IHOP.ORG -- Johnathan's Testimony -- Out of a wheelchair after two months

By Andrew --

I was on Facebook and one of my friends reported seeing a man who had been in a wheelchair for two months miraculously get up and start running at an International House of Prayer (IHOP) service in Kansas City. I am open to miracles, but am extremely skeptical since everything I've ever actually witnessed has been embellished, or the person reverted back to their previous condition that they were supposedly "healed" of. I questioned her further and she told me that she had seen him everyday for the last two months, and although he was paralyzed, now he's walking. She did admit, however, that he uses a cane.

That right there should be enough to indicate to her something is wrong. So God didn't heal him all the way? Anyway, she suggested I check it out for myself. So I went to ihop.org, clicked on student awakening, and found tabs that linked you to video testimonies. I found Jonathan's testimony and watched (May 1st I believe). Sure enough..he had been in a wheelchair and was running around the building. He did mention the disease he had...Guillain-Barre (or something like that). Eventually, my aunt and I Googled it, and Wow! We discovered that people with this disease are expected to make a 100% recovery within WEEKS! Imagine that. I emailed the organization to see what they had to say about it. Here is the response: I have changed the name of the person I was corresponding with.

Me:
Hello,
My name is Andrew and I am a high school student who has to do an interview for school. I heard on facebook that a guy by the name of Jonathan, who was paralyzed, was healed, and that he was running around. Can you tell me more about this? I would like to interview Jonathan if this is as was reported through fb. Is Jonathan no longer in a wheelchair? Would he be willing to let me talk to him even through email?

Thanks and peace out
Andrew

IHOP:
Hi Andrew,
I do not know how to put you in contact with Jonathan. You can watch his testimony online at:
www.ihop.org then click on the Student Awakening banner. On the right side of the player is a list of the archives. There is one on April 30 labeled Jonathan's testimony.

Me:
Wow! My aunt is a double amputee. Can I bring her to your service? Do you think God would make her legs grow back? She's been in so much pain her whole life and it's affected the way she's able to take care of her kids and what she's able to do with them. If God even cares about healing arthritis and crooked fingers...surely he would make my aunt's legs grow back? Should I bring her? Can I? I can't wait to tell her about this.

IHOP:
Of course you can bring her. We have our general healing teams several days a week as well. You and she are very welcome to come. You may be interested in signing up for prophetic ministry as well. You can find more info about that at www.ihop.org.
The healing teams are open during the following hours:

Sunday 2-3:00pm
Monday 6-7:30am; noon-3:15pm; 6-7:15pm
Tuesday 6-7:30am; 12:30-1:45pm
Wednesday 6-7:30am; 8-9:30am; noon-3:15pm
Thursday noon-3:15pm
Friday noon-3:15pm
Saturday noon-1:15pm

Me:
o.k. Thanks! But do you think that God will heal her and make her legs grow back? I don't want to bring her if not...it would be too emotionally devastating to her to have other people be healed and not her.

IHOP:
I can only tell you that from scripture, it IS God's desire to heal her. However, I have no idea about His timing and/or way in doing it. Seek the Lord and ask Him what He would have you do.
Maybe talk with you aunt. Maybe show her some of the testimonies and talk about whether she'd like to come.

Me:
have you ever seen an amputee be prayed for and their legs grow back?
o.k. I talked to my aunt. She told me she has seen this all before. I showed her Jonathan's testimony. She immediately googled Jonathan's syndrome that he said he had and it said that people with guillian barre are expected to make a 100% recovery within weeks. It said they may experience some residual weakness and a few will relapse.http://cureresearch.com/g/guillain_barre_syndrome/basics.htm. This is not a miracle. But I am glad Jonathan is better. My aunt and I have been looking at all of the other stories and she is frustrated because she has heard claims such as these but finds it perplexing that God never heals a severely retarded person, or the cancer stricken children in the hospital, not a single case of a person stuck in the rubble in Haiti being miraculously lifted out (meaning no humans assistance)...but He's interested in asthma, crooked fingers, and arthritis? She asked, what about the children who were raped by priests who cried out to God to save them, but He did not and their lives have been devastated as a result? What about the starving children who cry out to God for a drink of water, or some food...but starve or thirst to death because their prayer was unanswered? How do you explain the scripture to these people that says, "Do not worry about what you will wear, or eat or drink..our heavenly father cares about the birds in the air, how much more will He care for you?" She told me there has never been a single case of an amputee growing their limbs back and there is actually a website tracking it. Restoration of her legs is all she longs for. My aunt cried. If you are not being 100% forthright...and it seems you are not..you are preying on the wildest hopes of a ton of people who want to be healed, and are taken in by stories like these that do not have full disclosure..to be disappointed and sink lower into depression because somehow "they" are not worthy of being healed. She has heard stories of healing all her life, to watch the person who claimed healing revert back to their previous condition that was pronounced "healed" and sometimes die. I'm sure there are those cases also in these testimonies. In the interest of Truth and respect to the people who take interest in your organization..do you have the integrity to admit this?
My aunt and I see that people seem to take great comfort in the idea that God is healing them, but the flipped side of this..is it seems you are not being totally honest and it can be seen as a bit of an emotional scam.

Thank you for your reply. I hope you will think of what I am saying, through my aunt.
Andrew


IHOP:
Hi Andrew,
You ask many good questions. The Lord has the answers. I again suggest that you seek Him. Bring your questions before Him and search out the scriptures for answers.
Andrew, I feel I've been completely forthright with you. You asked me about Jonathan's situation and I directed you to the only resource I had.

Me:
Hello IHOP
I don't really wish to bogging you down with back and forth, it is just that I am now interested in this subject and feel unsettled about what is going on here...especially after talking to my aunt. Maybe you could just answer a few more questions for me. I am not necessarily saying you have not been forthright. I am suggesting that IHOP streaming these testimonies over the web proclaiming divine healings from God after prayer without disclosing all of the background information is not being totally forthright.

#1. I am assuming if you are a thinking, feeling human being, you MUST wonder why God doesn't answer other prayers for the most desperate, the most innocent...but seemingly answers prayers for a regular persons general aches and pain, and inconveniences (glasses). I am betting as somebody who I am assuming has walked in the faith for a while that you have asked God this question. How has he answered you?

#2. Are you personally aware of some of these people who have been proclaimed "healed" relapsing into their previous conditions, as my aunt has witnessed? And if so, why is that?

#3. Do you still believe that Jonathan recieved divine healing for his body, despite the fact that it is predictable that he would be completely recover within weeks? If so..why?
I think prayer is a beautiful thing. People gathering around you, agreeing with you, rooting for you, helping to shoulder your burden. This alone can be energizing and give people great strength and hope. I can see and feel the energy of this. I would enjoy that myself.I have a problem with what seems to be a careless proclamation of divine healing. As I said, it doesn't seem to respect the Truth of the matter or show respect for people..people who are suffering horribly and have not recieved healing and in all likelihood, will not, unless it is naturally or medically possible. But they are vulnerable to hearing this message because it's all they hope for. And these same people are also quite vulnerable to sinking into a further depression, carrying not only the burden of their physical and/or emotional torture, but also the burden of what they have done to make them unworthy of God's healing touch, or why their creator does not love them enough to heal them. I think it is of utmost importance for the sake of these people and for the sake of Truth to be completely forthright about these "healings."

Peace
Andrew

IHOP:
Hi Andrew,
Sounds like you are in a good wrestle with the Lord over what is right and true. This is good.
There are not simple answers to your questions that I can give you in this format. Countless dynamics around each individual's life make it impossible to explain why some are healed and some are not. Therefore, I again suggest you continue to press into the Lord and ask Him to reveal His heart for healing to you. You may want to study the character of God throughout the scriptures and settle in your heart who God says He is and how that relates to the different things you are asking. If you would like some other resources, you can check out the Forerunner Bookstore and mp3 store (both at www.ihop.org) and Bethel Church (www.ibethel.org). Since you ask very good and important questions, but email is a poor way to dialog about such things, I suggest you find a pastor in your local church or community and bring your questions and thoughts from your study of scripture to him/her and discuss them face to face.

Me:
Hi IHOP
I am not in a "wrestle" with the Lord. You are (IHOP..not specifically you) presenting outrageous claims, and I am checking into what you are saying. Your lack of answering my question says it all for me. I think my aunt is right.
Peace
Andrew

I have been lurking on this site for awhile and thought the readers might want to check out IHOP. It's sad and scary really. People convulse and act like they are mentally challenged. Check out "Jennifer's testimony." She was healed of masturbation! (phew...glad there's one less person with THAT problem!)

I know I can't control how the readers respond, but I hope that if people choose to email this organization (and I hope they do protest what they see) that they won't resort to being mean and name calling. These people will immediately dismiss what is being said and rack it up to that being the way people act when they don't have Jesus. I feel it completely discredits our position. I also assume, IHOP will believe a lot of nasty responses will be Satan unleashing his attack because they are causing "a stir" and doing such "might things for God."

Again, I can't tell people how to respond, that's just my hope since I'm drawing attention to this organization.

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