Dedication
I dedicate this book to Pastors Mitchell and Regina Bias, Peggy Scarborough, Germaine Copeland, Doug Small, the late Cathy Simpkins, and the late Edith Mahon. These dear saints, as well as my late grandmother, Gladys Hood, have more profoundly impacted my prayer life than anyone else I know. Thank you for allowing me to tag along and “catch” the spirit of prayer from you!
I also dedicate this book to my dear uncle, Thomas Henderson, from whom I inherited the "writer's gene." I've loved having you around all these years to learn from, laugh with, and to love...and I hope you know just how big a hero you really are to me. The day you gave your heart to Jesus, life would never again be the same for our family! May you read this book and smile, knowing that you are one of the main reasons I love to write...
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my dear family, especially my husband, Dana, for recognizing that my reclusive nature isn’t just because I’m weird that way (ha!); but rather, that I am wired that way… and that I can only hear from God when I get alone with Him in a quiet place. When it’s tranquil enough for me to hear His voice, God’s anointing flows freely in me so that I might share sweet affirmations of His goodness with you. Thanks to my home church, Regional Church of God in Delbarton, West Virginia, for allowing my day, evening, and weekend job to be serving on the church staff. It is such a privilege to just get to be a part of this wonderful body of believers; to be allowed to minister and serve here is a bonus. Thank you for allowing me a platform through which to operating in my calling.
TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY FOR THE SUPERNATURAL MANIFESTATIONS THAT COME THROUGH HIS INFALLIBLE WORD.
FOREWORD
Once you meet Lisa Crum, you are changed. With every encounter with her, you grow. Every time you talk with her whether in person, by phone, by email, through Facebook or blogging, you are encouraged. There are few people you meet who have so many gift mixes as Lisa Crum. She reminds you of the Proverbs 31 woman. When you begin to list all she does, you find yourself getting out of breath and you wonder when she sleeps. She is an author, blogger, proofreader, editor, musician, business woman, administrator, family woman, intercessor, speaker, biker, canner of vegetables, knows all about nutrition, entertains a host of friends, hosts prayer calls, and now is a leader in prayer and healing ministries. Wow! And she’s my friend.
She and Dana (her wonderful husband) at one time loved motorcycle touring until they had an accident in 2010, in which Dana almost lost his life. After 82 days in the hospital they learned that fighters win. Since then they treasure every day of life and love to help people fight when they walk through tough places. This experience was the beginning of Lisa’s desire to find some tools to help people live and live life walking in divine health.
In February, 2015, I had a terrible accident which the enemy meant to use to take me out, but God said, “No, you don’t, Devil.” Then shortly afterwards, I had an eye stroke that was threatening the sight in my left eye—an eye that previously had 20/20 vision. I posted on my Facebook page, “Anyone got any Scriptures to help me war for my eyesight in this left eye?” Lisa took it as a personal assignment from the Lord to get all the Scriptures on eyes for me. At that time this book was birthed. Every night I went over those Scriptures and prayers diligently. Every night the eyesight was better little by little. Now I see again in that eye because once again I experienced the healing power of the Word of God.
Now Lisa has given the body of Christ a wonderful manual with tools for fighting numerous diseases of the body. The Word works! The Word works! Take it like medicine. Take it daily. Take it as prescribed, and watch the healing come. No matter what body part is being attacked, Lisa has some help for you in this manual. Master it. Read these pages. Read them out loud. Read them silently. Get them in your mind and in your mouth. Get these pages in the atmosphere. Pin them on your wall. Put them on your mirror. Put them on your refrigerator. Keep this book always with you. Use it.
This is a manual for intercessors as well as a manual for those who are sick. Thank you, Lisa, for giving us a manual of tools with which to get well and help others get well.
Dr. Peggy Scarborough, Speaker and Author National Governors Prayer Team, South Atlantic Regional Director Cry Out America, South Carolina State Coordinator Prayer Consultant, Church of God Prayer Leaders Network Special Forces Intercessors, Founder and Director
Introduction
All Scriptures taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible unless otherwise indicated.
Philippians 4:6 on rear cover of hardcopy is in The Voice translation -The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
How important are the words of our mouths? Proverbs tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. The believer can only live as victoriously as his or her confession of faith (or lack thereof) will allow; therefore, it is of utmost urgency to speak over one's body, soul, and spirit what the Word declares! It may take practice, practice, practice; a few times you may slip and revert back to negative words, but you can develop the habit of speaking positively over your circumstances. God is patient with us, and He desires for us to be healthy and whole. He will work with us until we get it right, if we sincerely desire to have a God-ordained quality of life.
What holds us back from taking authority over sickness? As much as anything--and please, don't get mad when I say this--we worry way too much about what other people think. Perhaps we are afraid we will testify to healing and then the sickness will come back, making us look stupid, delusional, or appearing to have lied. The devil may even tell us, "You jumped the gun, now you've made God look bad!" Perhaps we feel others will believe we've lost our minds should we begin to say we're healed before we look like we are. To which we may confidently respond, "Yes, I HAVE lost my mind...I now have the mind of Christ, and He knows I am healed because He secured it for me Himself!
Another obstacle between us and our healing also involves our relationships with others. If we perceive that our illness or injury causes others to cut us a little more slack, to sympathize with us, to excuse our shortcomings, to give us more breathing room, we may "hold back" a little from a bold declaration. After all, what if we were to confess healing and others would suddenly stop checking on us, helping us, granting us favor, or taking our needs seriously? I'm not suggesting you enjoy being sick; no, not at all. What I am saying, however, is that when our sickness acts as a buffer between us and what others expect from us, it is hard to shake that reliance on it for an alibi. Oh, how Satan loves to be able to keep us in bondage with his lies! I can only say this to you because I have been there myself. When I become overwhelmed and overextended from an inability to say "no," then the only time I get any rest--and generally, just be left alone for awhile-- is when I've worn myself out to the point of becoming sick. While the sickness and exhaustion feel terrible, the distance from everyone's seemingly-incessant expectations can sometimes feel pretty good. That's a hard thing to let go of! I have to fight that frequently, but by the grace of God, I'm maturing in that area! I've come a long way from where I used to be!
Unforgiveness can even stand as a "spite fence" (an old phrase my Granny used to use) between you and a blessed, healthy life! That wall you've built up between you and the person who offended you? It could wind up robbing you of the Light of the World. Wouldn't it be something tragic to experience crop failure over something so preventable, so self-destructive? I won't deal in depth with unforgiveness here, except to say that you need to purge it out of your life at all costs. Don't allow what someone else has done to you to bleed over into your relationship with God; and believe me, hanging onto that grudge is toxic to your spirit AND to your body and mind. It can even nullify or hinder your prayers. Yes, it's that serious. Unforgiveness can make you sick and can eventually take you to your grave.
If we deal with an infirmity long enough, we can eventually begin to take on that infirmity as our identity. Blind Bartimaeus. Simon the Leper. The Demoniac