"The deaf hear . . ."

"Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them" (Luke 7:22 NKJV).

Set the scene.  It's a clear, warm Sunday morning.  I'm walking across a parking lot with my wife towards what looks like a chic, modernize office building.  Three enthusiastic, but appropriately contained people welcome us at the door and let us in.  The interior boasts a high ceiling and a long corridor, not unlike a small domestic terminal at the airport.  This is not where I normally am on a Sunday morning; I am here by invitation and maybe a little bit of hope.  I am at the West campus of James River Church.  I know what I came here for, but I have no idea if this crazy idea a friend of mine had last week is going to work, or if I even believe it's possible. 

My wife and I aren't the only ones invited into this out-of-routine experience.  Our group totals four: ourselves, our friend, Allison, who invited us, and another friend, Maleah, the reason we all came to church today.  

Maleah is deaf in her right ear after facing spinal meningitis as an 18-month-old.  This morning, we will come into church and all sit on her left-hand side; it's the only way she'd be able to hear any of our conversation.  The seating arrangement isn't conscious; it's instinctive from sitting in classrooms, sanctuaries, and at dinner tables together for the last four years. 

The week prior, Allison had given testimony to Noel and me about a wave of the miraculous sweeping through James River, so much so that the coming Palm Sunday service would be dedicated to praying for healings in the congregation.  Allison felt in her spirit that we needed to get Maleah to this service, and asked if we would help encourage her to come.  Despite being the one who actually suffered from lack of hearing, Maleah was not the only one in need of encouragement.

I'm no stranger to charismatic practice and to seeing the miraculous happen.  I've been in rooms where healing has happened.  Those who received some of this blog's earliest posts, heard me tell how another friend of mine had a miraculous encounter while we were in a worship service which was the turning point in her story of victory over anxiety and depression.  In my head, I knew Maleah could absolutely be healed in an instant.  On the other hand, it's been a while since I was in those situations of encountering God presence in a dramatic and supernatural way.  In a way, I was out of practice experiencing the Holy Spirit.  This morning is one of those situations where I draw from the faith of my peers and believe that God will make it my own in time.  

The band plays.  The pastor recounts, in vivid detail, the horrors of Jesus' suffering and torturous death.  It's hardly the cheery, optimistic picture one would expect for a healing service, but the point is clear and spot-on.  "He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed" (Is. 53:5 NLT).  

Noel, Allison, and I surround Maleah as we leave our seats and meet a member of the prayer team at the front of the room.  The words of others around me are indiscernible as I cry out to God from my own heart.  I am not aware of any other sounds until we are finished praying, and the lady takes her hand from Maleah's ear saying, "Now it's time to believe." 

The band is still playing.  We return to our same seats, the three of us on Maleah's left side.  Noel's hand is on her back, still praying fervently for a miracle.  Something strikes me about the scene, something that's missing.  

Over and over in Scripture, in the wake of a miracle, Jesus says, "Your faith has made you well."  

Healing comes by faith.  Faith demands action.  

Suddenly, I think our seating arrangement needs to change.  The feeling grows, and an idea of what needs to be done forms in my mind.  It's random and potentially awkward, but the way it burns in every part of me convinces me that this idea is not my own.  

I lean over to Allison and tell her, "Someone needs to go stand on Maleah's right side and sing praises to that ear.  Can you do that?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Allison is on Maleah's right side, embracing her and singing directly into her deaf ear.  The burning in my heart fades to peace, and I return my focus to the song.  I can barely get through the next verse before my attention is arrested again by wild movement in my peripheral.  There's excited tapping on my arm, a hand grabbing me and demanding my full attention.  Before I even turn the 90 degrees to look beside me, I know in my spirit exactly what I am going to find.  

The power of God is limitless, and it is combined with an unfathomable love.  He endured unimaginable suffering on the cross as the sacrificial lamb, bearing all sins that were, are, and will be in His body.  He died to rend the temple curtain in two, granting us direct access to God.  He rose from the dead to establish His eternal reign over sin's power and consequence.  He gave us His Holy Spirit, which fills the believer with the same resurrection power that rolled the stone back from the grave.  God has gifted all this to those who would receive Him as Savior and Lord, and there is but one charge for those who choose Him.  

"Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!" (Matt. 10:7-8)

The world is full of confusion, hurt, and immorality.  Satan is not hiding anymore; he's standing in the town square flaunting his control.  If you are a believer reading this, this story is being shared with you as a call to action.  It's time to create a culture of miracles in our church, to invite the presence of God to come and do away with our scripts and programs, to see what happens when God's Spirit is given the complete authority it deserves.  Oh that we would see miracles every week on both sides of the church doors.  And oh that those miracles would serve as a testimony that brings people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

If you're reading this, and Maleah's story strikes a chord with you, it may be the Holy Spirit inviting you to come closer to this healing God.  I invite you to reach out to me and ask any questions you may have.  If I can answer them, I will, and if I can't, I'll help you find an answer.  I won't shove anything down your throat.  I just want to tell you more about this God who heals and loves.

Maleah has been testing her right ear ever since that service.  There is no doubt, that ear which was deaf for most her life, now is restored to health.  My favorite part of the story, when I think about the sequence of events on Palm Sunday, is that the first thing Maleah heard in her right ear after 22 years of silence, was her friend singing about the power of God.