Thoughts & opinion from the southampton vineyard team
halting the decline
by Matt Hyam on 29th April, 2009
So, last year, I went off to Florida for a week. Obviously I did my best to not enjoy it and, to be fair, I really did not enjoy any of the meetings. However, God did some stuff in me. I knew that I was different when I came back and we certainly began to see some “stuff” going down!
We saw some amazing changes in people and a good number of healings taking place. According to the database that I have kept since then, 40 healings involving people from our church either praying for people or being prayed for. Now, some of those have gone on to show no further problems, some of them are “partially” healed and some of them seem to have gone back to how they were. Still, its exciting.
The problem is that actually, at the end of September, we’d seen 35 healings and since then, only 5. Hmmm. So what’s that about then? Is God on holiday? Has the moment (Or to use Christian jargon- the “season”) passed?
Or maybe, just maybe, we’re not praying for people so much…
Or at all?
Its definately the same God. I checked in my Bible. He definately still heals. and He definately told us to do the same. I checked that too.
I have to confess, I have lost a lot of my enthusiasm (or expectation, or faith) for it. Last July, I felt quite afronted if someone was not healed, whereas now it takes something to muster the energy to even try.
In Lakeland, he told me to pray for 100 people to be healed. In my wildest dreams, I hoped to have seen ten of them healed. But I didn’t. I saw 27 of them healed.
Why did I stop? Why did we stop?
Good question.
Here’s a challenge. Make a commitment in your heart and before God to pray for the next ten sick people who you encounter. At home, at work, at play, on the streets. Then tell us the stories because that will surely build our faith/expectation/enthusiasm.
Go on. I dare you! I’ll do it too.
Ha. I’ve started. Got to pray for someone’s back yesterday and… they were not healed.
I had the opportunity to pray for the church’s favourite car mechanic yesterday – he had something in his eye… I chickened out, then read this… if only I’d read it first I might have had the guts.
Aha. I got to pray for my Dad’s ankle which he twisted and was in severe pain, with his leg propped up and pretty much immobile. After prayer, he could put his weight on it and within an hour or so barring some slight pain, he was back to normal! He spent the whole weekend flabbergasted about it!
Aha! I like it. I prayed for my garden designer who has a viral illness causing paralysis and lack of mobility. No news yet on her demise or otherwise.