Kevin Martin
The Lord helped me understand three scenarios in which He receives glory
Romans 8:14, 15 NKJV
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
The first scenario that gives glory to God, as He revealed it to me. “Times when your faith is not sufficient, though you have sought Me for it; what you wanted to avoid happens. Because you trust Me, despite your limited faith, I provide mercy and grace.”
Matthew 17:14-20 NKJV
And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
Though unbelief delays God’s answer, in the end all things work together for good.
Romans 8:28 ASV And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.
Delayed Healing
In my second year as a believer, 1976, I was at our usual Sunday morning service when the pastor felt a strong anointing for gifts of healing. I had recently been diagnosed with two permanent conditions. One explained why I was having so much pain and trouble swallowing. Eventually, it was discovered to be a motor response problem between my brain and my throat. The doctor would then tell me I would have to learn to live with it. The second was a prostate condition the doctor said would necessitate treatments each year going forward.
As the pastor called people to come up for healing I was focused on my swallowing problem. I expected no more problems swallowing. Yet my swallowing did not improve at all. However, in that brief moment God completely healed my prostate.
There are many ways healing occurs. You may have been prayed for many times with little results. It is for this reason we write. Once I understood God had a plan to heal me, I know He has a plan for your healing and wants you to have it. So start praying for the Lord to show you how He intends to release healing to you.
Speaking the Word
Mark 11:22-26
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
By your words – prophesy to yourself – you are healed.
Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.”
Luke 6:45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
For 18 years I kept praying for God to heal my swallowing problem, yet nothing changed. Over those years I learned how to hear God speak to me. In the early 1990’s as I would be driving I practiced listening to the Lord. I asked Him for His plan to heal my swallowing problem. I would always hear, “I have healed you.” 1 Peter 2:24 says, “By His stripes we were healed.” A past tense reference.
Then God would remind me of Mark 11:23-24. He wanted me to speak in faith: “Whenever you experience a symptom, declare My word.” He wanted me to declare my healing whenever I experienced pain or problems while swallowing. So I started. Still, I felt no significant improvement.
I asked the Lord if it was really He who spoke those instructions to me. The Lord then began to challenge me to trust Him to say He had healed my swallowing in front of the church the next time I opened a service. This brought up all the fears of looking like a kook. “Oh, no, Kevin’s becoming a religious nut.” I was afraid I would not get better and everyone would know. I tried to bargain with God, but He did not change His plan for me.
Finally, I agreed with God. I testified to the men in a prayer meeting and then to the whole church. There was no immediate and complete healing. However, the healing process had begun and I kept speaking His healing word each time symptoms occurred. The problem decreased and decreased more and more until now; it may happen once or twice in a year when I become anxious about something. This is not my favorite testimony of healing, but I am so glad I trusted His instructions. After 18 years of daily pain and discomfort, now it happens so rarely, I forget about it for long periods of time.
I remember what the Lord told me, “I have healed you.” And then, “Speak your healing.” Revelation 19:10 declares, “The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” When you agree with God and declare your healing, you are declaring the finished work of Jesus and prophesying your victory.
The more I spoke my healing in faith the more it progressed. And when I declared it to others it progressed more quickly. I was warring against fear. The more faith my declaration required, the more progress I experienced. According to my faith, so it was for me. I give all the glory to God for how he led me and healed me!
Why did He not heal me instantly of both conditions in 1976? He not only wants me well, He wants me to stand on His word and His word alone. Is it always God’s will to heal and does He always have a plan? Ask Him. Will we wait for His plan and follow it? Or will we complain? Do you really trust God? Then seek His face for His plan for your healing. Do it His way for His glory and be healed!
The second scenario that gives glory to God, as He revealed it to me. “Times you study or hear teaching of My will and faith forms in your heart. I highlight an opportunity and your faith declares the end faith sees and your faith receives what you declare.”
Mark 11:22-24 NKJV
22. So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
By Faith Declare the Answer
While living in Finland and knowing we could not continue to travel to meetings pulling our luggage to bus or train, we declared in faith that God would provide a mini-van that would meet our needs. Also, that the way to purchase out- right would be shown and it would serve us well all the time we would live in Finland.
The Lord showed Debby the color to look for and the price. Then he showed her the van in north central Finland. So in 2006 we purchased a Forrest Green 2001 Chrysler Voyager mini-van for the price He revealed to Debby.
In 2008 we were asked to speak at a January prayer conference in Kolare, Finland, way up north along the Swedish border. While there we discovered that in temperatures well below zero?F the van leaked power steering fluid. I just kept adding fluid as needed, until we drove to our home in southern Finland.
The next summer, arranging meetings for the fall, we knew we’d be in the north again. But also that it was not God’s will for this problem to limit us, so we booked the meetings. As we asked God how to pray, He led us to do as He often led us. While prayer walking through the area we lived in, we started declaring that either the money to fix the van would come in or someone would offer to pay the cost.
That fall we traveled to the Oulu Mission Church to preach, teach and minister the Gospel. We most often stayed with a wonderful worship pianist, and her husband, who did not profess Christ. Surprising his wife, he agreed to let us stay with them whenever we were in town. He observed me pouring in power steering fluid. He asked what I was doing. I explained the power steering rack needed to be replaced. Later, as I entered the house he was on his phone and stopped to ask me if I could leave the van for a couple of days to have it fixed. I informed him we did not have the funds. He replied, “I did not ask that. When can you leave it for the work to be done? I have money. It’s nothing to me.” I heard him tell the mechanic to check the van over and fix anything that needed it. From that time forward, when we stayed with them he asked if anything else need to be fixed.
What do you need that you don’t have the resources for? God has them and can get them to you. If you only ask how to pray and then pray as He shows you, He has the pleasure of providing out of His abundance. As Bill Johnson says, “God is as good as He is holy,” This reveals His goodness and His glory.
The third scenario that gives glory to God, as He revealed it to me. “A potential for evil or harm arises and the enemy tries to defeat you with a lie or fear. You remember My faithfulness and you seek Me for an answer of faith. I show it to you; you apply My answer and avert the harm and receive reward.”
Remember God’s faithfulness:
Psalm 89:1, 2 HCSB
1. I will sing about the Lord’s faithful love forever;
I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations
with my mouth.
2. For I will declare,
“Faithful love is built up forever;
You establish Your faithfulness in the heavens.”
God shows the answer we need in His word.
Psalm 119:105 HCSB
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.
Or He speaks it into our hearts and confirms it in His word.
2 Peter 1:19 HCSB So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Say What God Says
While making long drives each weekend to churches or home groups in various areas of Finland or Sweden, I began to have pain at a point near my rib under the seat belt strap as it crossed my chest. I prayed against it, without relief. As it got worse and began bothering me in other situations, I asked the Lord for a word (a verse of Scripture) to declare against it. I heard this, “No deadly thing will harm you.” I recognized this as a combined word from two verses, Mark 16:18 and Luke 10:19 in the King James or New King James versions.
As the Lord has often led me, I began to declare these Scriptures against the source of the pain, especially when the pain occurred. Then the Lord released this thought to me, “The deadly thing is your fear that this could be cancer.” When I heard that, it energized my faith as I declared, “No deadly thing shall harm me!” The pain began to lessen and lessen until it was rare and then not at all.
The enemy does not give up easily. Once in a while, as in many healings, the pain would come again. All I do in such situations is to declare the word He had given me that works and soon it stops occurring. Then my heart responds by giving all the glory to Him. For He is faithful!
When symptoms start where do you turn? Do you ask the Lord what He says, or do you immediately assume something bad is happening? I have learned to turn to the Lord and let Him speak. What He speaks is what I speak and how He leads is how I follow. He is faithful. He implores you, “If you seek Me with all your heart, You will find Me.” (See Deuteronomy 4:29-31 and Jeremiah 20:13.)