Around Old Bethany: A Story of the Adventures of Robert and Mary DavisBerry, R. L. (Robert Lee)
Religion
Around Old Bethany: A Story of the Adventures of Robert and Mary Davis
Berry, R. L. (Robert Lee)
Christian fiction; Church of God (Anderson, Ind.) -- Fiction
"Be of good cheer, Brother Davis," said the minister, "the Lord has
great power. He can raise up your wife. Up at Sayersville last week
a man was thrown from a train and seriously hurt, but the Lord healed
him. Have faith in God."
Robert Davis thought he had never heard words so encouraging as those,
nor had he seen a man who entered so heartily into his burdens.
Here was a man from whom he felt the warm, free flow of Christian
fellowship.
When they drove up to the house Mary was awake.
"Mary, dear," said Robert, "this is Brother Monteith, a minister of
the church of God. He has come to pray for you."
"I'm so glad you have come, Brother," said Mary. "We need your
prayers."
"Are you all the Lord's, sister?" inquired the minister.
"Oh, yes, all the Lord's," she replied. "All given up, to go or to
stay. But I wish so much to stay. See my little baby over here."
The minister breathed a short prayer for guidance. "Is it your will to
heal her, Lord?" he prayed. He felt an answer that God would raise her
up.
Then he took out a small vial of olive oil, anointed the brow of Mary
with it, and said:
"In the name of Jesus Christ, we anoint you with this oil in
fulfillment of James 5:14,15, 'Is any sick among you? let him call for
the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing with
oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.' Now, Lord, we claim this
promise in behalf of this woman. Inspire her faith. Send Thy healing
virtue. Destroy this disease and heal her for thy glory. Amen.
"Now, sister, arise in the name of Jesus," he said gently.
The mighty power of God fell upon Mary Davis in a moment of time.
She raised up in bed, lifted her hand toward heaven and said, "I am
healed."
The news spread over the community rapidly. Several of the neighbors
had been there when she was healed. They went home telling it to all
they met. Next day several people drove up to see what had happened.
Mary was sitting up in a chair as happy as she could be and ready
to tell all comers what great things the Lord had done for her. Kate
Newby said that she was very glad that she had dropped Christian
Science. "This is real divine healing," she said.
The healing of Mary Davis made a great stir in the neighborhood.
Several preachers felt it their duty to warn people against divine
healing. It is mostly excitement, they said, when one is healed, as
Mary Davis was. Others ridiculed it. Some said that she never had been
sick, but others knew that she had been sick, and a few gave God the
praise for the work done.
But this healing attracted attention to the doctrines of holiness and
the church of God that Robert Davis had been talking about. It became
a topic of earnest discussion as to which church was right. Many were
asking, "I wonder if Davis is not right, after all, in claiming that
there should be a better, purer, more powerful, more spiritual church
than what we have here."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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