After prayer, unexpected visions and healings

I  have been involved for some time with healing through the graces of the Holy Spirit, both receiving healing and being part of the instrument for healing. I can remember the first time, some 30 years ago, when I was part of a prayer team meeting at Duns Scotus in Southfield Michigan under the guidance of Fr. Duane Stenzel OFM. 

The holy place known as Duns Scotus in the 1980's.  Southfield, Michigan.

       

One day a young man came in asking for prayer, but wouldn’t share anything specific. As we closed our eyes and prayed over him, I clearly saw a picture in my head of a boy sitting at a kitchen table and an older man standing over him and they were yelling at each other. 

As a “rookie” with Healing prayer, I wasn’t sure what to do, but shared aloud what I saw. The young man burst into tears and said that the man was his father and that they had been in their kitchen just this morning and had a nasty argument. From then, the leader of the prayer team gently proceeded to lead the prayer into the specific situation. The sense of peace that came over the young man and his gratitude as he left the session re-confirmed for me how much God loves us and wants us to know and experience His peace ... and that He will use all available instruments to do that.

I didn’t think anything was unusual about my experience as there seemed to be many “signs and wonders” going on with all the prayer groups and Healing sessions at Duns Scotus. It was a bit of a “spiritual oasis” during the 80’s. I know of others that had similar experiences to mine. It truly was a great feeling to know you are being used by the Holy Spirit in some way.

 

(Read the rest at Wtness.org)

Gerry

Troy, Michigan

Salesman

Too-accurate coincidence of timing prompts willingness to donate

A few years ago, Joe Van Hagen of Royal Oak, Michigan opened some mail from a charity that he and his wife were donating to at that time.  The letter mentioned that the charity was fundraising for some new buses, since the old ones were wearing out badly.  The letter said that if everyone who received this letter donated $100, they would be able to replace all their buses.  Joe didn’t have the money at that time, so he decided not to contribute.  The next letter he opened was a completely unexpected $1000 check from

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(Submitted by Joe Van Hagen)

Turned to just the right hymn

Not long after the posting of Oct. 23, in which I felt led to “Take [more] care of the needs of others”, I was attending church at St. Columban in Birmingham, Michigan.  Our church music director Bob asked us to turn to page 628 in our Gather hymnal.  I grabbed the book and opened to a random page, and was surprised to find that it was page 628.  When something that unlikely happens, especially in church, I tend to pay attention.  I feel that the Holy Spirit may be trying to get me to notice something. 

Micheal Joncas

The hymn was “No Greater Love” by Michael Joncas.  The lyrics start with these words:

There is no greater love says the Lord

Than to lay down your life for a friend

It seemed to me that it was a reinforcement of the message I reported here on Oct. 23:  Set my own needs aside, and look out for others more than I currently do.

(Read the rest of the story on Wtness.org)

“Take Care of the Needs of Others”

About a month ago, while praying on my couch at home, I heard I ‘voice’ (not audible, ‘heard’ in the back of my head) which I have come to recognize as the Lord’s voice say, “Think less about your own needs.  Think more about others’ needs.  You take care of their needs and I’ll take care of yours.”

Soft, confident, authoritative.  Not dictatorial.  Loving.  Friendly. Knowing. 

As usual, it said a lot in a little.  Here are all the things it said to me (in addition to the direct and obvious message):

•  It reinforced the idea that as a Christian, I must die to myself.  (John 12:24, Luke 9:23)
•  It reinforced the idea that the time I spent worrying can and should be replaced with action to meet the needs of others, and that it will render the worry useless.  (Luke 12:22, Matt 10:19)
•  It helped me to trust more in the Lord’s promise to...

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To read more stories like this, click the link "Sound of God's Voice" below this posting, in the Categories area.

Tell her "God hates mommies and daddies” (what?!)

Graham Cooke

[Graham Cooke] tells the story of being invited to a church in England. Following the Sunday morning service, the pastor invites him to his house for dinner. When he arrives at the house he is introduced to some of the church elders as well as to a young lady whom he is told is soon going to be sent out by the church as a missionary to China. Following the meal, the pastor then asks if he would pray for the lady. First, however, the young woman shared her vision for China and what she hoped to be doing. It was then time to pray. Immediately [Graham] bowed his head, and the Lord spoke a clear word into his spirit. "Tell her I hate mommies and daddies." This man has a good sense of humor and thought to himself, Sometimes I detest this gift. Why can't I be a teacher? The Lord, however, kept impressing this thought upon his mind, "Tell her I hate mommies and daddies."  

He then shared some valuable insight into the "prophetic" realm. He said, "the mind receives information , the spirit receives revelation, and the mind and the spirit don't always agree." The
Bible says, "the natural mind understands not the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness" (see 1 cor. 2:14). And his mind was saying, "this is foolishness. This doesn't make sense. Why should I tell her that You hate mommies and daddies, and I'm not going to embarrass myself by saying that You hate mommies and daddies. I can't."

(Read the rest at Wtness.org)

God helped without being asked. Gave caregiver energy to continue after the point of exhaustion.

She was stressed out from caregiving, but God helped

I once felt "led" to stop at a yard sale -- I walked around aimlessly but picked up two record albums and bought them for $1 each. One was a children’s record that was for physical education / dance instructors, the other was a Gaither Trio children’s record from 1980.

Later, I felt led to give them to a drama instructor at Lindenwood Christian Church who I didn't know very well. Feeling stupid I brought them to church not really knowing what to do, but had my opportunity, and oddly nervous I told him that I really didn't know why but I felt God wanted me to give him these two records.

He was really wowed and shocked and thought he was dreaming. They were HIS records that disappeared from a church office in 1989, and he was trying to get duplicates on eBay to no avail. He even showed me where he had attempted to write his name on one of them as a child. He had prayed that God would help him find these records on the internet.

Rarely are miracles this obvious. Just a chance meeting in the street or meeting the right person in an unlikely place, or an unlikely/impossible chain of events that others don't believe, are examples.

A Grace of God… is something that could not have happened without God's intervention.

(Read the rest at Wtness.org)

Harry Lindback's small miracle

Harry Lindback, a resident of Dearborn, Michigan, is a systems analyst at a large corporation in the Detroit area.  In March of 1991, the announcement came that his department would be divested within the next 12 months, and all the people would either go along to the new firm or lose their jobs.  Harry is over 50, and has a family to support, so he was especially concerned about being able to find other suitable employment outside the company.  So he focused his efforts on transferring within his company to another department.

Before he knew it, it was January, 1992, and ten days remained before the divestiture.  In the previous ten months, he had been unable to find an alternate position. His last hope was a position in the Electronics Division, so he called the manager there on a Tuesday and left this message: “Whatever you do, please don’t lead me on.  If you have a position for me, that’s wonderful.  If you don’t, please let me know.  I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

The next day, the manager returned Harry’s message, saying, “Harry, I’m terribly sorry.  We did have two positions, but we filled them both.  I’m so sorry we couldn’t help you out”, and continued apologizing for several minutes...

(Read the rest at Wtness.org)  

Why she obeys God immediately (most of the time)

(this blog has grown up and is now a full website.  Please go instead to www.wtness.org.)
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I was driving home that evening at 7pm, and I found myself pulling into the driveway of that neighborhood church.  I did not intend to pull in but rather I just found myself pulling in with a strong urgency. I even remember saying to myself, "Well, OK Lord….".  So I get out of my car and walk into the clothing bank area and there walking out in front of me was a young lady crying…..  I ask her what the matter was and she explained how this other woman (another beneficiary of the clothing giveaway) was continually grabbing the stuff she needed out of her hands and taking it.  (I did get a worker to speak to that rude woman.)  She continued to cry and say that she just got off a plane with her 2 children and had no car seat and she needed help – she was young, single, obviously looking for a new place to live and start over.  I immediately said, without even thinking, “Well, you can have mine”.  I went to my car and got it out then thought – "Now what am I gonna do? I don’t have one."  Literally within seconds my phone rang. I answered to someone saying "Hey – I have 2 car seats for you – I am on the way to drop them off, are you home?"



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Carol T. from Ford Motor Company

One reason she listens to God's voice daily

Carol T., the leader of my Ford Motor Company lunchtime Bible Study (not her real name; read the previous story to see why), told this story to me back on March 30, 2006, and at the time I wrote it down.  I hauled it out of my old notes today.  I am pleased to say that it makes plain Carol's steady progression in her walk with the Lord, because now in 2011, I see that she responds more quickly to His call.

A few years back, Carol was praying regularly and felt the need to tithe someplace.  She thought she heard she should tithe to her mother's church.  But she postponed taking any action for two weeks  (remember this number).

After those two weeks, she sent a check in the mail to the pastor as a love offering.  That very afternoon, her mom (who knew nothing about the mailed check or the delayed decision) called to say, "Carol, we need to pray.  There's a family in our church which has basically not been able to feed itself for two weeks."

Ahem.  Two weeks. 

What Carol told me she took away from this episode was that had she immediately taken action at the time God had prompted her, it may have been able to prevent that family from dealing with hunger the past two weeks.  She said this helped her believe that not only God's instructions, but his timing is important to act upon.

A simple life serving Jesus - is better than a miracle

Yesterday I went to the funeral visitation of Kay Houston, a woman who lived by all accounts with one primary objective:  To serve Jesus as best she could on her limited means.  The result was that she brought the love of Jesus to dozens of people, and now these people have a stronger faith of their own. 

Kay Houston



How?  At the visitation, the hundred or so people in the seats were asked to come to the microphone to talk about Kay.  One after another, they described how they were of the opinion that Kay was their best friend.  (!)  Kay did not have a lot of money.  She worked for the last 20 years of her working life as a librarian for the Detroit News.  What she gave was love, attention, care, and prayers. 

One woman that I know, Holly, said that over the course of several years, Kay was there for her though the ups and downs of life, and whenever there was a rough spot (the death of her brother-in-law, the loss of her husband's job, the death of her mother), Kay was right there to support Holly with love and prayers.  This might not seem like much when you read it.  But to Holly, it was evident it made all the difference.  Holly was crying as she told the story. 

Others said much the same.  When Kay saw someone, she'd remember whatever had been discussed in the last conversation, and asked how everybody was doing with true concern.  Kay did this even when she herself was hospitalized, and losing her eyesight.  It was the other person she asked about.  If there was a need, Kay would say, "OK, let's pray right now!"  Evidently, from the heartfelt tone of the many stories, Kay must have been a quality pray-er.

Michelle Yax, the Executive Director of Mother and Unborn Baby Care,  told a several part story about how Kay wanted only to be helpful and did not complain about her own ailments.  She volunteered when healthy. Then when her eyes started to go bad, she continued to come, and brought a large magnifying glass.  Then when her eyes got so bad she could no longer drive, she continued to come, depending on the senior citizen bus to take her. Then when her stamina started to go bad, she continued to come, and asked that a chair be placed at the stairway landing so that she could rest after taking the stairs, so that after the rest, she could continue her volunteer work.  It was really moving to hear her dedication to serve others as a way of serving Jesus.

You might say, "How does this story give evidence that Jesus is real?  Show us another miracle story instead!"

Miracles are one-time signals that God is able to suspend the natural laws He created.

Seeing dozens of hearts convinced that there is a powerful force in LOVE, through the actions of one simple woman who believes in Jesus so much that she dedicates her life to Him... is to me a larger miracle than a man surviving a plane crash (story below).

What God's voice sounds like (reported experience #5)

This story from Chris, who I know from church. 

I was working as Religious Education director for Shrine Parish which is literally six houses down the block from where I live.  Not a long walk and one that I took often.  This time, it was fall and I was, as usual, too busy with working full time, four little children and multiple ministries I was involved with.  This walk, I had my two year old toddler Elena, in tow.  I remember her darling little pink coat and bonnet and little white high top shoes.  Remember those? I was in a huge hurry but my toddler was not.  She was busy with the important things in life; looking at the brilliantly painted leaves along our path, stopping to have a little conversation with the ants industriously bustling somewhere, that sort of thing.  I remember becoming increasingly impatient with her meanderings and trying to hurry her along.  I was filled with anxiety.  as I was grabbing her little arm to get her to move faster, I heard a distinct CHRIS! loudly in my mind.  I was startled and literally stopped in my tracks.  I said out loud WHAT!?  Then a gentle nudge and the distinct words, "My daughter, life is not in the destinations, it is in the journey."  I was holding my breath as I looked around, not sure what to expect next.  At that moment, a deep sense of peace engulfed me and my perception shifted to my darling little girl and the awesome world she was seeing through her eyes.  Although my daughter is twenty-nine years old, I still revisit that moment to refocus when I am feeling stressed. Thank you God!

My commentary: Is God Real?  I take this as more evidence.

To read more stories like this, click the link for the label "Sound of God's Voice" below this posting or in the right-hand column.  You'll see all stories with that theme.

What makes a person tithe

This is not a chastisement to those who don't tithe.  I don't tithe.  It's not really even about tithing or money.  It's about how Jesus changes how we think, and rewards that.

A Deacon from a local church told this story about a man who had a family to feed and was on welfare who decided to tithe.  Yes, a man on welfare gave 10% of his meagre income to charity.

The Deacon at the time was without a paying job (Deacons have to hold down 9-to-5 jobs to make ends meet).  He was in a men's group meeting when the topic was tithing, and he was saying, rather, justifying that when you don't have much money to feed your own family, the priority has to be on feeding the family.  He was saying that he only gave $20 to charity in the entire prior year, and said it was the right approach. He was strongly stating that he didn't believe the church should require, for example, a man on welfare to have to tithe.

At that point one of the other men in the group offered out loud that he and his family are on welfare, and he was praying about the finances, and he was led to tithe.  His wife and he agreed to trust God beyond logic.  And he was happy to report that after they began tithing, they became very blessed by God.  Their mental burden reduced.  And in addition, the part time jobs he was able to pick up allowed him to feed his family adequately.

My commentary:  It seems that the welfare man and his wife were not making a decision they saw as primarily financial in nature.  It seemed to be primarily a faith decision; motivated by a desire to do what God wanted them to do, with the primary objective of pleasing God.  I'm sure that if their primary objective was to get something in return, the results (especially the part about the mental burden easing) would not have been the same.

Comments?  What are your thoughts?  Had something similar happen?

He didn't want to drive to the Prison

Today at Men’s Fellowship, Pierre F. told a story of how he only had an hour left before the prison ministry time would be over, and he was at home and got a nagging feeling that he should drive in to the prison to be there for the men.  He accepted the prompting by getting in the car and driving.  But the whole time he was kicking himself for being so inefficient with his time, and convincing himself that his urge to go to the prison would be better served if he could go on a day when he could spend the full time period there.  But he couldn’t talk himself out of driving and he arrived.  When he got there, one of the inmates said, “Boy, I’m glad you showed up today.  I’ve been waiting a week to talk to a Chaplain”.

Pierre’s point was that the Holy Spirit really does prompt us when there is a need, and that if we respond, we can be an instrument in accomplishing His work.