“Call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
Psalm 50:15 (RSV)
A man in my church, named Tom, often shares his amazing testimony of divine healing. While this is not the typical meditation, and some of the readers already know his story, it reminds us that God is still doing miracles today. I pray it encourages everyone to trust Him for their own miracle.
Keep an open mind as you read, because the true details of this story are literally “out of this world”.
Tom’s story began with a tumor in his brachial plexus, a bundle of nerves between the neck and shoulder. During surgery to remove the tumor, some important nerves were severed and Tom became paralyzed in his left arm, living with horrible pain for over eight months. His pain was excruciating despite using pain medication, and he could never sleep well, and even the muscles of his shoulder and back were weakening.
He received physical therapy at four different hospitals, but was given little or no hope. He also had an experimental surgery in an attempt to repair the nerves, without success. Being a man of prayer, he prayed asking God to at least give him some comfort, while expecting to live the rest of his life with pain and paralysis.
One day he opened his Bible to the Psalms. As he was reading Psalm 50, a light kept shining over verse 15. He wondered how a light could shine on one verse alone, so he moved the Bible around, at various angles, but that verse remained highlighted by a mysterious light. It was as if God’s own highlighter was getting Tom’s attention. The words in verse 15,
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you,” are not just for Tom, but are God’s invitation to every believer.
That Sunday, he was talking to a friend at church about his health problem. The man told him about a charismatic Priest, who lived in Brooklyn and had the gift of healing. His name was Fr. Dennis Kelleher, and Tom found out that he was coming to Chicago that week to conduct a healing service at a local church.
Tom and his family went to that church service and as all the sick people were called to the front of the church, the priest prayed for each person, one at a time, laying his hands on them.
When he prayed for Tom, he fell to the floor for 8-10 minutes, under the power of the Holy Spirit. Tom said it felt like electricity was going through his body, yet with an incredible sense of peace.
When he stood back up, he no longer had pain in his neck or shoulder, but his arm was still paralyzed. That night he had the best sleep in years, without any pain.
A week later, while he was sleeping, he was awakened by a male voice, who told him that he was sent to heal him. Although he saw no one, he felt someone touch the area where the tumor used to be, with the severed nerves. The voice then told him to get up and move his arm. He got out of bed and was able to move his arm to full capacity.
Tom’s total healing happened over a week’s time. His pain was healed when the priest prayed for him, and a week later the paralysis was healed by an invisible angelic being. Severed nerves were supernaturally regenerated and he had full use of his arm since that day. Afterward, he returned to see all his doctors and therapists.
His physical therapist, who had known him from many therapy sessions, took one look at the full use of his arm and wept. His doctors admitted that they’ve never seen anything like it and had no other explanation.
What I love about this miracle is how it began with the word of God, in a highlighted scripture verse. God speaks to us through His word.
I also love that God sent an angel, who touched Tom’s brachial plexus and regenerated those severed nerves. God knows our bodies because He made us, and when conventional medicine can do nothing more for us, why not look to God for healing?
Miracles happen in the sacred moments when heaven comes to earth in some way. It happened when a supernatural light highlighted a Bible verse, or when a heavenly spirit was sent to physically touch a human’s body. This all happened thirty years ago, and that priest has since passed away, but to this day, God is still receiving all the glory and praise through everything that took place.
Lord, we thank you that by sharing stories like this, we bring glory to you and encourage others to keep hoping and trusting in you for the miracles in their lives as well. Amen