Extraordinary Praise Report

I prayed for a friend and her boyfriend who were in a really bad car accident. He had a lot of brain damage and was supposed to go through months of rehab. He was in a coma. But, he woke up and didn't have to have any rehab at all and his speech and motor functioning is fine!

I really had a hard time praying for the people on my list because the last time I prayed/or God to heal someone, the person was not healed and I was devastated and I didn't want to be disappointed again. I just couldn't bring myself to pray for these people. Most importantly, I had not prayed for my mom who has cancer. The day we were to share about our results of prayer, I couldn't stop crying — I felt horrible. Through the rest of the day I kept imagining my hand on my mother's lymph nodes (where the cancer had spread after her thyroid was removed) and destroying the cancer. She was scheduled to go in for tests because past tests had revealed that the chemo was not working. That night we found out that my mom had a scan done and all the cancer was gone! I now have a renewed faith in God.

I think the thing that I learned is to not underestimate the power that even I can possess through Jesus, and the healings and help that can be provided through my faith when I pray and stay faithful in praying.

I really learned a lot from the book on healing, I now want to be a person of healing prayer: Two of the people I prayed for were completely healed of their minor illnesses.

I came to this class thinking that we would be going over the ways and reasons physical health effects people psychologically, but you took it beyond that. You taught us as a class how to be unified with one another through prayer and how to put healing into action the way Jesus and our Father did and how He wants us to. I began praying for my dad. God revealed to me that he was holding onto bitterness that needed to be released. I prayed for an opportunity to talk with him. God answered that request in an amazing way and I was able to talk with him about what God had told me, asking him to forgive. This healing for my dad opened my spiritual eyes so much. Just like a doctor prepares/or surgery, washing away the germs so he doesn't infect the patient, we need to be cleansed of our sins and doubts before we pray for healing. Then, the doctor begins to take small steps of action to sterilize, then make an incision, operate and seal the wound. Prayer is to be taken in the same type of steps as we work out inner healing, breaking down walls and healing the pain of spiritual scars. Then we seal those prayers with the blood of Christ and protect that newly healed scar from further infection. Thank you for leading us down a new road that many of us have never traveled or understood. You took us by the hand by applying your faith to lead us so we could see the truth of healing prayer.

The thing I learned was that there is a lot more healing happening than I thought, just look at the results in this class!

I prayed for my roommate who had been sick for a long time (colds and infection that wouldn't go away). I prayed and she hasn't been sick since. The most important thing that happened is that I have become more encouraged to pray. Through the encouragement in class and the book, I am also able to encourage others in healing prayer:

I chose to pray for my sister who slipped a disk in her back 9 years ago and has experienced a lot of pain. Since I began praying for her she now has some really good days without pain! I also prayed for a friend who suffers from migraines. She has begun to feel some relief from the pain.

My prayer project had an interesting twist. I prayed for a friend who has been dealing with severe depression, so bad that she had thought of suicide. After praying for her, she decided to try antidepressants and is doing a lot better. However, through that prayer I realized my own depression, so God used my friend to reveal to me that I have not been taking care of my health and that God can work through medicine.

This class and reading the book has definitely been a learning experience. It has made me think a lot about the aspect of having faith in my everyday life. This is really a good thing, because I wasn't living a faith–filled life, and I am now.

The people I have been praying for have some serious illnesses. The book, especially the last two chapters showed me how to pray more effectively. Now I believe that I am better equipped with the knowledge of how to pray ... Although I haven't seen any immediate results, I realize that most need healing in all four areas — so I'm working on that.

When you asked us to join with another person in class as a prayer–partner I had already had all three of the people I was praying for healed. So, I started on a new list. I 'm realizing that with this list, the main prayer I'll be praying is for them to know Christ personally as well as physical recovery.

The first thing I learned, and keep learning, is not to give up. I have come to understand that I should leave the results of prayer to God. All the people I prayed for have gotten better, but I would like to have seen them completely healed, so I keep praying. One person I prayed for was my mom. She has had infected toenails for two years. Nothing the doctors gave her helped, and it was painful. When I began praying, all of the toes cleared of the infection except one large toe and the nail had to be removed. I also prayed for my sister's heartburn which she had everyday. No medication seems to help. Although she still struggles with it, there are now days when she has no problem. I also prayed for a friend with a stomach hernia. The last time we talked he was feeling better and there was no pain.

If God used this class and the book to show me anything, He used it to prove Himself to me.

I was somewhat "standoffish" in my faith that the same power that Jesus healed with was available to me, just for the asking. The first person I prayed for was my brother who is a junior in high school. He is actively involved in sports and has been continually bothered by tendinitis in his hip. Within a month of praying the pain just seemed to disappear, as if the tendinitis was never there. The second person was my friend who has really bad knees due to sports activities and injuries. The doctors said she couldn't play soccer her senior year because of this. After prayer her knees started to get better. Although surgery wasn't her primary choice, she decided to go ahead with the surgery. The exciting part is that her recovery was amazing! Not only will she be starting to play next season, but she went to a dance (and danced!) 2 weeks out of surgery. The third person I prayed for had chronic pain. Since I've been praying for her she had begun to come to talk to me about the things God has started to stir up in her life that she needs to deal with. She doesn't know I'm praying for her. She has said she doesn't know why these things are suddenly being brought up and why she is telling me. Her healing journey has only begun ... I was so skeptical about healing when we first started talking about it, but I have prayed for my own faith to increase and indeed it has.

I grew up in a very conservative church and came to the healing aspect of this class very skeptical. God has really shown me a new aspect of His love through healing prayer. I prayed for my roommate who had severe pain in her entire back. The first time I prayed with her she felt immediate results, as soon as I asked God to take away the pain. The second person I prayed for was my grandmother who was suffering from a bad case of eczema. She had been in pain with this for a long time. She is in another state, so I couldn't pray with her in person. The day after 1 started praying, Gram woke up feeling much better. It is now completely gone. It still boggles my mind to think that God would take the time to heal not only our bodies, but also our memories — I no longer doubt His willingness or ability to do so.

The main person on my prayer list was my grandma and her recovery from a stroke. She has had miraculous steps in her recovery and is doing so well! (She's gone from being partially paralyzed to almost perfect again, only a little tingling in the fingers of one hand.) An additional benefit for me is that I have been able to have good conversations about healing and prayer with my grandma.

I prayed for [someone] who had the beginning stages of pneumonia. He is completely well. I also prayed for [someone], who has had a lot of aches from a car accident several years ago. He is getting better, although not totally healed, yet.

I grew up in a church with traditional beliefs. I have always believed that God can and does do miracles, but that they are spontaneous. I believed that God only did healing through the apostles in the Bible and would not do it through us today. I now realize more of the power of God within me. I can now believe that Jesus Christ in me has the power to do great things in prayer. I prayed for [a couple] who have had severe colds for a very long time. I also prayed for [ someone] who had fallen from a ladder and broke her finger and tore her live,: All of them are fine now! I added a little 2–year old who has had extreme abdominal pain that the doctors can't explain. All of the medications haven't worked. Since I've been praying her episodes have been less.

I prayed for my dad who has had major back pain, although it isn't totally gone, it isn't so painful.

I began praying for my aunt who had cancer. I wasn't led to pray for her to live, but for the pain she was in. The main thing 1 found myself praying for was that my family would truly see who she was, as a person. She and my grandfather have been the only two in our family who have been models of humility, integrity and peace. 1 felt badly that this godly women would no longer be with us. My family did end up recognizing those things, which brought a lot of issues to the surface that needed to be dealt with. So in the end, I feel God had His way with my aunt.

This class was definitely "God sent!" I do not believe I have grown more spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically in my entire life in one class! I came into this class angry with God and had decided not to believe in Him. Things began to happen with me as 1 began to hear about prayer. I finally began to pray about halfway through class. For a while nothing happened. Then, I asked God to reveal to me what was causing the pain. Once I asked God to do that, wow! One person I was praying for, God showed me that her bones were incredibly weak from some disease she had when she was younger. We were able to talk and pray about that and her pain has decreased incredibly. My father has several things going on. I asked God to reveal the root of his diseases to me. One of the things I saw was abandonment. Since I started praying, God has softened his heart and we had a really good conversation, by phone. Communication in my family is nonexistent, so this in itself, is a miracle!

I came into the class believing in healing prayer, I have just never gotten a chance to learn how it works. The class and especially MacNutt's book really helped with that.

I prayed for a person who had an amazing recovery from knee surgery, actually four months ahead of schedule.