It’s not about you!
A visiting speaker from Canada was in our country conducting a series of conferences up the east coast as part of a nation-wide healing ministry. He was in our city of Canberra for just one night. It was a Wednesday evening, and he had spoken to our Healing Rooms team prior to the public meeting. Several people were healed in our team meeting and it was shaping up to be a great evening.
He preached a great message and had a call for those needing healing at the end of the meeting and many came out for prayer. Our Healing Rooms team ministered alongside those who were travelling with the guest speaker and many were healed that night.
It was around 9:30pm and notwithstanding it was only Wednesday, I had had a heavy schedule over recent weeks and was very tired. As far as I could ascertain the meeting was over and the crowd was beginning to disperse and head for home.
Having prayed for many people, tired and with ‘nothing left in the tank’, I sat down in the front row waiting for my wife to come and we too would head for home.
A young man approached me and said, “do you know that Martyn guy?” Remember I said I was spent, (and did I mention I had nothing in the tank)? I thought to myself “I could still get away with this as I’m not wearing a nametag” (just being honest). I answered “Yes.”
His next question had me trapped. “Could you point him out to me please?” To which I replied, “that’s me.” “Can you come and pray for my friend he’s wrecked his back?”
I walked over to this young man who was around 17 leaning heavily on a walking stick clearly in a great deal of pain. I asked him what the problem with his back was. I can’t repeat his exact words but suffice it to say he had 2 herniated discs in his lower back from lifting railway sleepers in a part time landscaping job.
It was clear he had ‘attitude’. When I asked him if I could pray for him his answer was a terse “if you want to”. I then asked him if I could put my hand on his lower back to which the reply came with more attitude “do whatever”.
Picture the scene. Here’s the Healing Rooms Director, who is worn out, with nothing to give and now has a 17year old with attitude who perhaps doesn’t really want this guy to pray for him – not a faith filled atmosphere!
I placed my hand gently on his lower back and this is about all I had to give. “In Jesus Name I command all the pain to go.” I may have added another word or two but that essentially was my ‘faith filled’ prayer. With that he handed me the walking stick, bent down, touched his toes and took off for a lap around the church!
I asked the Lord while watching this young man circumnavigate the auditorium, “how did you do that?” (as I had virtually no faith, felt no anointing and had a guy with attitude) to which I heard the reply come clearly “it’s not about you it’s about Me.”
The moral of the (true) story is He can use anyone, anytime with only a mustard seed amount of faith to bring healing to the ill and injured for His glory.
The conclusion of this encounter is this young man re-dedicated His life to Jesus shortly after his healing and became an enthusiastic evangelist telling everyone he could about Jesus!
I’m reminded God used so many weak and ‘unwilling’ vessels throughout history to do His work Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah and Jonah just to name a few. “It’s not by might, not by power but by my Spirit says the Lord” Zech 4:6.