One afternoon while walking through the lobby of a hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I became aware of a disturbance in one corner of the room. I walked in that direction in that casual way we use to check out disturbances in public places without announcing our curiosity. A boy of about four was screaming and rolling around on the floor in some kind of a fit. Several people were trying to help the parents control the child. A crowd was gathering. It was a bad situation. Then the Lord spoke to me. “I want you to pray with that boy for a complete healing,” he said. It wasn’t an audible voice. But I heard the Lord say this as clearly as I have ever heard anything. I suspected that the boy had Downs’ Syndrome. I was astonished. Down’s Syndrome is a genetic defect that always causes moderate to severe mental impairment and physical disability. Every cell in that boy’s body had an extra chromosome. Every one of the billions of cells in his body was defective, and I was supposed to pray for a complete healing. But I had heard the Lord. I took a deep and uneasy breath and went over to the parents; I told them that I wanted to pray for their son. I wanted to imply that the idea was mine, not the Lord’s, in case nothing happened when I prayed. I put my hands on the child and prayed. He calmed down immediately. I was filled with a sense that at that moment the Lord began to restore him completely. He was. In the weeks and months following that event, the boy’s development accelerated. The doctors could not find any explanation for it. When they ran the tests they could find no trace of Down’s Syndrome. I still hear from the parents telling me how well he is doing. Michael Scanlan, TOR Steubenville, Ohio This is an excerpt from the book, Let the Fire Fall, by Michael Scanlan, TOR, Servant Publications. |
