I was paralyzed from the chest down from a spinal cord injury in 1985 (level C-6).  Even though I know I shouldn’t be paralyzed because I am redeemed from curses, (Gal 3:13 says Jesus took the curse on himself for us when He was on the cross), I still am paralyzed 33 years later. Having said that, I have been pursuing my healing manifestation for years. Something happened to me at night and God told me that I’m not really paralyzed, my body is sleeping.

One night, I was sleeping and woke up with my arm above my head on the bed. (My arms are functional but the injury paralyzed my hands). I couldn’t move my arm at that point because it fell asleep due to poor circulation when I was sleeping with my arm up behind my head. I knew it was asleep but because the rest of my body is paralyzed from the chest down, it was difficult to get my sleeping arm to move. I laid there a little panicked but KNEW that this was temporary. God asked me right then, “is your arm paralyzed?” I said, no it’s just asleep. He said, “so is the rest of your body.” Then I moved my shoulder until the arm began to feel “pins and needles” and feeling returned, then movement returned.

I have pondered this and am convinced that my body is only paralyzed because I believe it is. The shock of my injury caused paralysis at the time of my accident, but it should not have been permanent. I was told that it was permanent by doctors and even though I believed I would be miraculously healed, I also believed that the injury was permanent, in the natural. Believing both things, caused a double-minded belief as stated in James 1:8, short-circuiting my faith.

How do we change what we believe in our heart? How do we convince ourselves of something that we subconsciously believe is not true? I’m sure that the Word of God is the key. It has been said that a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth, or is believed to be true. The same is true in reverse. If we believe a lie, we must repeat the truth often enough until we believe it. God’s word is truth. Repeating verses that seem untrue to our situation, confessing out loud, will at some point become true to our heart and finally, to our body.

Jesus often said these things: “the girl is not dead, she’s only sleeping;” and people laughed at him. He also said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth ; but I go , that I may awake him out of sleep.” But the disciples didn’t know Jesus was saying something of a faith statement, they said “oh if he’s sleeping he will get better” but Jesus then told them Lazarus was dead. So why does Jesus keep saying people are sleeping when physically speaking, they are dead? Jesus lived in the spiritual realm in his mind. It’s true, carnally, that they were dead, but it was also true that they were only sleeping. I believe that our bodies will react to what we demand of them to be true. This is the power of faith – the power of believing.

Ephesians 5:14 “Wake up, O sleeper,rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”