A hot day indeed in the city centre last Friday! So hot that most of the benches in the open pedestrian area were empty. There were still some people out and about, though, and I prayed that my steps would lead me to someone whom Jesus wanted to encounter!
Rounding a corner slowly came a lady, hobbling with a full length surgical boot on, assisted by a teenage lad, who I assumed was her son. “Ooh that looks sore - and hot!” I remarked to this lady, pointing at her boot as she drew level with me. “You can say that again! It’s boiling inside this thing!”
“What happened?” I asked – “accident at the gym?”
“No – I was riding a bike” she explained with a good-natured grimace. At this point her son, an affable young man, joined the conversation to explain that his Mum has something called “glass ankles” where the bones are fragile and especially prone to ‘turning over’ and becoming injured. On the bike ride, his Mum had turned her ankle, wrenching her ligaments and tendons in the process, and causing her foot to become swollen and painful. Hence the hobbling and need for a surgical boot!
Now it was my turn to explain something! I told them that I’m a Christian who prays for people briefly and God takes their pain away. Would they be okay with me praying for the pain in her leg to go right now? Though they had clearly never come across an offer like this before (!), to my surprise and delight, they said “alright then!!” I promised them I would keep it brief and was not there to bash them with the Bible. All I asked was for them to be very honest with me about what was going on and how much healing was taking place from the prayer. They were in! . The Mum is called “Susie” and her son is “Kenny”.
Susie’s pain level, just on standing, was 6 or 7/10. It increased if she walked. I didn’t lay hands on Susie at all but pointed at her foot, praying and commanding all the pain to go and all ligaments, tendons and muscles to be restored in full. When I asked Susie if she was experiencing any sensation during the prayer, she said “I could feel goosebumps going up and down me!” “What about your pain level?” “It does feel less but, to be honest, I won’t know until I take my boot off at home.”
At this point, Kenny chimed in with “Well, why not take off the boot now, Mum? We’ll help you!” And before I knew it, Susie was undoing all the straps to her boot, her boy helping her stand steady while she took it off, then puting her bare foot down on the nice, cool pavement! I could see the swelling was still there, but I encouraged Susie not to be put off by that – just to try things out and take a few steps. She was very cautious and walked a few steps very gingerly. The pain level was better – down to about a 4 now, though there were still some “twangs” and stiffness in a certain spot, which I addressed separately in prayer.. I could tell that Susie was still holding back out of the memory of past pain.
Praying yet again, I commanded all fear and pain to go to a zero and for strength to come to Susie’s foot and both ankles. Encouraging her to walk around some more, she started to walk around in a circle and remarked “I couldn’t have turned around like that before!”. Kenny also noted that her swelling was less now and that she was walking much easier than before. Kenny was an amazing encourager!
Every time Susie walked a bit further, there was further evidence of her healing. I went as far in the encounter as I felt was honouring to them both. I would love to say that Susie walked away with 100% freedom from pain. Her pain level did go down to 2/10 by the time they left. Still a lot better than the 6 or 7/10 she started with, even if not the full amount! But I encouraged Susie not to be afraid but to walk confidently when she went home - to expect that foot to be strong and increasingly pain free. She understood what I was saying and agreed to do this. I also reversed the condition/diagnosis of “glass ankles” that had been spoken over her, and declared instead that Susie no longer had glass ankles but steel ankles, strong and enduring!
I spoke some prophetic encouragement over Kenny’s future, which he really appreciated, then explained to them both about God healing people in order to show them His goodness so they can see He is real and loves them and has healing for all their lives. By the time they walked away, Susie was walking with confidence and almost completely evenly!. They were certainly grateful for our encounter together. As was I! Then we went our separate ways.
Complete all that you started, dear Holy Spirit, and bring Susie and Kenny into full understanding of their beautiful Saviour, Jesus. Pursue them relentlessly, Hound of Heaven. They are relentlessly precious to You.