‘John, John! Come quickly, It’s Sean. He’s been stung.’
Not just one sting.
Three year old Sean had walked into a swarm of bees. He was covered in stings
which were visibly swelling in front of John and Carol Wimber’s eyes.
John prayed. ‘Dear Lord, please heal Sean now’. Nothing happened. ‘Please Jesus, please.’ John
and Carol became more persistent in their prayers, breaking off to speak in
tongues- what the Bible calls a supernatural prayer language. The longer John
prayed, the more confident he became.
Then in happened. In front of their eyes, the swelling began
to go down. Sean slept and by the time he awoke, there was only one red mark
left on the whole of his body.
Another time, Carol Wimber recalls a phone call with a
member of the church asking John to go and pray for his wife. John panicked. He
prayed to God “Oh God! He believed what I
taught on Sunday! I said you wanted to heal us! What am I going to do now? Oh,
please heal her Lord! Please, please, oh, please!” That was his inward prayer.
What he actually said outwardly was ‘why yes, I would love to pray for your wife’!
And the result? As John placed his hand on the sick wife, she was instantly
healed!
These early healing encounters back in the mid 1960’s were
to launch John Wimber (1934 – 1997) into a lifetime of healing and teaching on
healing. His impact on the modern church is considerable. There are now over 1,200
Vineyard Churches worldwide as a result of Wimber’s ministry. Wimber’s teaching
in the UK was particularly effective. His influence on new churches and on the
evangelical wing of the Anglican Church is such that many of their modern day
practices with regard to healing can be traced back to Wimber. In addition, the
Alpha Course, which has reached over 19 million people in 169 countries has a
significant content that relates to Wimber’s teaching at Holy Trinity Brompton
and other Anglican churches in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
A gifted teacher with a good grasp of theology, he
was also self-depreciating, describing himself simply as a ‘fat man going to
heaven’. His passion was Christ and the life changing effects of a faith in
Christ.
Further Reading:
Power Healing - John
Wimber
The Way It Was - Carol
Wimber (second hand only)
