how I dealt with pain today...

This morning I woke up with an excruciating back pain that literally nearly took my breath away. Being unable to lie down or even stand, I came into the living area with my wife's help and sat on a kitchen bar stool. As I was aching badly and tearing up, contemplating if I needed to call 911 or go to the ER, my wife who was by my side started praying and speaking in tongues. She encouraged me to do the same, even though I was experiencing severe plan and could barely talk. I complied, and prayed with her, while still wondering if I should make a trip to the ER. I even suggested to her that we might need to call a friend to help take us to the hospital. She didnt say much, instead took this small book titled "Healed of Cancer" by Dodie Osteen, and started declaring the scriptures quoted in that little book. An hour passed by, and my pain started subsiding, albeit very slowly. I could still barely stand or sit, and found myself (ironically) sitting on the floor in my prayer posture. Soon, my daugther came to me and asked me what happened and I told her that I had a very bad back pain, and then asked her to pray for me. And pray she did. Not some cute childlike prayer, but one that was filled with faith and power. She said "the devil has no place in this house"! and kept praying for my healing. As she left for school, I sat there thinking how blessed I was to have a praying wife and daughter. I even had two of my close brothers in Christ praying for me during this time. Each small conversation with loved ones and prayer to God Almighty kept building up my confidence again. And so I freshened up, and decided to spend more time praying and reading the Scriptures. I went out and sat on a bench near the lake next to my house. And as I was contemplating what to do, I remembered my wife' sister had started a Youtube Prayer and Declarations ministry, and that she too, like my wife, knew the power of diving healing. I found the video, and followed the first step which was to find a verse from the Holy Spirit that is applicable for this moment (of trouble) I was going through. I stopped the video, removed my ear pods and just started praying to the Lord asking for that verse. Within 10 seconds, these words rang in my head "the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.." and so I quickly checked the reference and found the fulll verse in 1 Corinthians 6:19

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;"

I instantly knew what this verse meant for me and specifically in relation to my situation. So I kept meditating and praying over these scriptures. The next verse equally touched me:

"you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

Many times, we (as Christians) might think that it is only important that our spirit man is kept pure, and we can do whatever we please with our bodies. We might not be sinning like Paul's rebuke to the Corinthian believers to not join themselves to a prostitute (and defile their bodies), but we might be doing something as simple as eating whatever food or drink comes our way. Interestingly Paul speaks about the food and the stomach in the same chapter too, alluding to the fact that we can dishonor God with the food that we eat (or its excessiveness or its unhealthiness). This pain, followed by the prayer reminded me that how I maintained my body was equally important as maintaining the purity of my spirit man. In fact, verse 20 says that once you have accepted Christ in your life, your body no longer belongs to you, but to Him!

The point is there might be a connection between your pain/sickness and your spiritual life. It could be that God is allowing a temporary sickness in your life, to get you to turn back to Him and shake off the dust of sin in your life. You will know if this is case as soon as you start feeling better in your body and mind! Like I said earlier, I knew exactly what 1 Cor 6:19 meant for me, so I sought the Lord in prayed, confessed my sins, and I am already feeling much better in my body. And what a blessing to having prayerful and spirit filled family members and friends to support in times of crisis.

Prayer works my friend. But even more powerful is praying with Scriptures. The Word of God is the most powerful weapon you have for prayer. The verses in it are full of healing power. In it is also the answer to every problem you are facing. It is the greatest asset at your disposal. That is exactly how Dodie Osteen was healed of cancer, that is how my wife got healed from a sickness, and that is how I am getting healed right now. May be you have tried so many different methods but still havent recieved your healing. If so, I encourage you to hear of people's testimonies and stories of how they were divinely healed from terrrible sicknesses. And even learn or research more about it. Then you can make a concious choice of whether or not you want to excercise divine healing over your body.

Here's some links to help you kick start your journey on divine healing:

1. Youtube video by Teena Jacob: Physical Healing - Part 1

2. Youtube video by Teena Jacob: Physical Healing - Part 2

3. Amazon book: Healed of Cancer - Dodie Osteen

The Lord bless you, and keep you and make His face shine upon you.