My Testimony...

The first time I remember saying the sinner's prayer was when I was 3 or 4 years old.  I don't remember the exact age because it was at a time when dates and times were not important to me.  I was staying at my grandmother's house and one of my cousins led me through the prayer to ask Jesus into my heart as I said my nightly prayers.  Some may say that that was not at an age to make that decision or to truly understand what I was doing, but it was a decision that I have never regretted or deviated from.  Saying that, I had a reason to believe from very early in my life.

During the last two weeks in class we have been talking about healing.  The two chapters are "Sickness, Death, and God's Response" and "Fulfillment of the Promise of Divine Healing."  I tell you this because it takes me back to the testimony I have to share.  One of the lines in our text (Introduction to Pentecostal Doctrine) says "we can conclude that 'Verify, then testify' is a good path to follow."  My healing was verified many years ago, so now I will testify.

Something was not right when I began walking - my feet turned in.  I had difficulty standing without holding on to something and walking was impossible.  My brother and I were living with my grandmother and aunt while my parents moved our household across country.  My grandmother and aunt took me to the doctor to find out that I had a condition that could only possibly be treated through years or a lifetime of wearing full leg braces.  

I strapped the braces on each day.  But at the first chance my family had, they took me to church.  The elders of the church prayed for me.  They prayed until God answered that prayer.  They prayed until I was completely healed.  I was healed within three months.  Not three years! Not a lifetime! I was healed and free of my leg braces.

The healing that God did for me was always in the back of my mind, but He brought it to the front when I was a senior in high school.  During that year, I met a coworker of my mom who had the same condition.  She still had to cope with the condition.  And cope she did.  She pushed a baby stroller for support.  God reminded me at that point about the healing He had done in my life.

I know that God is the great physician.  In Exodus 15:26, God proclaims, "I am the Lord, who heals you."  I stand before the world today because He is the Lord and He healed me.