In March of 1996, I was introduced to a Christian "hands-on"  healing ministry in my neighborhood local church. Although I was not a member of the church, I was highly motivated to learn about the healing ministry because my husband (age 39) was gravely ill with brain cancer. In the previous nine months we had taken advantage of all that modern medicine had to offer to heal my husband -- surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, etc. -- without success. As my husbands condition, both physically and emotionally, continued to decline, we were both eager to explore Christian-based spiritual healing, after we heard about it through a friend. Since this first introduction to "hands-on" healing, our lives have been transformed. God has granted my husband spiritual and physical healing. In other words, today he is a "whole" person again.

 Shortly after being introduced to the healing ministry with the theme of this prayer and healing class, "You Can Do It Too," we learned that indeed, God uses His people as vessels for prayer in the healing of others. My husband and I enthusiastically took advantage of opportunities to pray for others' healing requests. Also, I learned to pray with confidence and conviction for my husband's healing. On three occasions, after I prayed against a seizure that my husband was having, the seizure suddenly ceased. I also learned to "cast out" oppressive spirits and observe the visible transformation in the condition of the recipient. In addition, I have enjoyed the blessings of being baptized in the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by "praying in tongues."

Without any doubt, my recent experiences in the healing ministry have been the highlight of my twenty-year old Christian walk. God has worked through me to visibly demonstrate healings for others. I have applied "hands-on" healing for children with some astonishing results. For example, a fourteen-year-old Catholic youth experienced a "growing out" of arms and legs, hip turning, and finally, "falling under the power" of the Holy Spirit. As a result he was healed of his asthma, a condition he had suffered from since birth.

[The above manifestations referred to are explained in the text the class teaches from. It is a book by Charles and Frances Hunter, How to Heal the Sick.]

In another case, on a wilderness backpacking and hiking trip, a fifteen-year-old girl was traumatized by a fall that severely sprained her ankle. Since the group had ten miles of wilderness trail to reach the closest ranger station, they joined me in healing prayer for her. By her own account, she was divinely "uplifted" in both her body and spirit and was able to complete the ten-mile trek back to safety despite the injury to her ankle. This feat was accomplished because of the "hands-on" healing prayer for her ankle and traumatized spirit.

There are numerous other testimonies that I could provide about my own first-hand experiences in the healing ministry. For now, I just want to encourage other believers that:
(1) YES, God heals today.
(2) YES, healing can be taught (I learned it, therefore you can too.)
(3) YES, healing can be demonstrated. (4) If we imitate Jesus -- that means, pray for divine healings like Jesus did and trust God for the results.

Hal's Note: Michelle Leslie, together with her husband Frank, are strong witnesses in our church -- which they have since joined -- and outside of the church to the four points she makes above.