Healing
God Sometimes Gets Our Attention thru Miracles
There's an old expression, "Wrapped up in yourself". This refers to being self-centered - mistakenly thinking we are in charge of what happens in our lives.
God doesn't want us to be wrapped-up in ourselves. He wants to involve Himself in our lives. So God "disrupts" our lives and let's us know whose really in charge. One of the ways He disrupts our lives is through miracles. Miracles, especially healing miracles, are God's way of unwrapping us from ourselves and opening us up to His love so we can pass it on to others.
The problem isn't that God withholds miracles. The problem is we resist God's miracles.
All we need to do to encourage miracles is to stop running our own lives, submit to God and request His help. All we need to do is to Stop, Drop and Pray for ourselves and others.
Joseph Warren, host of BROKEN CATHOLIC, interviews Barbara on his international podcast
Understanding the Gift of Healing
The MP3 audio clip below is an interview of Barbara Alderfer on the subject of healing. It explains God's desire to become a part of our life.
Barbara Alderfer invites a special guest to pray the Lord's Prayer.
Here's a picture of Joseph, Mary Beth's son, praying with his father. The curious K9 is "Dakota".
When praying with people we must reach for the innocence of a 7-year old. It is only through holy detachment that we become a reliable conduit of God's love.
Receiving God's Light
Miracles must be met with appreciation and an renewed openness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Do not take miracles lightly. Do not forget about the blessing you have received.
Remember, miracles are God's invitation to a fuller relationship with you. Do not decide the type of miracle you want. Do not judge God for not providing what you want. Instead appreciate the greater miracle - God's invitation to become a part of your life.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit has a profound role in healing. It is a miracle God intends for each one of us. If you haven't heard about this miracle take a few minutes to see the video linked below:
http://thewildgooseisloose.com/segment/baptism-in-the-holy-spirit-and-fire
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit not only heals you, but it has a profound impact on your family and your parish. See more about spreading the faith by clicking on the button below.
God's Healing Power - A Case Study
My name is Mary Strohmayer. I have suffered with eczema my whole life, I have been treated with topical steroids, oral steroids, and injected steroids. After 45 years of using stronger and stronger steroids, they were not helping my skin any longer.
In October of 2016 I decided to stop using any steroids. By the beginning of November all the skin on my body was red, inflamed, itching, cracked open, and weeping. I was miserable, I felt physically sick and day to day tasks were incredibly painful. My skin hurt. I experienced joint pain. I was so cold I shook constantly as I couldn’t regulate my body temperature. I had terrible insomnia and would go days with little to no sleep. I became depressed and felt hopeless. I found out that I was actually going through topical steroid withdrawal and it can take 12-24 months.
I prayed, I begged, I demanded, and I cried out to God. I was trying to find meaning in my suffering, I tried to fix myself. I quit eating gluten, dairy, and sugar. I went for acupuncture, allergy tests, and I went to church. My skin got worse, then my hair started to fall out. I continued to work as a teacher, but I raced home from work each day to soak in the tub, where I got some relief from my misery.
By the middle of March I was starting to lose hope. I had been sick and looking terrible most of the school year. I had missed family functions, I didn’t leave my house, I cried almost daily, and I was in constant pain.
A friend called me and told me I had to call this woman she had heard about, she prays with people. I thanked her and told her I already had hundreds of people praying for me. She gave me Barb’s number, but I didn’t call for almost a week.
When I finally called Barb, I was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually bankrupt. Barb taught me to pray powerfully and prayed with me. She told me to call her back in a few days to tell her how I was doing.
The next day while I was in the tub I noticed that my lymph nodes were half the size they had been the day before. I called Barb back three days later and told her the lymph nodes had gone down, but I still looked and felt terrible. Barb said, “We need to pray again. God will heal you.” She did pray again, and the next morning I looked better!
The following morning I was in the kitchen when my husband came in I started crying and said, “look at my face! I am healed! This is a miracle!” He was crying too, it truly was a miracle.
When people ask me what I did to clear my skin I tell them, “God healed my skin.” I went to the prayer teams after mass every time they were available when I was sick, so I was overjoyed to go in and show them how my skin was healed.
I have given witness talks at a woman’s retreat, at a Cursillo event, and several prayer groups. I believe God healed me because he knew I wouldn’t stop talking about it!
