We have another great submission from one of our course participants. Laizu helped me lead a Listening to God cohort in July and August. During the session on inner healing, we talked about the importance of forgiveness. The following week, Laizu shared the story below. She kindly gave me permission to use it here. Laizu says…

For a long time I tried to forgive someone. During my times of prayer, I spoke his name and forgave him. But when I remembered the way he betrayed me, the hurt and pain returned. I understood that I had not really forgiven him.

Then I would try again. I spoke his name out loud and mentioned the specific sins he committed. I dismissed the “debt” he owed to me. I wrote his name on a paper and then burned it as a sign that I was no longer holding his sin against me. I prayed about this issue many times. But still, the matter would not leave my mind.

Then one day I was reading a book where a pastor shared how a dishonest person spread lies about him. The pastor wanted to prove this person’s dishonesty, but as he prayed about it, the Lord didn’t give him permission to do so. The pastor writes:

Some time passed. One day before I got to my office, I was praying outside the church. Then that dishonest person arrived in his car. God told me to humble myself and go to him. I immediately protested, “No, Lord. He should come to me because he is the one who created the problem.” I continued to pray, but the Lord insisted that I go quickly and humble myself.

I went and sincerely sought his forgiveness. I said, “I am sorry for criticizing and judging you.”

Immediately he softened and we talked for a whole hour. From that day forward, even though other pastors in the church still had problems with that man, his attacks on me ceased.

From a translation of The Bait of Satan by John Bevere

Laizu continues…

In that section of the book, one line was important for me: “God told me to humble myself.”

I prayed and received the impression that I should speak to the man who betrayed me. I phoned him and said, “The things you have done are your business. I will not judge you. I forgive you.”

Prior to talking to him, whenever he came to mind, I would get upset. If I knew he was going to be present somewhere, I wouldn’t go to that place. But all this changed after I forgave him over the phone.

A few days later, I had the opportunity to help someone else take a step of forgiveness.

A woman from a different language group works as a helper in my elder son’s home.

She felt an attack of dizziness coming on. I wanted to pray for her, but she explained that she has had dizzy spells before. When the dizziness comes she has to stay in the hospital for 10-12 days, and then after being released, she still needs help to get up and walk to the bathroom for a couple of weeks more. All told, it takes a month to recover. She expected the same thing to happen this time.

I wanted to know the reason for the dizzy spells. She told me many events from her life. She is now separated from her husband who was a very violent man. I understood that her husband had hit her many times and that she had not forgiven him.

I explained forgiveness to her but since my language is not her mother-tongue, she didn’t understand what I was saying. Then I used an example. I said, “Suppose you owe money to someone. The money lender comes and demands his money. When you tell him that you can’t pay, he erases your debt. That is forgiveness.”

Then I told her to pray in her own language. I told her to tell God what your husband did, how bad you feel, and that now you have forgiven him. After she prayed, I put my hand on her and prayed for her and she was healed.

I praise God that he helped this woman to forgive and to be healed.

Thank you Laizu for this story! I don’t believe we always need to extend forgiveness in person to the offender. Yet, doing so at the Lord’s leading has a powerful effect in breaking the chains of anger and bitterness.

Laizu demonstrated responsiveness to the Lord’s promptings and the power of healing prayer.

Headache photo by David Garrison

Church parking lot photo by Rich Howard

Agents of Healing, was released last week. Rather than tell you all about it, let me just share a story from chapter 2 and then state my conviction.

The Fever’s Gone!

One day as I left our apartment to get something from a nearby shop, Jewel, one of the guards, greeted me in the deep voice of one whose cold had descended into his chest. I wondered if I should offer to pray for him. Not feeling confident, I kept walking. On the way to the shop, I set three conditions before the Lord. Lord, if he is still present when I get back, if he is alone, and if he is willing to come up to our apartment, then I will pray for him.

I returned from the shop a few minutes later. Jewel was still on duty, and no one was talking to him. I asked if he would like me to pray for him. He agreed. I asked if he would come up to my apartment. He agreed. He called another guard to watch the gate while he came upstairs with me.

After seating him on our couch, I explained to Jewel, a follower of a different religion, that I wanted to pray for him in Jesus’ name. Again, he agreed. I cupped my hands together and lifted them to chest height as members of his religion do when they pray. I rebuked the sickness in Jesus’ name and prayed for Jewel’s healing. Then the prayer was over, and he got up and left. I thought, Well, Lord, I am pretty sure I did what you wanted me to do. The results are in your hands. Not five minutes later, the intercom rang. I picked it up and Jewel exclaimed, “Sir, sir, the fever is gone!”

My Conviction

I firmly believe that we can all learn to effectively pray for healing in Jesus’ name. The key word here is learn. Praying for healing, just like almost everything else requires learning. Agents of Healing is where I have put down my learning in written form.

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