News report from Ruthe Williams Brookshire, sister of Sylvia Williams Swails. As you know Sylvia is the wife of Brother John Swails. They reside in Franklin Springs, GA.
"Thank you for your prayers and publishing information about Rev. Swails. This is the latest news report:
"Papa Swails is very low. He has Stevens-Johnson syndrome, which is caused by the high dosages of antibiotics which, they tell me has burned his nerve endings from inside his body (similar to being in a fire, except that in a fire, you are burned on the outside). He has been in excruciating pain. (Athens General had transferred him to Landmark, which ignored his screaming in pain for 2 days, thinking, so they said, that he had dementia.) The family tells me that Internet says that Stevens-Johnson syndrome is nearly always fatal. Now the doctor has advised the family to consider putting him on hospice care.
"He is now being given dilaudid for pain.
"Dilaudid has put Papa Swails in a very deep sleep. Sylvia is with him daily. Joy and Johnny are in Franklin Springs, as are Joe Swails and his wife. Jim, the youngest son, lives here."
[Editor's Note: Jesus is not unmindful of the sickness and suffering of His servant Brother John Swails. Let me share with you my Biblical theology and belief about Divine Healing:
In all generations the people of God who knew the Word of God have prayed God’s Word back to the Lord of Glory. When this practice has been done, God has done some marvelous things in their lives. There is a renewed emphasis today in the Church concerning spiritual healing.
The Psalmist David knew the relationship between God’s Word and the healing process that He offers to all believers. In Psalm 1, he wrote, “Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His Law he meditates day and night (1:1-2). Then in Psalm 119:165, he has this to say, “Great peace have they who love [or delight in] Your law: and nothing shall offend them.” One whose heart is seeking after God will delight in God’s Word and the worship of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the midst of adversity. He or she will be like a tree whose roots search deep to where the Spirit provides strength and nourishment. He/she will draw from the Well of Living Water that shall never run dry--and that Well is Jesus Christ.
The root of the word healing in New Testament Greek, sozo, is the same as that of salvation and wholeness.
Spiritual healing is God’s work of offering persons balance, harmony, and wholeness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships through confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Through such healing, God is at work to bring about reconciliation between God and humanity and the rest of creation. The New Testament records that Jesus Himself healed the estranged and sick and sent out His disciples on ministries of healing. James, a brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem Church, calls us also to pray for and anoint the sick, that they may be healed.
It must be understood that all healing is of God. The Church’s healing ministry in no way detracts from the gifts God gives through medicine and psychotherapy. It is no substitute for either medicine or the proper care of one’s health. Rather, it adds to our total resources for wholeness.
My interest in praying for the sick is a dominant part of my life and ministry to others. I believe in the supernatural power of God, that He searches the entire universe seeking to show Himself strong on behalf of those who truly seek Him, and whose hearts are humble and upright toward Him.
Scriptures for Healing:
Now, let me share with you some healing Scriptures that you may want to consider praying back to God for the healing of Brother John Swails. Read them over and over again, meditate upon them, think the thoughts, and allow the Holy Spirit to quicken them to your spirit.
First, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24,
“May God Himself, the God Who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One Who called you is completely dependable. If He said it. He will do it! (The Message, Eugene H. Peterson).
Second, 3 John 2,
“Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.”
Third, Jeremiah 30:17a,
“For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the Lord.”
Fourth, Isaiah 57:18, 19,
“I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, says the Lord; and I will heal him.”
When the church prays in believing faith in corporate prayer, God may in His divine providence and wisdom intervene to bring healing to any person.
We know that Brother John Swails will not live forever on this planet, but God can and will touch him, deliver him from pain and suffering, and receive him to glory when God, Himself, says it's time to come home.
Brother John is 94 years old, and will be 95 in November should he live. Remember Sylvia and Johnny, Jim, and Joe and their families.]
Posted on
Sat, June 12, 2010
by Hugh Morgan