For this testimony, I will describe an episode that involved a single father and his two sons. I’ll call the father Jack, the young son Billy, and the older son, Andrew.
Jack had custody of Billy. Andrew was married. Jack had been arrested and in prison for the majority of the sons' lives. When Jack returned home, he came back loving his sons, but the love was not reciprocated.
I was substituting for an alternative class for students who are deliberately mischievous and not cooperative with school rules. I met Billy in the alternative class. He did not fit in with the other students because he was small in stature and very young. Billy was intentionally troublesome and rude enough to disrupt class but never physically did anything to hurt anyone.
I had been substituting for the alternative class for about a month-and-a-half when I received a phone call at my home. I had a caller ID and it said that the call came from the school. I picked it up in hopes that the school secretary would need me to come in the next day to substitute.
When I answered the phone, to my surprise a boy's voice was on the other line and said, “Today I'm going to kill you.” I was totally not expecting that. I didn't have enemies, and I didn't know who would call. Thankfully I read the bible enough to know to quote some scripture to rebuke the person on the phone. After I quoted the scripture the boy repeated with a louder more angry voice, “I'm going to kill you today.”
I said, “You should not be making threats. I will call the cops.” As soon as I told him that, he confidently said, "that’s not a threat, that's a promise.” He hung up. I tried my best not to worry. Instead, I began to do what I knew to do, I prayed. I prayed for the caller to have a change of mind and a change of heart in the name of Jesus.
I'm not sure how long I prayed, but I began to intercede. All of a sudden I felt like I had swallowed shards of glass. My stomach really hurt, turned, and felt twisted. There was no reason for my stomach to hurt. I remember crying bitterly. I could feel that this prayer was specific to the caller. I prayed as if the prayer was for me, my family, or my friend. The pain was real but I knew it wasn't mine. I prayed until I felt a breakthrough.
Later that evening, the secretary did call me to substitute for the alternative class the next day. I wondered if it was any of those students who called. I also wondered who I was praying for.
At the end of the week, I get a phone call from Jack, a new member of the church that I was preaching at. He called because he wanted me to pray for his son who is having intense stomach issues. I asked Jack if the son was with him at the time so that I could pray specifically for him. The son was there and got on the phone. I could hear the boy as he whimpered in pain and an occasional gasp for air.
I prayed for his healing and asked what his symptoms were. He said it was like he swallowed pins and needles and was twisting inside his stomach. I prayed for the young boy.
At the sound of his voice, I knew he was the prankster who called earlier that week. I did not let him know that I knew, but I did tell him he was forgiven. It seemed as if the pain went away and the boy gave the phone back to his father. We hung up after a little bit of consolation.
At Sunday school, Jack came and told me his son was healed after he slept and after I prayed. I was relieved and encouraged. On Monday morning, I was substituting again at the alternative classroom where I saw the boy who was healed of the stomach issues. It was Billy.
He was still stern-faced and tried not to make eye contact with me, at least during the rest of my time substituting for that class. He did not cause any problems for me. Even if he didn't want to be social, it was better than being disobedient or rude.
Half a year has passed since I substituted. I started to work at a hotel full-time. The environment was stress-free. Working late one evening, I received a phone call from Jack, whose son I had prayed for about the stomach issues that was healed, named Billy. I could hear Jack was in distress while he tells me that another one of his sons is going to be a father, Andrew.
That day, Andrew's wife was in labor. The pregnancy was tough and the labor was early but the doctors were preparing to take the baby out immediately. The baby had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. The mother was also in need of prayer because she was diabetic and was a very young girl.
I prayed for the whole family and thankfully everyone came out fine. To my surprise, the proud new grandfather sent me a picture of a perfectly healthy-looking baby boy. Every time I look at the picture I am reminded that God answers prayer, no matter what the person’s background or past. None of them were given the prayer of salvation by me, but who knows that at least they were healed and know that God is the one who did it. Some plant, some water, but God gets the increase. Pray Anyway!