……was certainly in evidence tonight, at a meeting that came as a bit of a surprise to me, though with hindsight Walter had mentioned it at about 2am Thursday morning after I’d just arrived! I’ve been to this church – Hogar de Oracion Rey Jesus (Home of prayer King Jesus – doesn’t really translate, does it!) a good many times. Walter called at 4.20pm when we’d just got back in after…er….another steak restaurant (I didn’t eat, of course, I was fasting to make sure Jesus rose again tomorrow morning…!) to say the meeting began at 5pm. Which was kinda interesting, as Chris was due to land at 7.45pm in Cali airport, which is a good 40 minutes north of Cali on a good day.
The pastors, and many of that congregation, have become good friends over the years, and there have been a lot of healings too. But the power of the risen Jesus certainly turned up tonight. I preached on Romans 8:11, which is the verse in the header: the first lady for prayer had chronic arthritis in her back, hip, legs, and hands (erm, I empathise with that soooo much more these days!): all her pain went, her fingers straightened where the arthritis had started to deform the joints…. then a lady with 3 compacted discs, chronic back/leg pain as a result, felt what she described as a massive charge of lightning through her back, and all her pain went.
Then, as always these days, a man with a wrecked left knee (!): ripped anterior cruciate ligament, patella tendon, and no synovial fluid (why didn’t I enjoy this stuff I love now when I was doing Biology at school???), couldn’t bend his leg prior to prayer – then did…. I love it, as it feels like getting Satan by throat and poking his eyes out and kneeing him in the groin when knees get healed! Mine’s been absolutely chronic today, which doesn’t surprise me if God has THAT in store for that lovely bloke tonight.
A man with planta fasciitis (inflammation of the fascia, Katie’s just told me!) – extremely painful inflammation on the soles of the feet, by the heel – was healed instantly. No pain at all. Thank you, Lord! A lady who has just been through a divorce, and wanted her ‘mind and heart right with God’ left looking like all her Christmases had come at once: carrying the guilt and stigma of divorce, which she found unbearable, and it’s no small thing, especially in Latino countries.
And so it went on… Lee and Katie were praying with people individually, too, so we ended up praying for loads of people. Then Lee, and translator Hanny & her fiance Carlos, headed off in a rush, late, to pick Chris up from the airport, only to find his flight into Bogotá was late and he’d missed his connection, so, we’re hoping and praying he’ll be in on the 9.50pm flight instead….
Thursday night, when Lee & Katie arrived, they were totally cream-crackered and starving, so we came back to the apartment: Walter had wanted me to go to the big prayer vigil in the stadium, taking the guys with me, and all their luggage. Chose not to, as they were so tired, and then Walter told me tonight that he’d got me a 15-20 minute slot to speak AT that meeting, with 40,000 – but ‘never mind, you’ll get 30 minutes next year’…. hmmm. Apparently, it WAS an great day/night, though.
Busy day tomorrow: only two meetings, but we never get away from Walter’s church very early, and ‘Fontanelle boy’ (Jose Luis) and his family are there….then a meeting at a much bigger new church at 5 pm, so that probably means 10 pm by the time we’re home. I’m glad we had a calm couple of days! Poor Chris, though: he’ll have been in transit for about 64 hours by the time he gets here, and I’ve told him already he can preach in the morning, and Walter wants him, Lee, and Katie to sing…. think I’ll pass on that one!
