First Friday Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: A woman shared that before she came to Praise & Worship, she’d had pain in her right knee that made it very difficult to genuflect and climb stairs. She wrote, “After sitting before the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance and receiving prayer from people nearby, including my 5-yr-old son, when I stood to return to my seat, I had zero pain in my knee. It was perfectly sound!”
Coming Off a Ventilator: Veronica Nwagwu shared this testimony on behalf of her mom, Elizabeth: “She suddenly got sick with pneumonia & had difficulty breathing, which rapidly progressed into respiratory distress and required ventilator support in the ICU. She initially did not respond to treatment until after prayers were initiated. [Then] her recovery became miraculously exponential. Today she is healthy. Prayers saved her life. Praise the Lord!”
Eyes Healed: Barb Sierra shared, “I used to need my glasses to see the words on the wall for songs at Friday night prayer meetings. I have needed glasses to see at a distance since I was 15 years old. Now I can see the words without glasses. I hadn’t asked for prayer for my eyes; it just happened. I noticed it one time when I had taken my glasses off to pray, then when I looked up I could see the words. I thought maybe the letters were bigger, but they are not.”
Knee Pain Healed: Gerry Hofer reported: “Two years ago I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left knee. During prayer ministry, Dr. Mary Healy received a word of knowledge re. healing of a ‘sore left knee.’ Since I was definitely having a sore left knee I thought I would go up….[A prayer minister] prayed over me, and asked me to tell him if I felt anything. After a few minutes, it seemed as though something was occurring in my left knee – no tingling, but some kind of a movement. I stood up and the soreness seemed to be gone. I thanked him and stayed to thank God. When I walked back to the greeting table, I walked faster and without the soreness I had been experiencing. I thanked God again for relieving the soreness which had made walking difficult yesterday.”
Pain Healed and New Openness to God: Emmanuel Cabuena received prayer ministry at Upper Room for the healing of his neck and back pain. When he was prayed over, he felt warmth on his back. From then on the pain decreased and now it’s all gone. Emmanuel says that since coming to Upper Room, “I’m more open to hearing His words and paying attention to Him. My neck and back pain are gone! Praise God!”
The Power of Praise & Worship: “This is AWESOME! The prayer meeting is a great blessing, it is saving my soul. I so much need to be around faithful brothers and sisters. Thank you! God Bless you!”
A New Heart Valve Flap: A man had been told by four doctors that he needed urgent open-heart surgery. One of his heart valves only had two flaps instead of the normal three, so his heart was leaking. His left ventricle was also severely enlarged. This man received prayer at Praise & Worship. The following week, when he went in for pre-surgical testing, it was found that he now has three flaps on the valve, and his ventricle is a normal size.
Cancer Healed: A woman came from Detroit for prayer because she had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. When she received prayer, she reported feeling something penetrate down through her head to her feet. She then went back to her doctor and a new scan revealed that the esophageal cancer was gone.
Overcoming bitterness: A woman shared that a word of knowledge had been given at an Upper Room prayer meeting that someone there was struggling with bitterness toward her husband. Immediately this woman knew the word was for her. Over the next few months, she began to find new freedom by giving her bitterness and resentment to the Lord. She has a new peace, and now she is applying this to her relationships with her children!
A New Spiritual Gift: “I started attending the prayer meetings in 2011 and was encouraged to participate. I grew in my understanding what the church believes and why. One of the prayer ministers told me she felt I have the gift of intercessory prayer for the church. Taking this very seriously, and listening to her recommendations to pray daily and read the Bible, this gift began to develop. It is now leading me in new paths never imagined. I pray for the Universal church, parish and individuals and the Upper Room. I feel the Upper Room is an important life line in our growth and understanding what the Lord is asking us all to do at CTK.”
Pneumonia Healed: “My dad (92 yrs. old) was in the ICU with pneumonia that was complicating a pre-existing heart condition. He had had a heart attack and was on oxygen. His doctors were asking the family about final directives in case his heart stopped. There was a word at Upper Room that the Lord was clearing lungs. I prayed for my dad. Within two days, the pneumonia cleared. Within two more days, he was discharged from the hospital. After a few weeks of rehab, he is living in an apartment and getting around. He no longer needs oxygen at all. Praise God!”
A Broken Arm Healed: A young man with a broken arm went to prayer ministry during Praise & Worship. As he received prayer, the bones snapped back into place and he was healed.
Anger & Heartbreak: “[For two months I’ve been] angry/frustrated over suffering from my second broken engagement. During worship my anger broke and healing/forgiveness penetrated every part of me.” – James
Severe Allergies Healed: A young woman had an allergy to salicylates and other food intolerances that severely restricted her diet. During a class exercise in the Walking in the Spiritual Gifts class, a man received a word of knowledge that the Lord wanted to heal her. He had not been aware that she was in need of any healing. When he prayed over her, all of her allergies went away. She reports, “I have been able to eat what would have previously given me rashes, hives, swollen hands / eyelids / feet, severe abdominal pain and headaches.”
A New Home & New Job: A family needed to move to a warmer state and the parents were having trouble finding new jobs. They particularly wanted to move somewhere where they could be supported in their faith, and had prayed for this for four years. They began coming to Upper Room and reported that every time they received prayer ministry the Lord would do something significant in their lives. Recently one of the parents got a job in Florida, near a Catholic charismatic retreat center. They are very excited to move there.
A New Baby: “I went to the University of Michigan and my husband went to Michigan State University, so the rivalry was alive and active in our house! When we got married we immediately started trying to conceive, but I had problems with fibroids and had two surgeries to remove them. We tried other treatments too. At every turn IVF was recommended but we stood our ground and said no because of our beliefs. In May 2013, we were at an Upper Room prayer meeting when a prophecy came forth: that someone here was trying to get pregnant and God was saying not to worry, that it would happen. They could see the baby formed in its mother’s womb, and it was a healthy baby. And the color green was all around and very prominent. My husband looked at me almost immediately and said that was for us – that last part was aimed directly at him (MSU’s color is green). A few months later we moved out of state and temporarily discontinued our treatments. All this time we were praying for that prophecy to come true. Then in November I became pregnant! When I saw the tiny speck that was my baby on ultrasound for the first time I cried tears of joy. I was very happy to have conceived naturally and to be a testimony to the goodness and glory of God.”
A Little Girl’s Healing: Testimony from Margaret Stratton
Maggie shared this testimony at Upper Room’s Praise & Worship on a Friday night. She prefaced it by saying that she had learned how to pray with others through Upper Room’s Life in the Spirit Seminar and Walking in the Spiritual Gifts class.
“Last summer my husband and I had offered to watch our daughter and son-in-law’s five children (ages 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) while they went on a five-day vacation. The evening of the third day, my husband and three-year-old Bethany were outside putting the bikes and scooter back into the garage while I put one-year-old Raphael in bed for the night.
“All of a sudden, I could hear Bethany screaming. My husband rushed her inside, and I could tell by the look on his face that something bad had happened. He had been holding her as the garage door closed; and at the very instant that two of the panels had locked together, she had reached out with her hand and one of her fingers had been trapped in the vise-like grip of the closed panels. It had taken a couple of tries to get the code right so the door would open and release her finger. I knew we were on our way to the emergency room.
“Before leaving we decided to gather everyone around and say a quick prayer over Bethany. The scene was chaotic. When I stated to pray in tongues, everyone (including Bethany) burst into laughter. I was puzzled. Why was everybody laughing? All of them had heard me pray in tongues before. Then I remembered reading somewhere that laughter can be a sign of the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
“When the laughter subsided, the room filled with peace and tranquility. Without a word the three older children turned away and resumed playing. Bethany, now calm and her old self, wanted to get down and play, too. My husband and I stared in amazement as Bethany colored a picture in her coloring book. We soon realized that Jesus had totally healed Bethany’s finger and then wiped away every tear.
“Thank you, merciful Jesus!”
