your heart to become bitter towards God and others who seem to sail through life without many trials. You could choose…
Faith doesn't deny a problem's existence. It denies it a place of influence.
Bill Johnson
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