A new kind of jet lag

Now just about a week after returning from a 19 day trip to England I have spent several days being wide awake at 4:30 am and extremely tired from about noon until 5 pm. However by Friday I was doing well, sleeping in until 7 and getting to bed at a normal time. Then out of the blue, last night I was so tired that I went to bed at 7:30. Other than waking up at 2 am, I slept until nearly 6 this morning, ready to take on my first Sunday at Bethel in over a month.

Coming back from England I was excited to see what God had in store for the next month and a half before I would go on my next ministry trip. Over the summer I had a very busy month of travel in July and then only went on one trip in August. However, I saw more healings in August than I had in perhaps the rest of my life up to that point. Amazing things happened as I prayed for people in the healing rooms, at church, and out in the community. So my anticipation for this time frame is sky high as I am expecting amazing things from God.

One thing that I have seen a ton of breakthrough in over this past season of trravel is deafness. Since going on a Firestorm to Michigan the couple days before school started September 11, through the end of the England trip, I have prayed for 20 people whose hearing has been restored. Before the England trip I set a goal of seeing one person healed of deafness every day. I didn't get it, just 10 instead of 19. So naturally, when I got back, I wanted it to keep increasing. It took less than 48 hours to see the first person healed. I walked into a group of young people before youth group when God gave me the word of knowledge. I asked them who had a problem with the left ear and they each said no, until one spoke up saying that he has hearing loss in that ear.

Then Friday night at church God gave me a word as I sat in the front row that He wanted to heal someone of deafness. I was praying for a man with heart failure and could tell that his hearing wasn't great. I shifted to put one hand on his back and when he started to walk away I told him that I wasn't done yet. I prayed more and this time he could feel the fire of God. I asked if he had problems with his hearing and he told me that he did, but he left his hearing aids at home that night. So I prayed and his ears opened up. Praise God!

Fast forward to this morning. Pastor Bill was amazing. Make sure to download the podcast. While others were praying for a fresh and continual baptism of fire for intimacy with the Lord, I was ready to leave, to come home and pray on my own. I was going to look for people with hearing aids on my way out because God gave me a word for it as Bill preached. As I got up I saw a woman with a walker, but when I turned towards the door, I slowly turned back and walked over to her. I talked with her and prayed for her as she had suffered a stroke. I felt fire go into her as I prayed but she felt nothing. We talked some more and then I said goodbye. As I did, Pastor Bill asked people who needed healing to raise their hands and as I walked to leave, a young boy raised his hand. I asked him what he needed prayer for and he said his ears. He has hearing loss and pounding in his ears from an infection. Actually, I should say, he HAD hearing loss and pounding in his ears because Jesus healed him!

The thing that gets me is that I would have totally missed him, but because I have been crying out to God to give me more compassion for others I went over and prayed for that woman who had a stroke and listened to her talk for a while. It was just long enough to get me to be the first person to see the boy as he raised his hand. Had I not talked to the lady, I would have already been driving home. I am contending for a deafness free city and it is off to a good start. I am so thankful that the fruit of people being healed of deafness in England is hanging over and getting people healed in Redding too. That is one kind of jet lag that I will look forward to the rest of my life - the increased fruit that comes after returning home from ministering.