This story is from November 2008. It’s about 4 deaf people Andrea and I healed in Jerusalem. A friend of mine heard the testimony on a Bethel sermon podcast over a year ago and it wasn’t until after he met me last year and I told him the story, that he realized I was “that woman.” Funny. I’ve known some Bethel folks and leaders for years now so, it’s not surprising the story made its way into a sermon without my former ministry partner and I knowing. Anyhow, I don’t know which podcast, but I’m half of the two women in the story. haha.
I’m writing it now, today, because, well… I’m waiting on something from heaven, learning how to access what is already in my pantry, and I need to remind myself of God’s goodness. That’s how I fight tiredness. I meditate on testimonies. I slowly drink a glass of His luscious faithfulness. And that’s how I win. I always win. I’ve been a victor since the day I was born again. Every day since then I am more than a conqueror. It’s in my DNA.
And so, the story:
My ministry partner Andrea and I had just returned from Cyprus – where (though we didn’t know this at the time) we met her husband. haha. We went to renew our visas and to surprise one of our spiritual sons. We went by ferry. And we returned by ferry. And then we took the train from the port in Haifa to Jerusalem. Before heading back to Bethlehem, we took our luggage and our well-traveled selves across from the rail station to the food court of the mall.
We ate lunch. I think we both had Chinese food. We sat by the window on the blue plastic bench seats and thought over our time in Cyprus. We laughed. We mused. We wondered about Dilgesh, the man who had snagged Andrea’s heart. And we thanked God for an easy re-entry back into Israel. HALLELUJAH!
As we were preparing to leave I noticed a deaf man cleaning the area. “Hey, before we go I want to heal that deaf guy. Do you wanna come with me?” “Yeah! Let’s do it!” she responded. We approached the man. Incredibly, he could read and write in ENGLISH!!!! We began to “talk.”
The man’s name was Avi. He was in his twenties. And Jewish. And he had a great sense of humor. He was fascinated by the idea of God healing him.
We prayed for his ears. They got hot. (Many people experience supernatural heat or electricity while they are being healed.) As I continued to pray they became hotter and Andrea told him more about us. haha.
THEN, Avi’s eyes engulfed his face. “Something opened up in the back of my head, near my neck!” he said. And he could hear. I don’t mean a little. I mean, HE COULD HEAR substantially better than before. Avi was astounded, laughing, and amazed! He said we should call “911” because he was so HOT! haha! He then clarified that with “in Jerusalem call 102” (knowing that in America we call “911” for emergencies, but in Israel the number for the fire department is “102”). hilarious.
At this point two of Avi’s friends, also deaf, have come over to the pandemonium. One is Arab, the other Jewish. They speak sign language to each other. Avi becomes the translator as they decide they also would like to be healed. YES!
We pray for one, he takes his hearing aids out and he can hear! Previously, he heard nothing without the hearing aids. AND without knowing what Avi felt, he reported the very same sensation, “my ears are hot and something in the back of my head is expanding or something.” He was in shock. And his hearing was continuing to improve!
The third man also got hot. His hearing grew strong. He had internal hearing aids so, he couldn’t remove them to test it out more, but HE COULD HEAR much much more and it was growing with every passing minute!
We all sat down at a small table: me, Andrea, Avi, and the two other men. They wanted to know more about this God who healed them. And so we told them stories growing up with our Dad. haha. We chatted for maybe 30 minutes and the fiancee of one of the men showed up to the laughing table of power. She was perplexed. She was partially deaf; and she could tell these three men could hear much much more than before. Her fiance cajoled her to receive prayer. She was scared and resisted the offer. We told her that was fine and continued to talk about God’s goodness. She got interested. She wanted some. She asked us to pray for her. And her hearing improved! It was hilarious! We were all laughing hysterically, already reminiscing about 30 minutes earlier when we were two American women with a peculiar offer for prayer.
Avi called a deaf friend and told him to come to the mall to get healed. They both had video cel phones. It was incredible to see them signing back and forth to each other through Avi’s screen!
His friend couldn’t come at the moment, so Andrea gave him her contact information so we could arrange a time to meet him and heal him too. Avi began to create a list of other friends who he wanted healed.
All laughs, hearing aids in one man’s hands, sincere friendship in our hearts, and a thanksgiving banquet in our midst, Andrea and I headed on our way.
Four deaf people healed in the food court in Jerusalem! What a lovely way to wrap up a trip! God has a knack for gift wrap! And we got to be the wrapping for the gift of hearing for these sweet, amazing pre-believers! What an honor!
God heals. It’s who He is.
Jesus heals deaf ears. We heal deaf ears. He’s in us. We’re in Him. Inseparable.
When you know what you have, you use it. When you know what’s in your pantry, you get it out.
You have authority. You have power. You have healing. You have the fullness of heaven.
You don’t need to go get it. If you have Jesus in you, it’s there.
Get it out. It’s easy. And people love having their deaf ears open. Imagine not being able to hear ALL YOUR LIFE and then waking up into a world of sound! Amazing! It must be sensational to feel more a part of the world than ever – able to communicate with most anyone! Healing shows people that God is real and He loves people. And it’s what you were made for – to be part of His redemptive story. You’ll feel better about your life when you are doing what you were made to do – give God pleasure, transform the world with love.
Imagine how sad your arms would be if they never hugged people. They wouldn’t be arms, really – I mean, not in the sense of their fullness. And they’d get really self-focused if they didn’t hug people. They’d overanalyze themselves, they’d complain, they’d feel purposeless. Lots of believers don’t give away what they have so, they get sad. We’re designed to freely receive and freely give.
You must let the kingdom overflow out of you or you will be stagnant. You are a river, not a lake.
You are full of life. The more life you give, the more life you receive.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give.
(Matthew 10:8)
Come believe with me. 