So, I told John all about my sister. I was wondering why God had not healed her. John replied, "Did anyone pray for her healing?" I didn't know. I knew that deacons from the church had visited our home, but as far as I knew, the subject of Maria's sickness was never touched.
He is Always the Same
"How can we expect God to do something if He we don't ask Him and if there is no faith?" John said. But, I wondered out loud, "Would God answer such a request?" At this point the Bible in John's hand was opened and he read, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." Oh, I thought, finally something concrete, someone I can depend on!
The same, He is always the same
"How could Maria receive healing when nobody believed," I questioned. John explained that if I brought her in faith to the Lord, Jesus would heal her. He said, "When Jesus walked on the earth, He healed all who came to Him. The Bible says that all things are possible for them that believe."
In the mean time I did some arithmetic: 2+2=4. Nobody can change that, and so it is with the Scriptures. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He healed then, so He heals now. Suddenly that truth was as clear as a bell and as simple as pie.
But how could I bring my sister in prayer to the Lord?
I did not have any faith myself. John said that I only had to be willing, that the Lord would give me faith and do the rest. I thought for a while.
I have to give my will to Him, then He will bring it to pass.
Taking A Risk
Well, my life was already a mess anyway, so to be a fool again would not hurt. But, taking this "risk" could mean my sister's healing. So, I said to John, "If the Lord is going to heal my sister on that condition, then I will follow Him."What a wonderful Gospel! I had never heard anything like it. It was ten o'clock at night when I went to my apartment, which was only a couple of houses down from John's home. Of course, when I left, John went right down on his knees to call upon the Lord, little did I know.
When I entered my apartment, a very special feeling came over me. I experienced a "lightness," as if a heavy weight was taken from my shoulders. All of a sudden I felt in my heart that something had happened. I opened my curtains and looked at the dark sky. I do not know how to explain it, but I said out loud, "Lord, I do not understand where You are, but I know You just healed my sister. Lord, I don't know it with my understanding, but I feel in my heart that it is true."
I was so certain that it had happened, that I wrote a letter to my parents that same night and put it in the postbox at the corner of the street.
Now, isn't this a little bit foolish? You would think so, wouldn't you?
The next day I became a little worried and I had to find a place to pray at my job. "Lord," I said, "I wrote in that letter to my parents that Jesus had healed Maria. I don't care if they call me crazy, but I used your Name in that letter. You put that certainty of Maria's healing in my heart. Please, now confirm it in Jesus name."
Of course, the Lord had healed her. So much so that Maria gained 20 pounds within 2 weeks. This was also the doctor's observation before they sent her home.
What had happened that night when I visited John?
My sister who was in a private room (more like a cell), had asked the nurse for a pail of soapy water and a mop, because she did find the place quite dirty - and it probably was. The nurse could not believe her ears and asked Maria what she had said. The request was repeated, and the nurse provided the pail, water and mop.
Maria started to wash the floor, while the nurse was looking on. She went down the hall, the stairs, etc., with the nurse following along. My sister did not even realize that she was a patient, she thought she was housekeeping staff. Before she became institutionalized, she worked in a nursing home as a housekeeper. Maria's healing had started to take place as soon as I walked through John's front door.
Hallelujah! What a Wonderful God
He answers even before we ask.After two weeks my parents could take her home, and of course they brought Maria first to my apartment. My sister responded in a normal fashion. She liked my room and the view from my window. It seemed such a long time since I'd heard her speak a normal sentence. I started to cry and so did my parents.
My father asked me to tell him exactly how all this had come about. I did not know where to start. So, quietly I said to the Lord, "I don't know what to tell him and how to explain it, because there is no explanation." I just opened my Bible and there was the answer right in front of me. Then came a couple more questions, and the Lord gave me the answers in the same manner. Then my father said, "How do you know all of that, have you studied theology?" I replied, "Father don't ask me, I don't know."
