Healing Power in the Atmosphere
So, I was praying for the sick, one by one, by the laying on
of hands. Now I will tell you about how God healed someone just as he walked
past the meeting.
As I was praying for the people, a half-drunk man stood
before me. He did not appear like the street drunk. He seemed quite
intelligent, and spoke English quite well. However, with bewilderment in his
eyes, he asked that we pray for his daughter. But first, he said, “I know God is
among you!”
He said, “I was walking by, and saw all these people. I
wondered why all these people had gathered together. Then I saw that it was a
church meeting. Ahh, I am not interested in the church. I just kept on walking
past…”
As he continued walking, he felt a pop on his leg. He looked
down, and saw that the boil that he had on there (for I think two years) just
popped open. The puss ran down his leg. He wiped it up, and there was only a
little mark left where the boil had been. This boil had not healed up in about
two years. It never ripened enough, and he always had this ugly thing on him.
But when he walked into the zone where
the tangible power of God was, he was instantly and completely healed.
You know, this is a remarkable miracle. I will tell you the
rest in a minute, but for now just consider the circumstances. He was drunk. He
had no interest in church. Nobody prayed for him. I did not lay my hands on
him. I did not pray a fervent prayer over him.
Yet, just by walking into the atmosphere where Jesus was
working, he was healed! The Bible says, “And the power of the Lord was present
to heal them” (Luke 5:17, NKJV.) What does this mean? I believe that there was
an aura of power, of divine healing power – the tangible power of God, that
permeated the very atmosphere where Jesus was present. This power is still
wherever Jesus is. And, where is He? He is in you and me! Wherever we go, Jesus
is in us, and we can expect people to be healed by the tangible healing power of God!
Now let me tell you the
rest of the story…
A few years later, I received a letter. I think I still have
that letter somewhere, but this week I looked all over my old filing cabinets,
and have not found it yet. The letter says something like this:
“Dear Evangelist Joel Hitchcock. I greet you in the
wonderful Name of Jesus. I do not know if you will remember me, but I was the
drunk man who came to your meeting when you were in such and such a town. When
I walked by your meeting, I was healed of the boil that had been on my leg for
such a long time. I want you to know that I am still healed. I asked you to
pray for my daughter. You prayed for her (from a distance.) When I got home, I
found my daughter healed! Also, I want to tell you that I am now a pastor
myself, with a church of my own! Yours sincerely, Pastor…”
Obviously, this is not verbatim, but I believe that memory
serves me well enough to get close to the message I read in his letter!
Look at God! Look what the Lord hath wrought! A drunk man,
disinterested in church and God, walks by a miracle healing meeting. He is
instantly healed. His daughter (who is not even present at the meeting) is
healed. He changes his ways. He becomes a man of God.
This story illustrates how very real the power of God is.
That is why I call it tangible power.