CASE ONE

I worked at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR, where I was employed as the Landscape Supervisor. One day a student and I were behind Daniel North dorm driving metal posts into the ground to put up a fence. We were using a post driver made of heavy metal pipe with a plug welded into the end with two handles welded on both sides of the 4 inch steel pipe. You drive the post by raising the driver up with the metal post inside it, and pulling it down hard with the plug hitting the top of the post, thereby driving it into the ground.

To get the maximum "hit", you raise the driver up to just below the top of the post and you pull down hard to drive it into the ground. The area behind Daniel dorm is red clay gravel, so I was pulling it down hard and fast.

On one pull, I raised the driver just a fraction too high and the edge of the pipe hit on the top of the post as I pulled down, thereby causing the driver to swing directly across to me and hit me squarely on the top of my head. This was like somebody swinging this 4 inch heavy steel post driver like a baseball bat and hitting me across the head.

The first thing I thought after it happened was that I had bit the front half of my tongue off. I expected to open my mouth and see my tongue fall out. That's what it felt like. That didn't happen, but I was severely stunned, and I knew I had done some damage somewhere.

I was close to quitting time, so we went to the shop and I sat down, clocked out at quitting time, and came home. By the time I came home, the back of my neck and my head was in terrific pain. I could not turn my head left or right without an intense increase in pain. It felt like the back of my neck was "thick" with pain.

At home, I sat down and related the incident to Becky, my wife. She laid hands on me and we prayed about it. She fixed me a cup of hot tea.

We were sitting there talking about it, and as I was trying to describe something, I don't remember what, I unconciously related what I was trying to describe, to "this warm feeling that feels like warm oil flowing on the back of my neck".

Suddenly I realized that there was a warm feeling on the back of my neck that felt like warm oil flowing on it! I exclaimed something like, "Becky, there is a warm feeling on the back of my neck that feels like warm oil flowing!" Then I proceeded to check it out by turning my head one way then another, and I exclaimed, "There is no pain!"

Sure enough, instantly the pain had disappeared, and I could freely turn my head the full turn left and right with no pain.

We praised God for the deliverance.

CASE TWO

I had a tooth extracted. The dentist had quit a struggle getting it out. It had to be cut out and there was much hard pulling. It took a long time. I didn't know if this was normal for teeth being extracted or not, and I was told that this was about as bad as it gets when it comes to pulling teeth out these days. Of course, it was really bad when they used no pain-killers.

So, being told that I could expect some heavy-duty pain when the feeling returns, I was given an extra strong prescription of pain-killer, and was told that I should start taking it right away before the pain starts to try to head it off, because once it starts, there is no curbing it for a while.

When I was told to expect the pain, something rose up within me and said silently, within myself, "I will not expect pain--He bore my pains (Isa.53)". I decided to not fill the prescription.

I went home and related it all to Becky, and we prayed about it, with me committing myself into the hands of the Lord.

One hour passed, two, three, and at one point I was concerned that there was no pain, so I called the dentist. I told the whole story, and it was related to me that pain is normally there, the only cases being those in which the people prayed. I said, "Well, I am one of those cases, because we prayed, and I have had no pain."

I slept like a baby that night and have never suffered pain from the feeling returning to my mouth to this day.

We praise God for His deliverance.

CASE THREE

While working at Ouachita putting in a sprinkler system in the back lawn of the new Jones Science Building, I was using the ditch witch, a heavy, hard-to-handle piece of equipment that digs narrow trenches in the dirt. In my wrestling with that contrary machine, I must have strained my back somehow. A couple of days later, I was at the "First Calhoun Reunion By And By", that we held at Degray Lodge, and I was in pain. I found a nice, comfortable sofa in the area, and I sat down and stayed there a long time, finding some degree of relief.

The burning in my back increased as the day went on. After going home and laying down for a short spell, we went out to my Mom and Dad's and visited for a while longer, and I think we even came back with Cris, my nephew, and we did some work on the computer.

But, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were days of pain at work. Becky had to help me put my shoes and socks on. Bending over really got me. Somehow I made it through those days.

I got only a couple of hours of sleep one night. I think it was Tuesday night that I did not sleep at all. I was up all night walking the floor and praying in the Spirit. I could not sit down or lay down without pain sending me writhing in agony. Stuff like that increases at night. The only semblence of relief I could get was to get on my knees and stay upright on my knees. Somehow that helped. I was in torment.

I came home for lunch one of those days and told Becky that I just didn't know how much more of this I could take. I was really getting to a point of desperation because of the relentless pain. So we prayed.

Also, I had heard a teaching saying that we had to go through struggles, and that particular teaching bothered me. I told the Lord, I said, "Lord, your Word says you bore our pains. You could also say you bore our struggles. I should not have to bear this struggle. Lord, confirm your Word to me so I will know and understand your way in this matter." I was really about at the end of myself.

At lunch, we always like to watch Benny Hinn. When he prayed that day, he also gave a word of knowledge saying there is a man who is having pain in his back on his left side, no, on his right side. He went on to say that this pain was keeping this man awake at night. He said the Lord is healing you.

I received that word for myself, and then as he was about to go on to something else, he went on to say something like "Oh yes, you don't have to struggle".

With tears of joy I received the word of healing and the word of confirmation, and I received instant relief.

As I drove back to work, the pain started returning. I spoke out declaring my healing and my total deliverance. For some hours, I had to stand in faith in my recovery from the pain. But when I went to bed, I slept. Plus, I discovered that I could lay on my left side without discomfort, whereas for years I have not been able to lay on my left side comfortably.

My healing for my back occurred about April 9, 1997, and this is updated to May 5, 2002 without a trace of pain in my back whatsoever. Usually I would wake up with some discomfort, especially if I stayed in bed more than five or six hours. But now, there is no discomfort, even if I stay in bed that long or even longer. I thank the Lord for His deliverance. God is good. Praise His name.