The Ends Of The Earth: Stories Of Healing From The Big Sky Region
In Acts 1:8, Luke recorded Jesus telling His disciples to âWait in Jerusalem until you receive power, then youâll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the remotest part of the earth.â
In Montana, I often joke that we may not technically be the “remotest part of the earth” from Jerusalem, but we can see it from here!
So we werenât surprised when, in January 2018, the journal Nature published an Oxford University based study that declared Glasgow, Montana to be the âmiddle of nowhereâ in the lower 48 states of the U.S. In fact, the three most remote towns are all in Montana.
The Big Sky Region is literally the fulfillment of Acts 1:8. Well done everyone!
In the Big Sky Region we see the Holy Spirit at work, advancing the Kingdom of God to remote lands and peoples.
Holy Cow, They’re Gone!
To illustrate, after teaching the 5-step prayer model to kids at the Billings Vineyard, the time came to pray. A fourth-grade boy raised his hand and said, âmy tonsils are swollen.â The golf-ball sized bumps on his neck were visible and obvious.
The kids prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to heal him. One young lady, remembering to watch, opened her eyes and yelled, âHoly cow, theyâre gone!â The kids stood and stared for a full minute before another young lady declared, âWell, we know that works!â
Pneumonia â No More
In Great Falls, Montana a man in his seventies was diagnosed with pneumonia. When he returned home from his doctorâs appointment, he called the church for prayer. While being prayed for over the phone he started coughing violently. For about half an hour he kept coughing up mucus and phlegm.
When he saw his doctor two days later the doctor said, âI expected I would be admitting you today, instead I canât find a thing wrong.â
Paralytic Polio Healing
Also in Great Falls, a woman was diagnosed with symptoms of paralytic polio. After a couple of sessions of ministry team prayer, her symptoms of paralysis were gone.
Arthritis, Macular Degeneration, And Cancer Healings
In Boise, Idaho, during Sunday services, two people were healed of arthritis and a case of macular degeneration was halted and restored. A food pantry client was healed of cancer and came back laterânot so much for food, but prayer! Salvations are regular as clients are prayed for while their food boxes are being prepared.
A Heart And Lung Healing
In Pine Haven, Wyoming (population 526) the only church in town is the Vineyard. A church member with her own illness (having nodules in her lungs,) flew to California to care for her adult daughter she thought was dying. Her daughterâs heart ejection fraction was only 15% (normal is 50%-75%.)
On her way out the door to the hospital, Kitty prayed for her daughter, âLordâŠhelp Melanie.â Testing showed her EF to be 51%. Four months later, another test showed her EF at 71%. Now sheâs healthy and exercising.
Meanwhile, after having ignored her own ill health, Kitty went to Mayo and learned the nodules in her own lungs were gone!
A Hundred Miles Between Us
I point out to people visiting the Big Sky Region that it isnât a hundred miles between towns, itâs a hundred miles between houses.
Iâm only partly kidding. Big Sky country has lots of space and few people. Montana is the fourth largest state by land mass, and did not reach 1 million residents until the end of 2011. Allow me to put that into context â Washington D.C. has 9,519 people per square mile; Montana has six.
That God âseeks the lostâ and âopposes the proud but gives grace to the humbleâ resonates with people here. When one is a speck on the landscape, that we are âgrass that withers and fadesâ takes on a rooted-in-reality understanding.
We know we are insignificant, and that God is enormous. Our everyday lives emphasize this. Life isnât about us. We get it.
And yet, another recent study puts Montana as the state with the highest suicide rate in the country. The battle is real and in full view here. We have victories and defeats. We take a little ground and lose some of the ground weâve already taken.
âLord, may Your Kingdom comeâŠ.â
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Ed. Note: Please pray for our churches in the Big Sky Region who are Kingdom outposts in these important towns and cities!
