Many teach and many are taught to pray for others’ healing and to receive the healing to which they were prayed for. However, what isn’t seen is to pray for someone over one thing but they received something completely different! That’s exactly what this next story from Trinidad is about.
During our last week in Trinidad, we had been centered in Penal but on several occasions would drive to Buenos Ayres to minister and do other things over there. These included doing services on that Sunday – Tuesday as well as giving out food to the poor. On that Sunday, something occurred that I had not even known about until our last service in Trinidad on the trip.
Going again to that last Sunday, Cindy, two other members, and I were driven to the Buenos Ayres campus to minister to the church there. As had been the case the entire trip, anytime Cindy would see anyone who obviously needed prayer for anything, she would point them out to me and expect that I would pray for them at some point. Walking into the church there, we noticed a man whose legs were entirely crippled, but could still walk. He walked with a huge limp. Cindy immediately looked at me and pointed to him. She didn’t need to say a word. I got the point that she wanted me to pray for him. This was not a simple task to pray for. This was not a headache, this was not a paper cut that needed healing, nor was this a tiny boo boo. My faith was being tested already, again. However, I felt that once the time came, I would do what was needed and pray for him and was very ready to do so. Cindy gave her message, which was awesome, and then had an altar call. The man came up and Cindy’s eyes glared over at me. I got up, ready to minister to this man in whatever he needed. I approached and he kind of pointed and nodded down at his legs, so I got down and prayed over them. I prayed and prayed with passion flowing out of me that I had never experienced before. I called upon Scripture after Scripture, demanding his legs be made whole. As I slowed down in prayer, I opened my eyes slowly, ready to see the man’s legs as new as could be… Yet they were just the same as they were before. You see, God had a different agenda in mind. There was something going on in this man far more important than his legs. I offered to pray again but the man said no and limped back to his seat. I stood there perplexed. I pondered what exactly just happened as I felt the Holy Spirit inside of me, but nothing manifested. Service was over, we went back home and still, the only thing on my mind was this man.
Time passed and two days later we returned to the Buenos Ayres church. This one was held nearby the church at a corner next to the closest road. But on the way there, we picked up a few people, one of which was that crippled man who seemed to be quite happy this time. He wasn’t necessarily sad last time we saw him, but he wasn’t smiling as he was this evening. Service went on, people were prayed for and many lives were changed again. We started getting everything together to pack up and go when Cindy and I were approached by the crippled man. As he began telling us a testimony from that Sunday, my jaw dropped and tears started flowing down my face.
This man, a father and a former husband, had been living a rough life recently. He explained to us that his ex-wife had left him years ago, causing him lots of pain and how his kids also had treated him like nothing and still were. He explained how they abused him and did nothing but make him feel utterly useless. That Sunday that we were there, he had designated the day of his suicide. He told God he was going to church one final time that day and that after he got back from the service, he was going to end his life…
But God.
BUT GOD!
But God changed everything. He told us that after hearing Cindy’s message that morning and receiving prayer by me, God showed him a newfound joy in his heart. He then decided not to end his life at all and was overcome by a joy he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Apparently, while I had been praying for this man’s legs, God had been doing something totally different in his heart. All God needed was someone to just pray for him and God could do the rest of the work. This man’s legs may have not been healed at that very moment, but the man is still alive! I am so thankful that God can work through me like that. I also have no doubt that the prayer I had prayed over him with was not in vain. His legs will be healed in due time.
I don’t always pray for the wrong thing, but when I do, God still shows up in an amazing way.