Originally published Wednesday, 21 March 2012.
I have a soft spot in my heart for stories about people who have been healed, not by medicine but by God himself. That’s because I believe in those stories, having known people who have been miraculously healed, having prayed for it with my own lips, having experienced it myself, firsthand.
I know many people scoff at the idea of miracles these days, especially miracles that happen to one person, when another person lies ill and their prayers go unfulfilled. Truth be told, I don’t consider myself “worthy” of having been healed because my situation pales in comparison to those others out there who are facing life-and-death illnesses. But it is for that very reason that mine is not only a story of being healed but also a story of grace and mercy. Isn’t that—to display grace and mercy—what the Bible, what Jesus’ ministry, was all about in the first place? I’m here to tell you that truth is alive and well today.
This is a post I’ve been meaning to write ever since I first started this blog, but a post that I never quite seemed to have the words for, until now…
I remember noticing it my sophomore year in college, when my scalp started itching a lot. I found myself literally scratching my head over the matter, always reaching up to the nape of my neck to scratch at the lingering itch. This went on for days, for months, for years.
At some point, I realized that it wasn’t really normal, this incessant itching. It was causing my hair to noticeably fall out, not a good fashion statement for someone already saddled with fine, thin hair. I read magazine articles about how to make your hair thicker and healthier, so I bought some vitamins. I tried different shampoos, even medicated ones to keep my hair from falling out. Nothing really helped.
I finally went to the doctor and then the dermatologist who diagnosed me with psoriasis, a disease that affects the skin (in my case, my scalp). Put more scientifically, it’s “an immune-mediated disease that appears on the skin … when the immune system sends out fault signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells.” (You can read more here, if you’re interested.)
The dermatologist prescribed me with some ointments I could use that would alleviate the itching but not cure the condition. My hair was still falling out, and I still had to fight the urge to scratch the itch that was always burning at the back of my head.
It was around this time that I started going to a prayer group that met at my church. It was a place where people believed that prayer worked and the fruits of that faith were seen week after week. (You can read more about my experience attending that prayer group here, or about some of the answered prayers that happened there, here.)
One week, we got together and instead of breaking into individual prayer groups, we all wrote our prayer requests down on a scrap of paper and dropped them into a cardboard box. Everyone gathered around the box, prayed over it, and then the scraps were destroyed without ever having been read by another pair of eyes. On my scrap of paper, I wrote that I wanted my psoriasis healed, I wanted my hair to stop falling out.
The next day, I took a shower and as I washed my hair, I looked down at my hands and didn’t see the usual clump of hair laced around my fingertips. Honestly, I was shocked to think that the prayer had worked so quickly. So I waited another week, just to be sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
They weren’t.
To be continued... Later this weekI'll share Part 2 of my story about how God has healed me of my psoriasis through the courage of a single prayer.
"Confess your sins and pray for one another, and you will be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
(James 5:16)
Carmen writes the blog, Life Blessons, which provides an intimate look into her life as a twentysomething woman as she details her experiences learning how to live out her faith, enjoy the simple things in life and be the woman God created to her to be. Along the way, she shares the blessings and lessons that are a part of this journey, the things she likes to call her "blessons."
Feel free to read more at her blog, Life Blessons.
Related Posts from Life Blessons
Amy's Testimony: Beyond the Physical Healing
The encouraging testimonies of answered prayers
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