When Jerry got up, he felt like a completely different person inside and out. And a couple of weeks later he wrote to me and explained what I just explained to you.
You see, Jerry had been a mainline heroin addict, as well as a drug dealer himself, for many years. His family had literally turned him out because he had become a thief and had stolen everything he could steal to buy drugs. He had stolen his sister’s silverware, and even her car, in order to buy drugs. And on top of that, he had been in and out of jail over a twenty-year period for possession and selling of drugs, and for grand larceny. Needless to say, his family felt that in order to protect themselves they could no longer have anything to do with him.
In his letter to me Jerry said, “Richard, I have been off drugs now for two weeks.” And he said, “I want you to pray with me that I’ll stay off the drugs.” So I wrote him back, prayed with him and encouraged him, and gave him some Scriptures from the Bible.
A couple of months later, I received another letter from Jerry. This time he said, “I’ve been off drugs now for two months. Please continue to pray that I’ll be able to stay off.” Then six months passed, and the next letter I received was a little different. In this one he said, “Richard, since I’ve been off drugs, my life has really begun to change.”
We continued writing each other back and forth, and within the first year after he accepted Christ and got clean, some major miracles had happened in Jerry’s life. First, his family was restored to him. The relationship with his sister, whose car he had stolen, was healed.
Jerry also began giving to God and sending Seed-Faith gifts to our ministry, and God began to multiply his seeds back to him. He was able to get a new car. And the apartment complex where he lived re-established their trust in him enough to ask him to become the manager. So he was able to move into a nicer, larger apartment reserved for the apartment manager.
Jerry got a totally new lease on life…and it began when he gave his heart and his life to Jesus. I believe that can happen to anyone who allows God to take control of their life.
Friend, I believe you are standing on the threshold of miracles in your life. When Jesus comes to live in your heart by the power of His Holy Spirit, He brings with Him all that He is. And He is so much more than just the One who saves your soul. Remember how He said in Exodus 15:26, “I am the Lord who heals you.” Yes, in addition to being our Savior, Jesus is also our Healer.
He is our Provider, according to Philippians 4:19, for “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” As Deuteronomy 8:17–18 reminds us, we do not give ourselves the ability to make money, it’s God who gives it to us, “for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth.”
God is also our Protector. When we dwell, or consistently live, in Him, He becomes our place of protection, or refuge, according to Psalm 91:1–2.
There’s a place in the Bible where it talks about God being our Savior, our Healer, and our Provider—all in one verse. Psalm 103:3,5 nlt says, “He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He fills my life with good things.”
God wants to be all those things to you and more! But He will never force you to do anything. He has given to everyone “the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3), and He wants us to use that faith to reach out to Him for what we need in our lives. I believe that even now, Jesus is coming toward you, just as He came toward a blind beggar in the Bible named Bartimaeus. And I believe He’s saying to you, as He did to Bartimaeus and others recorded in the New Testament record of Jesus’ life and ministry, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Tell Him…talk to Him like you would your closest friend. Then watch the miracles begin.
Chapter 2: God Sees Your Specific Needs…And He Wants to Heal You
Did you know that God is waiting to hear you tell Him what you want Him to do for you? There was a time in my life when I didn’t understand that. And I believe that many people think of God as someone who is too busy and too distant to care about what they’re going through. But let’s look at the life and ministry of Jesus to see how He dealt with the people around Him, and what He did when He came face to face with human pain and suffering.
In Mark 10:46–52, an account is recorded of Jesus and a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem when He ran into Bartimaeus. Let’s read Mark’s account of the story and see how Jesus responded to Bartimaeus’ need.
Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, [or Master] that I may receive my sight.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
With Jesus You’re Never Alone
I want you to see this man for a moment because he represents many people today who feel like life has passed them by. Throughout my ministry of praying for people for more than 30 years, I have become aware that people who are critically ill, or who have been sick for a long time, especially feel that way. I hear from many of our Partners that not only are they dealing with physical illness, but the isolation and loneliness they experience on top of it just makes matters worse.
That must have been how Bartimaeus was feeling that day. Not only was he blind, but because of his blindness he had been forced to become a beggar to eke out a meager living for himself. He must have felt alone in his struggle. He must have known that he was on the fringes of society, isolated and not accepted by those around him.
That’s what Satan does to human beings. He tries to steal from you—from your health, from your relationships, from your finances and other areas. He tries to isolate you from other people, to tell you that you’re not as good as they are…that you’re not even worthy of God’s love and concern. Often he uses other people to help him do that. As Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was coming near to where he was, he must have had a glimmer of hope, because the Bible says he cried out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Wouldn’t you think that when those around Bartimaeus heard him yelling for Jesus, they might have helped him? That they might have even picked him up and carried him to Jesus, making sure Jesus saw him and had the opportunity to minister to him? But that’s not what happened, is it? Not only did they not help Bartimaeus, they actually tried to silence him by warning him to keep quiet.
It’s as if they were saying to Bartimaeus, “Don’t bother Jesus. He’s too busy to be concerned with the likes of you.” It’s as if they were actually trying to kill any hope he had of getting out of the situation he was in and someday having a better life.
Maybe you’re feeling like that right now. Perhaps someone, even in your own family, has discouraged you from thinking that you could ever be healed and whole again. Or maybe you’ve somehow gotten the mistaken idea that God doesn’t even know you exist…and if He does, He doesn’t really care about you anyway.
My