Healings this week

It's been a very busy week as we are haying.  Hungry people want food so I have been going to the grocery store for supplies.  I had asked the Lord for fresh eyes to see the people to pray for and He's been answering.

A friend said recently, "When we see someone Jesus is seeing them through us."  That really gave me something to think about in a new way.  As I am appropriating this truth it means that Jesus is looking through my eyes and of course He wants everyone whole and healthy.   That's part of what the Hebrew word 'shalom' means-- peace with nothing broken and nothing missing.

I prayed for a number of people this week.  A few encounters stood out to me that I'll share with you.

One lady had a huge goiter type cyst on her neck.  It was really making it hard for her to turn her head.  I asked her if that was a goiter and she immediately said, "It's just a growth and it bothers other people far more than it does me." 

Isn't that an interesting response?  I thought to myself... she doesn't know my God and what he can do.  So I commanded that thing to disappear and I blessed her, in Jesus' name.  I didn't ask her permission because we were in a checkout line and she obviously didn't have faith to agree with me.  Didn't take long but you watch, the next time I see her that growth will be gone!  It has no choice.  Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. 

Another fellow that stuck in my memory was the man I prayed for yesterday.  He was young and had a cane.  I get stuck some times wondering what to say to start the conversation so I just asked him, "Is that your cane?" (I know it's lame.) 

He replied, "Yes," and looked at me quizzically.

I asked him, "Are you in pain right now?" and he paused and responded "Yes, without the cane I am in lots of pain."

I commanded healing to flow through him as I touched his arm and I rebuked all the pain and commanded it to leave him. I told him that I had seen some crazy healings at church and that God wanted to heal him too.  I left him after I blessed him and told him that I would keep praying for him.

He was very appreciative that I stopped and showed compassion.

As you can see I am no pro at this.  I fumble with words many times and I'm sure I appear a fool to many folk, but I really don't care.  His love in me can't stand to see others hurting.  I know but I know that if I won't cancel my faith with wrong words, that those people will be healed.  I've seen it too many times.

Our words coming out of our mouths are so much more powerful than the words of fear or unbelief coming out of other people because our words are life and theirs are death.  Heaven is far more powerful than hell.  Remember, one can put to flight 1000 and two 10,000?  That's how powerful our words can be.  Come to think of it... that's  probably why the devil works overtime trying to get Christians to speak words of fear and unbelief--because he knows that's the only way to stop us.

In any case... I want to encourage you to step out anyway you can.  Don't worry if you don't have all the right answers.  People will forgive you when they feel that you care.  His love will make a way for you.  His love never fails!  Remember-- he saw them before you did.  He goes before you and makes the way clear for you.

You want to pray a dangerous prayer with me?

"Lord, please show us how much you love the people around us.  Shed more of your love in our hearts where we find it hard to love others.  Let us always walk in the reverential fear of You and not the fear of man.  Thank you Lord that we don't love our reputations, our lives more than you.  We want to overcome by Your blood and by our testimony(words).  Thank you that we are always bold because we are righteous. Hallelujah! Amen!" (Rom. 5:5, Prov. 2:1-8, Prov. 29:25,  Rev. 12:11, Prov. 28:1)

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson

Turtle Dream

A few years ago I had a dream that bothered me for quite a while.   God's turned it into a testimony so I will share it with you.

I was breathless from running, trying to get away from the turtle men chasing me and throwing knives at me.  What was going on?  Why did they want me so bad? I couldn't understand. I hadn't done anything wrong.


From a  corridor I ran into a large room, but with no doors or windows that I could see.  The only fixture I could see was a large fireplace with bricks going up to the ceiling.


I didn't know where to go!  I saw that a couple of the bricks were sticking out and there was an opening in the brick wall much further up so I scrambled up the side, on top of the mantle and dodged the knives that were being thrown at me.


For some reason the turtle men didn't want to climb the fireplace. They kept trying to kill me with their knife throwing so I squeezed into the air passageway and slithered down it.  All of a sudden a wasp's nest erupted around me and started stinging me.  I couldn't get away fast enough!  Stinging pain all over my body as I swatted them away and tried to keep going.

I woke up hyperventilating, tears streaming down my cheeks.  I couldn't go back to sleep for a while then, when I did, I had the same dream over again, from a slightly different viewpoint.  I couldn't get past the dream.

I did what little dream analysis I knew about and searched the internet for more answers.  I could never find out what turtle men represented.  I figured out that the knives were an attack and that I was running away.  The wasp nest was the stings from all the people's curses.

The big room with the fireplace was symbolic of the open spot I had. What's significant is the fire place.  I had to step on the mantle to get away from these turtle men and yet they didn't want to climb it! I believe that's because the mantle was my mantle and it wouldn't work for anyone else.

I just found out what the turtle men represented thanks to a cd by Charlie Robinson.  In it he talks about the turtle spirit  and how it causes everything to slow down so that you can't make any forward motion of any kind, whether in thought, speech or action towards your destiny.

I had this dream years ago, weeks after I was cut from a street preaching organization.   I wasn't getting any results with their canned, legalistic script and I couldn't memorize the leader's funny stories to save my life. I really did try to memorize one of them but when I got onto the streets I forgot it all and had to preach what the Lord gave me.

What was working for me was calling out words of knowledge and praying for the sick intertwined with the Good News of the Gospel.  I had hundreds of people watching when I went to go pray for a man in a wheel chair.  I wasn't even paying attention to the people watching.  My heart lurched in compassion and I had to go minister to him.  It wasn't until  I said good bye to him that I noticed that the whole street and lunch crowd were watching me.

I never felt more alive than when I was out on the streets, telling people about God's great love for them, and giving out words of knowledge and prophesy and healing the sick.  Sure it was scary at times, but I knew I was born for this.  It was really interesting to me to realize how my message would change slightly, depending if I was in front of the Dept. of Justice or in front of the CBC building or at the Ottawa University.  God knew what these people needed to hear and I relied on him totally.

That's why it hurt so much when I was dismissed. I was crying out to the Lord for help.  I couldn't find anyone that would go with me. I just needed one person to go with me as a witness in case of trouble and I couldn't find even that one person.

Now that I know what the turtle men represent, which was everything possible to slow me down from discovering my destiny,  I have been seeking the Lord for what to do, to get back on track. Thank God he always has a back up plan.  That should give all of us reason to rejoice!

You know I am not that far off track according to the Lord.  I am now in a church where I am encouraged to grow in my ministry gifts and I get to practice every week.  Instead of street preaching I am giving out a lot of encouraging words and praying for people for healing and deliverance. It's working!  The Kingdom is being spread every where I go.  The world is my ministry ground and God is touching people everywhere. 

I am here to tell you that it does not matter what the enemy throws at you, if you won't quit God will bring you through it and he will turn it to good.  It's amazing but true. I am living proof of this.  He does cause all things to work together for your good, for those who love the Lord. (ref. Rom. 8:37)

So don't quit!  Better days are ahead of you. "Rejoice not against me oh my enemies, for though I have fallen, yet shall I arise!" (ref. Micah 7:8)

Let's pray. "Lord we claim your victories in our lives. Show us how to beat every scheme of the enemy and thank you for your power to work all the circumstances in our lives to our good. You are amazing and we worship you and give you all the glory for what you are doing in our lives today. Thank You Lord for giving us eyes to see your kingdom, ears to hear your gentle voice and teachable hearts to treasure and obey your words to us. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen!
I bless you as you go today!

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson
(photo courtesy of photobucket.com)

Honor

This is not an easy post for me to write as I am still learning what it means to honor people. I don't have a problem honoring most people, but when they are mean to me,  I want to pull back and protect myself.

What I do know is that the fog that I wrote about in my last post cleared when I chose to honor my husband instead of stating the obvious.  I had the opportunity to say bluntly what he was like, but I chose to say what I appreciated about him instead.

Two minutes later as I was driving home and I got the song, "Here comes the bride, here comes the bride."

So I put two and two together and figured that, for me at least, it's not okay now to state the obvious. It doesn't matter what kind of a stinker he has been, I still have to walk in love. I heard myself telling a lady that when the going gets tough, to just imagine that her husband is Jesus, and how she would you treat him... then act accordingly.

Not the easiest thing to do that's for sure.  It's back to Phil. 4:8... think about (and speak about) whatever is pure, lovely, praiseworthy, noble and of good report.  I am also calling forth those things 'that be not as though they were'. (Rom 4:17)  God told me I could have a better marriage than I dreamed possible and I'm hanging onto his promise and speaking it out loud as a war declaration.

That doesn't mean you don't get help or don't speak the truth.  "I'm hurting, " is very real.  It just means be careful who you talk to. The whole world doesn't need to know about your 'stuff'.  What the Lord told me once is that, "If you wouldn't say it to Me in prayer, then don't say it, period."

It gives us an idea of how far the Lord wants us to take this supernatural love.  Every time we run out of love we can ask Holy Spirit for more because there is an unending supply. (Rom. 5:5, Psalm 136, 1John 4:8)

Since I have been given the opportunity to be on the ministry team at church I have had many more opportunities to pray for people.  I started asking the Lord, "How do I activate your power flowing through me to them?"  He said, "Just love on them."

I started experimenting during ministry times and when I am the support person I just put my hand on them and say quietly how much I love them and how I know that Holy Spirit loves them so much more. People have stopped me and asked me to move my hand to where they hurt because they can feel the heat of Holy Spirit flowing into them. That is very encouraging.

I hope I have helped you. I certainly don't have it all together.  I am going to keep working on this honor thing and not judging another man's servant.  With the Lord's help all things are possible. (1Cor. 1:26-29, Rom. 14:4, Mark 10:27)

Bless you as you go, in Jesus' name!
Big hugs,
Brenda Gale