CHAPTER 17
Gold Stomach
Tuesday, 1 August 2006 — Good friends of ours came from the UK for a visit. We enjoyed a wonderful time of catching up and ministering to each other. The first evening, we spoke about their twelve-year-old daughter, Mandy, and how the Lord had been ministering to her. Before bed, I took some time to receive Word from the Lord on behalf of Mandy. What an amazing Word of calling, prophecy, and direction!
Two days later, my friend Martin (Mandy’s dad) went to the city to solve some car troubles. Around tea time, the ladies and I were again talking and Louisa (Mandy’s mom) had a desire to sort out some unresolved issues from her past. While talking, Mandy interrupted us saying that she felt ill and wanted some medicine. Instead, her mother prayed for her. During that prayer, I quietly asked the Lord for spiritual discernment regarding Mandy. He gave me a vision of her stomach filled with darkness. After Mandy left the room, I related this to Louisa who confirmed that Mandy had recently been struggling with anxiety and recurring pain in her stomach. We left it there.
Martin soon returned with his repaired car and was eager to depart to go see their family on a nearby farm. He hastily packed and we had a last cup of coffee together, prayed, and said our goodbyes. As we walked to the door, Louisa said that she felt we had to pray for Mandy before they left. We sent the other children out to play and went to a private part of the house, where the five of us (four adults and Mandy) sat around on chairs.
Martin surprised me by leading in prayer with a boldness and authority which I discerned was inspired by God. Then his wife prayed. During prayer, they raised the issue of a movie that had disturbed their daughter. Despite an urge not to watch the movie, she had succumbed to peer pressure. My turn to pray would soon come. Despite my desire to be useful to God, my mind was blank.
When they finished, with nothing to add, I simply shared with Mandy that she doesn’t need to please people, only God. He would be her strength in every situation. I shared how the Lord was always my strength and inspiration when programming, painting, doing animation, learning new skills, learning computer languages, anything. Right then the Lord anointed me with His Holy Spirit and took over. The rest is impossible to adequately describe; I became a useful vessel for the Lord, pouring out to Mandy what He poured into me at that moment.
I felt the liberty to speak out God’s Word which I had received from Him earlier during my quiet time. God affirmed her salvation over and over. Imagine God Himself confirming you are saved, you are His child, and you shall enjoy His blessings and eternal life—it was truly astounding! Through my mouth, God then also spoke to her dad, affirming his role as man of God and man of the house.
I asked Mandy to stand up and stand in front of me sideways while I remained seated. In this position, I placed my one hand on her stomach and the other on her back. God led me to pray against the darkness in her stomach, against worry, against fear. I then saw—in the spirit—her stomach turn to a dull gold, the darkness gone. At that same time I noticed a dove hovering over us, and then my body started shaking more than anything I’ve experienced before.
I continued praying and the divine vision now showed a polished gold stomach, just before Mandy’s laughter filled the room. Then I saw oil sloshing around and coating the walls of the shiny golden stomach. While she laughed, the Lord spoke through me and told her that she has free and open access to the throne of God and that she can ask anything of Him. She asked God to heal her finger, which she couldn’t bend much after an operation. At this point I was behind her with her parents in front. Her finger was immediately healed and she could bend it normally. I continued praying for God to repair Mandy’s body.
At some point, incredible spiritual boldness came over me. Not the sort of boldness you need before people, but boldness to address the opposing forces in the spirit realm. I felt compelled to declare and affirm—through shouts of victory tinged with laughter—her salvation and the rule of Jesus Christ in her life. Throughout all this, I was keenly aware of the dove still hovering over us as I continued to shake on the spot like a jackhammer. Mandy was also shaking, although I was just gently touching her back. God’s power was flowing. There was no discomfort, only peace, spiritual discernment, and tears. When God’s divine power and love flows like that, I weep. Now and then a surge in God’s power would express itself through me via verbal yelps just before the Lord would speak again. Suddenly, knowledge of a Bible scripture for Mandy appeared to me; the women looked it up and Martin read it to her.
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke 4:18-19 — World English Bible
We already knew that Mandy had a heart to minister to the lost. The dove flew upward and the heavens opened with a shaft of intense light shining down on us. Instantly my vigorous shaking stopped as if it had never started.
My wife and I quietly left the room so that this family could minister forgiveness of lingering offences to one another, something they did spontaneously. They were being washed by God’s love for one another.
We enjoyed a final cup of tea and they took to the road shortly thereafter. Before they left, Mandy came and hugged us. God had moved mightily among them. Our friends glorified God.
Update, 13 August 2006 — Three days after our prayer session, it was time for them to return to the UK. Saying goodbye to friends at the airport is rarely easy, yet Martin was remarkably joyful, giving me a firm hug (in our culture, men rarely embrace affectionately and are usually emotionally reserved). I asked him what our time of prayer meant to them, and he said that Mandy was her old self again and much better physically—she had indeed been set free. Louisa was also bubbling with joy and so thankful that we had prayed with them.