The Agony of Defeat
One healing evangelist has a message entitled, "The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat" after the old "Wide World of Sports" program from the 1970's. He uses this to describe what having a ministry of healing is often like - we are thrilled when we see the breakthrough and the healing comes, but when the results are different, we must know how to not lose heart, but rather to dust ourselves off and get back on the horse.
Just the other night, a man who is more than 50% deaf in both ears came to my home to receive prayer from Christians. I had spoken to him about the deafness we had seen healed. One of the women on our ministry team saw 3 totally deaf people healed last year while in India ministering. This man is a Muslim and he came because I had told him about the Kingdom of God - a place where God's Will is done, where the sick are healed, the demonized set free, etc. He kept saying before he came, "could it really be true that I could be healed after all these years" (more than 35 years).
He came and we prayed. About 10 of us prayed for this precious Iraqi Muslim man for at least a half an hour. He was very appreciative and felt alot of peace, but in the end the ears remained unaffected.
To only share the victories, when we see healings and miracles, would not be honest. We must also share the defeats, when we don't get the intended results. The other night was a defeat. I remember this Muslim man saying, "maybe the devil is just too strong in this case". Wow, I was convicted that such a statement was uttered in my house, 'on my shift'.
I know that Jesus told John's disciples to tell John that "the deaf hear"(Matt. 11:5). We must stand on the Word of God and not our experience. We must preach the word and not our experience as has been said.
Just the other night, a man who is more than 50% deaf in both ears came to my home to receive prayer from Christians. I had spoken to him about the deafness we had seen healed. One of the women on our ministry team saw 3 totally deaf people healed last year while in India ministering. This man is a Muslim and he came because I had told him about the Kingdom of God - a place where God's Will is done, where the sick are healed, the demonized set free, etc. He kept saying before he came, "could it really be true that I could be healed after all these years" (more than 35 years).
He came and we prayed. About 10 of us prayed for this precious Iraqi Muslim man for at least a half an hour. He was very appreciative and felt alot of peace, but in the end the ears remained unaffected.
To only share the victories, when we see healings and miracles, would not be honest. We must also share the defeats, when we don't get the intended results. The other night was a defeat. I remember this Muslim man saying, "maybe the devil is just too strong in this case". Wow, I was convicted that such a statement was uttered in my house, 'on my shift'.
I know that Jesus told John's disciples to tell John that "the deaf hear"(Matt. 11:5). We must stand on the Word of God and not our experience. We must preach the word and not our experience as has been said.
Risking, stepping out on the edge, in order to participate in bringing the kingdom of God into men and women's lives brings a testing I didn't initially know would come. What a ride!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't know any other way to proceed except to keep my eyes on the prize (Jesus), and put one foot in front of the other and pray again.
So Lord, open the ears of this deaf man, open his "spirtual ears" that He might hear Your voice! Thy kingdom come Lord, to this man, for Your Glory! Amen.