This is to Glorify the Lord for a miraculous healing that I experienced some time ago. Whilst believing it is nothing other than a miracle, I am still struggling to understand God’s immense mercy and grace towards me.
One night I woke up with a terrible pain along my left arm radiating from the neck. Since then during the day the pain was sharp but intermittent and during the nights it was impossible to bear. From time to time, I felt a terrible numbness just like pulling of a barbed wire wrapped around my arm. Day by day the frequency and the intensity of the pain and the numbness increased. A few visits to the GP, various kinds of painkillers and chiropractor treatments didn’t help at all. After 2-3 weeks of basically sleepless nights I got used to sleeping with that pain because I had to go to work in the morning. My left hand couldn’t hold anything and could not be used when driving.
Finally, a CAT scan and then an MRI revealed that I had Cervical Spondylosis and the disc between C5 and C6 bones of the upper spine were badly deteriorated. I was getting that pain due to the pressing of a nerve connected to the arm. My neurosurgeon first recommended a painful cortisone injection which was sent through the neck to the spine while I was in a CT scanner. He believed it should help me for 3 – 12 months. However, in three days my pain was back and the only treatment remaining was a major surgery.
After over two months of pain and struggle I was registered for the surgery. As the surgeon explained, they would be opening from the front side of my neck near the throat to reach the disc between C5 and C6 bones back of the neck. Then replace the disc with an artificial cage with bone graft in it and securing it with two steel plates with screws either side on C5 and C6. My weak bone density condition could have been an added problem in fixing the screws on. Typical in Australia, the doctor explained a list of possible risks and the last one was being paralyzed below the neck and ending up in a wheelchair.
During all this time I prayed to God that I received that pain from His hand and offered it for my sins, sins of the souls in the purgatory and the sins of the world. Never asked Him to take it away but for courage to bear it and do my daily work. My expectation was that the Lord would give me the strength to face the surgery and heal me through that. In addition to going to work, I had to do marketing, cooking and all household chores myself during that period but God gave me strength. During the lent I somehow did my 40 days fasting and confession at the end.
Just after the Good Friday, I decided to go to Sri Lanka and try Ayurvedic treatments for 2 months as the last resort before the risky surgery. The company granted me leave for required treatment days and allowed work from home whenever possible considering my very long service. My flight to SL was on a Saturday.
Friday evening before that I attended CRL prayer meeting at St Albans. I have been attending CRL payer meetings for the last 14+ years. As I could not sit and wait for two hours straight because of the pain, I used to sit in the last pew and from time to time stand up, walk around and press my arm between a door frame and the door as the pain was unbearable.
Seeing my situation and also that I was to travel on the following day, at the end of the service I was called to the front by the senior servers and together with all who were in attendance prayed over me. Just before that there were two words of knowledge that I could relate to my condition and I claimed them though frankly I was not that sure if and how they would work for me. However, I knew that those senior servers always kept me in their prayers.
I went to the airport Saturday evening after multiple pain killers and checked in with some help. Though I was really afraid how to bear the pain during the 10 hour flight, it was much easier than expected. By the time I reached Sri Lanka I realized the pain in the arm was completely gone! In amazement, I lifted the arm, twisted it, waved it hysterically and jumped up and down, there was no pain, only a little numbness!!
Now started my mental struggle; Is my healing real? Am I really worthy of such grace from God? Can that be the placebo effect ? (i.e. healing that deemed occurred due to strong belief but cannot last that long)
Should I start telling everybody that I was healed by God? What will happen if the pain comes back in a day or two, or even after a few weeks ? (I have seen cases like that) If that happens, I can bear the shame, but will that put my God and my faith in Him to shame? (I have an atheist in my family too) On the other hand, when I have experienced such a great miracle, isn’t hiding that a great sin?
On top of that, am I going to cancel Ayurvedic treatments and go back to Australia as I had no significant symptoms anymore to tell the physician? If I go back and then the pain comes back, I must go straight to that risky surgery! Will God give me any sign or guidance what to do?
Anyway, I left everything in God’s hands and started thanking and praising Him and telling everybody about the healing for the glory of my God. Also started taking treatments for the numbness that remained though it was not anything major. For two months I did some very detailed ayurvedic treatments without any success and came back to Australia at the end.
Within two weeks after stopping the treatments the numbness was also completely gone! That proved to me that my healing was completely in God’s hand and not on any treatments.
I showed the Australian surgeon my new condition and he confirmed that the surgery is not required anymore and took out my name from the surgery list. This whole episode added one more major item to the list of God’s miracles in my life and I thank and praise the Lord for ever for all He has done for me.