The morning of my last day of ministry in Guatemala I sat on the roof of my host home FaceTiming one of my leaders back in the states. As I shared with her a story about experiencing physical healing in the prayer room, the phrase “language barriers aren’t God barriers” came out of my mouth. Now I sit here on my bed thinking about how often we allow these “barriers” to keep us from experiencing Gods fullness. Barriers that are impossible for us to break, yet are completely possible for God to break.
I’ve heard so many stories about God “breaking barriers” but I had this misconception that I would never actually experience that personally. That the “miracles” are for everyone else to see and experience, but not me. But God is so good.
A couple weeks ago I had a sudden onset of pain in my neck, shoulder, and back. It was sharp and intense. My teammates were trying everything they could to help relieve the pain on a Wednesday night, showing me stretches and massaging the area that was hurting. I took quite a bit of pain reliever and nothing seemed to help. The next morning I woke up and the pain was still present and still extremely uncomfortable.
That morning when we got to Antigua I sat in the prayer room at Serve Hope Cafe interceding among other believers for the nation of Israel. Suddenly, in the middle of prayer and worship I felt a tingling sensation go from my shoulders all the way down to my finger tips. My arms were shaking. It was something I had never experienced before, I knew it had to be Holy Spirit. Even knowing in that moment that the Holy Spirit was so present in the room, I still didn’t understand the fullness of what was happening. After our time of intercession my team and I went out for pizza and I told them about that moment, how my body physically reacted. That’s when one of my teammates asked the question. “Do you still have pain…?” And that’s when the dots began to connect. I had no pain! All the pain in my neck, shoulder, and back was gone! God healed me in that moment in the prayer room.
But the sweetest part of the story is the barrier God broke. After sharing this story with one of the missionaries who was in the prayer room with us, she told me that one of the women was specifically praying for physical healing in that space. That Jesus would heal the physical pain of someone in that room the same way He’s healing Israel. I had no idea what she had prayed though, it was all in Spanish. God broke this “language barrier” I had created. There really is no language barrier. He hears all languages! It doesn’t matter whether I pray in English and somebody prays in another language because God understands ALL languages!
What was prayed in a language I didn’t understand gave me an experience of physical healing to know God better. Not only did I experience God as Yahweh Rapha (The Lord, our Healer), I also experienced God as El Shaddai (God Almighty). He is able to do far more than I could ask, think, or imagine. I experienced His ultimate power over all. Language barriers aren’t God barriers.
As humans, we often can find ourself creating these barriers. Almost with an idea of “that’s too big for God” or “I know He can do that for someone else but probably not for me”. But the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. And the God of the New Testament is the same God moving around us and within us today. Praise God for breaking the walls we put up. Praise Him for breaking down all barriers.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”
Ephesians 3:20
“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”
Psalm 115:3
Be on the lookout for another blog this week highlighting my time in Guatemala! I LOVED MY TIME HERE. It is sad to say goodbye to our ministry teams we served alongside, but exciting to know this was all part of Gods plan and His plans are good! So what lies ahead will be full of good, and full of growth! As of now, my squad is currently at a hostel in Antigua for debrief and training for the week!
Loved this! Thanks for the reminder on “man made barriers.”
Grateful for your “healing prayers.” Continued prayers for you and your team from the Labaj’s in central Texas.
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Praise the WHOLE Lord! This is incredible! He is infinitely boundless. Always.
Thank you so much❤️
I love you, love this, so beautiful! Praise the Lord, that miraculous healing!! I love those kinds of testimony!!
Thank you! God is so good!!
God, in His awesome wonder, is ever present in our needs : emotional, physical, mental, and/or faithful. He is the Ultimate healer and has made himself known to you personally and others by extention, Ashley! What an amazing gift to receive while separated from ALL of your lifetime supporters—parents, siblings, family, and dearest lifelong friends. He has surrounded you with new “traveling” supporters. He has you and them in His loving arms at all times. As all of you move forward in your trip around the world, He is preparing the way and will walk hand-in-hand to validate your trip with miracles. Praying ceaselessly for more exciting GOOD NEWS from you!!!
Yes and amen! He is good!! So thankful for all who are a part of this journey. So many have played a part in getting to see His goodness!!❤️