Walking, Leaping, and Praising God!

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.

-Acts 3:1-8

I first heard this verse about four years ago. Mike Prentice read it aloud as we were worshipping and preparing to pray for my miracle for the very first time. It struck my heart and it came alive to me immediately. It came alive for obvious reasons, Peter and John heal a man who was lame from his mothers womb, which is me. But it also came alive for less obvious reasons. Little did I know how much it would mean to me. Obviously I was not healed that day, or any time since that day. But I can always turn to this verse for encouragement. The days following the day I heard this verse the Lord began telling me He wants to heal all of me. He wants to heal me physically but He also wants to heal my soul and my spirit. It was very clear to me. Jesus heals with power and wisdom. Pastor Kris Vallotton received insight and revelation into these verses, and I am going to put it in my own words.

Peter and John had no money. But they did have power and authority. It is just like real currency, they had faith that this man could walk for the very first time. This is what lead to his sozo. Sozo is the greek word for healing, wholeness, recovery and salvation. When Jesus used the word He was not talking about short-term solutions but long-term restorations. It means to be fully saved, healed, and delivered in the spirit, soul, and body. The first thing the man does is walk, he is physically healed. This man is able to walk for the first time because of Peter and John's currency!

The next thing it says is the man leaps. It was not obvious to me why this is significant. Pastor Kris says there is no wasted word in the Bible, every word is an invitation for revelation. He also says the man leaps because at the same time he was healed in his body, he was also healed in his soul. The way I see it is the man was so filled with joy that he had to leap. The joy he had caused his leaping which broke away every chain that was hindering his soul. The healing of the soul is just as important as the salvation. It is possible to be saved without being healed. It is not to say the man or myself is depressed. I experience a lot of joy on a daily basis. But I would be lying if I told you my disease has no effect on me on some days. God is so good that He cares enough to make our soul alive to Him.

And finally the man praises God. This is evidence that he was healed in his spirit. In the Bible it says disease is to your body what sin is to your soul. If I leave sin in my life it hardens my heart. It makes it much harder sometimes to know and be in His presence. I would suggest if disease goes on without taking it to God daily it has the same effect. Some people blame God for their disease and they become bitter. Others think God gave them a disease to make them a better person or some other reason they do not understand. Both are wrong and stupid. I have found the best way to deal and keep my spirit healthy is praising God. I stay thankful no matter what I face without thinking of stupid reasons of why I am not walking yet.

I had no idea how much this verse really spoke into my life when I first heard it. God wants to heal all of us! Yay God!