Healing and faith

Let me come back to the subject of healing. I believe that God can heal. I desire that God heal. I desire that we see the manifestation of healing in our church family. Not for the sake of a thrill or a chill but for the real deal - which draws me closer to God and gives him glory.

Healing has received a bad rap in recent years because of all of the goofy stuff that goes on, even today. I trust and hope that we don't dismiss it because of some goofiness out in the kingdom - even well intended goofiness.

Dean Merrill writes, "I was sitting at a lunch table at the Canadian Fellowship of Christian Assemblies Conference in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, in early October 2005. Paul Vallee, a pastor in Red Deer, Alberta, was recalling his early days as a youth pastor in a town far up in the northeastern part of the province. Another younger pastor at the table had been a member of Vallee's youth group back then.

Vallee and the younger pastor were talking about the time they loaded up a bus for an 11-hour ride to a youth retreat with the FCA church in Fort St. John, British Columbia. One girl in the group had said she would not be going, because she was prone to migraine headaches—especially when riding long distance in a vehicle.

"Oh, come on," her girlfriends pleaded with her. "We really want you to go with us. You'll be okay." In the end, the girl was won over.

About three hours into the bus ride, sure enough, the girl began to experience a fearsome migraine. She had told the group, including her youth pastor, that once the attacks started, there was no relief. She would be in agony for three or more days.

What was Vallee supposed to do as the leader of the group? Well, he did not ask for the shades to be drawn or for the kids to lower their noise level. He didn't take up a collection of Motrin or Advil. Instead, he called for prayer. As the bus kept going down the highway, the youth began a "rolling prayer meeting." They fervently called out for God's intervention on the girl's behalf. About 30 minutes later, her head came back up, her eyes were clear, and the migraine had stopped! "This is incredible," she said. "This never happens. I've never gotten relief until it ran its full course." But what was even more remarkable was that, as the following months and years went by, this girl never had a migraine again. God had healed her permanently that day on the bus."

I like that story. I say, "pray and go to the hospital at the same time." I believe in balance. But I also believe that God heals and that faith does play a part in that.

May we have faith today and believe God for healing!