They knocked on my door and asked for help. Their car wouldn’t start. It was parked over in the church parking lot, and I lived only two doors away. So they came and asked me for help. Me, the mechanic who is only good for opening the hood and saying, “Yep, sure doesn’t sound good!”
On the walk over to the church they began to chide me a bit, making comments about my newfound quest to try to understand the grace gift of healing. I didn’t claim to be an expert at healing, not even a mini-spurt. I was only searching out the unknown reaches of my faith. Not theologically, but practically. And these few guys thought I was kind of looney. So they jokingly said to me, “Hey, why don’t you lay hands on the car and pray. See if God can heal it?”
So I did. I really, really did. What I mean is not just really, really, I did it. I mean I really, really, really did the very thing they mocked, believing God wanted me to quietly and graciously be the agent to demonstrate His glory and power. Not to put them in their place, but to marvel at the goodness, the graciousness, and the unlimited power and glory of God.
I wasn’t sure God would heal the car. If not, then the chiding would only intensify. But, oh well, what’s new? And if he did then I would be out the trouble of having to stand around for an hour in the rain and diagnose the problem, go get jumper cables, or who knows what.
They stood back and watched as I stood in front of the car, put my hands on the hood, and prayed. At least they were reverent enough to be quiet while I asked God, “Lord, please make this car to start, for your glory. Amen.” I then told them to go try and start it. Varooom!! It started right up. They were surprised, almost shocked, but not wanting to appear such. I gave each of them a little hug, directed praise to God, and sent them on their way with God’s blessing.
On the walk home I thought to myself the same thing I knew most others would think whenever I told this story. Just maybe there was nothing really wrong with the car. Or maybe it was just an intermittent problem that just happened to correct itself on that turn of the ignition. Well, maybe. But I concluded that God truly had been in on it.
About that time I had another healing I was praying for. I helped out as a volunteer in physical therapy where my wife worked as a nurse, Providence Child Center. It is a facility for the most medically fragile children in the state of Oregon. One particular little 10 year old girl that I worked with each week got my attention. God whispered in my mind one day, “this one can be prayed for, for healing.” She was in a prolonged coma, and partially paralyzed. It had started mysteriously on a family vacation.
Every week I prayed for her as I helped with therapy. I prayed during the week, too, asking God how to accomplish this healing that He had suggested. But nothing ever happened. I came up blank. She was never healed, not that I know of. Only loved, and prayed for. God bless her.
“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon him while he is near…. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 6-9)
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Dave,
ReplyDeleteI have Google Alerts set to send me blogs and websites where "gift of healing" is mentioned. I was thrilled to come to this blog and read your account about the healing of a car. Like you, this wonderful grace gift has been made manifest in my walk for a few years now. The only person other than you and your readers to ever know what I'm about to share is my wife...and the woman whose car was dead in the parking lot of a Dollar General store. Here's my "healing a car" story:
I went to our local Dollar General for a few necessities and noticed a few men working under the hood of a car that a young lady owned. They were trying to get it started but no luck. I went in and bought what I needed then left, seeing the young lady by her car with a dumbfounded look. At that moment, God spoke to me. With some resistance on my part I asked the girl if I could take a stab at the problem. She said, "please do". I put my hands on the battery...then held the wires connected to it, and prayed...then stepped back and said, "Try it now". Vroom...it started. She said "what did you do?" and I said "nothing except pray that God would start your car." She said..."Praise God". With that, she got in a drove off.
As I drove home I marveled about how God can and does intervene in our world at His will and on His timetable. He told me to pray and I did. Wasn't my idea, as I thought it might be perceived as loony, but I gave in and followed the urging of the Holy Spirit. WOW!
I share this to let you know that you're not the only one who has experienced this type of manifestation of God's grace. Personally, I was blown away. I think it was more for my faith that God did what he did rather than the young lady's. It worked a number on me, indeed.
Thanks for the post. Somebody out there is watching and reading.
In Jesus' name....
Marty