Matthews was
his name, lying in the ward of the hospital bed before us with a stab wound,
just above his heart. His ward of the hospital was filled with men, just like
himself, who had been assaulted. I shared with him that I believed God wanted
to touch him today, just to show him that He loved him. Then, I asked if I
could pray with him that God would take the pain away from him. He allowed us
to pray for him, saying that the wound was paining him very badly. After
saying, “Amen”, I asked him if he still felt the pain. As he paused to feel
around the bandaged area, the relief on his face and his smile said it all. He
slowly shook his head back and forth saying, “No… No man…. I don’t feel any
pain. It’s gone. No man… it’s gone.” Still smiling and shaking his head in
amazement, he thanked us with a look of peace that I will never forget.
Turning to
leave, I couldn’t help but notice the small pocket-sized New Testament laying
next to him on the bed. I knew it had been a divine set-up for him for us to
come to his bedside that day. His attackers may have been aiming at his heart
to bring death…
But God was
truly the One aiming at this man’s heart to bring him abundant life.
