Doug Van Pelt

Overcoming Death

In chapter 13 Rees Howells is fresh from the memory of praying for the tubercular woman, who died. And yet he faced the prospect of praying for a dying man. As he interceded for the man, he heard the Lord say, "He will live and not die." He faced his own doubts and the thoughts the enemy brought to him, resisting them over and over. This particular man was given no hope and his wife was about to be a widow with her ten children. Rees knew that, "unless he could prevail for the husband, the Holy Ghost would insist on taking that place (relieving the widow and a Father of the fatherless) through him, and he would be responsible to provide for the woman and support her children."

So, not only was Rees full of faith, but he was very practical as well. When he told the woman for the second day in a row that her husband would live (she did not believe him the day before, because he communicated with doubt in his voice), he had to leave for a trip the next morning. This made him ripe for the picking when it came to the doubts of the enemy, who were filling his head full of thoughts like, 'They will greet you at the station with the news and ask you to speak at the funeral.' But in reality he was greeted with cheers of, "He got well the minute you left the home."

Unlike the temptation that many charismatics pentecostals face -- of faking it to relive past glories -- Rees didn't succumb to that. When he didn't know what the Lord was going to do or what the answer was, he honestly revealed that when asked. He didn't pretend. This is a great quality. Lying, pretending, and faking undermines so much integrity that can only be earned over observed behavior over time.

An interesting pattern is beginning to emerge in Rees Howells' stories: he travails in prayer, abiding in the Lord, until "intercession has been gained," which is like him having a breakthrough in prayer. It's hard to understand and hard to believe this in our day and age, but these are principles that Jesus taught. I can imagine the beauty of identifying with someone in need and weeping over their condition and pleading for God to intervene. While full of anguish and emotional pain, it must be peaceful to reach a point where "intercession has been gained." It sounds very religious, like meditation or something, but I won't dismiss this as a mystical error of some sort. Being persistent and passionate in prayer are things clearly taught in the Word.

I have a lot to learn about this kind of prayer. I believe it is the method that brought me into God's kingdom.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at May 15, 2006 09:32 AM