Our Story, Part Thirty-Two (Our Healing!)

"'Now therefore,' says the LORD,

'Turn to Me with all your heart,

With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.'

So rend your heart, and not your garments;

Return to the LORD your God,

For He is gracious and merciful,

Slow to anger, and of great kindness;

And He relents from doing harm.

Who knows if He will turn and relent,

And leave a blessing behind Him -

A grain offering and a drink offering

For the LORD your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion,

Consecrate a fast,

Call a sacred assembly,

Gather the people,

Sanctify the congregation,

Assemble the elders,

Gather the children and nursing babes;

Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,

And the bride from her dressing room.

Let the priest, who ministers to the LORD,

weep between the porch and the altar;

Let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD,

And do not give your heritage to reproach,

That the nations should rule over them.

Why should they say among the peoples,

'Where is their God?'"

(Joel 2: 12-17) 

When I left the church service on August, 17th, I had made up my mind that I was going to find a "somebody" in that church who would listen to me. After being given my instructions for this healing, through the sermon the day before my birthday, I felt certain this church was a significant part of what God was putting together for Kaylee's healing. Their faith, along with mine, had just been built through this great sermon on the subject of healing as well. I knew there was something special taking place in the heart's of the people at this church!

I walked out into the lobby and immediately spotted a beautiful lady whom I had known from A.U.M.C. (my church at the time). She had once been my son's (Barret) Sunday school teacher, and she also had a daughter Kaylee's age. Kaylee had even spent the night at her house on one occasion years earlier.  I had seen her at this church before, so I assumed that God had recently led their family here as well. As far as I knew, she had a godly husband, a healthy marriage, a beautiful home, status in the community, and financial security (all the things that I did not).  In my mind, this made her a "somebody", or in other words, a person that others might listen to.  

I approached her and told her that I needed to talk with her.  When I explained that I wanted to talk about Kaylee and the sermon we had just heard on healing, she was very receptive.  I gave her my phone number and she told me that she would give me a call later that evening.   

During our phone conversation,  I told her my story and let her know that we were expecting Kaylee to be healed on my birthday (the next day).  I could immediately sense her excitement, coming off the sermon we had just heard.  It definitely helped also that God had led me to another mother, someone who understood a little about Kaylee's situation and who would be able to empathize with what I was going through.  She assured me that she and her husband would be praying about what we needed to do all throughout the night.  Of course, I did not mention anything about using the church.  I was simply looking for people willing to join us in prayer on my birthday. Before we hung up, she invited me to come to the prayer service they were having at 7 am that next morning.  

Because this church was in the middle of their 21 day prayer in August, they were meeting at the church every week-day morning for prayer. It hadn't even occurred to me yet that this would be taking place the morning of my birthday. I had not been able to attend any of these prayer services because of work.  I explained all of this to her and asked her if she would be praying over Kaylee's healing while she was there that morning. 

I no longer felt a sense of urgency to have anything specific planned for my birthday.  I felt completely relaxed, assured and even excited about what was going to take place.  Even so, I understood that I was going to have to make a move toward pulling this prayer service together. It wasn't going to just come together on its own.  The difference now was that I was trusting God to lead me.  I had the most beautiful, peaceful sleep on the night of August 17th.  

Although I hadn't considered it when I fell asleep, I woke up the next morning knowing that I was suppose to be at the prayer service the morning of my birthday. The only thing standing in my way was my job, which was no small thing.  I hadn't arranged for a substitute in advance, and it was extremely difficult for one person to manage our classroom alone.  I decided to try and catch Mrs. Jackson before she left for work to see what she thought I should do. Fortunately, Mrs. Jackson was not only my dear friend, she was also one of the members of our prayer "army" as well.  She had been participating in our fasting on Fridays and she was among one of my greatest supporters.  In fact, if you will remember back, she had been there from the very beginning. She had been the first person I told about Rachel's dream.  When I reached Mrs. Jackson, she did not hesitate to tell me to go on to the prayer service that morning.  She told me that she would handle our classroom, and she also assured me that she would be praying all throughout that day! 

After getting this first obstacle out of the way, I called Erica to see if she would go with me to the prayer service.  She was excited to join me!  We were both feeling tremendous strength on this day. We decided that as soon as we finished praying there, we would head to A.U.M.C. and ask for permission to use the chapel.  The original plan had been for Erica to go while I was at work.  I was thankful that we would now be able to go together.  
We arrived at the church and immediately headed to the cross that had been set up in front. We got down on our knees at the foot of that cross and we prayed together one final time over this healing.  I remember that my prayer went something like this: 

"God, I do not have a single plan in place for this day, but I give it all to You. This is Your day that You set up in advance. Take it from me and do with it what You will.  We put our trust in You completely."  

From the moment I said this prayer, I knew that it was done!  I knew that God was now in complete control of this day!

Just as we were finishing up our prayer, I felt a hand touch my shoulder.  It was Gina (the "somebody") and she asked me if I would come with her and share my story with the prayer team.  I followed her over to a group of women who were sitting in the floor at the front of the sanctuary.  I had never met any of these women prior to this day. I believe that Gina had already told them a little, and as far as I could tell, they were all anxiously awaiting to hear my entire story.  

I tried to hurry through my very long story and give only the highlights: Our diagnosis; Rachel's dream; January 18th; and of course how God had restored my faith and my belief through the sermon the day before.  I did not invite them to join us at the chapel that night nor did I ask them to pray for Kaylee.  I did not mention anything about the altar, and of course I did not ask to use the church.  I no longer felt a need to ask for anything.  The only thing I did was tell my story. I was completely trusted that God would take it from there.  I did not want to interfere in any way with His plan for this day.

Thankfully, when I finished giving my testimony, the first thing this group of women wanted to do was to take it to God in prayer.  We sat in a circle and went around as each woman said a short prayer. I was excited as it was about to come to my turn, but before I even got a chance to pray, one of the women jumped up and said, 

"I know what God wants us to do!"  She then turned around and pointed to the altar. "He wants us to keep a fire lit on that altar all day long, and then we are to bring your daughter back here for prayer tonight!" 

At this point, Erica broke down crying! She later explained to me that she suddenly felt as though the burden she had been carrying for our family for so long had been taken off her shoulders.  Neither of us knew what this woman meant by "keeping a fire lit on the altar" but we had surely known that we were suppose to be at the altar on this day! We knew that God was now taking over! 

Now of course I knew that we had already been told that we could not use the church on this night, so although the plan seemed to already be in motion, I quickly jumped in: 

"Wait, I don't think the pastor wants us to use the church tonight!" I said.  

I started to explain that we were hoping to use A.U.M.C.'s chapel, but before I could get another word in, this same lady replied:

"Well God's just going to have to take care of that!"  
She seemed completely confident of what God had just spoken to her heart following our prayer.

With this, I started to feel a bit uncomfortable.  I did not want the pastor to be upset with me or to think that I went around him, yet at the same time, I was counting on God to intervene if He needed to.   

After this, the women began to talk among-st themselves. I overheard one of them mention the name of the pastor's relative that I had spoken with on the phone months earlier. From what they were saying, it sounded to me as if they were hoping that this relative of his might be able to persuade him to allow us to use the church.  

We stayed around for a bit talking.  At some point, Kevin had joined us also and was eagerly awaiting, just as I was, to see if we were going to be able to use the church.  As we sat around talking, Gina (the "somebody") began to share things with me about her own life and some of her recent struggles. As it would turn out, she was really not very different than I was. She didn't have a perfect life after all. 

While Kevin, Gina and I were sitting around talking, the other women continued to work out the plans for the day.  I was trying not to interfere at this point. I knew that if we were suppose to have the prayer service at this church, God had the power to change the mind of this pastor.  I really wasn't worried about it either way.  I believe that one of the women had gone to talk with him at some point, and it wasn't long after this that I looked up and saw him heading our direction.  He sat down on the front pew right in front of where we were sitting on the floor and began to speak: 

"Jesus died for our sins. Our sins have been healed. That should be enough. God can be glorified through disease. What matters is that we show joy in the midst of it."   

As he spoke these words, I felt something rise up inside of me. Not only was this not the way God had been leading me all along, it also completely contradicted the sermon that I had just heard - and received as being my final instructions from God - in this very church the day before.  What happened to the two-fold provision?  Did he want my starting point to be a no?  

I have replayed this statement over and over in my mind since this day because the repercussions could have potentially been so devastating.  It could have stopped this prayer service from taking place.  It had been this very viewpoint that almost stopped me from praying for Kaylee's healing from the start.   

The real question I think we have to ask ourselves is this: Does disease really glorify God or could this be a subtle lie that the enemy has planted within our churches to stop us from praying effectively for one another? Is there a single recorded incident in the Bible in which God called one of His own children to life-long suffering through disease (for His glory)?  Or could this be a tactic of the enemy to derail and shut down "the Body of Christ"?  Would we ever discourage anyone from seeking the care of an earthly physician and tell them that their disease and suffering is meant to glorify God?  I don't think so. Yet, we would discourage them from going to the Great Physician, and from following God's clear instructions from James 5, to pray for healing?    

Undoubtedly, this pastor, who is truly a wonderful man of God, had accepted this viewpoint at some point in his life as well. I do not believe it was his intent to stop God's work on this night. 


I didn't have any of these thoughts in the moment this was said to me.  In that moment, all I knew was that I could not allow my faith to be shaken again! I had to stand firm in the truth of what God had shown me and the promise He had made me. Before I even had a thought, these words were already out of my mouth:

"No! My daughter will be healed today and nobody is going to tell me any differently.  ...not today!"     

I meant no disrespect toward this pastor, but I was very bold and firm in my response.  After this, I turned my head away and fixed my eyes on the cross at the front of the church.  I knew that it was critical that I not allow my faith to be shaken by this pastor's unbelief.  Although I was certain that I had just blown any chance I might have had of using the church that evening, this didn't matter to me. I knew that this day was in God's hands now!

I am not sure what happened after this, but I believe the pastor got up and left the sanctuary.  To my surprise, the women continued to plan out the day. We found out that "keeping a fire lit on the altar" meant that someone was going to be praying at the altar all throughout the day.  The women continued to plan out shifts of who would be praying so that every hour of that day would be covered in prayer. I was truly amazed at how these women had now taken things over, and when I asked them what I needed to do, they told me to go home and enjoy my birthday.  

When I left the church that day, I still wasn't convinced that we were going to be allowed to have the prayer service. I called my mother and a few close friends to let them know what was going on at the church.  Several of them, including my mother, headed on over to the church to start praying. When we met up for my birthday lunch, a little later in the day, my mother told me that there were people coming and going and that powerful prayers were being lifted up over Kaylee's life!  She told me that the gentleman, the one I had met the day before with Kevin, was also there praying and that she had spoken briefly with him. The plans all seemed to be in place.

Several times that morning I had considered driving back to the church to see what was going on, but something was keeping me away.  Somehow I sensed that I needed to leave it alone and let God work.  I don't even remember how I found out that I needed to bring Kaylee back to the church at 6 pm. I spent much of the day on the phone calling my "army."  I invited the people who were local to come to the church that evening for prayer.  I asked everyone else to be praying during that same time.  

My husband had been on a one year tour to Iraq and had just returned a few days earlier.  He was staying at his parent's house, which was only two hours away in Birmingham. I debated for some time on whether or not I should invite him to this prayer service.  I was afraid that it might not be a coincidence that he just so happened to be near on this day. While I was afraid that his presence might be a negative, I did not want to interfere in any way with what God wanted this day to be.  I knew that God loved my husband, regardless of what I was feeling at that time.  I told him about the service and invited him to come.  I decided that if God didn't want Him there, He could stop it Himself.  I knew that it was critical that I not be trying to control anything on this day. This day belonged to God! 

I later heard that the woman who had heard from God, concerning the altar, had sent out a church-wide email inviting anyone who wanted to participate in this prayer service to come to the church that evening.  I heard that she had been hard at work gathering people to pray all throughout that day!  I also heard that numerous others were in and out of the church praying all day long over the altar!  

Our Healing Service

After making all of the necessary phone calls and gathering up my children, we headed out the door toward the church.  I had no idea what to expect.  I didn't know if this healing would be instantaneous, and we would watch Kaylee transform before our eyes, or if it would be a slow process.  At this point, Kaylee looked very sick and extremely thin. Other than her weight and her coloring, the symptom that was the most obvious when we left the house was her swollen right ankle (a result of the Rheumatoid Arthritis).  It was so enormous, in fact, that she was struggling to walk.  I decided that I would keep my eye on that ankle throughout the service and look for any change.

When we arrived at the church, people began to show up, many of whom I had never met.  I was overcome with gratitude in my heart for each and every individual who walked through those doors on this night!  They had given up their evening just to come and pray for my child! As people continued to flood in, I could see clearly why God had not intended for this service to take place in someone's home.  Not only were there far too many people, the atmosphere in that building was evident of one that had been covered in prayer all day. We could feel the mighty presence of God all over the place!

I was standing at the back of the church greeting everyone and thanking them for coming when a man, whom I did not know, came over to me and asked me if I would speak briefly before we got started.  This is normally something that would have terrified me on the spot, but on this night, I felt tremendous strength.  Naturally, I had not planned anything, and I did not even think about what I was going to say before I walked up on that stage. I wanted  to speak for God and to share whatever He wanted to be shared. There was so much He had shown me and only a very limited time for me to share.  

As I began to speak, I instantly felt God take over. I began to talk about how God had first taken me to Isaiah 58.  I explained how He had led me to fast for this healing, but that He first had to get my attention about the danger of using my tongue in a negative way.  I shared briefly the message that God had instilled in me, on loving one another, before I could enter into my seven month period of fasting for this healing:  

"If you will do away with the yoke of oppression, with the  finger pointing and malicious talk...."  

I explained to them how God had convicted me and that my prayers could not even be heard when I was using my tongue to speak against another member who was created in the image of God.  It was a humbling moment of confession for me, yet I knew that this was my most critical message!  

From here, I began to explain how God had led me to build up my "army" of prayer warriors, which had included my children.  

From this point on, some of what I describe may be out of order because everything honestly felt like a dream.  Three chairs had been set up in front of the altar and Kaylee, Erica and I were asked to sit in these chairs after I spoke.  One of the things I will never forget was when a young woman, whom I had never met, stood up and said this: "It is no accident that God choose this day, August 18th, to bring about this healing.  In Luke, chapter 18, Jesus tells us the story of the Persistent Widow."  ...I cannot remember, at this point, if she read us the story from the Bible or not. I only remember being stunned, and feeling as though God was speaking directly to me, when she looked at me and boldly proclaimed: 

"God has heard every prayer that you have lifted up to Him for all of these years!" 

Although I wasn't fully aware of this at the time, I later learned that the elders of the church were among us (glory be to God) and one of them began to anoint Kaylee with oil and pray for her healing. Several other men joined in with him and they began to pray some of the most beautiful prayers of blessing over each one of us. It seemed as if they knew exactly what to do and how to pray, as if they had been thoroughly trained and raised up for this moment!  These men were not typical of what you would find in just any church.   

After this, two female college students, whom we had never met prior to this day, came and knelt down in front of Kaylee.  They began to pray the most powerful prayers of authority I had ever heard in my life as they called Kaylee's body into alignment and cried out to God for mercy!  The power being displayed through these two incredible young women of God was truly like nothing I had ever witnessed! (One of these women was the same one who had shared the story of the Persistent Widow earlier)

At some point, my dear friend's (Joyce) 7-year-old daughter began to tug at her and ask her if she could go down to the front and pray for Kaylee. Joyce had initially tried to stop her, but she kept insisting.  

"You don't understand!  she said.  "I have to get to Kaylee!"  

Obviously, this sweet child had no filters what-so-ever and therefore was able to be completely led by the Holy Spirit.  She knelt down in front of Kaylee and began to weep.  I remember looking down at her in that moment and understanding the powerful role her pure heart and innocence was playing in bringing this healing about! It was one of the most moving moments of the night!

I looked out into the audience in front of me, and what I saw was a beautiful remnant of a fully functioning "Body of Christ" that God had brought together on this night.  I saw my dear Baptist friends.  I saw several from my Methodist church as well.  Several denominational backgrounds were represented, including some from the Catholic church.  There were even some among us whose salvation I was unsure of; yet God had managed to get them there on this night to witness this incredible moment!  

I don't believe any of us were in control of what was happening. God was working through people who, prior to this day, had never even met us. I understood, in that moment, that what I was seeing before me was not only about Kaylee's healing. God was giving us all a perfect picture of how the "Unified Body of Christ" was intended to function, as every contributing part, all the way down to the smallest child, participated in some way.  We all watched in amazement, and grown men were crying, as we witnessed what God had brought together.  

The praying went on for quite some time, and many miraculous things began to take place. My husband had made it to the service on this night, and he was sitting there on the front row watching. Next to him sat James Martin, the one man that had continually prayed for him and for our family throughout all of these years.  To my surprise, some of these wonderful men, that God had raised up, made their way toward my husband and began to pray for him as well.  These men had never met my husband before, and to my knowledge knew nothing about our situation.  As they were praying powerful prayers over him and his life, I heard one of them ask God to please give him one more chance!  

I also noticed that another group of people had pulled my daughter, Brooke, aside and were praying for her as well.  We hadn't told anyone (not even our family members) about her possible diagnosis. It was a subject that I had not yet been able to face.  I wasn't even thinking about it in that moment.  I just remember noticing.

There were so many people who showed up for my "birthday party" which had been orchestrated by God! Among these people were: Kevin and his family; Gina and her husband; my precious neighbors (the Lester family); Erica's family, Joyce and her family (her husband, Jim, couldn't be there but had shown up to pray over the altar earlier in the day); James Martin; several of my family members; several of Brooke and Janiee's friends; and many, many more (many of whom I did not know).  Yet, of all these people, God seemed to draw my attention to one girl who was sitting there alone on the second row.  She was one of Kaylee's former classmates, the lone one (other than Erica's daughter, Mallory), who had shown up for Kaylee. God began to lay on my heart that I needed to get up from where I was to go thank her for coming. There tears rolled down my face as I gave her a hug.  It had been an ache in my heart for so long to see Kaylee isolated from her peers and it truly meant the world to me that she was there! 

I later learned that this precious girl had gone around Auburn High School handing out cards that she had made with our date, August 18th, written on them.  She had attempted to rally the students to join us in praying for Kaylee's healing.  I suspect that she had not been well received. Yet, God had certainly noticed her efforts and He had sent me personally to thank her!  

The entire night was truly powerful in every way! There was nothing but love for me and my family in that church on this night.  I knew that each person there had been sent by God and, for this one incredible, God-ordained night, they were seeing our family through the eyes of God.  I genuinely felt His love for me through each one them, and I knew, for the first time in my life just how much God truly loved and valued us!  I had never felt or experienced anything like this kind of love before! There is no way to adequately describe in words what I felt, nor can most even grasp or comprehend the depth of this love that God has for each one of us! I can only pray that somehow I can give you a glimpse, as I retell the story of our night, of this amazing love! I am convinced that if we could approach the throne of grace, with this kind of assurance of His love for us, many lives would be forever changed! I am also convinced that it was the love and unity being displayed through the "Body of Christ" that the enemy could no longer stand against! 

  

.....to be continued