Mercy and Everyday Healing

Jesus's healing miracles

Over the past 40+ years, I have learned that God’s love and mercy is beyond anything we can comprehend or grasp.  It is Catholic teaching that when we pray to the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus, there is healing. This healing is mostly spiritual but can also include emotional and physical healing.

By far, though, the most important dimension is spiritual healing.  We see a great example of this in the familiar story of the paralytic:

And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.  And when he saw their faith he said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.’  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, ‘Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?’  When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, ‘Why do you question in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or to say, “Rise and walk?”  But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the man who was paralyzed—‘I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home.’ And immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and went home, glorifying God. (Luke 5:18-25)

Over the past several decades, I have prayed over thousands of people.  The most important healing is for the scales to be removed from their eyes to see Jesus clearly.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 “But when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Everything changes when we sincerely turn our hearts, mind and soul to the Lord!

Jesus wants us whole.  He came to give us abundant life through His love and mercy.

John 10:10 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

To obtain this abundant life we must experience the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

This power is essential for the warrior for Christ to pray for healing.  Remember, 1 Corinthians 4:20, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”

How do we get this power?  We ask for it!

Luke 11: 9-13 “And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Most people don’t even bother to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit, and if they ask, they don’t expect to get anything.

James 4:2 “You do not have, because you do not ask.”

We are not orphans.  We are not alone and powerless.  In fact, how often have you heard this Scripture, and if you have heard it, do you understand it?

John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.”

Greater works than Jesus?  Do you believe it?  Why not?  Either it is true or we have a big problem.  I am 100 percent convinced of the truth in this Scripture, and I have personally experienced and seen the power of the Holy Spirit.  If we do not believe, we will never experience the fullness of what God wants to give us!

It is normal Christianity for us to have the power of the Holy Spirit and manifest the gifts and power with love and mercy.  How do we obtain the gifts that God, through His mercy, wants us to experience?  There are seven key points to receive the gift of everyday healing.

  1. Surrender to God’s love, mercy, and power. 

In my ministry, Spirit Filled Hearts, we often say that the greatest and most difficult journey is the 18 inches from the head to the heart!  If we know God, just in our head, we will never experience the power that God wants to give us. Remember on the road to Emmaus the disciples said, “Were not our hearts on fire?”  One of my favorite Scriptures, and I have many, is Luke 12:49, “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!”

I experienced the fire of Christ when I gave my heart and life to Jesus at the age of 28.  Suddenly, the Scriptures came alive.  I couldn’t put the Bible down.  I read it for hours and hours at a time.  I couldn’t stop thinking about Jesus and telling other people how much Jesus loved us. My mother thought I joined a cult.  Others felt I was just crazy.  The reality?  I was totally in love with Jesus.  Despite many challenges, that love has only grown!

One of the great revelations to me was that I was truly loved and not being condemned.

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Nothing will separate us from the love of Jesus!

Romans 8: 38-39 “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I have seen countless examples of His love and mercy.  It is critical that we surrender to Jesus and let His love flow through us.  One great example of this was an event at Christ Cathedral in the Diocese of Orange, California, that manifested the love and mercy of Christ.

There was a woman, about 27, who was in a wheelchair and was being pushed by her boyfriend. I saw her in a theater that held about 300 people.  I immediately felt the Lord telling me, through His mercy, that He wanted to heal the woman in the wheelchair.

At the end of the event, the woman was pushed to the stage of the theater.  I walked up and began speaking to her.  I never introduced myself as a deacon or someone who had a healing ministry.  I simply said, “God wants to heal you tonight.”  She looked at me like I was crazy!  I felt like she was about to yell “security!”  So I mustered up courage and with a loud voice said, “In the name of Jesus, stand!”  I found out later that she hadn’t stood in sixteen years.

She looked at me, and her eyes were completely dilated. Her arms started shaking.  Then, she stood for the first time in many, many years!  However, that was just the beginning of God’s mercy.  I put my hand on her back and felt that it was about a half moon, totally curved.  Suddenly, the back began moving and became straight as a board.  She began crying with joy and went to her knees praising God.  Suddenly the whole arena was singing “alleluia.”  It was an incredible moment of God’s mercy!

Another of my favorite stories of His mercy and healing was regarding another young adult woman.  She was seven months pregnant. She had heard my presentation and purchased my book Expect and Experience Miracles.  She read it and put it in her purse.  The next week she went to the doctor and, to her horror, the doctor could not find her baby’s heartbeat and told her the baby had died.  They told her she had to go immediately to the emergency room to have the baby delivered.

The woman was crying and screaming and distraught. She went to her car in this state and the Lord told her to pull the book out of her purse and hold it.  She began trusting and praising God. She felt peace and God’s mercy. She went to the emergency room. The baby was certified dead for 45 minutes, but she knew that God had healed her baby.

She then asked the nurse if she could try one more time to get a heartbeat.  At first, the nurse said she didn’t want to hurt her any more, but finally she agreed to try. Suddenly the heartbeats were loud and regular! Sixteen doctors were called in to certify that the dead baby was alive. Indeed, two months later she delivered a healthy baby 10 pounds, one ounce! No ill effects! Totally healthy!  God’s mercy and healing is beyond anything we can ever imagine!

  1. Ask the Holy Spirit to be released within you. 

Remember it is not enough that we are baptized and confirmed!  We must want the Holy Spirit to be released within us. At an event, a woman wanted me to pray over her.  At first, I felt I didn’t have time, but the Lord told me to pray immediately over her.  I didn’t know what she needed to heal. I laid my hand on her, and she actually started screaming. She had been deaf in one ear since birth, and suddenly she could hear perfectly out of the ear!  She started crying and screaming with joy!

At another event, the Lord told me, out of the blue, to go to a table and pray for a woman. As it turned out, the woman was in severe pain with a tumor in her neck.  I prayed over her with the love and mercy of Jesus and she was instantly healed.  Her physician told her it was a miracle!

  1. Expect and experience miracles. 

So much of understanding the love and mercy of Jesus is to ask for faith “to move mountains.”  At a prayer and teaching seminar, a woman told me that her aunt was in the hospital and was in serious condition with a brain arrhythmia.  She was not expected to live more than a few days.

We have the ability to “stand in the gap” for people through the mercy of Christ.  I prayed over this woman and in a couple of days she told me that her aunt was completely healed!

Another example of mercy is a man who told me that his brother was not expected to live.  He had stage four cancer that had progressed.  Once again, the man stood in for his brother, and I prayed for the brother’s healing.  It was actually many months later that I learned that his brother had been instantly healed!  How great is God’s mercy!

  1. Embrace holiness. 

To be holy is our destiny and calling.  We are called to be saints.  We must want it.  We must seek it. St. Teresa of Calcutta told us we must seek it with all our hearts.  We are told in Leviticus and in 1 Peter that we are to be holy and to keep ourselves holy.  Most people don’t think it is possible for them to be holy. We see our sin and our brokenness. The key to understanding holiness is not what we have done, but accepting what Christ has done for us through His death and resurrection.  The holier we strive to become, the more God will use us in a mighty way.

  1. Embrace the sacraments.

To experience the love and mercy of Christ, it is necessary to grow in our love of the sacraments, starting with Reconciliation. To be holy, we must examine our conscience daily and go frequently to confession. Attending and embracing daily Mass and receiving the Eucharist gives us both strength and protection. It also dramatically assists the miracles that flow through us. After one Mass, I was told a young woman, in her mid-30s, had stage four cancer and was not expected to live. In the chapel, with my wife assisting, I prayed over her. We all started crying because we felt profoundly the love and mercy of Jesus. When she went to her oncologist, he couldn’t find any cancer!  Once again, God’s mercy was there with great love and power.

  1. Win on the battlefield of the mind. 

We are at war.  We must realize that the enemy wants us to be discouraged and feel defeated at all times. We must ask for more faith and expect that we will receive it. It is faith that will blunt the fiery arrows of the devil. We need to learn how to praise and use the Name of Jesus to protect us. We also need to take every thought captive to not give the enemy a foothold in our ministry.

It is critical that we learn the power of the Rosary. I pray at least three a day. I also feel it is necessary to pray twelve Divine Mercy chaplets daily. We need tools and weapons to defeat an enemy who wants very much to defeat our purpose in life, which is building up the kingdom of God and His Church!

  1. Seek the gift of perseverance. 

As I have said, “Don’t give up, don’t give up, don’t give up.” The devil will always work on us to quit our ministries and whatever God wants us to do. I often ask my brother, “why is life so difficult?” His answer: “It is supposed to be.”

There is nothing easy about this world and being a warrior for Christ.  There are many roadblocks and obstacles. However, God is greater than anything that will be thrown at us. Draw upon His mercy! You will receive great power and accomplish more than anything you could ever imagine.

You are destined for great things due to the mercy of Christ. You will be used for many miracles!

In sum:

  1. Surrender to God’s love.
  2. Ask for the Holy Spirit to be released in you.
  3. Expect and experience many miracles.
  4. Strive for holiness.
  5. Embrace the sacraments.
  6. Win on the battlefield of the mind.
  7. Seek the gift of perseverance.

Every one of us is called to be holy and to live out our baptism.  We are to be bold and believe in God’s great love and mercy for our family, loved ones, and ourselves.

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3 thoughts on “Mercy and Everyday Healing”

  1. an ordinary papist

    Wonderful !!! And then there is that which requires greater discernment. If you ask the
    Father for a loaf of bread he will not hand you a stone – the problem for many is they
    do not recognize the bread they were given.

  2. I only have two words – Thank you!
    I am so close to giving up on doing something I love, and your article has encouraged me to not do so.

  3. Pingback: FRIDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit

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