Randy Clark pastored small churches in the U.S. midwest for about thirty years, starting in the 1970’s. In January, 1994, he was invited to preach at a church in Toronto. An extraordinary outpouring ensued, with people falling on the floor filled with overwhelming joy and a sense of God’s presence. In the next three years, some 3 million visitors (including me) came through that church to experience the “Toronto Blessing”. Randy’s ministry has included praying impartation of spiritual power over other ministers and evangelists. A number of successful evangelistic ministers such as Heidi Baker in Mozambique, and Leif Hetland, acknowledge the encouragement and strength they received from Randy’s prayers. Randy now travels the globe full time, preaching and praying for people. [Update May, 2013: I just got back from accompanying Randy on a mission trip to Germany — see here].
Randy came to our current church several times in the 2005-2009 timeframe to help conduct classes on prayer for healing. I once barged in on his break time to ask him to pray over a teenager with some sort of ailment. I don’t think that there was any clear healing from that episode, but I was impressed with how kind and courteous he was to pray for us at some length, when what he really was hoping for in that time slot was a little peace and quiet to prepare for his next sermon. A micro-bio and photo of Randy can be found here .
Without further ado, here is a link to a YouTube video of Randy praying recently for a 15 year old boy in Brazil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjUkgOBFsBY
I will offer a little description of the video to orient the viewer. According to his mother, the boy had only 10-20% of normal hearing. Even with a hearing aid in each ear, they had to shout at him at home to be heard. In the first 1.5 minutes, they test to see if the boy can hear appreciably after his hearing aids are removed. It appears that he cannot. He does not respond to words spoken from immediately behind him. ( It might help you here to know that “Como se chama?” means “What is your name?” in Portuguese, which is spoken in Brazil. )
Over the next 2.5 minutes, Randy prays for the boy several times, then tests his hearing. After the first two prayers, there is no effect. After the third prayer, at about the 4 minute mark, the boy begins to hear more or less normally. By 5 minutes the boy (who is shy) is weeping at what has happened, and so is his mother.
The rest of the 20 minute video is mainly testing out how well the boy can now hear. It starts to look shaky in the 10 – 13 minute slot, when Randy moves several steps away, covers his mouth with his hand and tries to call out words in Portuguese for the boy to repeat. The boy just stands there and doesn’t get it. By 14:30 they figure out that Randy’s Portuguese is so atrocious that the boy cannot understand it. By 15:00 it is demonstrated the the boy can understand the speech of a native Brazilian completely normally, as the man backs away. In the last few minutes, the mother explains that earlier in the evening, the boy could not properly hear the sermon which was being projected over the loudspeaker, even with his hearing aids in. Also, she says the boy’s aunt had recently had some sort of intuitive word of knowledge that his deafness was going to be healed.
Assessment: It is undeniable that the boy can hear pretty normally after the prayers. As to how impaired he was before then, you can be the judge.
See the Healings on YouTube: Legs Growing Out post below for description and links to some videos of legs growing longer in response to prayer. And also the Healing Miracles in Mozambique: Medical Journal post for description of article in medical journal which documents healings of blindness and deafness in Mozambique.
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I’ve just recently discovered your blog, and have enjoyed what I have read so far. My own journey appears to have some similarities to yours. My background is that of a scientifically curious person raised in an evangelical (Assemblies of God) church. I earned a PhD in electrical engineering as a National Science Foundation Fellow at Stanford University, and presently work in the telecommunications industry in suburban Minneapolis (22 patents to date). My view of the intersection between faith and science has never stopped evolving, and I’ve come to many of the same conclusions as you in that regard. Some of that comes through in the essay I wrote for the Evangelical Dialogue on Evolution (http://evanevodialogue.blogspot.com/2010/03/encouraging-critical-thinking-in.html), the paper I had the opportunity to present at the Assemblies of God Faith and Science Conference (http://walamn.com/documents/Wala_Churches_That_Push_Scientists_Away.pdf), and my own blog postings at (http://faithforthinkers.com).
What I find interesting about your posts is the coupling of your scientific perspective with reports of modern-day miracles. I am always skeptical about such reports, especially when they appear to have been performed in front of a camera. And I’m always skeptical of the theology and ministry style of so-called “faith healers”. Yet I know that healing miracles do occur. I know this because at about 10pm on June 8, 2003, after being prayed for earlier that evening by one such “faith healer”, my wife, who was “permanently disabled” after four years of rapidly advancing, crippling, and incurable multiple sclerosis, was instantly, completely, and permanently healed of every symptom of that disease. For more details, you can read the full story at our website (http://walamn.com) or another version in Chapter 7 of Jim Garlow’s book “Miracles Are For Real”, along with my own observations at my “Faith for Thinkers” blog.
I look forward to reading more of your material. I also look forward to hearing any comments or questions you may have about this scientifically-minded skeptic’s first hand encounter with an undeniable miracle.
Phil, I took a quick look at your site, and indeed it looks like we have a lot in common. Nice to know – – it is sometimes a bit lonely here at the intersection of sound science and sound faith.
re miracles — I myself had an unforgettable, undenialable experience some years ago, but on this blog I try mainly to link to items like YouTube videos so skeptics can see for themselves. That said, your wife’s healing story reeks of authenticity, and it’s relevant that you are a skeptical scientist. Would you mind if I devoted a post here to her story?
Blessings,
Scott
The one thing we insisted on when we agreed to be the subjects of Chapter 7 of “Miracles Are For Real” was that we be given the opportunity to be totally honest about our own skeptical attitudes before, and for a while after, the healing. I appreciate how the authors allowed that to come through in our story, as well as in the way they themselves have struggled with unanswered prayers. We welcome any opportunity to share the story in that context.
Phil, you’ll see that I just posted a long blurb about your wife’s experience, and your reflections on it.
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