By Kenneth E. Hagin
Many years ago, a fine denominational minister had an outstanding evangelistic ministry. Various denominational churches would combine their efforts and sponsor him in large city-wide meetings. He became sick, however, and by his own testimony within two years all his money was gone.
A $10,000 bank account, which was quite a bit at that time, was gone. In order to pay medical bills he had to sell his home, his car, and most of his books. He had been everywhere, including the Mayo Clinic, seeking medical help. However, he was none the better, but rather grew worse. Finally he was forced to stay in a county hospital in California. The doctors had said he would die.
He called a brother who lived in California and asked him to borrow some money for a train ticket to send him home to Texas to die. Their 83-year-old mother lived in Collin County, Texas, and he wanted to see her before he died.
His brother borrowed the money and sent the ailing minister, then in his 50’s, back to the old home place and their aged mother. A 19-year-old boy who lived on the place and did the chores became the sick man’s nurse. This required turning him, dressing him, and completely caring for him.
One day the boy said to him, “Doctor, why don’t you let the Lord heal you? The Bible says that if there is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray for you.”
This minister had studied the Bible – he had been through seminary – but he did not know that it was in the Bible. He instructed the boy to go get His Bible out of the trunk and find that place.
But the boy told him that he had never learned to read. The minister asked him how he knew that it was in the Bible. His preacher had him that it was, the boy declared. And so the minister looked it up and there it was!
The boy told him that they were having a meeting under a brush arbour. There was to be a healing service that night, and the boy told the older man that if he wanted to go he would get someone to take him. The minister decided to attend, so they brought an old Model T Ford and made a bed in the back of it for him. They drove the car up as close as possible, and after the service the preacher came out, anointed him with oil, and prayed over him.
It was midnight before they got home. But when they arrived, the minister asked his mother to let the boy fire up the wood stove so that she could fry some ham and eggs. (He hadn’t had anything except baby food and soft foods for two years.)
He told his mother that he was healed. He told her that the preacher had anointed him with oil and prayed for him.
The mother said later that she thought he had lost his mind. He asked for some old-fashioned country biscuits, too, and she reasoned that since he was going to die anyway, if he ate the biscuits he would at least die happy. So she did what he wanted. She fixed the ham, the eggs, and the biscuits – and he ate what she prepared and didn’t get sick. He was healed!
He began to write articles for publication in various magazines and calls began to come in for revivals. A city-wide meeting was arranged for Kansas City.
The boy told him that before he went to that meeting he must be filled with the Holy Spirit. He said that he was ready to believe anything that the boy told him, so he asked the boy what he should do. The boy told him how.
They went to an old brush arbor meeting, and when they gave the invitation, the minister went to the altar in the sawdust, and there he received the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues.
This minister has long since gone to Glory, but his writings have been a blessing to many.