I had been having some trouble with acid reflux, but this particular night it kept me up much of the night. By morning it was so bad that I could not even swallow my own saliva without having the feeling I was going to throw up.
Steven, who worked for me at the time, arrived at my house, but I could not leave yet. I was trying to get over this spell of wanting to throw up. My wife, Bess, had given me several different kinds of medicines to help settle my condition. Nothing was working up to this point.
My chest area was burning on the inside, and because of the throwing up so many times, my chest was hurting. After about forty-five minutes to an hour, I finally sent Steven to the job without me. While sitting in the recliner, I began to pray, “God, I need your help. I have taken medicine and have done everything I know to do. Lord, it’s up to you. I need you! Help me!” On the inside, I was crying out with everything I had.
Bess knew how bad I felt. So she called my Pastor to ask him if he would pray for me. Shortly after Bess got off the phone with Pastor John, Sister Betty called to see if we needed anything from the grocery store. She learned while talking to Bess how bad I felt. So Bess asked her if they would pick up a bottle of ginger ale for me.
While sitting quietly in the recliner, things began to slow down for me. As long as I kept my mind on Jesus, I could swallow a little bit at a time. I began to drift off to sleep. This happened several times, and I would sleep for twenty minutes, then awake. Each time I would awake I would start praying quietly, and then drift off to sleep again. By eleven thirty, the phone rang and I awoke. Bess told me that Brother Earl and Sister Betty were on their way in from town. They were planning on stopping by to drop off the ginger ale. While I was sitting in the recliner, Jesus gave me a thought that He was coming with my healing and it was not ginger ale. Shortly after that, Brother Earl came to our front door with the power of God ready to work. As he entered the house he said to me. “Tim, I hear you’re not feeling so good.” Then he said, “You don’t have to feel that way.” He made his way around the sofa, heading in my direction. I began to feel the presence of the Lord in the room. I told Brother Earl if he would just lay hands on me that I knew Jesus would heal me.
As he got closer to me, I could hear the sound of tongues coming from Brother Earl as his hand began to shake from the power of God all over it. Each step that he took closer to me meant that healing was that much closer. Faith began to rise up in me, and I knew if he laid his hand on me that I would be healed. There was no doubt in my heart as he laid his hand on the top of my head. I could feel the power of God, and the presence of the Lord starting at the top of my head.
A tickling sensation started moving down through my head until it reached my chest. Then I felt the pain in my chest start to move in an upward direction. It moved up through my throat, then my face and even through my eyes. By the time it reached the top of my head, Brother Earl was beginning to lift his hand from off my head. That’s when I felt the pain leave my head. I looked at Brother Earl and told him I already feel better. Bess saw the look on my face. She knew something had changed in me. My eyes were saying, “I’m healed! Jesus did it!” My body was calm, and my chest didn’t hurt, and the burning sensation had left me. I asked Bess if she would bring me some crackers and ginger ale. Earlier that morning I could not keep any thing down on my stomach.
I knew what Jesus did for me that morning. When you feel the power of God coming your way and you know He wants to heal your body, you can hardly wait for His touch to reach you. After Brother Earl and Sister Betty drove away, I began to speak in tongues and thank Him for healing my body. God is good to me! I love Him so much!