Shorter Leg

I know this entry is going to be hard for some to believe, but I am committed to documenting FACTS.  In seeking objective reality (not emotionalism), the reader will notice that I usually ask the person where their pain level is on a scale from 1 to 10 so that improvement, and especially complete healing, can be measured.  So, however this post strikes the reader…well, I can’t control that.  But I CAN report what I have personally witnessed.

This last Friday and Saturday, I attended a conference where the speaker, Bruce Van Natta, taught and demonstrated healing.  Bruce was in an accident in 2006 that should have killed him.  A truck weighing 10,000-12,000 pounds fell on him and completely severed five major arteries.  The University of Southern California did a study in 2001 that showed that nobody has ever lived who has severed more than TWO arteries!  Through an amazing healing initiated by Bruce’s plea of “Lord help me,” his organs miraculously rejuvenated themselves.  Today, unless he lifts his shirt to show the scars, you would never know that he was in an accident.  All of this is doctor documented and because of that, he is constantly being flown around the world to tell his story.  Click here to learn more about the accident and his healing.

Bruce Van Natta

After teaching Friday night, Bruce spent most of Saturday demonstrating the healing power of Jesus.  One of the things he did was take 10-15 men and women who had back problems and sat them in the front row.  He invited the conference participants to gather around the front and see up-close what he was doing.  He had those with back pain put their rear ends all the way to the back of their chair and then hold their legs out so we could visually compare their leg length.  Interestingly, all of them had one leg that was slightly longer than the other.  Some legs were almost an inch longer.

I was sure to be VERY close to the feet of almost every one of these people to see with my own eyes the comparative length of their legs.  In fact, I was so close that Bruce stepped on me a few times…I had to see that this was real.  Bruce explained that over the years he has done this over 1,000 times and he has only seen one person NOT be healed.

Bruce approached the first person in line and began commanding the shorter leg to grow in the name of Jesus.  As he was doing this, some of us would look over his shoulder to watch.  We could see the leg slowly grow half-way to the other leg.  Bruce would continue to pray and then the leg would perfectly match the other in length!

Though I heard about this sort of thing before, this was the first time I got to witness it up close.  It was astounding!  Bruce then took the person who was healed and had them walk and/or move around to prove that the pain had left.  Then, Bruce put the healed person in front of the next person in line so that they could use their faith (having just been healed) to heal the next person.  This went on for some time as it went down the line.

After approximately seven or eight people, I turned to my friend Boe.

Isn’t it interesting how all of these people have one leg that’s longer than the other?  I don’t have any back pain, but I wonder if my legs are even.

Off to the side, I sat down with my rear all the way to the back of the chair and asked Boe to compare the length of my legs.  As he was doing so, he was very careful to hold my feet evenly and noticed that my right leg was 3/4 of an inch shorter than the left leg.  We checked it again.  This surprised me because I do not suffer from back pain.  Bruce later told me that I very likely would have had back pain later in life because of that problem finally taking a toll on my health.

Me:

Well, heal me then!

I noticed that with my rear all the way to the back of the chair, it was impossible for me to consciously or subconsciously extend my leg further.  Boe began commanding the leg to grow in the name of Jesus.  Without delay, the leg grew out!  Both of us just giggled in wonder.  We checked it over and over again.  How cool is that?!?!?!  We noticed that every single person in that line with back pain received healing.

Later, Bruce brought to the front those who were on the prayer teams of our local church so that we could pray blessings over those who had attended the conference.  A man named David received a prophetic “word of knowledge” about a young man named Alex.

Alex

David (to Alex):

Do you have pain in your right leg?

Alex:

Yes!

There was nothing about Alex that could have tipped-off David that there was an issue with his right leg–it had to have been God.  Alex then told us that there was a car accident 2 months ago and he broke his pelvis, leg, and ankle.  He had surgery on those areas, but he has been in continual pain.

Me:

How bad is the pain on a scale from 1 to 10?

Alex:

An 8 or a 9.

Those of us close to Alex began commanding his leg to heal in the name of Jesus.

David:

How does it feel?

Alex:

The pain is gone!

We all celebrated that moment!

When the conference ended, Boe and I had the honor of taking Bruce to dinner because my pastor had to immediately go to the hospital to pray for someone else.  We had Bruce all to ourselves and drained him dry for a couple of hours about his ministry, healing, and God.  What an amazing opportunity we had to learn from a man who witnesses miracles on a daily basis!

This morning at church I was approached by a woman named Theresa with some great news.  About a month ago, Theresa came forward during the part of the service designated for prayer.  She wanted healing for her ear.

Theresa

Theresa:

It sounds like there is a gong going off in my ear; it is very annoying.  The doctor told me “If it’s not healed after the medication, I’m sorry, but it won’t be healed.”

I prayed for healing for Theresa that day, but we didn’t see any dramatic result.  Today, was a different story.

Theresa:

When you prayed for me last month, I expected to be healed.  My ear is now 90% healed!

I prayed again for Theresa (for the remaining 10% to be healed).  Just like last month, there was no immediate result that she was aware of.  But this time, she went home with a greater faith–a faith strengthened by the 90% progress in her ear.

Something that was really driven home this weekend is that there is nothing special about those of us who are operating in the healing gift; we are not necessarily more holy or closer to God.  Non-Christians can use the same power because it is merely the authority of the NAME of Jesus that does the work…not us.

On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’  Matthew 7:22-23

So while the healing is exciting and brings attention to God’s power, it’s clear that RELATIONSHIP with God is what He most wants from us…and obviously what we should want.  Still, it’s just sad that so few Christians are willing to step out in faith and boldly use that all-powerful name with expectation.