Surviving Agent Orange: Pastor David Friend's Miraculous Story of Healing

This episode was released on November 8, 2024.

In this powerful interview, Pastor David Friend shares his extraordinary journey of surviving the devastating effects of Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War. Drafted into the military at a young age, David's life was forever changed when he was exposed to the toxic herbicide while serving on the frontlines.

Years later, David's health began to deteriorate, and he was faced with a devastating cancer diagnosis linked to his Agent Orange exposure. Yet, through his unwavering faith in God, David experienced miraculous healing and restoration, defying the odds and medical prognosis.

Join us as Pastor David vulnerably recounts his harrowing experiences, the physical and spiritual battles he endured, and the profound ways God intervened to save his life. Hear how David's story of survival has inspired him to advocate for other veterans affected by Agent Orange and to share the message of God's abundant life and healing power.

This interview is a testament to the power of faith, the resilience of the human spirit, and the miraculous ways God can work, even in the midst of the most challenging circumstances. Prepare to be encouraged, inspired, and filled with hope as you witness Pastor David Friend's miraculous story of surviving Agent Orange.

Listen to David's Podcast

https://www.charismapodcastnetwork.com/show/quality-christian-living-with-david-c-friend/

https://www.davidcfriendauthor.com/

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We know it was Agent Orange's cause. We know that. We know it was cancer and it's a killer.

(00:04):
And to this day, they still don't have a cure for it. Why is it my kidney,
one kidney that's left, is functioning so well and doing so well? He said, well,
there's only really one word to describe what just happened to you. He said, it's a miracle.
And he took his pen and he wrote across the file and wrote the word, this is a miracle.
Miracles are real and they are not just for special people. They're for everybody.

(00:30):
And we need to have faith for those miracles. And with me today is Pastor David Friend of
Quality Christian Living. And his mission in life is to help Christians live to their full potential.
And Pastor David, it's great to have you here on Charisma. And we're going to share your story
of how God has brought you to where you are today and the miracles that you are seeing in

(00:56):
your life today. So David, it's great to have you here.
Well, it's nice to be here, John. I appreciate the invite and I'm excited about this because
anytime we talk about faith, we talk about miracles, we talk about Christians lives being
changed, I get excited because that's what God wants us to live. Remember Jesus said,
He wanted to give us life, abundant life. And the old devil comes to kill, steal and destroy,

(01:17):
but he's got life. And that's what we want to talk about, how to live that great life.
Yeah. So let's talk about that abundance. Could you first give us that definition of abundance?
And what is the revelation that God has given you with the term abundance?
Well, you know, I really like the word abundance. Matter of fact, at one time I was going to call
my podcast, Abundant Living, and then Dr. Green, bless his heart, who passed away years ago,

(01:43):
a short time ago, and his podcast was about abundance, living type thing. And so I
held off from that. But because I believe that quite frankly, what I just mentioned earlier,
John 10, 10, where Jesus was talking, he says, the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy,
but I've come to give life and give it more abundantly. I believe that Christians live far
below the life that God intended for them. And Jesus even said more abundantly. Each other

(02:08):
translation says exceedingly abundantly, you know, those types of expressions. Jesus wants us to live
abundantly. And I believe that in a lot of Christians live way below their life. I stayed
away from being a Christian because I thought they were sad people and they weren't happy people.
And the devil was lying to me about that. And you couldn't be successful and you couldn't have any

(02:29):
drive or ambition and you couldn't prosper financially or couldn't, you know, live a really
great life. And it was sad. Now, all of a sudden, when I became a Christian, I started reading with
the word of God says, and it's just totally opposite. When you use the word abundance,
you, you, people sometimes instantly latch onto this name it and claim it type thing where grab
what you can get and grab it, blab it and grab it. And all those old corny statements that they said,

(02:54):
you know, and that has to do with money and prosperity and all that. Well, I, I believe that
tiny portion of it. Yeah, it does. But abundant living is living according to God's plan for our
life, living according to God's purpose and plan and according to his will and based upon what the
scriptures say, how we should live and God's remember God's scriptures, the word of God gives

(03:15):
us 800, 8,000 promises in the word of God that he has for followers of Jesus Christ. So we need to
live that abundant life. That means a happy, joyful life filled with joy and not to be anxious about
anything. And I can just go on and on. So I believe in abundant living. I believe in a positive
approach to life, not the power of positive thinking, but a positive form and a walk with God

(03:39):
and a leaning upon the Holy Spirit and reliance upon the Holy Spirit who lives and dwells inside
of us to then, to then come out and express who he is and who he wants us to be in Christ. And that's
being happy, joyful, a smile on your face, even in the midst of trials. And the apostle Paul certainly
taught that he learned how to be happy in the middle of, middle of whatever he was going through.

(04:02):
So that's what abundant living is to me about. So I want to hear about your journey to understand
of this abundant living, because you said that you stayed away from it because really Christians
were not living in abundance. We're not paying a good, good examples, I guess, of the promises
and purposes that God has for us. Yeah. I know you were in the military and you, you've served in

(04:28):
Vietnam. Was this part of the way that God has brought you to him? Tell us that story.
Well, I was raised in a Southern Baptist home. My mom and dad, we were Southern Baptists, but none
of us were Christians. None of us, that may seem weird, but we had not, none of us had given our
life to Jesus Christ. We just went through the process, go to church, go home, go to church, go
home. Don't know why, but that's what you did. And, and, and when I saw that experience, and then I,

(04:53):
when I started seeing people who were Christians, they talked about how people Christian,
Christians should be humble and meek and lowly and not worry about being successful and not
have any concerns about having a nice home or a nice car. And I was even told that that's kind of
how Christians live. You know, we, we can't have those things because we're believers in Christ.

(05:13):
So therefore we have to be very poor and very meek and very humble. And that's just, and that kept
me away from receiving Christ. I went into the military, served my time there. I was not a
Christian, went to Vietnam and God saved my life. I used to pray, God, if you're real, if you're up
there, could you get me through this? I'm going to be here in the middle of the night, people
shooting at me and a sniper fire coming in. And I would say, God, would you do this? And I, I didn't

(05:38):
really know how to pray, but I knew there was God, but I just kind of stayed away from it. Then,
when I became a Christian and a matter of fact, it was so still in me that we had a really nice
home before we became Christians and nice cars and all that. We sold all that and got a modest
house and modest cars and wanted to look more kind of like what we thought was what the Christian was.

(06:01):
But then I started waking up and the Holy Spirit started waking me up and started showing me that
Jesus wants me to live an abundant life. Paul said, I want you to be free of anxiety and worry
and doubt and fear and all those, and the fruit of the Spirit says have love, joy, peace, patience,
goodness, kindness, you know, on and on. All the wonderful promises of God started telling me that
if I seek him first, then all these things shall be added unto me. And if you have dreams and desires,

(06:28):
then put God first and your dreams and desires can come true. So it was a process that took me time.
And when it all burst out though, I realized that we've got to live the life that Jesus
wanted us to live. And it was a joyful, happy life filled with success and filled with joy
and abundant living. So that's the process. That's the process. Okay, so you went into the

(06:53):
military and you served in Vietnam. And so first off, thank you for your service. And I know that
there was a chemical that was being used there that really, it had a purpose, but then there
was a lot of negative effects from that. David, can you tell us this whole story and just take the
time to do this? Because I think this is, this really needs to be told and I don't want it to hold

(07:16):
back. Sure. Well, you know, when I was 18 years old, I was in college and I got a letter from the
government saying that they were going to throw me out of college and put me up for the draft.
And I would be receiving a notice. And so by when I turned 19 is when I got my notice and they said,
uh, you're out of school and you're into the army now. So I went through my training, whatever.

(07:40):
The next thing I know, I was called, I was not a Christian at this time. And I was called to go to
Vietnam. I only had a two year requirement to be in the military because I was, uh, I volunteered
for the draft just to get it over with kind of a thing, never thinking I'd go to Vietnam. We knew
what Vietnam was, of course. And so then all of a sudden we got our training and off we went and I

(08:00):
was sent over there. And, um, I can remember as we landed at the airport, there was a movie that was
made called platoon that has a scene in it where they're walking across the tarmac and they see
all the dead bodies laying on the grounds. And they looked at each other and said, what's that?
And that same thing happened to me when I first got there and we landed and we're walking across
the tarmac and we're looking, I saw all these bags filled with bodies. And I told, I asked them,

(08:26):
I said, what, what in the world happened there? And they said, well, various reasons there died.
But, but he said, but don't worry, you're going to be protected because we're going to do everything
we can to keep you safe. Matter of fact, we're killing the jungle in order to give you an
opportunity to be safe. And I said, well, how do you do that? He said, well, we spray something on
it called agent orange, which is a herbicide that was a toxic herbicide that was designed to kill

(08:50):
all vegetation. So when I went to Vietnam, I landed my, the compound that I was stationed at,
I had to go out pretty much every night on the perimeter in the jungle and guard the perimeter.
So they would spray during the day, all the vegetation and all the stuff in the trees would
die and the shrubs wouldn't come back. And they were just killing off all that vegetation. And I

(09:11):
remember asking my, my Sergeant, I said, Sarge, what, tell me what's, what's with this toxic stuff,
you know? And he said, Oh, don't worry about it. It won't hurt humans. It won't affect humans. It's
not a big deal. So you're going to be just fine. Don't worry about it. So we would literally go out
on maneuvers and we would go out to check the areas to make sure the areas were safe, to rescue

(09:33):
people in little villages, if they were going to be overrun by the communists. And we would get them
on trucks and haul them out. Well, while all that's going on, this spraying is going on constantly,
giant planes flying over. If you've ever seen crop dusting in the old way of, it was like that,
only they were much bigger and higher in the sky and putting out massive amounts of Agent Orange's

(09:54):
herbicide. Well, anyways, so literally we're, we're digesting it because, you know, when you're out
in the, in the jungle and you're having something to eat, you're using your hands, the same hands
that you use to push the vegetation away that was sprayed with Agent Orange, it was on your hands.
You didn't have a place to wash them and you would eat the food. And so you were actually digesting

(10:15):
that, that stuff. But then they said, oh, it's no problem, whatever. So then I came home from
Vietnam in 1968, in October of 68 is when I, it's actually when I got out, I came home in March of
68 was when I left Vietnam. When I got back, we started hearing reports that maybe that Agent
Orange wasn't very good. Maybe there was a problem with it. Cause now lab rats and stuff are being

(10:39):
killed. Well, they knew that for years. And then in 1969, only a few months after I came back,
they stopped spraying Agent Orange. And so they just told people, we're not going to use it anymore.
We find that it could cause problems. And, but for those of you who got sprayed, don't worry about
it. You're all fine. So nothing, I never got treated. I was never told anything about it.

(11:01):
And so I went through my life thinking I'm just fine. Everything's great for about 40 years.
And then all of a sudden at about 40 to 45 years, I started developing something called cancer.
And I had my first battle with cancer in 2001. And, and I lost my right kidney to it. And the

(11:24):
doctors said it was caused from Agent Orange was caused the cause of that cancer. So I lost a right
kidney to that. They pulled that kidney out, patched me all up and I just needed God to heal
me so it wouldn't spread. And it, and God did. And I, a miracle took place in my life and I was
perfectly healthy. When the matter of just a few days after the surgery, the treatments all stopped.

(11:45):
There was absolutely nothing going on. And I thought, well, okay, well that's fine. I went
through life. Everything's fine. Well, then another, approximately 15 years went by after that. And all
of a sudden I had a physical at the Mayo Clinic and the Mayo Clinic saw me and said, your blood
work, there's something wrong with it. And it doesn't look good. And they told me that they'd

(12:08):
do further testing. And they said, well, we, we know for a fact now that you, you do have something
like leukemia and it was multiple myeloma bone marrow cancer. And he said, it's very severe.
It's extremely severe. This is, this is a terrible case and you've been suffering with this for years
and there's no doubt in our mind that it was caused by Agent Orange. There's no question about it.

(12:32):
And the VA, I mean, the Mayo Clinic even told me, go to the VA and ask for them to help you with
this because it's going to be brutal. It's going to be expensive. And they looked at me and they
said, you may only have six months to live. You're, you're in very serious shape. And when he said
that, now I'm a believer now I'm, you know, when I was in Vietnam, I wasn't, but when I came back
and became a Christian, when I was 25, when he said, you may only have six months to live,

(12:58):
this is a very severe case. I said, so you, you're trying to scare me with heaven.
And he, he looked at me and he said, wow, you really believe that? He said, I've never heard
anybody ever make a statement like that. When you give them this kind of a announcement. And I said,
well, I'm not afraid of dying certainly. So the worst that can ever happen to me is heaven. And
that's pretty good. So that was the attitude we had. And we got treatment for it. And instead of me

(13:23):
being dead in six months in about eight months time, uh, they couldn't find any sign of, uh,
of cancer anymore. But I went on taking, uh, uh, chemotherapy treatments for eight years
to be sure that's because that stuff, that agent orange gets in your system and it stays in your
system the rest of your life. And they're even saying that to some people, the agent orange now,

(13:46):
if you had children after you came back from Vietnam or exposed to agent orange, you had
children. There's a chance that your children may catch something. So we had one child before I went
to Vietnam and then we had another child when I came back. So our second child, I'm making sure
that that she understands that get your blood checked from time to time, make sure that you're
doing okay. Uh, and, um, I just thank the Lord. I mean, I'm alive. I, I was told six months and

(14:13):
now he was, not only did I survive, but God intervened in a very special way. And I didn't
even have to have what they call a stem cell transplant, which is pretty common when you have
a leukemia or a bone marrow cancer, multiple myeloma that you have to have a, um, you just
absolutely, you just have to have a stem cell transplant. And I said, well, let me ask you a

(14:35):
question. If the transplant is successful, what results are we supposed to see? He said, well,
you'll have to get zero readings in your multiple myeloma tests for you through your blood.
And he said, and by the way, it's easy to follow this cancer because it's in the blood. And I said,
you just said something very powerful because yes, it's in the blood. It's in the blood of Jesus

(14:57):
is how I'm going to be healed. And, and I had a wonderful testimony over at Mayo, you know,
when I had doctors and people talking to me, but he basically said that, you know, that it's,
it's in the blood, it's easy to find. Uh, and he said, but, um, uh, you know, you're still going
to have the stem cell transplant. And so I started praying. We started trusting, believing and said,
we're going to get a miracle here. And I said, I'm believing for a miracle doctor. And he said,

(15:19):
well, that's nice. And he passed me on the shoulder and says, that's great. Cause the doctors are
people of science. Many of them don't believe in miracles, but in a matter of just months,
eight months, uh, he looked at me and he said, uh, your, um, readings are unbelievable. And he said,
matter of fact, you already have the same results as you had a stem cell transplant. So therefore

(15:41):
you don't need to have a stem cell transplant. And I thank Lord only God's glory. I never had
to have the stem cell transplant. A miracle took place. When the doctor looked at that,
I said, doctor, how can you describe what happened to me? We know it was agent orange cause. We know
that we know it was cancer and it's a killer. And to this day, they still don't have a cure for it.

(16:01):
And so I said, so let me ask you a question. I only have one kidney. Cause I lost my first kidney
to cancer caused by agent orange. And I had one left and you're trying to burn me on the inside
out with chemo. Uh, why is it my kidney? One kidney that's left is functioning so well and doing so
well. And he said, this is a doctor that told me at first he was doubtful. He said, well,

(16:25):
there's only really one word to describe what just happened to you. He said, it's a miracle.
And he took his pen and he wrote across the file and wrote the word. This is a miracle. And, uh,
he said, there's no scientific reason that what happened to you that has happened to you and
you're, and you're healed. And he said, and the fact that you don't, that you didn't have a, um,

(16:47):
um, uh, you didn't have a cancer any longer is just a miracle. Wow. That's amazing. Pastor David.
Wow. Well, you know, I thought my agent orange situation, uh, okay, it's over and it's done.
And then all of a sudden it hit me. No, it's not done. There's a lot of people out there. So

(17:08):
I did some research and I discovered there are 800,000 U S military veterans living up in the,
in America today who were exposed to agent orange and have a strong possibility of coming down with
some type of disease of various types of diseases. And so I started researching to find out how to

(17:31):
help these people went to the VA. I've written two books on it and both of them are on Amazon.
One has to do with Vietnam, a young man's story. The other one is Vietnam and PTSD and agent orange.
And those books were designed to get help into the hands of veterans who are going through difficult
times. And I have quite frankly met with hundreds of individual veterans who are suffering from

(17:54):
various diseases and things that they couldn't understand where it was coming from. We found
out that they were exposed to agent orange. They went to the military, they went to the VA,
and they're now getting treatment. Some of them are on a hundred percent disability and are,
their finances are being taken care of. Others are, have lesser disabilities, but nonetheless,
many of them are suffering today, walking around with an agent orange exposure disease. And the

(18:19):
military is doing a lot to improve the service and improve what's going on. But quite frankly,
there's an awful lot of people out there who probably will come down with various types of
cancers and other diseases based upon their exposure to agent orange.
So pastor David, I love how you have faith for miracles and it's not just because of the

(18:40):
miracles that have happened in your life, which those are, that's incredible stories. And we want
to go deeper into that, but now you're seeing faith for other people's miracles and people's
faith is being built. We're all given a measure of faith. How did you grow and cultivate this faith
in your life to see these, these miracles? Well, John, I've got to go all the way back to when I

(19:05):
first became a Christian. When we first found Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, I remember
went to a Billy Graham crusade and he asked everybody just as I am down on the field. I went,
someone prayed for me and I gave my life to Christ and everything changed my perspective of
Christians or whatever. So I went to church and I went to an assembly of God church where they

(19:25):
believed in healing and they believed in miracles. And I thought, well, that's, that's okay for some,
but I don't know about that. So I was there in the church service and I'm brand new Christian,
25 years of age and my wife's with me. And so the pastor said, we're going to have prayer for this
little boy up here. And he is, he has a need, he didn't tell her what it was. And we just want to

(19:45):
pray cause he's facing surgery. And so I, so I said, well, I didn't say anything. I'm in the church.
There's a group of us, maybe a hundred people in the church. And so then he said, could you all come
down there? Well, that was unusual for me. So I walked down front and I saw the dad standing there
with this little four year old boy in his arms. And the pastor just started praying. He didn't say
what it was. He just simply says, well, pray that the surgery will go well and whatever. And as I

(20:10):
closed my eyes and I started praying and I said, heavenly father, I just pray that you will heal
this little boy. And, and as I closed my eyes, the Lord showed me a picture of this little boy's
kidney and he had two kidneys. One healthiest can be the other one was diseased and there was no
blood flowing through it. And, and the Holy spirit told me that's the kidney they're going to have

(20:31):
to remove unless you pray and have faith to believe that he can be healed. So I started
praying father in Jesus name. I prayed you'll heal him and restore him. I didn't know a lot of
the classy prayer statements because I was a new Christian and I didn't even know what it meant when
you said the blood of Jesus, you know, just brand new Christian. And I prayed and I said, Lord,

(20:52):
would that blood flow through this little boy's body and heal him and the Lord show me this little
kid's kidney open up just in my mind's eye. I saw this kidney open up and blood flowing through it
and it grew and it went to almost the same size as the other one. Cause you know, kidneys, one's a
little bigger than the other one. So it got to be just what's supposed to be. And it was healed.

(21:14):
And so then the pastor was through praying and he, he dismissed the service. So I was kind of
a little bit in shock, went over the pastor and said, pastor, could you have a second? This is
new to me. I don't, this has happened to all Christians. So, you know, when, when you, when
you're having faith to believe, and he said, well, what happened? And I told him, he says, oh my,
oh my, he says, um, that little boy was going in to have his kidney removed. I said, oh, well,

(21:40):
he doesn't need to now because it's been healed. And he says, well, that's nice. And I appreciate
what you said. And he's a really great pastor, really a great man. But he said, you know, we
have to wait and see now how God acts. I said, well, pastor, I'm just telling you it's done.
And that, that little boy's, that's kidney is completely healed and restored. You watch. He
said, well, we'll find out. Cause I was at a midweek service on a Wednesday and he said, Sunday,

(22:04):
uh, we'll, uh, we'll report. Well, he said, but the little boy probably won't be here because he'll
have surgery. So anyway, so Sunday comes around and the pastor calls up the man and the little
boy, and he brings the little boy up front and he asked the father, he says, well, what took place?
And he said, I don't, we don't really know for sure, but God healed him. And when they went into

(22:27):
do surgery, the doctor said, wait a minute, wait a minute, something's happened. And his kidney was
completely normal and had been restored. And he didn't need the surgery. There was absolutely no
need for the surgery. And the pastor looked down at me in the church and I'm, I'm looking at him
like, well, I, that's what I told you. You know, when you, when you become a new Christian, you
want to save everybody in the world. You want everybody to know Jesus Christ. You want to pray

(22:50):
for everybody. You want everybody to be healed. We have this birth of faith because now we've
received Christ. We don't receive Christ because of our faith. We received Christ because of God's
grace. But, but by, by that grace, we then receive a measure of faith. And that measure of faith gets
us started. And, and the beautiful thing about faith is, is that Jesus talks about great, you

(23:12):
have great faith. I've never seen such great faith in all of Israel to one person. Then another one,
he says, you have no faith, you know, you have absolutely no faith whatsoever. And, and oh,
ye of little faith. I mean, you know, those types of things are said. And so it really inspired me.
I started reading the word of God about, well, then if there's little faith and there's great
faith, then there must be medium faith and there must be in between faith. And so there must be

(23:33):
levels of faith. And there really is, there really are levels of faith. There's confidence
and trust in God. So then after that experience took place, I thought, I asked the pastor, can I,
can I pray for other people? It would it be okay? And he said, yeah, that would be great, you know.
And so I, I remember we had another service and a lady came up front and she was a probably a 50ish,

(23:56):
and I'm a 25 year old, so she was in their fifties. I thought, you know, she was ancient.
Now that I'm in my seventies, I don't believe that way anymore. But nonetheless, you know,
this lady is standing there and I said, can I pray for you? And she says, yeah, I've got,
I just need to be prayed for. And I said, well, let me, let me just pray for what the Holy Spirit

(24:18):
put on my heart. You've got diabetes. And he's, she said, yeah, yeah, that's yeah, it's killing me.
And she said, I've been suffering with it all my life. And I said, well, then let's just believe
that God's going to heal that, you know? And so she said, how did you know? I said, well, I didn't
know, but somehow I didn't know to explain to her that the Holy Spirit is the one that impressed me

(24:40):
and gave me that the gift, you know, to understand what that was. I just simply said, you see, you
only have to have to have faith. You only have to have all this training and education and stuff.
The thief on the cross had no training. He didn't go to, he didn't go to Bible classes.
He didn't tithe, you know, he just looked at Jesus in faith and said, you're an innocent man.
I believe in you. And Jesus said, today you'll be with me in paradise. So we can approach faith,

(25:05):
like the thief on the cross did. He had faith to believe in Jesus when he was hanging on a cross.
If he did that and he was just an ordinary person, we can have faith no matter what we go through.
So I prayed with this lady and I said, I really think you need to get a check. She says, yeah.
I said, but I'm telling you, God healed you. There's no doubt in my mind. The Holy Spirit

(25:26):
has told me that your diabetes has been healed. And she said, well, you know, diabetes isn't one
of those things that gets healed. I said, well, I don't believe that. I said, because the Bible says,
you know, that you take something to Jesus, you know, seeking first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and then all these things shall be added unto you. Let's believe for that for you.

(25:47):
Anyways, she went, I didn't see her for several days and she came back on another day. We met,
she ran up to me and she said, she said, David, David, David, she said, the doctor said,
my diabetes is completely gone and cured and healed. It's gone. And I said, I said, he's,
and he said, that just doesn't happen. I said, no, it does happen because it did happen. And it

(26:10):
happened to you. And I was very blessed at that time. I started reading an evangelist by the name
of Smith Wigglesworth. Now Smith Wigglesworth is known as the man of faith. He wrote a lot of books
on faith. So I got everything that he wrote and I read every bit of it. And I just soaked it up.
And I was so excited about his life and what he was doing. And then the faith that that man had,

(26:32):
and what was interesting, he died in 1946. I was born in 1946. And I said, Lord, did you do an
impartation of faith from him that I get to receive that now? And the Holy Spirit basically
confirmed that, yeah, you're going to pray for people and they're going to, you're going to see
miracles. So the Lord just kept showing me miracle after miracle. A later time, there were many times

(26:56):
where people were healed of various things that we prayed for. And it was always the healing power,
Lord Jesus Christ, because Jesus is the healer, not me. And, but, but when I prayed for those people,
it started to build my faith. And when I saw other people getting healed and I started watching
people like old Roberts on TV and, and, and his, the way he prayed and whatever. And I thought,

(27:18):
well, I don't know how real that is. And then I got to know him, got to meet him. I got to play golf
with him later on. And, and I told him how his life impacted my life when it came to faith. And
he was a great guy. He was a really wonderful man and what an honor it was to be with him. Well,
anyway, so moving along with these subjects of how healing miracles take place, we were

(27:38):
pastoring a church years later and a man in our church came up to me and said, I'm going in for
surgery to have my hip replaced. And he said, it's completely shot. It's gone. And they have to tear
it, take it out and remove it and put a new hip in. And I said, well, do you believe that Jesus
can heal you? And he says, well, I hope so. And I said, well, wait a minute, wait a minute. I don't
want to pray if you say, I hope so. I want to pray if you believe, yes, I believe he can and he will

(28:05):
and he'll heal me, not just everybody else, not that he just heals, but he'll heal me because it's
easier to pray for somebody else's healing many times than it is for our own. I think people agree
with that. So anyways, they went to the hospital. They asked me to come over and I prayed or I
annoyed him with oil, prayed like we normally do. Father, we pray for a creative miracle. We believe

(28:26):
that you made this body, take it back to the condition it was the way you made it. And that
that hip will be completely restored and healed in Jesus name. Well, then I left the hospital. They
rolled him into the surgery. And when I prayed for the doctor's hands, the doctor came into the room
and I said, doctor, before you do surgery on him, could I pray over your hands? And he said,

(28:47):
yeah, I guess. And he kind of puts his hands out and he's kind of like acting like this is weird.
I said, no, I just want to pray for your hands. I'm not going to touch you. I just want to pray
for your hands. I prayed that his hands would be used to perform a miracle for the power of Jesus
and that and that there'd be complete healing. And this doctor said, wow, thank you. That was
wonderful. So anyways, I went back to the to the church. I got a call in about an hour and the

(29:12):
family saying, you got to get back here, pastor. You got to get back. I said, why is everything's
okay, right? And they said, yeah, well, yeah, more than okay. So I drove back to the hospital and
there and the doctor's waiting for me and the family's waiting for me. And the man with the
surgery is in bed. The doctor looked at me and he says, what did you do? And I said, I didn't do
anything. I just prayed and Jesus healed him. Right. And he said, well, here's the x-ray before

(29:38):
he went in and he and of course I can't read x-rays and his his hip was destroyed. Here's the
x-ray what it looks like today. He said his his hip has completely regenerated itself and healed
and he didn't need surgery. He said, I only feel bad that I opened him up to to open him up for the

(29:59):
surgery and that that incision has to heal now. He said, but he is completely healed. His hip has
been totally restored and completely healed. And I just believe that God wants to do that.
And we got to remember that God's in the same healing business he was then. I've had the healing
miracles in my body. I've had in my own body, but it's over time. I've seen so many people

(30:22):
who needed healing. And now today we pray with people for with cancers and we've had people who
who's a fella fell off of a horse and his his he had a brain hemorrhage and they said he had never
walk again. He'd never speak again. He'd never whatever. So we went down and anointed him with
oil prayed over him. And within a matter of days, he's walking in the hospital. Now he's back home

(30:44):
and he's talking. He's walking. He's about 98% recovered from that thing. And the doctors like
we didn't do anything. We just there was nothing to do, you know, except wait for the brain,
the swelling to go down. Well, the swelling went down instantly and he was able to start
functioning in his normal functions. And we just had one after another and after another of how

(31:06):
God has touched one that was happening. I was doing my podcast on charisma and, you know,
and I thought the Lord saying you need to write about this. You need to let other people know.
So I did a series called Faith for Miracles. And and so I wanted people to understand that
miracles are still alive and well today. Jesus is still the same yesterday, today and forever.

(31:30):
And so therefore we've got to believe in miracles and claim them and walk in them and receive them.
And so I completed a book. I just released it. It's on Amazon right now. And it's a book entitled
Faith for Miracles, which is kind of comical. When I hired the editor, who was a Christian, but not
one that believed a whole lot in miracles at first, she looked at the title and she said,

(31:52):
um, I hate to tell you, but your title is grammatically incorrect. You can't say faith
for miracles. You have to say faith in miracles. And I said, well, no, I can't say faith in miracles
because my faith is not in the miracle. My faith is in the miracle worker, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And she said, oh my goodness, you're right. And she had a revelation. And through editing this now,

(32:14):
she has experienced a new faith and a trust in God for miracles. But, but I just believe that
with quality Christian living, that's what our podcast is. This is one aspect of it,
to have faith in miracles and believe for them and pray for even people that everybody else gives up
on, never give up on, never give up on them. I always pray the guy in the wheelchair many times

(32:34):
gets walked by and not prayed for. And I don't see people getting out of wheelchairs every time I go
by them, but I do see people who were in wheelchairs or are no longer in them now. And thank God for
those miracles. Yeah. So pastor David, I'm reminded of the story in the Bible where there's this man
that came to Jesus and said, Lord, I believe help my unbelief. And I kind of relate to him a lot

(33:01):
because I believe, but I know that I don't believe enough. I have faith, but I feel like I need to
have more faith. How do you help people grow in their faith in practical ways? Well, what works
for me is always using the word of God in the scriptures to strengthen my faith, because I

(33:25):
remember the story of the, of the blind man and Jesus, remember he spit in the ground and made
the mud and he put it in the guy's eyes and, and told them, you know, to wash it and whatever. And
the guy's vision came and, and the people around Jesus and this man said, well, you know, what was
the reason he was blind? Was he blind because of sin in his life or blind because his parents had

(33:48):
sin? And Jesus said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He was blind for another reason. He was blind so
that basically he's saying, so I could do a miracle and that God will receive all the glory. And that's
stuck in me. See, that's a scripture and we got to find scriptures that speak to us, that we claim
that promise. Matter of fact, that story of that man mixing up the mud, I've used that for eight

(34:11):
solid months going in and getting treatments for chemotherapy. When I would go in and the doctor
would say, check my weight and we're going to go in and mix up a batch of chemotherapy for you based
on your weight and your blood pressure and all that kind of stuff. And I'd say, great, have you
ever heard the story about the miracle that took place because the mud was being mixed? That story

(34:32):
now moved into my life and I claimed the mud, the chemotherapy that cleansed me and healed me of
multi myeloma bone marrow cancer. So therefore, if you answer how do you get more faith, you got to
find the scriptures that speak to you, the ones that really, really hit the nail on the head and
you go in, that's good. I like that. And you claim that and you operate in that and see exactly what

(34:57):
that scripture is telling you. The man says, you know, I need more faith. So that's he was just
being honest. And I think we need to start off just like he did. Be honest, say, God, I need more
faith. Can you give me more faith? He will direct you to his word. The Holy Spirit will direct you
to his word. And then I tell people to find people who believe in healings or have had great

(35:22):
healings and listen to them and listen to their stories to get a good book that tells them that
tells them how to pray and how to seek the face of God and to believe and get that unbelief aside
and then and start claiming that you can have greater faith and see miracles. Jesus basically,
you know, talked about great faith and great miracles because the people just simply believed

(35:48):
faith is is easy and yet people make it hard. You know, you're sitting on a chair and I'm sitting
sitting I'm sitting on a stool right now. It's about 24 inches off the ground. I have faith
in the stool, right? It means that well, that doesn't count. Yes, it does count. That's a tiny,
tiny piece of faith. You get in an airplane and you have faith that it's going to take you to where

(36:12):
you want to go without crashing on the ground, right? And people, some people won't fly planes.
Well, that's that's their business. But when we whatever we do, we got to start finding pieces of
faith that we have and start believing. I've got more faith than I thought I had. You know,
people in church come up to me and say, well, pastor, every time you get sick or something,
you get a great healing. And so therefore you've got great faith and you got great greater faith.

(36:37):
I got no, no, no, don't tell me about having a me greater faith. I just want you to know that I
just want to believe as soon as there's a problem, I'm not going to let my circumstances rob me from
my opportunity to receive what I need from God. Paul said I learned to be content in everything,
right? Good, bad, hungry, you know, full, rich, poor, whatever it was. He said I didn't allow my

(36:59):
circumstances to rob me. So another tip about having greater faith is to don't allow what
you're going through to rob you of your faith. Believe your faith, claim your faith. And when
you don't see the answer right away, that doesn't matter. That doesn't matter. You don't feel
defeated. You don't feel down because you didn't get the immediate answer like that. I've had people

(37:19):
get answers to prayer sometimes a year or two or three years after I've prayed for them. And I
believe that we don't ever let up. We don't ever give up. We stay focused. We believe and we find
that bunch of scriptures, maybe they're half a dozen or more that speak to us that build our faith
and get around positive people who believe in miracles. Amen. And I believe that will help in

(37:42):
each and every one of us. Yeah. I'm going to ask you to pray in just a little bit. But before we do
that, I know that your message about faith for miracles is not limited to just healing.
Right. Can you tell me some stories and build our faith before you pray for people at the end of
this? Could you tell us some stories of other types of miracles that you've seen God do

(38:08):
that you've had that faith for? Well, when we started our church, we had a little group of
people, about 20 of us, we rented a little motel conference room and paid a hundred bucks so we
could have it for three hours. And I thought, well, Lord, we've got to prepare for something

(38:28):
greater than this because you didn't have me leave my business and sell my business and go so I could
have 20 people meet in a motel conference room for the rest of my life. So you've got something
greater planned. And so therefore we started asking God to show us exactly what he wants us to do.
Well, we got to where we had maybe, you know, maybe a hundred people was coming after several

(38:49):
months. And but all of a sudden I thought, well, we've got if you got a hundred people, it's like
the it's like the the plant that you put in a jar that's this big and you put a plant in there and
it grows it to be a little plant this big. Right. Or you take the plant outside and you put it on
the garden and it turns out to be a 10 foot wide, 15 foot, you know, bush. It's where we plant our

(39:12):
seed for it to grow depends on whether it's going to grow or not. And so I prayed, I said, Lord,
what do I need for this church to be at least a thousand people? And so the Holy Spirit said,
you're going to have to rent a building. I went to the air park, rented a warehouse, 20,000 square
feet with no income, small congregation, twenty thousand dollars a month for five year lease. I

(39:36):
signed, I said, God, this is your church. So therefore this is your obligation. So by faith,
we're believing you're going to supply it. The man that owned it was not a Christian. And yet he,
we received a favor from him to to even lease the building because we were brand new church,
didn't have any track record. That in itself was a miracle. The fact that we even got the building.

(39:56):
Then on top of that, he wasn't even a Christian. He gave us three hundred thousand dollars worth
of improvements on the building because he felt because it was a church, he wanted to make it
nice. He, you know, he did that. So then we started the church and it just exploded and grew.
And then he and his wife came to church the first Sunday and he got saved. And so, I mean,
and the church exploded within a year. We were running, you know, eight hundred to a thousand

(40:18):
people in church and within two years, we're running two thousand people at three different
locations. Three locations. And I had none of that planned. God made it happen. So we needed
to build our church. We needed money. I didn't have any. I went to the bank to borrow and I said,
I need seven million dollars. And they said, well, that's nice. You know, and I said, you're
going to have to talk to somebody and convince them. I went down the hallway to meet who the

(40:41):
the big shot loan guy was. And they said, if you can convince him the loan, you're the money. Fine.
But he's the only he's the final decision. I walked into the room and I looked at him and I said,
Lanny, what are you doing here? God had planted a man in that office years before he he didn't
even know I was a pastor. He said, you're pastoring. How long you been doing that? I said

(41:01):
about three and a half, four years. He said, I saw your balances, your you guys, your incomes,
you know, three, four hundred thousand dollars a month coming in here. This is incredible. What's
happening? And I told him and I said, I need to borrow seven million dollars to build the church.
We own the land and I won't go through that. But it was a miracle. I wound up buying land with no
money. Wound up with thirty three acres, about thirty three acres with no money turned around

(41:24):
and sold off seven of it. And that seven paid off the rest of the twenty six acres. We wound up with
twenty six acres free and clear. And and so we're sitting there with no money. And now we own twenty
six acres in North Scottsdale to build our church, which was worth a couple of million dollars.
And we didn't have to come up with any money at all to do the deal. God made it happen where one
person did one thing, another, but whatever it got orchestrated. Then we got our seven million

(41:48):
dollar loan from him and we built this church. And so seven years, God's perfect number, seven
years after we started the church, we wound up building a twelve million dollar church facility
that seats eleven hundred people. And to God be the glory that that is a financial breakthrough
and a financial miracle that we just had to believe God for it. Trust him for it, not do stupid
things, not get myself in trouble, but take risk. In business, there's something called risk versus

(42:13):
reward. If you take a big risk, you probably have a greater chance for a bigger reward. And I believe
in that. And in churches, we've got to have to do the same thing. We've got to believe that our risk
is really faith. And and we can believe for that and we can believe to be out of debt. We can believe
to be debt free. We can believe to get our finances in order. We can believe that we can become a tither

(42:36):
just by changing the things that you're doing in your life to become a tither. Once you do that,
then you tie. Then God is responsible for your finances. When you start giving to him first,
he's in charge of your finances. And then all of a sudden, the finances start coming forward. So
to God be the glory in all those areas. And we've got to also believe that God can restore
marriages. Let me give you a real fast one on a very, this is great. This is instilling my faith,

(43:00):
Pastor David. This is wonderful. I'm sitting there one Saturday in church. It's a Saturday morning.
I'm by myself. I'm getting, getting my notes and stuff ready, kind of organizing, getting ready.
And all of a sudden the Holy Spirit says, call the Smith family. That's not their name, but I'm going
to just say the Smith family. And I went, okay, I'll call them. And I'm striving to do my, now.

(43:22):
And I'm going, now? I'm going, Lord, I've got this sermon I'm putting together for tomorrow. I've
got to get ready or whatever. I'm going to be here all day. And the Holy Spirit basically telling me,
call them now. So I put down my stuff, you know, and I get the phone out and back in the old days,
you know, I had an actual phone that I, and so I picked it up. I said, hi, this is Pastor Dave

(43:49):
at the Green City Church in Scottsdale. And he says, he starts laughing. And so I thought, Lord,
is this what you're doing? You want to make fun of me? You know, you're, this man's laughing at me
because I called him and I said, well, his name was Gary. I said, Gary, why are you laughing? I'm
sorry, but I don't understand. He said, Pastor, no, no, no, no, it's not you. He said, 10 seconds ago,

(44:13):
my daughter said, dad, we should never go to that church because it's a big church. They got a
thousand people going and that pastor's never going to know, even know who you are. He'll never talk
to us. He'll never call us. He has no way, he says, and she said, and so therefore I don't think we
need to go to that church. And as soon as she said that, the phone rang and I picked it up and it's

(44:35):
you. And he, that little girl, matter of fact, that little girl I saw last weekend when I went to see
one of my grandkids and she came over to me, she says, you remember me? I said, well, sure I do.
It was her dad. She was the little girl that was saying that pastor will never call you. So God
performed a miracle to wake me up, to have me call at that moment, not an hour later, not 10 minutes

(44:59):
later, the Holy Spirit was telling me. So if you want to see your miracles happen when the Holy
Spirit speaks to us, let's do something and let's do it right now. So anyways, I could go on with
those, but that's, please do. This is great. I love this. I mean, it's, it, your faith comes by
hearing and hearing the word of God. And part of that is also the testimonies, you know, it's the

(45:23):
testimony of Jesus, uh, as we read through the scriptures, but as we see how God works today,
it builds our faith for today. You know, it's not just this happened with the apostles back in that
day, but what is happening with pastor David today? What is happening in our world today that we see
God's, we see God's hand at work and our faith is being built. And just you telling these stories

(45:48):
is building my faith and building everybody's faith. That's, that's watching. We're going to
get a couple more stories before you pray. Cause I gotta get, I gotta get a couple more, but I just
want to encourage everybody that's watching, make sure you put in the comments. If you're believing
for a healing, put in the word healing. If you're believing for a financial miracle, put in the word
financial miracle or any other type of miracle. We want to believe with you. And so we'll be

(46:10):
looking through the comments and replying to that. But pastor David, please tell us some more stories.
This is so good. Well, I'll give you, I'll give you one that's very, very, very special to me. And
one day I was on a, at church and I was in my office and a lady came in and wanted to talk with
me. She said, pastor, my, my secretary was right there. So she came in with her and sat down with

(46:32):
me and she said, my, my dad is near death and he's 93 years old and he's going to die and he's an
atheist. And I said, oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I said, well, let me go pray for him and we'll
just pray that he'll receive Jesus Christ as a savior. He said, I'm so sorry to hear that.
And she said, no, no, no, you don't understand. You don't understand. He's been an atheist for

(46:55):
about 70 some years of his life. And his wife, my mama has been the same thing. They've been
atheists and the whole family, they're all atheists and they all hate God. And there's a couple of
them, I guess that are agnostic, but, but basically they hate God period. And they hate pastors.
And I said, well, well then I, I guess I just need to call him and go over there and pray for him.

(47:15):
And she said, well, if you do. And I said, well, wait a minute, just a second, let's just believe
that God's going to give me favor. And that when I call, he'll receive that call. And she said,
well, it's not going to happen. I said, well, that's according to your faith, but according
to my faith, God's going to let me have a chance. So I said, I'm not going to pray with you. I'm
just going to believe. So I picked up the phone and I dialed the hospital. Now my flesh said,

(47:37):
when he answers, don't tell him you're a pastor because you know, that's, uh, he's going to hang
up or cuss you out or something. Right. And I, but the spirit said, don't you dare wimp out on me.
You know, and the Holy spirit telling them. I said, hi. And it, and I forget his name and save
his Tom. And I said, hi, Tom, this is pastor David friend down at the dream church, you know, and

(47:59):
I'd like to come over to your hospital and pray for you. I just believe that God wants to touch
you and heal you and silence. And this daughter's looking across the desk from me sitting there.
She's like this, you know, she's got her and I said, and he says, that would be great.
And I had them on speaker and I said, okay, I'll be right there. And I hung up and I looked at her.
She said, that, that was my dad. I said, yeah, God just performed the breakthrough miracle. We

(48:25):
needed for him to receive his healing and Jesus as his Lord and savior. And she said, well, you
think so. And I said, no, no, no, I know. So I'm that that just is not coincidence. So off, I went
to the hospital, she'd gotten her car went, I met her at the hospital. We went into the room and
here's a room with this man sitting there and he's, he's dying of cancer. He's got a horrendous tumor
on his eye. That's outside. It, it was one of the awful things I think I've seen. And he's, you know,

(48:52):
93 years old, weak as can be sitting on the edge of his bed, just leaning down. I walked into the
room and it was filled. I felt like Satan had a whole bunch of his demons everywhere in that room.
And, and I said, I'm pastor Dave from the church. I just called you and I want to pray for you to
and I want to pray for you to be healed and give your life to Jesus. And he looked at me, he went,

(49:14):
Oh, he could barely speak. I mean, just mutter and instantly there was a spiritual war taking
place in that hospital room. These people were looking at me and growling at me and crossed arms
and I mean, just, you know, get out of here. And, and his daughter was with me and she said, well,
just let the pastor speak. And so, you know, how about a half a dozen people in the room,

(49:38):
they're waiting for him to die. You know? And so I said, all right, well, let's pray. And I want
you to receive Jesus and I want you to be healed. And I said, the greatest healing though, where we
see Jesus Christ, your Lord and savior is spend eternity in heaven. And I went through my typical
thing and I just prayed for him. And I said, so I'm just looking at him now. I got ignore, I got,

(50:00):
faith requires to ignore the circumstances, everything that's around us, right? And I'm
looking at him in the eyes and it's really hard because there was a terrible distraction right
here, but I'm sitting there trying to find this tiny little isolate to look him in the eyes. And
I catch his look. And I said, just repeat after me. I know you can't talk well, but just repeat
these. And I led him in the sinner's prayer. And I said, now in Jesus name, I pray. Amen. Did you

(50:26):
give your life to Jesus Christ today? Let me know. He went just like that. And the room was angry.
I mean, they were angry, you know? And so I said, I looked at him and I says, well, you know, you're
going to, you're going to be in heaven. I said, I prayed for your physical healing, but more
importantly, your spiritual healing, you're going to be in heaven now and I'll see you someday in

(50:47):
heaven. And he went, you know, and he, that's all he could do. That was about all he could do.
So I left the room and so he died three days later. His wife came to church right after he died
to our church, hadn't been in a church in 70 some years, to tell me that he changed, that he was at

(51:08):
such peace, was in complete comfort for those last couple of days before he passed away. And she says,
I need to know what he received. I preached the message, gave an altar call, and there she's
sitting with her daughter and right in that church, she's raising her hand and, and receiving Jesus
Christ as her Lord and savior. That's just a miracle from God to have a breakthrough to believe

(51:30):
on the outside. We can just simply say, well, there's no chance that's going to happen. You'd
take a miracle for that to happen. Yeah, it would take a miracle. And it wasn't a miracle. The fact
that he even allowed me to talk to him was the breakthrough miracle that I got. God gave me
favor when I needed favor. God protected me from all that evil and stuff in that room and to break
through that, all that nasty stuff that was in that room for this man to surrender his heart to

(51:54):
Jesus Christ and to receive Jesus as his Lord and savior. So we give God all the praise and glory for
that one. And let me give you another one real quick. All right. All right. All right. I'm on this.
Honestly, we could have a four hour podcast. I know we're not going to, but I got to tell you one
that was so amazing. Another one that was so amazing where God intervened. I'm speaking these

(52:15):
because there's a lot of people out there, I think they're listening in, who have unsafe family
members and you might be giving up on them, but don't you ever dare, dare ever give up on someone.
I prayed with my little sister for just until she was 44 years old. From the time she was 16 years old,
she was a drug addict and she had major problems with alcoholism and drug addict, whoever, tried to

(52:35):
pray with her, give her heart to Jesus with five, six, seven times, we had her emergency rooms,
getting ready to die. And then finally she was 44 years old and I said, well, she's going to give
her heart to Jesus this time. And off I went to the hospital and I went in the emergency room and
I prayed with her and she opened up her eyes and we prayed. She was as clear as can be. And then she
went back to sleep. And I thought, well, I think it took this time. I think, I think this is real.

(52:59):
And so I brought my wife to the hospital the next day and I said, honey, my sister is here, Carol,
and she gave her heart to Jesus. I believe this time it was real. And we walked in the room and
she, Carol sitting up in bed, clear as can be, eyes are clear, medication, almost nothing. The

(53:19):
nurses are going, she is just amazingly recovering from this. And she's sitting there with a big
smile on her face. And we walk in the room and my wife says to her, well, Carol, did you give your
life to Jesus? And Carol's sitting, big smile on her face. She says, Jesus came into my room last
night and I gave him my heart. I received him as my Lord and Savior and he has changed me. I'm not

(53:44):
hurting, I'm not in pain, I don't have any problems, just completely restored. But to 44, from 16 years
of age, you know, we prayed for her. I got saved when I was 25, that would have made her about 27.
So from 27 to 44, she just kept having all these drug problems and near deaths experiences and never
gave up on her for her salvation. And at 44 years of age, she received Jesus Christ as Lord and

(54:08):
Savior. Today she's 80. And if she was sitting right beside me, I'd say, Carol, what do you think
about Jesus? She'd look at you and say, he's everything. He changed my life. And here she's
physically just in terrible shape. But she's basically so spiritually alive in her relationship
with Jesus. But that was an amazing miracle in my family. Another amazing one took place when I was,

(54:36):
had a family member talking to me and they invited me to do the funeral for a person's mother who had
died. And I said, oh, well, do you know if she was a believer? And they said, well, we're not sure.
She's one of these people that believes in kind of a Hindu background, New Age Hindu background,

(54:58):
where she just believed that, you know, there's the tree is a God and the grass is a God and
animals are and tens of thousands of gods that they have. And they said, but we don't know, but
all of her friends are anti-God and they don't want anything to do with Christians and all that.
But she says, I went into her bedroom and I found a Bible that she bought like three months ago.
And I started looking through it and, and I couldn't believe what I saw. And I, she gave me

(55:26):
the Bible and I looked and I said, well, that's her handwriting. I said, she gave her heart to Jesus.
This is her acceptance of Christ. And I said, this, and the Bible is like she'd owned it for,
you know, for years. It was just, she'd gone through it and gone through it and right in
her handwriting over there, Jesus is my savior. And oh, I'm so sorry, Lord, all those years I
have my back turned against you. And I mean, just constant. And I said, she said, could you do the

(55:49):
funeral? And I said, well, yeah, but will anybody come? And they said, oh yeah, because they don't
know she's a Christian, that she gave her heart to Jesus. So we had a cemetery, went to a funeral
home, about a hundred people showed up and I walked in and they all heard there was going to be a
Christian pastor doing the service. They didn't like that one bit. Matter of fact, I walked in

(56:10):
there and I said, hi, I'm pastor Dave. And they'd go like this and put their hand down beside and
says, get, would you get this over with? You know, it was horrible. It was horrible. And it was,
everybody hated me. I mean, it was, they wouldn't speak to me. They wouldn't look at me, whatever.
So I went up front and with this Bible and I opened up this Bible. I said, by the way,

(56:32):
this is what's your name's Bible. And I showed them the Bible and the daughter will confirm is
that this is her, but yeah, I said, let me tell you what she wrote. And I started reading scriptures
beside scriptures where she circled them, highlighted them and wrote on the side of it.
This is what's changed my life. And Jesus is my healer and Jesus is my Lord and savior. And

(56:54):
by the time I got through it, this, this mean crowd of a hundred people with like this and
irritated, the hands started coming down, the faces started leaning in. They started getting
tears in their eyes. And I said, and then the gal says, and I want all my friends to know Jesus
Christ is their Lord and savior, because I want to see them in heaven. You know? And I said,

(57:16):
this is, these are her words. And then the songs that she wanted, we played those.
Then I did the altar call and I asked people to receive Christ. 90% of the people in that room
lifted up their hand to pray to receive Jesus as Lord and savior. After the funeral,
it was like a family, a family reunion. They just loved on each other. They come to me and hug me

(57:38):
and grab me. Big old burly guys would grab me and say, I didn't know that she loved Jesus. I didn't
know that, you know? And it was amazing miracle faith for believing for someone who was unsaved,
who then received Jesus Christ. What a miracle situation that was to see and believe. But,
but on the way to the miracle, we basically had a lot of circumstances that were Rob trying to

(58:01):
Rob, trying to rob us from God's blessing. I had that with the elderly man. I had that with this
lady who was a kind of the Hindu. I had that with the boy with the doctor and the surgery,
the guy with the hip problem, all these had circumstances that made it look like, nah,
it's not going to happen in my own life. I've had three major, major, uh, healings where I was

(58:23):
basically sentenced to death and, uh, God intervened and, uh, and it's because of God's
intervention and it's because of the healing power of Jesus that I can sit here and talk about these
things today. Amen. Amen. Wow. My faith has definitely built over this conversation and
it has grown. You know, we've talked about, uh, financial miracles. We've talked about healing

(58:46):
miracles. We've talked about family faith miracles, salvation miracles. Pastor David,
would you pray for the people that are watching that have put in the comments what it is that
they're praying for, that they're believing for, that they need a miracle for? Would you just pray
for them as the Holy Spirit leads you? Because I don't want to miss this opportunity to have you

(59:06):
speak to them. And we know that the Holy Spirit connects us beyond time, beyond location,
whether somebody is watching this for the very first time, they're watching it years down the
road. God's word is true. He is faithful and he is forever. And so pastor David, would you please
just share what the Lord has put on your heart to pray? All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father,

(59:29):
we love you so much. We're so thankful, Father, for who you are, what you've done in our life.
We're thankful for the word of God that gives us strength and builds our faith. We're thankful for
the Holy Spirit who lives and dwells inside of us and encourages us. He's like, he's like having God
inside of us, having a cheerleader, encouraging us to pray and to believe and to have faith and
have trust in God. And so Father, Lord, we thank so much for that. And I pray for those who are

(59:55):
listening in today, some may be people with great faith and they just are in agreement with me and
they've experienced those same things. There'll be others that maybe have kind of a okay faith.
They're kind of like, yeah, I believe sometimes, sometimes I question. Lord, there'll be some
people that have very little faith and they have a very difficult time having faith. They believe
that maybe their finances won't come through or that cold that they've got can't be healed or

(01:00:19):
whatever it might be, Lord. Father, you love all of us the same, regardless of whether we have
great gifts, whether we operate in those gifts, whether we have great faith, whether we lack faith,
you have love for us. Because Father, it's not by faith that we're saved, it's by your grace.
And when you give your grace to us and we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior,

(01:00:42):
Lord, then you give us that measure of faith. That's the beginning of this incredible walk with you.
And I pray for those who are praying that they would continue to pray, did not lose focus, not
lose direction to trust in the Lord with all their heart, lean not on their own understanding or
circumstances and all their ways acknowledge you. And then you will guide their steps. You will

(01:01:04):
direct their steps. And I pray for those Father who are anxious and have problems with anxiety,
problems with anxiety, Father, that they'd be anxious for nothing but everything through prayer,
petitions with thanksgiving. They'll make their requests made known to you. And the peace of God,
Lord, that passes all understanding will guard their hearts and guard their minds in Christ Jesus.
Father, I pray for an impartation, Father, the Holy Spirit would impart greater faith in all those

(01:01:29):
who are listening. If they desire greater faith, they will receive it in Jesus' name. If they want
to have stronger faith to believe, they'll receive it now in Jesus' name and that they'll pick up
things they had quit praying about and bring it back up and pray about it again and believe it
again and not give up on it and trust God for it. I believe it. And Father, we call forth miracles.
We believe that we now have faith for miracles, that we have the faith to trust you and believe

(01:01:55):
that you are able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond anything we can imagine or even
think according to the power, that's your power, that operates inside of us now. We don't have to
look for it. It's already there. Those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have great power
operating in them to have greater faith. Bless them and keep them, Father. May your face shine

(01:02:16):
upon them. Be gracious unto them, Father, and bless them in all they do, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. Amen. Pastor David Friend, thank you so much for helping us have faith for miracles.
And I'm grateful for your podcast, Equality Christian Living, which is on the Charisma Podcast

(01:02:37):
Network. And thank you so much for praying for us. Those stories throughout this whole episode has
been so building of our faith. It has really stirred up something in me. And I know it's
going to stir up something in so many people that are watching and listening. Pastor David,
thank you very much for being with us today. God bless you. Thank you. Take care now.