I received healing of a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease while on my deathbed because I believed these words in Mark 11:24 which were spoken from the lips of Jesus: “…What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them"!
I received the revelation of that scripture in August 1934. I was bedfast and paralyzed because of an incurable heart condition and was so helpless I couldn't even bathe myself. Also, my mother had to prop up my Bible on the bed in front of me so I could read it because I was so weak I couldn't hold my Bible by myself.
One particular night as I lay dying, in fact, I was right at the point of death, I quoted Mark 11:24 all night long. I never slept a wink; I just quoted that verse of Scripture over and over again, probably more than a thousand times. I still didn't know exactly what it mean't but at that time, Mark 11:24 was the only glimmer of hope I had. So I just held on to it, sort of like a drowning man would hold on to a lifesaver.
I said to the Lord, “Lord, You said when You were here on the earth, “…What things soever ye desire…” and I desire a well body.” (Desiring a well body is in line with God's word because there are many scriptures in the Bible that prove it is God's will that we walk in health.)
I continued talking to the Lord “Father, You said that when I prayed, I was to believe. Well, I've prayed and I've believed.” I added, “Dear Lord Jesus, if You stood right here by my bedside and I could see You with my physical eyes, and You told me, 'Son, your problem is you don't believe,' I would have to say to You, 'Dear Lord Jesus, You're lying about it because I do believe.'” I said that to the Lord in all sincerity, not in tones of arrogance. I really thought I was believing.
I was speaking to the Lord for answers, and thank God, He showed me the answers I sought him for. When we seek the Lord for answers, how does He usually speak to us? Some people seek the Lord and they wait for the Lord to speak to them in a spectacular way. And sometimes the Lord does speak to Christians in a spectacular way, but that's the exception, not the rule.
If you are a Christian, the Spirit of Christ dwells in you. And God speaks to Christians by His Spirit in our spirits. In other words, God speaks to us by the inward witness or the inward voice. Some people call it “the still, small voice,” but really, it's the inward voice of the Holy Spirit in our spirits.
As I was talking to the Lord, telling Him I did believe His Word and that the problem was not with my believing because I did believe, I heard these words down on the inside of me: “You do believe all right – as far as you know.”
I knew what the Lord was saying to me. You see, you can't believe beyond actual knowledge of God's Word. Therefore, in order for me to believe more of God's Word and receive the desired result, I had to know more of God's Word. It's that simple, but that's where a lot of people miss it when it comes to praying the prayer of faith. They try to believe God beyond actual knowledge of His Word and their prayer life is ineffective.
Isn't it strange that many times when folks find out they're not where they should be in faith – that they're not believing in line with God's Word because they don't know enough of God's Word – many times they don't even try to know any more of His Word! In other words, often they don't try to know more of God's Word for themselves so they can pray correctly and receive their desired answer.
Usually, people like this just go from person to person, trying to get someone else to give them the answer they desire from God. They want someone else to find the answer for them or to pray the prayer of faith for them. But what they really need to do is to get in the Word for themselves and find out more about what the Word says and about what God promises them in His Word. That's how faith that gets the job done comes. The Bible says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”(Rom 10:17)
If we want to believe more of the Word and see more answers to prayers, we must know more of the Word. In other words, we must get into the Word and read it for ourselves. Certainly, God put teachers in the Church to help us and give us insight into the Word, but I'm glad I learned early in life that the Holy Spirit is our Teacher.
1 John 2:27
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
If you are born again, this same anointing abides in you. There is an anointing of the Holy Spirit which abides in every believer. And the Bible says that anointing will teach you and lead and guide you into all truth.
John 16: 13-15
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
The Spirit of truth who is in us teaches us and leads and guides us into the truth of God's Word.
I learned as a young boy as I lay on the bed of sickness to listen to my Teacher, the Holy Spirit. I confessed Mark 11:24 over and over again on the bed of sickness and said to the Lord, “Lord, Your Word says, '…What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe…'(Mark 11:24). Lord, I've prayed, and I believe.” Then I received my answer. I heard that inward voice in my spirit, and I recognized it as the Voce of the Lord. He said to me, “You believe all right – as far as you know.”
Then down in my spirit, I heard the Holy Spirit quote the rest of that verse: “…. BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM, AND YE SHALL HAVE THEM” (Mark 11:24).
Suddenly, I got the revelation of that scripture and I saw where I had been missing it! I was only quoting part of Mark 11:24: “… What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe….” But I wasn't quoting the last part of that verse, which says “….believe that ye RECEIVE them(whatsoever you desire), and ye shall have them”(Mark 11:24).
I prayed for healing because that's what I desired, but I was trying to have my healing first, and then I was going to believe I received it. But when do we believe we receive what we are desiring from God? When we pray! That means before we see a change in the circumstances we must believe that God has heard and answered us. We are to believe we receive whatever we are desiring from God the minute we pray and ask Him for our petition.
I said to the Lord, “Now I know what I've got to do. I've got to begin to believe I receive healing for my paralyzed body right now, while I'm still lying here helpless. While I'm lying here bedfast, I've got to believe I receive healing for my deformed heart and incurable blood disease.”
Mark 11:24 24 … What THINGS soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe ye receive THEM, and ye shall have THEM.
Also, notice the use of the word “them” used twice in this verse. In the King James Version these words are italicized, meaning they did not appear in the original Scripture. These two words, “them,” were added by the translators for clarity, to help us better understand the verse. If we omitted the words, “them,” the scripture still has the same meaning. It would read, “…believe that ye receive.. and ye shall have…”
Believe you receive, and you shall have! That's what faith is, and that's how we must pray if we are to have the things we desire from God. By believing I received my healing when I prayed for healing, I was made completely well from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. When I saw what Mark 11:24 was saying and began to put it into practice, the paralysis disappeared, the blood disease left me, and my heart became normal and healthy. More than fifty-five years have come and gone, and I'm still healed. Praise God forevermore!
You can pray the prayer of faith for your own life too, and receive whatever it is you need from God. God always responds to faith in His Word, and He always answers prayer when you pray according to His holy written Word.
So learn how God works and work with Him. Find scriptures that promise you the things you desire from God. Then pray and ask God for those things, and believe that God hears you when you pray. By praying in faith according to God's Word, you can enjoy the blessings God has promised you in life.
(Taken from The Word of Faith, Aug 1990)