He Wasn't Cured But He Was Healed

Tony Compolo tells a story about being in a church in

Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer.

Compolo prayed boldly for the man's healing. That next week

he got a telephone call from the man's wife. She said, "You

prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Compolo thought when

he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been

eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said,

"He died." Compolo felt terrible.



But she continued, "Don't feel bad. When he came into that

church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was

going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God.

He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and

grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful

God didn't take away his sickness and heal him. He would

lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards

God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him.

It was an awful thing to be in his presence.



But the lady told Compolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace

had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the

last three days have been the best days of our lives. We've

sung. We've laughed. We've read Scripture. We prayed. Oh,

they've been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for

laying your hands on him and praying for healing."



And then she said something incredibly profound. She said,

"He wasn't cured, but he was healed." (Tony Campolo, "Year

of Jubilee," Preaching Today Tape #212).

[ Tony Campolo (Swanlake@jam.rr.com) -- from 'andychaps_the-funnies' ]