Two weeks ago, at the request of the pastor, we helped give
a retreat in the parish nearest the Food Bank. Surprisingly, Veronica’s
husband, Jaime, decided to come to it. After the various talks, there was a
time of individual prayer for each person who attended the retreat. The speaker
giving the last talk encouraged those in the audience, “Ask the Holy Spirit to
come to you. Open your heart to receive Him.” The participants were then
welcome to come forward to be prayed over by the prayer teams.
Jaime sat in his seat, hanging his head. He prayed silently
in his heart, “Lord, I don’t know how You can come to me. How can You come to
me if I have all this garbage in my heart — I have hatred, anger,
unforgiveness, a bad mouth. The only way You could come to me is if You gave me
a new heart. That would be the only way — for You to give me a new heart.”
Having said all that silently to the Lord, Jaime decided to
go up to receive prayer. The husband and wife team praying over him laid hands
on Jaime’s shoulders. Then the man gently put his hand on Jaime’s chest over
his heart. Jaime jerked backwards as if someone had struck him. The man prayed,
“Lord Jesus, give him a new heart.” At that point, Jaime started to cry. “Take
away all the hatred, Lord,” the man continued, “cleanse him. You know him. You
know the anger and bitterness that weighs him down. Remove it all, Lord, and
give him a new heart.” Jaime wept and wept.
Later Jaime shared with everyone there, “Now I believe that
God listens to me. Everything that I was thinking and saying to God in my mind,
the person praying for me said out loud — everything. And there’s no way he could
have known what I had been praying silently. Now I believe that God listens to
me, because He answered my prayer like that. From now on, I’m going to serve
God.”
Veronica shared with us this week, “I have a new husband!
He’s not the same Jaime. In his job at the factory where he works, he asked to
be moved from the line he’s on because his co-workers swear so much. He told
me, ‘I can’t stand hearing them swear. It hurts me to be listening to it.
Before I used to join in, but now it hurts my heart that they are insulting
God.’” Veronica went on, “He now prays with us as a family. My kids are so
happy. I never dreamed of this. I have a totally new husband!”
