We were first introduced to the ministry of Life Model Works and the “Immanuel Process” prayer sometime back in 2009. Our friend, and Terri’s Kansas City life coaching colleague, Kim Specker, had been offering some of her coaching skills to their non-profit organization. But…I must digress to tell a bit of the back story.
Finding Favor in the Midst of Suffering
In 2004, my very vibrant wife, Terri, was suddenly stricken with a terrible condition called trigeminal neuralgia in which a vein in the brain wanders and interferes with the 5th cranial nerve. She had a very severe case. She needed brain surgery in order to correct the condition. She suffered unbearable pain in her face for an entire year due to both the condition and the resulting nerve damage. She had to quit her job and basically laid on the couch for two years as she recovered.
Thankfully, God freed her from the pain, but her life had been disrupted significantly. Added to this, she also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of all her pain and loss. This series of events was a deep test of her faith and, although God often seemed very near to her in her affliction, she also struggled to hold on to her confidence that God was “for her” as a favored daughter of Christ.
Jesus Gaze
In 2009, during a ministry trip to California, Terri sought out, through Kim’s kind introduction, Dr. James Wilder’s wife, Kitty, in order to receive some “Immanuel Process” prayer. During the two 3 hours prayer sessions, Terri experienced a remarkable healing from the trauma of her past illness when she had a spiritual vision in which she saw the sparkle in the eyes of Jesus as he lovingly gazed upon and into her. As a result, the symptoms of PTSD immediately abated. It was a miracle!
Needless to say, we have been more “tuned in” to the ministry of Life Model Works since then. We recently had the honor of helping to sponsor their first conference in Kansas City called Joy Starts Here, which was a great success. Get to one of their conferences if and when you can.
A Volcano of Healing
This last spring, Terri and I were teaching and ministering at the YWAM base in Kona Hawaii. Weeks before we had set aside one day and night to visit the Kilauea National Park. We took in the astounding sights of the live volcano and learned about its history. That night Terri had a dream from God in which a voice said to her, “I have brought you here for an Immanuel healing.” Through this dream she understood that the Lord was going to use images from our volcano experience as a part of the healing. She also knew the particular past trauma that He was targeting for a sweet resolution. After she told me about this illuminating dream the next morning, we spent several hours praying together.
Terri received another remarkable “Immanuel healing” within her soul that morning (that’s another story), but I was surprised to discover that our Lord was planning a very profound healing for my heart too. Apparently one of His Hebrew names could be “Jehovah Sneaky”!
This post was originally published on Michael Sullivant’s blog.
