Day 2

November 3, 2014

It's a honour and a privilege to pray for others.  To be called to hold the heart of another person and to bring their petitions and their joys, their hurts and their struggles before God is a profoundly vulnerable experience.  It is no wonder that people shy away from doing it.  The thought of saying the wrong thing or looking foolish is high on the list of excuses for not stepping into this sacred space but if you can get past the fear, I promise it will wreck you in the most incredible way.  The greatest piece of this honour is the revelation of knowing that as much as I stand with another in their time of need, I simultaneously stand with God and am a vessel who he chooses to use to provide comfort to others and to work miracles through.

We've only been here two days but yet it feels like we've been here two months.  Today we only had two places to go to but there was much to be done in those places and our day was completely loaded.

Our first stop was La Mascota Children's hospital - the cancer ward.  This can be a challenging place to go to as it is difficult to see listless children courageously battling for their lives and to see the hearts of their parents as they patiently wait with them.  We came with bibles for the parents, gift bags for the young children, and stuffed toys and blankets for the babies.....and we came ready. We came ready to hold the hearts of the people there and to petition before God and to work in partnership with him...and we came ready for miracles.

The first section of the hospital we visited we paired up and with gifts in hand, and followed our hearts to the rooms we needed to go to.  I, as well as most of us, do not speak Spanish so there is always an awkward introductory moment when I would stand with a big smile and say 'mi nombre est....' - all the while hoping  I'm saying 'my name is' and not 'my number is...' while eagerly awaiting our interpreter.  I made the universal sign for praying - putting my hands together and pointing them up to God, then would point at them, then make the 'ok' sign with my fingers as a way of trying to get permission.  Awkward - but effective.  I have not been refused yet.  Although struggling with the language barrier, I  tried to hear what God was saying and how I should pray.  It was difficult to press in as we didn't have a lot of time but wanted to pray for everyone and wanted to avoid 'drive by' prayer.  My partner Alanna and I stepped in and laid hands on each child and prayed for healing.  We embraced the moms and prayed blessings of strength and healing for their mother hearts and spoke words of encouragement to them.  At times I felt rushed, stammered on my words but prayed from my heart.  They seemed to be encouraged by our visit but part of me wanted something more for them and I felt I had fallen a bit short on the delivery.  Even though I know it has nothing to do with me, I still felt like somehow I had failed.  We also had little time with these dear people before we had to move on to the next room.  I felt overwhelmed by the amount of need versus the amount of people there who could minister to the people and do it respectfully by actually spending some time getting to know them, their stories, their hearts.  But alas we pressed on.

The next room we came to was a much smaller room with four babies and their parents.  My heart was heavy but I was drawn to the man before me who sat in a chair with his arm resting on his son in a crib beside him. His eyes were red, and his heart was notably and understandably burdened.  I couldn't stop looking at him.  It was then that I heard God say to me "he does not know me".  I wasn't sure if I heard that correctly or if that was just me because I had a bit of a panic thinking 'And?'  meaning -" what do I do with that or what do you want me to do with that and what makes you think I know what to say or do about that Lord?????"  I stood in that place of fear but thankfully for only a brief moment because my desire to be used by God overrode my fear and ego about myself and my shortcomings so I decided to surrender to the geyser rising up in me and let Jesus take the wheel, so to speak.

I beckoned our interpreter over to translate for me and then squatted down and looked the man's eyes and smiled at him.  I told him I was there to pray for him and his son and sheepishly asked him if he knew Jesus.  He shook his head 'no' which brought confirmation to what I had heard an although comforted by confirmation, I still felt ill equipped.  I looked at him then found myself sharing the gospel to him.  A boldness rose up in me and a joy came upon me as I told him that today was the day of his salvation and of his new beginning with Christ and that the Lord wanted to be in relationship with him - today!  I shared with him what Jesus did for him, for all of us and how the Holy Spirit wanted to live in him and live through him and that by having faith in Jesus - the power of the living God that raised Jesus from the dead would live in him and that with God's grace and power, the man could lay hands on his son and pray for healing in Jesus' name.  Then I looked at the other three parents who I realized were also listening and said -" if any of you don't know Jesus - today is going to be the best day of your life".  I shared with them how God loves them and their children and that he would provide for them and that they could trust him; that he is good - very good and that and that all God wanted was for them to come to him...and believe.  I told them I was no different from them and that I didn't have special powers but that it was only my faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit IN me and that this is the gift for all who believe.  All the things God promises in his Word are there for them to receive, grace and life and hope abundantly ...  I found myself taking them through a prayer of faith acknowledging the gift that was freely given to them - a new beginning in Christ and reiterated that as of that moment - by the grace of God, they were now new creations in Christ - the old was now gone - and the new was here... and I don't really remember much after that because I had pretty much got swept up. Basically I had a mini church service for the parents and made them lay hands on their own children and showed them how to pray with the authority that they now had in Christ for healing for their children and that the love they had for their children was how God felt about them, and more. I felt God's heart for these people, although I'm sure it was only a fraction of it as I imagine I would burn up completely had I been able to feel his full love for them. The experience left me in complete awe and humbled me as I also felt his love for me - the stammering broken vessel.

Our afternoon was equally moving with a church service where the children stood together and prayed for members of their congregation. Elaine did a wonderful job preaching and shared a good word with the congregation and Kim shared testimonies and demonstrated how to pray for healing.  A girl with a twisted foot was healed and a woman who was experiencing headaches and pain was prayed for by the children of the church and was also healed.  As well, a girl with a fever was also prayed for by the children and her fever left. God is amazing...He loves us, oh how he loves us...

Although I have faith for healing, I do not have satisfaction alone in being the one who prays. Many times I feel like I stammer and stutter and blank out on words but I will do that for you and do it confidently because I know that I am not the one who heals - I am merely a conduit for the one that does.  If you want prayer for healing, I will absolutely pray for you but truly my heart is that you capture the revelation of the Love of God in your life for personal healing and for his desire and purpose to use you to hold and heal the hearts of others if you too be willing. It is a complete honour and it is why I do this and the Lord also reminds me that this is now who I am. Why else do I do this?  Because I have been justified freely by his grace... and the truth is - so have you...

Romans 3:22

 This righteousness is given through faith in^[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

May you truly receive the revelation of God's deep and profound love for you.

Bless you richly,

 

Haidee