A testimony of healing!

Two weeks ago, I was at a YWAM Associates gathering. 

Dean Fujishima, the speaker, was teaching about the importance of alignment and balance in our walk with God, when he felt God wanted to demo it with a sign. So he called out for those whose right shoulder is higher than the left. I put my hand up. He then shared that usually in such situations, it means one leg is longer than the other. I didn't know this was true about me. 

At this point, he asked one of the participants in the crowd (there were 60 of us in the room, attending this meeting) to pray for me. But first, she held my outstretched legs together, and true enough, my right leg was slightly longer than the left. This was visible to me and the others who were looking on. 

He said to the participant to pray a simple prayer to align me. At that point, the presence and fire of God fell upon me. I started shaking nonstop in my chair. I heard people around me exclaim, "Its growing, its growing." And, I felt a sensation of gentle tugging/ pulling of my left leg by an invisible force. It was incredible. God aligned my leg, and within a few minutes, the left was the same length as the right.

Even when I went back to my seat, the manifest presence of God was so strong that I continued to shake nonstop for another half hour at least! 

The Tuesday after our retreat, I met a friend for dinner and shared this testimony with her. Midway through dinner, she exclaims, "God didn't just align your legs. He aligned something else!" I said, "What?" Unbeknownst to me, this friend had noticed that my eyes (which are sometimes wont to drift sideways ... a condition I have had since childhood) were focused throughout dinner. Hallelujah! We hi fived each other in the restaurant because God is awesome!!! 

This Sunday past, I had an appointment with my physio. I shared my testimony with her and ask her to check me out. Now, apart from having different limb lengths, she has also said to me in the past that I have scoliosis, that my spine is somewhat S-shaped. This time around, after checking me out, she says, "I can't explain it but your spine is less curved." Fistpump. Yeah God!!! The leg is aligned but beyond that, the whole body is coming back to line!!! 

What have all these events of the week taught me? 

1. God heals. I have always known this at the head level, but not at the heart level ... in the past, the notion of a healing God has been more theoretical than real to me. But it is impossible to be a recipient of a powerful healing like this and not to have one's paradigm completely transformed. Now, I totally believe that God heals, and He heals today. It's made me more zealous to pray for others, given that God is no respecter of persons, and what He has done for me, He can do for others too. 

2. God's healing is a sovereign choice. The prayer my friend prayed for my healing was all of three words, "God, align her." That's it. It wasn't long, it wasn't rambly, it wasn't pleading, it wasn't begging ... it wasn't twisting the arm of a reluctant God to do something He didn't want to do. In fact, before she finished uttering the last word, the presence of God fell upon me. I realised that in the past I had a wrong and misguided notion of God... an erroneous sense that when we pray for someone's healing, we need to be anointed or gifted in the ministry ... as if it's about us. No, it's about God and what He wants to do. If He wants to heal someone, He does it, even if the prayer is as simple as one a child would utter. 

3. When God shows up, healing occurs. His presence brings healing and wholeness, both inner healing and physical healing. How do we usher in the presence of God? How do we steward that presence? I am pressing in to know more of what attracts His presence and causes Him to stay. I am increasingly of the view that when God shows up, miracles happen, healings take place, lives get transformed. 

4. Alignment is the word of this season. The physical alignment is an outward demo of a deeper inner message - that God wants us to be aligned to Him and each other in this season. What does alignment mean? It means being in sync and in step with all that He wants us to be and do ... Am praying for greater clarity on the things in my life that are out of sync, and which need to be corrected. 

My mind has been blown by everything the Lord has done. It is tremendous, awesome and just breathtaking. He deserves all the praise. Lord, may I always walk in alignment with you and others. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quotes on prayer and the prophet

Prayer

1. A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God. (Leonard Ravenhill)

2. Don't pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with The Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees. (Corrie ten Boom)

The prophet (Leonard Ravenhill)

1. He has a heart like a volcano and his words are like fire.

2. He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.

3. Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move men to God.

4. Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day.

Experience vs Encounter

Was at the burning hearts conference last week and Jaye Thomas shared his definitions of "experience" and "encounter" ... which made an impact.

Experience happens on the outside and increases our ability.

Encounter happens on the inside and increases our capacity.

Worship, he said, is a response to encounter.

12 months ago, a preacher from Kansas City IHOP encouraged us to pray this simple prayer that I've been praying periodically now. The prayer is, "Lord, please increase my capacity to know your love, and my capacity to love others." This has been one of my best prayers ever ... in that God has increased my revelation of how deeply He loves me, and my capacity to respond in love, which is the core of our relationship as sons and daughters of God. It is also the source of all ministry. Praying this prayer has moved my heart. It has moved my understanding of God's love from a head level to a heart level.

Lord Jesus, we want an encounter with you. We want an increased capacity to know you, and who you are. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Beautiful (Kari Jobe)

God's call for the Chinese church at this hour

Stumbled upon this Youtube video, and while Allen Hood of IHOP is speaking about the new Forerunner School in Chinese at the International House of Prayer at Kansas City, everything he says about the destiny of the Chinese church resonates with me. I believe the Chinese have been raised up by God for such a time like this; to join the mighty army of God to bring the Gospel to the nations, and ultimately back to Jerusalem. We need to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to us at this hour, and to be prepared, for it is the midnight hour. Amen.

Honouring our older brother

Two weeks ago, I was in Hong Kong for the Homecoming Conference, an awesome meeting of 20,000 believers (10,000 of whom are mainland Chinese) gathered together to worship God, and seek His heart for our generation. It was a tremendous time of worship, intercession, repentance, restoration and blessing among the 35 nations there. We laughed, danced, wept and marvelled at the work God did among us. I was truly blessed. 

Perhaps it was because I was in a predominantly Chinese setting, whilst there, God gave me downloads in Mandarin. And one area He spoke to me deeply about is the role of the older brother. As I reflected on it, there was a realisation that Jesus is our older brother (Matt 12:47-49), we also have older brothers in nation terms. 

It started one particular morning when worship was a struggle. It felt like I was in the outer court and unlike previous days, struggled to enter into the Holy of Holies. Until ... the worship leader sang Kadosh, or Holy, a Hebrew song. All of a sudden, it felt like we were led right into the presence of God. Then God gave me understanding about why this was the case. Israel, He said to me, is the eldest son and hence the vanguard. He said to me, as the oldest son, Israel possesses an authority we do not have. This is why there is a special anointing when the Jews stand with us in worship, or spiritual warfare. There is a special anointing when they bless us, their younger sibling, the Gentile nations. There will be a special anointing when they are saved, because God caused me to understand that his blessing on them will also be our blessing, and his favor on them will our favour. It made me deeply long for my older brother Israel to be saved, because I could totally see how much more the Gentile church will be truly blessed when they come to Christ. There will be a fullness we aren't yet seeing today. 

Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' (Zechariah 8:23) 

At the conference, we also took time to honour the Koreans. I had always been intrigued by the 1907 revival in Pyongyang, which The Lord spoke to me about some years back. But it was only two weeks ago in Hong Kong that I realised the implications of Korea's revival on the Chinese. At the conference, a Chinese pastor shared that she spent some time living in Korea with a host family. And since this Korean Christian family had daily 4am prayer meetings, living under their roof, she had to join them. At her first meeting, she met a Korean believer who was delighted to meet her. He told her, for the last 30 years, I have been praying for the rise of the Chinese church, and today, I am finally meeting a Chinese believer face to face. When she heard that, she was very moved in her heart. And so was I. At that moment, I realised that the Chinese church are coming into our destiny, that we are being saved, because our older brother, the Koreans, have been praying for us all these years. Korea is Asia's first missionary sending nation and they have been faithfully fulfilling the Great Commission in the nations and interceding for us. Having been to the Korean prayer mountains, I know the blessing and legacy that this nation has left behind. So wow, as a Chinese church, we honoured them.

Then last week, I had the privilege of dining with a Welsh pastor and his wife. They shared that many Koreans pray for Wales because the first Protestant missionary to Pyongyang was beheaded there. He gave his life for the gospel and as he was being killed for his faith, continued to hand out bibles to those around him. About 40 years later, Pyongyang 1907 happened. The blood of the martyrs ... Recognising their spiritual roots and the debt they owe the Welsh, today, many Koreans pray for God to revive the Welsh nation once again. That sharing blew my mind. If we, the Chinese church owe a debt to the Koreans for praying for us, we likewise trace our spiritual heritage back to the Welsh.

Closer to home, I now recognise that Malaysia is the older brother to Singapore. I now believe when God sends revival there, that we in Singapore will be blessed.

God has been moving in the nations and the connections over the last 150 years are incredible. As a Chinese believer, I now thank God for the faithfulness of the saints over the generations from nations other than my own. It was they who paved the way for us to come to faith. Thank you Daddy for older brothers!

純潔的心 A Pure Heart (with English subtitles)

Beautiful, beautiful song by City Harvest Church.
Praying that God would give me a pure, undivided heart - "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8)