I first encountered God while I was asleep. He healed me of an incurable back injury in a dream. He probably knew I’d give him a hostile response if I’d been awake!
I used to hate Jesus. And Christians. I often beat them up at school.
I was raised in a family of spiritualists and sold my soul to the devil when I was 14. I vowed that Jesus would never play any part in my life. I got involved in eastern philosophies and dabbled in the occult.
But then I developed a serious back problem. It was caused by over-stretching my back during cycle racing.
Splinters of bone grew in my lower back and dug into my nervous system. It’s a condition called osteophytosis of the lumbar vertebrae.
The pain was so serious that I had to quit sport. I was in permanent agony and couldn’t climb the stairs unaided.
Strong pain killers didn’t help, and surgery was too dangerous. I was just 23, and the outlook was grim. The condition would only get worse.
A death sentence at 23
The consultant told me the condition would cripple me, and possibly kill me.
I was also suffering from arthritis in my hands and a jaw deformity that made talking and eating painfully difficult.
I sank into a world of sin, fear and darkness and was on the verge of suicide.
I sought healing from the occult, but it didn’t work. Satan prefers you to be in pain and without hope.
My back pain got so bad, I finally shouted at God: ‘If you’re real, then heal me.’
To me it was a rant. But to him it was a prayer, and he answered it that night.
In a dream, I saw his hand enter my back and remove the bone splinters. I watched an operation on myself.
When I woke up, the pain had gone. So had the splinters. I knew that Jesus had healed me.
I threw away my painkillers and have never taken once since.
I phoned a Christian friend who launched me on my journey with Jesus.
Within weeks, Jesus also healed the arthritis and my jaw, and many other physical, mental and emotional afflictions.
A dramatic encounter
I got baptised in the spirit, and a year later, I had a dramatic encounter with God.
I was sitting in my lounge, reading Luke 1, and as I turned the page to v76, his power hit me. I found myself face down on the floor.
The room was filled with a shocking sense of the Father’s love and majesty. I could hardly breathe or move.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I sat up and breathlessly went back to my bible.
God literally burned the words from v76 into my spirit … ‘And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.’
I gasped: ‘Lord, how on earth can that happen?’
God hadn’t finished. There was a knock on the door.
I opened it, but there was no one there. The street was deserted. Then I noticed a small card lying on the doormat. It had Psalm 37:5 written on it: ‘Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will do it.’
The power of God enveloped me again, and I fell to the floor again. I don’t know how long I was there, but I was never the same again.
A strange ministry
I had started an extraordinary journey of joy, pain and tears. Since then, I have offered God my senses, and the Holy Spirit has enabled me to bring words and insights to his church.
I just provide the eyes, ears and the mouth, and he does the rest. The results always surprise me.
Despite my fears, flaws and insecurities, Jesus has healed and delivered people, and transformed many lives, situations and churches.
I have preached and conducted healing meetings in the UK and Europe and have trained leaders and leadership teams.
I was a trustee of John Barr’s charity, Freedom Road Ministries, which brought God’s healing and deliverance to thousands of damaged lives for more than 20 years.
I have spoken and ministered at festivals and conferences including Cross Rhythms, FGBMI and Good News Crusade and have worked on teams assisting Derek Prince, Don Double, Jonathan Conrathe and John Barr.
I served on the Evangelical Alliance’s Coalition on Occult Issues and was leading elder of an Elim church in East London.
I have appeared on the God Channel, BBC Radio Sussex, Premier Radio, Cross Rhythms Radio and UCB.
I have also written several books and am a blogger for Cross Rhythms UK and Bethlehem.