When we returned from our recent mission trip to Bogotá, Colombia, where there were 342 salvations and 1,869 healings, we shared stories with friends back home. And one friend looked at me with a curious question:

“Do you have the gift of healing?”

I blinked. Smiled.

“Um, no… Well, no more than anyone else.”

My husband, our 24-year-old son and I had preached this in churches across Bogotá:

“There’s nothing extra special about anyone of us. We’re just ordinary people who say yes to an extraordinary God. We’re all called, anointed, and appointed to walk in the good works he’s already prepared. Healing isn’t about our ability—it’s about the presence of Jesus within us. And for him, healing is easy.”

We shared the Gospel, offered our testimonies, and invited the Holy Spirit with a simple, open-hearted prayer:

“Holy Spirit, come.”

As we prayed this in pairs—he showed up in power, gentleness, and breathtaking uniqueness. Some felt wind. Others felt heat, peace, or spilling-over joy as the Holy Spirit filled the atmosphere. The more we experienced him, the more we grew in God-hunger, depending on him for every step, word, and breath. God’s touch is an amazing catalyst. But the point of visitation is always transformation.

Goodbye, Dirty Little Lie!

We traveled with 25 others under the leadership of dear friends, evangelists Paul and Angelica Rapley. Together, we came alongside local churches—not to show what God had empowered us to do, but to awaken them to what God wanted them to do. We dismantled quiet lies that often disqualify blood-bought believers from stepping into the fullness of their God-given authority as kings and queens who also happen to be God’s healing agents.

For me, the lie came before the trip even started and it hit personally.

See, I’ve battled an uncomfortable neurological movement disorder—cervical dystonia—for over ten years. And the enemy knows how to whisper into the most tender shadowy parts of soul-pain:

“How can you bring healing to others when you still need healing yourself?”

Heaven’s truth speaks louder—if we listen.

“With God, all things are possible.”

Grasping Scripture’s revelation still demands participation. So, I made a choice to trust God over logic, to cling to truth, not symptoms, and to let faith stretch me further than comfort ever could. Comfort is overrated when you operate in Zion’s realm with the Comforter. This isn’t a realm of reason. It’s a realm of trust that translates to God’s heart as our love gift to him. What’s a sacrifice really—to the sacrificial one who was punched, slapped, whipped, pierced, and broken so our broken lives could be pieced back together in his lasting peace? Such truths ought to pierce our own hearts to action.

But that first dark whisper had a close cousin:

“What if the trip’s stress makes my symptoms worse?”

Not entirely a lie. In fact, quite a likely possibility. I pictured our misunderstood Savior on the cross while the soldiers and Pharisees mocked him, telling him to come down if he had so much power. But for Jesus’ joy (us) set before him, he humbly endured. The Holy Spirit whispered:

“Anything that carries eternal weight carries risk. With my strength, I empower you to safely risk everything for me and my Kingdom.”

A Humble Church, A Holy Fire

My husband, Dwight, and I, along with our translator, arrived at our first church and scanned the simple space lined with plastic beach chairs and faces full of expectancy. For a split second I had a frightening thought.

“What if hardly anybody gets healed?”

“I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears! Gaze upon him… and joy will come. Your faces will glisten with glory.”

Psalm 34:4–5 TPT

Truth leaps in our hearts like light breaking through a windowless church. I exhaled his joy and hope as Dwight and I hugged the podium and took turns preaching from Mark 16:

“Go into all the world, preach openly the wonderful news of the gospel… And these miracle signs will accompany those who believe: They will drive out demons… they will lay hands on the sick and heal them.”

Mark 16: 15, 17, 18 TPT

“Why don’t we see more miracles?” I asked. “Maybe it’s not a lack of faith. Maybe it’s the subtle chains of mindsets—those inner ceilings we’ve learned to live beneath. Praise God, he’s still in the business of shattering ceilings.”

God Doesn’t Wait for Perfect

With that, Dwight tackled lie number two, the befuddling culprit that makes healers hesitate.

“I’m not holy enough.”

“Scripture says otherwise. God has always used the willing—not the flawless. Peter denied him, James and John wanted to call down fire, and Judas betrayed him. If God can use these flawed disciples to heal the sick and do unlimited jaw-dropping feats, he can surely use any of us growing saints too—if we only believe.”

Have you ever tried to spiritualize your way out?

“I’m an intercessor, not a healer. I don’t have THAT gift.”

“But we receive spiritual gifts by stepping out and doing. It’s really that simple. It’s faith in action or active faith. And we never stop praying, seeking, and finding, because our whole life is a prayer to him.”

Then I addressed other limiting mindsets:

• “I didn’t pray enough.”
• “I didn’t fast enough.”
• “I haven’t repented enough.”
• “I don’t know my Bible enough.”

“Although God calls us to do each one of these vital virtues today and every day, enough is enough. There’s a fine line between good practices and poor excuses. Beware of the enemy using the latter as an illusion to keep us quiet, sidelined, and small.”

“Don’t disqualify yourself where the cross and grace has already qualified you.”

God has named you ready. He’s yours and you are his. When he looks at you, he sees the fullness of his dreams come true. You are his radiant bride, blanketed in the most glorious Divine partnership. Breathe truth and gaze at his face—because he’s already gazing at yours. And beautiful bride, he will never let go of you in this bold dance of loving the one he died for. 

Healing Isn’t a Struggle—It’s Your Inheritance

Paul and Angelica told us that when Colombians pray, it’s often with great intensity—furrowed brows, clenched jaws, hands waving as if to stir up a miracle.

As a recovering striver, I recognized this posture. So I checked myself as we taught a more biblical way that involves stepping into the restful authority God gives us. The bottom line is:

“Jesus never begged for healing. He commanded it.”

We told the congregation that in a minute they could practice the same.

“Be healed. Be whole. Rise up and walk. Peace, be still.”

“This isn’t about formulaic words. It’s about bold declarations from sons and daughters of the King.”

With that, I invited those needing healing of specific diseases and conditions to stand. I didn’t know what condition I was going to name until seconds before the words came to my mouth. And I gently guided the room:

“If you see someone near you standing, gently place your hand on their shoulder. Don’t pray just yet. First, ask what’s going on. Then listen and allow yourself to feel God’s compassion. If appropriate, ask if you can place your hand on the problem area.”

“Then speak to that pain or condition as if it were a vicious dog that’s taken ahold of your child. You wouldn’t whisper, please don’t hurt my son. He’s been a good boy. No, you’d command it to go. Get out of here. That’s how we treat illness. We don’t pet it; we evict it. In Jesus’ name, go!”

“And now you get to test it out as a step of active faith. Try to do something you haven’t been able to do.”

The congregation became like children free-falling into Daddy’s arms, testing, trusting, “My Dad is so big that he can do anything!”

When Healing Breaks the Room Open

What happened next felt like heaven rushing through our door of open invitation.

One by one, voices lifted.
Hands trembled.
Pain disappeared.
Tumors dissolved.
People shouted, laughed, wept, worshiped.

Healing broke out, followed by joy and celebration. Freedom flowed in the house. And now that the church had tasted something real, they were ready to take it to the streets!

The Barbershop Miracle

Everybody split into small groups and headed into different areas of Bogotá’s poor streets.

Our first stop? A tiny barbershop tucked into a dilapidated building across the street from the church. As we slowly stepped inside and said our hellos (“Hi, I’m an American”), the barber paused mid-cut, politely curious, and then kept cutting hair as we began to share testimonies of God’s healing power.

When his client paid him and left, we learned the barber had kept us there, because he suffered from chronic back pain.

The local pastor, remembering what we had taught him, stepped forward and laid hands on the man in faith.

“In the name of Jesus, all back pain, go!”

When the pastor asked him to test it out, the barber moved his body.
Twisted.
Bent over.
Smiled wide.

“The pain’s gone,” he said, astonished.

Tears blurred my vision. “Do you know Jesus?” I asked him through the interpreter.

Right then and there, the man recommitted his life to Christ. Healed and reborn in front of his chair, surrounded by mirrors and clippers, and many watching eyes.

The Gospel Catches Fire

Back at the church, story after story spilled from freshly returned groups. Healings. Salvations. Deliverance. The streets had become sanctuaries. Us, surrendered sparks, partnering with God’s Holy Spirit wind to stir revival flames. Truly, it was all him. We were just blessed to come along for the ride.

Many of the brand-new believers and locals on the street were excited to join Bible studies, so we taught the congregation how to lead simple, yet powerful Bible studies using a few honest questions:

• “What did you like about this passage—and why?”
• “What didn’t you like, or didn’t you understand—and why?”
• “What does this passage teach you about God?”
• “What does this teach you about people?”

Uncomplicated, personal, real, and easily reproducible.

They didn’t want us to leave, but we said our goodbyes, drenched in holy joy. Rich seeds had been planted in ripe soil. The church would water it well, and Holy Spirit would bring even more transformation.

From Playgrounds to Parliament

Over the next nine days, we ministered in multiple churches, an elementary school, a university, and even Colombia’s parliament building.

Everywhere we went—Heaven hemmed us in on all sides with unbelievable opportunities, bursting with Divine appointments and Holy Spirit-led awesomeness.

People were healed, saved, and set free. And we were marked and forever changed.

So, Do I Have the Healing Gift?

Yes, and his name is Jesus. And all the wonderful secondary gifts he gives are ministry tools we eagerly seek and find as we step into his compassionate heart, fully in union with him and his Kingdom-building work on this earth.

Like the disciples, we’re just ordinary people, daring to believe an extraordinary God who wants ongoing intimacy with each one of us, his blazing ones.

Will you surrender to his “greater things” and join me and Jesus in making this your life’s declaration:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, healing for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’”

Luke 4:18-19 TPT

Glory Story

Though you don’t fully see
the way darkness trembles at your rising,
I see it and call it glorious.

No need to dwell on the cracks in your frame.
They are not disqualifiers.
They are entry points for more of my flame.

Stretch out your brave healing hands
and speak life where fear built an altar.
In unity, we strike a match for eternity’s story.

Your constant “yes” quickens my heart.
I anoint every limping longing part.
When you bleed love freely, you bleed my glory.

By Cheryl Ricker, www.cherylricker.com