Under the cover of darkness in the valley of a mountainous region of the Tanzanian bush, a young boy (around 9 or 10 years of age) came forward after a Jesus Film showing to receive healing. He had just spent the last few hours watching Jesus heal every sick and diseased person that He came in contact with (in what was most likely the first movie that this boy had ever seen- all in his own language). One of the first among those bold enough to walk forward and be prayed for, he held his painfully swollen hand up for me to see in the moonlight. Many villagers crowded around until they completely encircled us, jostling for position in an effort to see what would happen next; they seemed to be taking special interest in whether this little boy would be healed. After telling me that his hand hurt very badly and that he had no idea what had happened to it, he allowed me to touch it. I could feel that it was very hot and see that it was swollen to twice the size of a normal hand. I asked him to show me how much he could move it, not just for my benefit but for the crowd around me to be able to visually experience the healing that I believed God was going to do right in front of us. He barely moved two fingers.
I assured him that Jesus wanted to heal him and as I touched his hand and prayed, it would be no power of my own but Jesus doing the miracle, just like he had seen in the film- all we had to do was stand here together and receive it. After praying, he said to me that it felt a lot better, and the pain was almost completely gone. I told him that since Jesus had already started doing the miracle, we were going to pray one last time and thank Him, agreeing together that the miracle would be completed- all pain would be gone. When we had finished praying, he said that all the pain was gone, looking around shocked, wearing a huge smile. After encouraging him to try moving it, he did, little by little in total disbelief. It was like a scene out of a movie, the crowd around us erupted in gasps and chatter. From that moment on, it was a different night. One man pushed his way through the crowd to receive healing, some grabbed others to be prayed for, excited people rushed forward (we had to tell them to wait their turn). Praying for the sick continued until after midnight...
Jesus walked through that Tanzanian valley that night, all we did was happily invite Him in.
A little boy's hand was used to heal hearts that night. The God of the Universe came to a people living in the dirt, doctorless and hopeless and showed them the reality of His love. His pursuit of relationship with humanity cannot be contained in the boxes and limitations that we set up around Him with our limited interpretation of His love's extravagance... and when we give Him the opportunity to pour it out on His kids the way that He wants to, there is no telling what we will have the privilege of experiencing.
"Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it." Mark 16:20
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