The Power of a 4x6 Card

Ever felt tied to the past? Like everything was written out for all the world to see? Maybe even hoping all the world would see? On one occasion, we had a woman proudly carrying a 4x6 card as she came into the House of Hope and Healing.  On it she had written everything that was wrong with her.  It was completely full and there was not one white space left. I spoke about this woman recently at our healing conference and thought it would be a great idea to fill up a 4x6 card just like she had.  Wrong.  It took forever!  After the first ten things that I could remember from her card, I was completely blank.  I had to start making things up to fill that card out:  skin dryness, eyebrow pain, toe fungus and so on.  I do not know how she did it!  It was making me dizzy just looking at it.

As we began her paperwork, she held forcefully onto her card and said, "Here, I have written down everything that is wrong with me."  It was so surreal that all her problems, health issues and concerns were written out meticulously on the card in a very small font.  As she handed the card over to me, I could feel the power that she had placed in it. She was eager to see me read all that she had written, but instead I took one quick glance at it as I said, "It seems like there are a lot of things going on in your body, but God is going to heal you today.  We are going to pray for you and watch these problems disappear."

They were not the words she wanted to hear.  She said, "Oh no, you have to read it.  How will you know what to pray?"  I then said, "God already knows everything that is going on in your body, so here is what we are going to do.  We are going to pray and I believe that you are going to be healed.  And here is the exciting part:  After that I want you to tear this card up!" She looked like she was going to pass out.  I'm sure she was wondering if I was crazy.  She did not seem to hear that she was going to be healed or that God knew everything she was going through.  She only heard, "I want you to tear this card up." I was asking her to be a participant in tearing up the past, the pain, the disease. I pressed on, despite her look of shock and horror, "This is going to be wonderful.  I am so excited to share in this moment with you!  God is going to heal your body, mind and soul.  You are going to leave a changed woman." Though she was not hearing all of my words, it was okay.  I did not need a 4x6 card.  I had God helping me read what she really needed.

Then we began to pray.  I watched as God put life back into her and healed her body, but that was not enough.  There was still some unfinished business.

I looked her in the eyes and said, "All right, it is time.  I want you to take your card and tear it up, and as you do, God is going to break the power of all these things against you."  I handed the card back to her.  As she held that card, you could see she was realizing the power it had over her life.  She was even unable, for a few seconds, to even start to tear it up.  But slowly and surely she began to tear away.  Soon there were little pieces of confetti flying all around the room.  Once she started, she became ecstatic.  Soon she was dancing and jumping on top of those little shreds of her past!  What a changed woman!

We prayed for her healing and then asked her to become a participant with what we prayed by tearing up the card.  But what would have happened if she had received powerful prayer, but kept that card?  Would the results have been the same?  Absolutely not.

Some of you reading this blog now realize that you have been carrying your own card.  It is time to rip it up!  It is time to rip up the past!  Then you can begin to help others rip up the things that plague them too.

Heather (a former card holder)