30-Mar-2011 (Wed) - More Torn Tendons and an Update

My wife's (TammyM) brother (Mike) tore a tendon in his foot playing basketball the other day. He said it felt like someone drove a nail into his heel. It made a grotesque popping noise when it happened. He went to the doctor and the doc told him it was partially torn, but if he would immobilize it, it would probably heal. So, he gave Mike a special boot to wear. Mike wore it one time. He said it did a great job, but he just didn't want to wear it. My wife and I went over to Mike's property and was helping them move a few things. After we were done he complained his heel was about a pain level 8 (1-10)! So I said, "Can I pray for it? Sometimes I can get the pain to go away." He recalled, "You did that to me once before when I hurt my foot about a year ago at a family picnic. So, sure, go ahead." I laid hands on his foot about 3 times and nothing much seemed to be happening. So, I tried what I like to call the Curry-Blake technique... LOL. I told him I was going to lay hands on it, tell the pain to leave in Jesus' Name and then I wanted him to immediately put pressure on his heel. So I did, and he did. He said, "I'm not kidding you, that worked." He stood up and walked around and said, "It doesn't hurt anything like it did." Yay!

Curry Blake describes this as allowing the River of Life to flow out of you and removing your hand before it "flows or bounces back." A strange description and odd idea, yes, but sometimes it seems like the right thing to do. I've tried this several times and so far it has worked. Jesus really does describe the divine life flowing out of believers as a flow of a river:

John 7:37-39 - On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Also as a note regarding the nurse (Vern) I prayed for here: He grabbed me at the nursing home the other day and said, "Guess what happened!" I said, "You can hear?" He said, "Yes! 100%. I woke up to the sound of the clock... not the alarm, but the ticking! I turned my head and I discovered I could hear out of my right ear."

Thank You Jesus for continuing working even after we leave the person we pray for!

John G. Lake on Resolve

"Last evening in the healing rooms, just at six o'clock, I was visited by a woman who I met four or five months ago in the Deaconess Hospital. The dear lady had been given up to die. She had been examined by X-ray, and a large cancer in the stomach was discovered. They told her there was nothing to be done for her. So the dear husband sent for me to speak a kindly word to his supposedly dying wife. I did not understand what I had been sent for and when I got to the dear soul I supposed I had been called to pray the prayer of faith for healing.

"I said, 'Dear Mother, you do not have to die.'

"'But', she said, 'the doctor says so. The X-ray shows such a sized cancer. I guess, brother, I will have to die.'

"And I said, 'It is a lie. You do not have to die.' For two or three months we battled against that condition in the woman's soul. The Spirit of God would come upon her every time we prayed. Her pains would disappear, she would go to sleep, etc., but she was not really healed. That went on week after week and month after month until I was almost worn out before her soul raised to take victory. But last night she walked into the healing rooms. She told me that she weighed only seventy-five pounds when I met her and that now she weighs one hundred twenty pounds. She went to the hospital this week and had the same physician X-ray her. When they saw the picture they said. 'There must be some mistake.' And they got the original and examined it. They could not understand it.

"She said, 'Doctor, I found a new Physician, the Great Physician, the Christ of God, and I do not care about your plates. I know the cancer is gone.' But the plates showed it was gone. The woman has gone back home a happy woman. But, beloved, the victory only came when the consciousness of the power of the living Christ took possession of that woman's heart. Blessed be God.

"Not a dead Jesus, but a living Christ!"

MY COMMENT: Where are the MEN/WOMEN of God with that kind of resolve? I have decided where ONE of them lives.

09-Mar-2011 (Wed): Carpal Tunnel Pain, Torn Tendon & Popped Eardrum

A couple of weeks ago at lunchtime I was visiting my father-in-law (Bob) in the nursing home [NHC]. I went to the nurse's station to get him a Tums. He commonly wants one after lunch. I had brought him some spicy chicken he loves and so he figured he get one before experiencing any heartburn. One of the nurses that commonly takes care of Bob was there (his name is Vern) and I noticed as he was getting Bob's Tums, he had a wrap around his wrist. So I asked him what happened. He began to tell me he picked up something and heard a snap and pain shot up his arm from his wrist. He went to the doctor and the doctor told him he tore a tendon in his wrist and it would probably have to be fixed surgically. Turns out, years ago he had popped a tendon in his arm completely in two! He had surgery on that one and healed very quickly, which he attributed to God and prayer. So, I asked if I could pray for his wrist. He said that would be great but not to expect too much because he believed God did this to him to teach him some humility or something. Of course, he doesn't know it, but that is not true at all. Jesus' example of Father never showed that Father ever did anything like this to anybody. Jesus only removed pain and suffering... He never caused it. It is the nature of the thief to kill, steal and destroy. It is the nature of God to give abundant life (John 10:10).

But I left the theology lesson for later. I simply told him I believed Jesus wanted him out of pain and healed now... right now. He was very skeptical and corrected my theology saying, "God might heal it, but it will certainly be in His time, not ours." Again, I let that fall to the ground as I put my hand on his wrist and commanded the tear to be healed and tendon reconnected. Then I took my hand off and said, "It should be getting warm and tingly in there right now. And the pain should be lessening." His eyebrows went up and his face turned red. He said, "Son of a gun! You're not kidding. It really is getting hot in there. And just the right spot too, right where the doc said it tore." I asked about his pain and he said it didn't hurt much at all any more. He said, "Wow. I can certainly live with that." He then told me it would not be healed all the way until he learned whatever God was teaching him. I simply said, "He seemed to be healing you now." He had to agree.

A few days later, I came into work, and a coworker of mine (Mike) said he was experiencing some stronger-than-usual pain in his wrists from what he believed to be carpal tunnel [see pic of Mike & his wife Linda in pic right]. He's a strong believer and had been commanding the pain to leave him for a few days. He could press the center of his palms and pain would shoot up his arms. So he asked me to lay hands on him. I did and commanded the pain and tingling to leave in Jesus' Name. Nothing happened for a few minutes, but I just held his hands in mine for a while and spoke to the pain a few more times. In a few more minutes he said the tingling had disappeared and the pain had greatly diminished. He could now press very hard on his palms and was not feeling that sharp pain like he was. Amen! Since I work with him I will check on him from time to time to see how this is progressing. Of course, we want 100%. Mike, if you are reading this, please feel free to comment and let us know how it's going.

Meanwhile, back at the nursing home... Yesterday (Tue, 08-Mar-2011) I was visiting Bob again. I took him a Pal's hotdog (which he loves). After my visit I was walking to the door and I saw that same nurse (Vern) walking up the hall toward me. He still had the wrap on his wrist. I waved, but he motioned to me and said, "Follow me." So I did. He led me to an empty room (the tenants were out and about for the day or at lunch). He said, "I brought you in here to ask you something. But before that..." ... he motioned toward his arm... '...this thing is getting better and better. It is healing and no longer hurts after you prayed a while back. So, thanks!" Then he told me he had been sick for a few days and had thrown up so hard he popped his right eardrum. He went to the doctor and the doctor said it was a really bad tear and it may never heal over, or even if it did he would probably suffer severe hearing loss. I don't recall if he said "down to only 20%" or "loss of 20%"... but either way, he asked me to pray for him.

His current symptom-set was dizziness, pain, and complete silence in that ear. He said he couldn't even hear himself in his own head. The words he used were, "stone deaf." I told him about Chelsi's ear being healed (see here) because I believe a testimony in-and-of itself has the power to promote faith in the hearer, "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10). I then laid my finger on his ear and commanded it to be mended and healed and that Jesus bore all of Vern's pain. I left it on there for several minutes, meditating on Jesus and letting the Life of God flow into him. Now, understand, I never feel anything at all, I just believe God's Life is flowing. Vern was silent with his eyes closed.

Finally I asked, "What's going on?" He suddenly said, "Oh wow, I hear a gurgling in my ear. That's different for sure!" Then a few moments later he said, "I'm feeling pressure changes in my ear. You know, like when you drive down a mountain too fast." Then he looked up, moved his head around and said, "Wow, I'm not kidding you brother, my dizziness is completely gone." He said beforehand he felt like he was "listing to the right" as he walked. He tried to get the cotton out of his ear, but it was too far down in there to get with his fingers. He was amazed. The pain was also gone. He told me thanks, and thanked Father. He said, "I'll get this cotton out later and see what's going on. I just believe it will continue to mend." I offered to pray for him again if he wanted, any time.

UPDATE (30-Mar-2011): Vern grabbed me at the nursing home the other day and said, "Guess what happened!" I said, "You can hear?" He said, "Yes! 100%. I woke up to the sound of the clock... not the alarm, but the ticking! I turned my head and I discovered I could hear out of my right ear." Thank You Jesus for continuing working even after we leave the person we pray for!

Isn't Jesus amazing?!

19-Feb-2011 (Sat) - Backs, Foot, Ear & Fever

Thursday, 17-Feb-2011 I visited GA on business again. Afterward, however, I met a friend (Bob) and his wife (Jo Ann) at an Applebees [see their pic right]. Bob had asked me to pray for his wife who was having some chronic pain in her neck from a bruise on her spine. It was a bright, sunny and warm day. Since we'd all already eaten, we decided to just chat and pray in the parking lot. It was so good to see Bob again. We hadn't seen each other since we worked together about 15 years ago in Erwin, TN for a company called NRF. He was a supervisor there and I was the electrical/electronics maintenance tech. Now he is the president of a company and I'm, well, still an electronics tech, just not for NRF. :)

Bob's wife is very sweet! They are perfect for each other. We all got acquainted again and began chatting about Jesus. I asked Jo Ann about her pain and she explained it flares up and is very painful and even causes numbing down her right arm. She was on meds for the pain and numbness and so she was not feeling bad when we spoke. I offered to pray for her and told her I was just going to put my hands on her back. She had a dark blouse on and the sun was shining so it was hard for me to tell if she was getting warm in the right spot, but it seemed to me that she was. The only thing she could tell afterwards was her neck was a little less stiff than it usually is and she thought she could feel warmth inside. I've checked back with her since this happened and Bob says she feels she's about 40% better. Time will tell on this one as I couldn't "measure" the progress immediately. I believe Jesus continues to work even after we pray but I always like to check things out. When we are able to receive partial healings Father always seems to accommodate us with some kind of "kick-start" sign like heat, or tingling, or pain relief, or something. Plus, as Jesus laid hands on the blind man twice because at first he only received a partial healing (see Mark 8:22-26), then laying hands on someone multiple times is certainly condoned and encouraged. I figure if it took Jesus a couple of times, it is OK if it sometimes takes us a few more.

Meanwhile I asked Bob if he was doing OK physically. After prodding a little I discovered he had "plantar fasciitis" as he called it in his left heel. He sat down in the back seat of his car with the door open and I laid hands on his foot and commanded it to be healed... "Heel, heal!" ... LOL! After a few seconds I asked him what was going on and he said it felt like two pressure points on the bottom of his heel getting warm and then the sensation climbed up his ankle. Cool! Good sign! Thank You Jesus! Afterward he stood on it and said it now felt just like his other one. Amazing.

It was so good to see Bob again and meet his sweetheart of a wife, Jo Ann. I will check on their progress later to see how Jo Ann's neck is doing and Bob's foot. Or, if you (Bob) or you (Jo Ann) are reading this, feel free to post a comment.

UPDATE (03-Apr-2011): Received the following message from Bob: 

"Jo Ann is not taking any medication now. She still has days but we pray about it. My foot is fine. We appreciate you so much. We love you man!" 

I love you guys too. Praise Father!

Also that same day, while I was away on business, my 11-week-old grandson, Gunnar, had surgery to close up the hernia he had (on the inside). We all had laid hands on him earlier and saw the swelling greatly reduced, but a check-up on that following Tuesday showed that the hernia was not closed up all the way yet, though I honestly believe it would've eventually. At any rate, doctors and Jesus are on the same team if you ask me, they both get folks out of pain. Gunnar did great and was unbelievably happy and playful a few hours afterward. Praise the Lord! (see YouTube video here).

As I was leaving the hospital [see Niswonger Children's Hospital in pic left], an elderly lady was walking in front of me and she got into the elevator to go down to the first floor. I was far enough behind her that the doors closed on the elevator before I got there. I waited a few seconds, thinking it was on its way down and then pressed the down button. Immediately the doors opened and the lady walked out. I said, "Um, excuse me, ma'am, I don't think you are on the first floor yet." LOL! She giggled and said, "Well the doors closed for a few seconds and I thought I was." We both got in and rode down. She began to tell me about her great-grandson who was having a terrible time with an infection; he was 2 years old. We exited the elevator and walked to the doors, but it was so late the doors to the hospital were already locked with a sign saying to use different ones. As we walked to the alternate exit she told me she had seen them do something to her great-grandson (don't recall what it was) and it made her pass out in the floor, so she was still dizzy from that. I asked her if she needed me to help her to her car and she said she didn't. But she paused and laid her hand on her back and said, "Oh dear, I think I've hurt my back when I fainted." So I offered to pray for her. She said that would be nice.

I laid my hand on her back and commanded it to be healed very quietly. She suddenly moved a bit and said, "Oh!" I asked, "Do you feel that?" She said, "Why yes I do. It feels wonderful!" I felt her spine get very warm in a particular spot. Suddenly her granddaughter walked up and evidently was startled because we were stopped and a perfect stranger had his hand on her grandmother's back. She said, "Grandma are you alright?" She assured her she was fine that I was just praying for her back and it felt wonderful. "Grandma" moved her back around and around and said, "Wow, I can't believe how great this feels." I reminded both of them of some pentecostal holiness preacher in their family... LOL!

We all walked out, because all the family was leaving, and I asked the young lady about her son. He was suffering from an infection they believed was mrsa. If they weren't all leaving, they wanted me to go pray for him. I'll probably just have to go back. I was a little puzzled why they didn't want me to go pray right then seeing that "Grandma" was healed. It was a little strange. But what do you do?

Last night, Friday, 18-Feb-2011 my family got together to practice songs we are going to do at the Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute in Bristol, TN, an annual bluegrass show named after my late dad. This year they are honoring my mother as a major supporter to mountain music in our area. My sister (TammyC) was running a fever and Kayla's ear was still stopped up with fluid from an infection. So, afterward I had everybody gather around and lay hands on TammyC and Kayla. TammyC's fever went down and the swelling in her nasal passages dissipated in just a few seconds, wow!

Then we laid hands on Kayla [see pic of Kayla & her husband Cody in pic right] and commanded her ear to be opened. Suddenly her ear popped and cracked several times, she said, but was still closed. We kept demanding it be opened 100% in Jesus' Name, and then it began to leak... eeewwww... LOL. It popped one more time and it was opened! She could hear clearly and had to get some tissue to soak up the fluid that began to drain. Praise the Lord! Kayla said, "Yes! I can hear clearly again! Oh, it is so wonderful to be able to hear clearly and not just hear myself inside my head." She was so relieved.

I checked on TammyC before she left, and she said the nasal passage swelled again and I felt her head and it felt like her fever returned too. She said, "No worries. I'm going home to rebuke this thing and get Billie (her good friend) to lay hands on me before I go to bed."

I don't understand all the time how these things work, but I can only confess that the scripture makes it clear Jesus wants us all healthy all the time and to what degree we are able to receive that is the degree we enjoy it on this side of heaven.

11-Feb-2011 (Fri) - Fever Reduced & Hernia Swelling Down

Tuesday (08-Feb-2011) my daughter (Kimberly) took my grandson (Gunnar; see pic left) to the doctor for his shots. Needless to say, it made him mad. It especially was hard on Kimberly because she's a new mommy and she had to leave Gunnar with my wife (TammyM) while she went on to work from there. It was a hard day with Gunnar a very unhappy little boy with sore legs (where the shots were given) and the fact that he started running a fever (an expected result from the shots). But the worse part by far was the doctor told Kimberly that little Gunnar had a hernia in his groin area. Nothing serious, but may warrant surgery later. This broke Kimberly's heart. My wife called me at work to let me know. I told her not to worry, that when I got home from work, and Grant (Gunnar's dad) got home from work, we would gather around Gunnar and lay hands on him.

I wanted to wait for his dad because I believe in respecting the divine authority laid out in scripture. In fact, I don't believe we should really pray for a child unless the parents (or guardians) give permission and are present. I just think it is a good practice because in the Bible we see parents coming to Jesus on their child's behalf and Jesus healing the child in every case through the parent's request and/or faith (see Mark 7:25-30; 9:17-27; Luke 8:41-56; etc).

So, when Grant got home, we all gathered around Gunnar. We measured his temperature to be 101.8°F and his hernia was visibly swollen. I explained to Grant & a teary-eyed Kimberly it is now time for them to understand that they are in divine authority over Gunnar and they have been granted this by Father. They have a say what can and cannot happen to Gunnar. I exhorted them to take a stand against the fever and the hernia. I gave them the above scriptural examples and also explained to them Kimberly's healing as a little infant and what it meant to me & my wife (see here for that testimony). I'm sure it took on a newer meaning to Kimberly because she was now the mom and it cannot be explained to anyone how much a mommy loves their children without even trying.

We laid our hands on Gunnar and I did what Jesus did to a fever in Luke 4:39; I rebuked it with Gunnar's parents' and my wife's agreement. Then we commanded the hernia to be healed, in Jesus' Name.

After about 5 minutes we could tell his temperature dropped so we measured it again; 100.1°F! Wow, 1.7°F in about 5 minutes! We waited about another 5 minutes and measured again; 99.5°F, still dropping. Yes!

Then it was time to change his diaper. When my wife took his diaper off she exclaimed, "Oh wow! Kimberly, come and look! The swelling has gone way down!"

Thank You, Jesus, again, for your wonderful faithfulness!

We checked him the next day, his fever was gone, and there was no noticeable swelling.

Kimberly takes him back to the doctor next Tuesday for a consultation regarding surgery for the hernia. I'm sure she will get them to check him again to see if it is completely gone or not.

I can't wait. :)

04-Feb-2011 (Fri) - Back Pain & Fever

This past weekend my wife (TammyM), middle daughter (Karahann) and youngest daughter (Kayla) went to New York City because Kayla's dancing team (she is the instructor/choreographer) was invited by the producers of America's Best Dance Crew to audition for the next season's show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysTTzUO2Huo

(Kayla and her team are visible about 8 seconds in. That's Kayla standing in front leading.)

There were 10 dancers and some of their mothers and siblings that went as well. All-in-all there were about 27 people. I was the only man... LOL! But, it was pretty exciting! And quite an honor for her team to be especially invited! Out of about 200 teams (most not invited but in open audition) they were the youngest team there and placed in the top 16 (don't know exactly where). Unfortunately this didn't get them a spot on the show, but it was great experience for this young team who vary in age from about 13 to 15 years old.

Soon after we arrived the girls all got to take a class at a dance studio on Broadway. It was one of the highlights of their trip. So, while the girls were taking their class, the rest of us wandered around Broadway and mid-Manhattan.

I overheard one of the moms (Tina) say she needed to go back to the hotel and get her pain medicine because she had accidentally left it there and she was not going to be able to stand it the rest of the evening if she didn't.

So I asked, "What's wrong?" She said she had a degenerative disc disease in her lower back and that right now it was very painful. As I was reaching my hand toward her lower back I asked, "Can I pray for you?" She didn't hear me, so she said, "What did you say?" But my hand was already on her lower back. I said, "Nevermind. Do you feel that?" Her eyes widened and she said, "Yes I do. What are you doing to me?" My wife answered her and said, "He's just praying for you, honey." I asked, "What does it feel like?" She said, "It is tingling up my spine and getting hot. What your you doing to me?" ... and she kind of pulled away out of concern. I just comforted her by saying, "I'm laying hands on you in Jesus' Name. Is it working?" She said all the pain was gone. So I asked her to do some stuff that might cause her pain. She moved her back around cautiously. No pain! She said, "Wow. I won't need to go get my medicine tonight." Her eyes welled up. "Where did you learn to do that?" I explained she could do the same, that Jesus told us to lay hands on the sick and they would recover. She was quite moved. Praise You Lord for Your faithfulness and great kindness.

So, my conclusion? Jesus heals on Broadway. :)

Wednesday, 02-Feb-2011, my daughter Kayla stayed home from college because she ran a fever all day and had chills. She didn't get out of bed the whole day. When evening came and I got home from work, ate supper, and started Bible study, we decided we should pray for Kayla who was still in bed. By Bible study's end, she had come downstairs and was laying on the couch in front of the fireplace. Everybody walked over to the couch and started asking her about her New York trip. While she began telling them, I laid my hands on her and rebuked the fever quietly. After a few minutes she said, "Dad, you're burning me up!" I said, "But you chilled all day, right?" She said, "Yes, but now I'm beginning to sweat!" Of course everybody knows when you begin to sweat it is a sure sign the fever is breaking. So we all put our hands on her and prayed for her for a few minutes. Her fever dropped tremendously to nearly normal. Sweat began coming out on her back and her neck. Yay Jesus! She sat up and said, "Wow, I feel so much better." The congestion she had was still sticking around, but the fever had dropped and she now felt much better. She promptly went to the kitchen and got snacks.

After Bible study folks had gone home and I was heading upstairs to bed, I said, "Kayla, you better get in the bed. You have school in the morning." She said, "I know, dad, but it feels so good to sit up I think I'm gonna stay up for a while. I slept all day, yaknow." Great!

Jesus is forever faithful. He never fails to do for us. I really believe He wants us to trust Him like we do gravity. In fact, the only reason we can write equations for physics is because God is faithful. In this manner, physics proclaims the faithfulness of God. Do we ever expect the pencil to float when we let go of it? No. Neither should we doubt Jesus heals every time we reach out our hands and command it to be so.

Thank You Father for being so faithful!

22-Jan-2011 (Sat) - Sweet Teenager's Eardrums Healed

This was one of the most honest and moving healings I've ever been involved with. My whole family (including my oldest daughter, Kimberly, and her husband, Grant, and their new son, Gunnar) all went to church on Saturday night (22-Jan-2011) to watch close friends of ours (Chuck & Denise) daughter, Chelsi, do an interpretive dance to a worship song. Chelsi [see pic right] is a delightful young teenager that is very beautiful and pure-hearted. She looked very graceful performing the dance. I had actually prayed for Chelsi and her dad, Chuck before with wonderful results (see here).

Afterward we all decided to go to Cracker Barrel for dinner. During dinner, Denise asked me if I would lay hands on Chelsi for an ear problem she was having. OK, no problem, Jesus works in Cracker Barrel. :)

So after dinner we all went to the store section of Cracker Barrel. We found a little out-of-the-way corner in the store and I asked Denise what Chelsi's issue was. She said Chelsi had had tubes in her ears for a very long time, and when they were finally removed, they discovered her eardrums had holes in them. Evidently, this is a common occurrence for cases such as this (I didn't know this and I don't pretend to even know what I'm talking about here). Anyway, Chelsi's had terrible hearing loss due to this and the doctor wanted to see if the eardrums would close up on their own without having to send Chelsi away to a specialist to fix them.

So, I had everybody hold hands, and I took both of Chelsi's hands in mine and began to thank Father for His love for Chelsi, and for His work in Jesus to heal her. Then with the authority Jesus gave all believers, I commanded her eardrums to be healed, right now, in Jesus' Name. There was no change in her hearing. So I asked if I could put my hands on her ears. Of course. Then I put my hands close to her ears and commanded healing again, then briefly touched her ears.

Suddenly, she began to cry. She grabbed her mother and hugged her tight while sobbing, "I can hear better!" It was the sweetest thing ever. She grabbed all of us individually and thanked us for praying for her.

Later that night she sent me a text message:

Thank ya'll sooo much for coming tonight! It was sooo fun hangin out w/yall! I love you all like tons and tons! I really can hear better!

Then later, she posted a comment on my Facebook wall:

:') Thank you Gregberry, for letting HIM, touch me...through YOU! ♥ It's an amazing morning! :) Love you tons! ♥

Yeah, I know, "Gregberry" ... hahaha! It is a sweet pet-name she calls me. I told you she was very sweet.

Praise Jesus for His faithfulness and love for us all!