Some Opening Thoughts

One of the questions I’ve had over the years is “if God is doing these things in the world, why don’t we hear more about it? Why don’t we see it all around us?” i.e. If the blind regularly saw due to prayer, wouldn’t doctors being writing journal articles on these miracles left and right? Wouldn’t I be hearing about people being healed of cancer all the time? It’s a legitimate question, and one that bears examination.

As you’ll read, I saw things I hadn’t seen before. My experiences during this trip forced me to look again at this unanswered question. I still don’t have a full answer, but it’s more and more clear to me that God is working miracles in and around us today. They aren’t as uncommon as I’d thought. He’s using them to heal, to bring love and justice into the world in a way that no person, politician, musician, celebrity, well-meaning NGO, church, military, or any other power by man could do by itself. For me, at least part of the answer was I really wasn’t listening. I had this empty spot in my faith, because it wasn’t happening the way I thought it should. I don’t think I’m alone in this. Whether for this reason, or something else, somehow the fact that God is working in this way among us remains just off the radar screen for most. I don’t think it’s just that we’re all not listening either, there is more to it. Even now, having seen some miraculous things during this trip, I can see that it’s easy to sink back into the mundane if you let yourself. I’ve seen this in others, too. It’s possible even after seeing miracles to dismiss, minimize, ignore, and even surprisingly to forget. Maybe that really shouldn’t be a surprise though. After all, even seeing has never equated to believing…

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe. (John 12:37 NIV)

But I write this so that others that might believe, will; and those that might be encouraged, will; and that those that might wonder if God would interact with them like this, will seek Him out; and not just seek Him out, but participate with Him in His work. I know that there are some that just won’t. I may even be mocked in some circles for this blog. However, I do not care. I want to make it harder and harder for people to ignore God. Because, I have experienced the love God has for me, for the world, and I would be a horrible person if I didn’t want to let others know that they can experience the same thing. And because, if these miracles are true (and I know He is a miracle working God), then how wonderful and, at once, chilling a thing is it to know that we have a creator who loves us deeper than we love ourselves and is actively engaged with us in this way?

This site is dedicated to chronicling His works, and the testimonies associated with it. Not all of the stories will be ones I have eye-witnessed. This first one happens to be. Since I’m finding that healings and acts of deliverance aren’t so uncommon, I’ll continue to document what I am able and to provide the best first hand evidence I can of God’s supernatural acts. At the start of this, I know all I have is my own experience and a few pictures and video clips with poor audio and sometimes no translation. I pray that this still is enough to encourage and give faith to others. As God gives me the opportunity, I will get better at documenting them.

The Conference

Friday Night 19 September

We arrived in Telengana via train and then drove for maybe an hour and a half to the town where the conference was being held. It was a much more agrarian area than Trivandrum. I was surprised that there are a good number of Christian churches of various denominations spotted along the landscape of farmland. Much like in the States, you could see trucks with Bible verses painted on their backs or on their front windows. However, they were greatly outnumbered by the trucks driving along with Hindu gods painted on them, and the Hindu temples and small shrines to various gods along the side of the road far surpassed the number of churches I saw. The number of these shrines seemed to increase the closer we got to the conference area. These are all quite normal to see for everyone that was with me, but it was all very new and striking to me.

Even those with me on the trip though were quite amused with the cows being herded in the streets and the monkeys scavenging around the rooftops around our hotel. Probably to the dismay of the hotel staff, we even got to interact with them a bit on the balcony.

Even those with me on the trip, though, were quite amused with the cows being herded in the streets and the monkeys scavenging around the rooftops around our hotel. Probably to the dismay of the hotel staff, we even got to interact with them a bit on the balcony.

As Pastor Praveen let me know, before any conference he needs several hours in solitude to praise, worship, and pray to God. He summoned me right before we needed to go to get in the car. We sang praise songs with him, his brother-in-law, and Pastor Johnson in the car along the way. There were strict rules for me here, they allowed me on stage with Pastor Praveen. From here, I could see the audience. There were about 200 hundred people present. Many were bussed from churches in neighboring towns and villages. However, many were locals that came because of the flyers and posters advertising the conference.

When we arrived, the conference had already been going on for an hour or two as locals sang praise and worship songs. Pastor Praveen was introduced and began his sermon. It was a story highlighting the faith of Jairus as told in Mark Chapter 5. As a synagogue leader, he risked much to ask Jesus to heal his daughter. Since the religious leaders in Judea rejected Jesus as the Messiah, Jairus risked his reputation, his position, and his relationship with his family. But God responded to his faith and brought his daughter back from the dead. Pastor Praveen paralleled this story to the people in the audience. They may need to do the same thing to leave a dry religion to seek a relationship with a living God. Pastor Praveen then gave his testimony of how he was visited by Jesus personally and had to do just that. Since then God has brought back to him and saved the family that rejected him, and he has given him the opportunity to preach the Gospel in a dozen or more nations. I could see that the crowd was listening intently to this message. You can watch this sermon on the linked videos yourself, though the audio quality is not superb.

I began to notice the Spirit working actively in the crowd when Pastor Praveen starting singing a simple worship song. He asked if anyone needed deliverance or healing. He began praying into the crowd. A man stood up in the front row, shaking. You can see this at about this point in the video.

Now, admittedly I thought he was just trying to walk. When the people let go of him and he fell down, I was really confused. Like, “Lord, what in the world are you doing here?” I was praying for the guy to be able to get up on his own. Then Pastor Praveen went down and threw water from a water bottle in his face. Again, you can see all this in the video. I had no idea what was going on…

Since I am at this time both completely unversed in this sort of deliverance ministry, and lack the ability to understand what’s being said by anyone directly during the conference because of the language difference, I am at a disadvantage to understand anything that’s going on. So this is what I learn afterward from talking with Pastor Praveen and others.

A word of caution that for those who aren’t familiar with or don’t believe in a spiritual realm and its interaction with our “normal” world; what follows is all going to be a lot to take in. It’s ok, it is a lot.

So, the man did come in with a cane, and he did have trouble walking, but that was only the start of his problems. He was also mute, he couldn’t speak, had trouble eating food normally, and apparently all these ailments were caused by some evil spirit’s influence over him. In other words, he was possessed. The violent shaking you see is apparently common when a demon is being forced out of a person by the Holy Spirit. A similar Biblical account of this sort of activity can be seen in Mark Chapter 9. The people holding him were told to let go so that the spirit coming out would not attack or try to come onto them, which is something Pastor Praveen said you have to be careful of. After the man fell, he continued to shake on the floor. Pastor Praveen wasn’t sure what he could do for him, but he heard the Spirit tell him to throw water in his eyes. So he did. The man stopped shaking after this and lied still.

During this time, the crowd pumped up by the music and the almost tangible energy in the room was dancing and praising. Some of the women in the back, were dancing wildly and abnormally with their headcovers off. You can see some of it in the video here. Abnormal worship like this is a good indication that they may be under some demonic influence. Understanding what is free worship inspired by the Holy Spirit, and what is either a demon flailing out of a person or a demon encouraging a mocking sort of worship takes discernment. An example of this sort of demonic activity can be seen in the scripture in Acts 16:16-18.

Pastor Praveen got back on stage continued to pray over the crowd. A single woman came up bowed her head and grabbed his feet while he stood on the stage. He came down and prayed for her, then the crowd came around him. He was surrounded by people, mostly elderly women seeking healing and prayer. Many claimed to be deaf or blind, and Pastor Praveen would pray for them checking briefly to see if they had experienced healing and many claimed to.

The man who had fallen had gotten up, Pastor Sundar gave him the microphone. He began to say that he felt something pulling him up out of his seat. He was not going to come that night, his wife had told him to wait til tomorrow, but he felt he needed to come so he took a cab here, using the flyer that was distributed across town. He did not tell his wife he had come. As he walked off, he carried his cane.

I heard all of this through translation, and you can watch all of this on the video here. Admittedly, I missed the most relevant part of this until someone told me later. The guy was talking in the microphone…the guy was talking, but he had been mute for years!

The prayers continued after this as those from the audience pressed in on Pastor Praveen. By the end of the night, four people, including a young man going to the local Bible college, claimed to receive restoration of their hearing, one person claimed to receive sight, and three demon possessed women (the women dancing in the back wildly) were delivered.

Upon seeing these things and hearing the stories of confirmation, I recalled a bold and what I thought was maybe even a foolish prayer I prayed during a worship session with Pastor Praveen’s family before we left for the trip: that the deaf would hear and the blind would see…All I could wonder was is if the Spirit had motivated me to proclaim it before it happened without even my full belief that such a thing would happen.

We left the conference a bit late, delayed by all the requests for prayers.

Saturday Night 20 September

I stayed back and prayed on Saturday night instead of attending the conference as I got a word from the Lord to do so in a dream. I have never had such a dream before. Never have I heard a voice talk to me like that. I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit over me during the dream. So we obeyed it. I prayed continually while I stayed in the hotel, and several hours seemed like just a half hour. Pastor Praveen returned and said that more healings and deliverance had occurred. Three or four under oppression from demons were released, over five received hearing, and three or four claimed to be able to see or had their vision improved. Most importantly, at this point in the video you can see the majority of the crowd raise their hands to receive salvation.

Another example of a woman with an evil spirit struggling can be seen here. She sort of hops up to the stage to the crowd gathered around Pastor Praveen while he is on the stage. It’s not clear on the video, but Pastor Praveen did pray for her and she was delivered.

Sunday Morning 21 September

The conference was over, and on the third day we attended service at a small, recently purchased church property among neighborhood houses all dotted along the dirt road. This is the location Pastor Sundar is starting his church. There were many small children here, many of them were from the surrounding Church service. We enjoyed the worship and Pastor Praveen had me speak to the congregation of believers. After the service, many came up for prayer and healing again.

The husband of the woman who “hopped” up to the stage the night before came up and was delivered. He and his wife had been estranged, but the effect of the prayer from the night before had immediately allowed their family to reconnect.

A man who was struggling against alcoholism, which is very common among the young men in the area because alcohol is extremely cheap to make there, received deliverance and salvation through Pastor Praveen’s prayer. Pastor Praveen could sense an evil spirit on him, and would not let anyone touch him as he fell down after prayer. The man eventually got up from the ground, and asked for more prayer. He said he could feel his face burning, and thought something else was wrong. Pastor Praveen explained that this was the evil spirit leaving him, that it was “normal,” and that he should praise God. After five or ten minutes, the man’s countenance had completely changed. He was sitting down, clapping, and praising God when we broke out into song.

The two crippled women.

A Hindu woman who had recently sold the property to the church decided to attend the service that morning. She was bent over and hobbled along with bowed legs carrying a cane. She decided to go up to receive prayer after listening to the service. God showed up, and she was healed.

This woman was hobbling along with a cane moments before, but was now prancing and clapping as we sang! She is the woman on the right clapping in the picture below.

Two women that received healing and gave their lives to Jesus praising and dancing

The second woman showed up as we were just finishing all the other prayers. This is a bit of a spoiler, but she is the woman on the right of Pastor Praveen in the picture above singing and clapping after she was healed. When she came in, her friend who came in with her was holding her arm and had one arm wrapped around her to help her walk. She was visibly in pain and could barely walk on her own. She was Hindu as well, and so was her friend.

Pastor Praveen told her that the Lord would heal her, but she must accept Christ as her savior. She was immediately willing to do this, although it’s unclear how much she initially understood what she was agreeing to. There was a desperation in her face that I’ve never seen before.

Pastor Praveen led her through the sinner’s prayer, and she accepted Jesus as her savior. He then began to pray for her healing. He said he could see something like a snake coiled around her body, constricting her. She began to fall back a bit as he was praying intensely for her. Others, including  Pastor Sundar’s wife, tried to hold her, but Pastor Praveen warned them not to hold her, as the spirit on her may try to attack them as it left her. Pastor Praveen himself helped her gently to the floor after he commanded the evil spirit to leave her and put his hands on her forehead. 

She lay there for a moment on the floor but then got up. She was in tears, but they were tears of joy. She was able to move and walk. She wanted to know who this Jesus was that just gave her healing. She had been to many temples, prayed to many gods, visited many hospitals, and seen many doctors. None could help her. And with just a simple prayer, she was able to move without pain. Her friend who brought her in was jaw-dropped in amazement. I could tell she didn’t know what to say.

Pastor Praveen took the healed woman by the arm, and began to walk up and down the length of the church with her. She was able to walk faster and faster. Eventually she was practically running back and forth. She stopped at the front of the church and prayed thanks to the Lord, still in tears.

A few minutes later after we had sat down, she came up to Pastor Praveen and asked again to know more about this God who just saved her. Pastor Praveen told her the story of the woman who was bleeding for years but grabbed Jesus’s robe as he walked by, her faith healed her (Mark 5:25–34, Luke 8:43–48, Matthew 9:20–22).

Because all others requesting prayer had already received it and there were no other distractions, I was able to see this entire process and all the interactions with the woman. It is still one of the most amazing and emotionally moving things I’ve ever seen. As we left a bit later in our car, we could see this woman, walking on her own completely restored down the road.

Testimonies and Press

It’s now mid-November as I write this and there have been some stories and testimonies that have come back from Pastor Sundar in Telengana after we left. I’ve included each of them here. Here is a video of a woman who was healed by hearing the prayers of Pastor Praveen during the conference. Here is the man who was mute and could not eat giving his testimony of healing and thanks.

The conference also was covered by at least two newspapers. The article from 22 September below is roughly translated as:

News Today: A three day Gospel meeting was conducted by Pastor Sundar. In these meetings Reverend Pastor Praveen preached and healed many people, who proclaimed their healings there. Pastor Praveen preached about the peaceful way of Jesus and many got blessed and deliverance from it.

Closing Credits

While credit for this trip of course goes to the Lord, many got to co-labor with him in making it happen and being a success for His Kingdom. These include but certainly are not limited to:

• Approximately a year of prayer and planning by Pastor Praveen, his church family in India, and Pastor Sundar who arranged the conference with them.

• Pastor Praveen’s 40 day fast (yes, 40 days!!!) at the beginning of 2019

• Pastor Sundar’s diligence in asking Pastor Praveen to come out to help establish his church in the area.

• Over $10,000 funding from our church congregation in Maryland for the conference and our travel

• More fasting and prayer prior to the trip among the members of our church.

• Prayer from our friends, family, associated churches around the world leading up to and during the mission.

• A 20+ hour plane ride from Maryland to Trivandrum by Pastor Praveen and myself.

• A 24+ hour train ride from Trivandrum to Telangana by the mission cohort.

• Finding a suitable location for the conference the day before it was held due to protests from a Hindu group against a religious meeting on public ground.

The result was everything I’ve written of here to God’s glory over 19-21 September.