I recently received a powerful testimony from a mum about her young son. I pray it will bring hope to those who are waiting for their sons and daughters to be healed from autism, Asperger’s syndrome or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
She writes: “My primary school-aged son experiences autism. This has caused challenges in his ability to understand feelings and regulate his emotions. He has struggled with managing everyday tasks and his ability to relate and socialize with others has been greatly affected. School has been tough, and we often had mornings of tears and anxiety for the day ahead. Making friends has been hard despite a great desire to interact with others, knowing what to say and how to act was confusing for him. At night to fall asleep, it commonly took one to two hours with tears and constant ups and downs from bed and waking in the night.
“We have been attending LFCC [Living Faith Community Church] for a number of years and have seen steady changes taking place. There has been improvement in his eye contact, motor skills and conversation skills. Over the past six months and particularly the last two months, we have seen the most remarkable changes. He is now able to fall asleep on his own in a matter of minutes and sleeps through the night. He no longer needs earmuffs to manage everyday sounds. He has started to be able to dress himself each day and help with chores around the house, unpacking the dishwasher, helping to make his bed, feeding the dog, etc. He is able to follow through on instructions in tasks without getting distracted as much. He has made friends at school. He is not only recognizing his own emotions but is responding in a way that is appropriate.
“Meltdowns have become a rare occurrence. He no longer needs an independent workstation at school and is able to participate in class activities with everyone. He has become an encourager of others, seeking out ways in the classroom to build up other kids. In the playground, he is noticing, supporting and helping others when they are struggling. He previously would make strange loud noises in class; this has nearly completely stopped. He no longer needs breaks in the day to cope but is able to stay in the class to complete his work.”
“I have attended so many parent and teacher meetings, which I usually dread because they have been so tough. Pastor Reg prophesied about a year ago, ‘Your son will astound his teachers. They will say we cannot believe this is the same child. He will become an encourager of others, someone who mentors and builds up other children who are struggling.’ Last week, I attended our term catch up, and as I sat there, those exact words came out of the teacher’s mouth: ‘I cannot believe this is the same child. His ability to care for and encourage others, his attention has improved, his learning skills, his writing and his socializing.’
“Tears about school in the morning are gone. He looks forward to seeing his friends and the day ahead. This meeting was the first time I walked out with tears of joy in place of tears of pain. We serve a mighty and powerful God who does the impossible, who breaks down the walls and makes a way. I know this is just the beginning because God promises in His Word to finish the work He has begun, ‘being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 1:6). Thank you for all your prayers. I am so grateful.”
I went through painful grief in the first 13 years of my life with autism, thinking if there was a God, why did He create me? Every single day I wondered why I was born and why I acted the way I did. I had zero motor skills, zero ability to make eye contact and zero conversational skills. Without these skills, a person appears to be an empty shell.
What hope we find in Isaiah 53:4-5! “Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.”
An autistic child will carry so much grief and sorrow, but the Bible assures us that Jesus carried our grief and sorrow, so we no longer have to bear the burden.
If you are saying to yourself, “I want healing for my son or daughter,” may I encourage you? The Word of God is supreme! The Word of God never lies. It is eternal. Jesus has already borne our griefs and sorrows. God can heal every child from autism, Asperger’s and OCD.
Many parents have come to this ministry to ask if there is a cure. Medically speaking there is no cure, but spiritually speaking, there’s always a cure. Matthew 8:17 tells us Jesus healed all who were sick so that which was spoken by Isaiah might be fulfilled. “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sickness.” When you pray, remember this: God has already taken all our infirmities and bore all our sicknesses, so make your prayer specific.
In 1982, after giving my heart to Jesus, someone taught me more about the passage “He himself took our infirmities and bore our sickness,” and I realized the autism I had was a type of sickness. So I decided to pray every day at the feet of my Lord Jesus Christ, “I’ve got this sickness and I need you to take care of it once and for all.” We see in Jeremiah 17: 14 the cry of the prophet, “Heal me, O Lord and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.” I know the symptoms and conditions of autism, Asperger’s and OCD, but let’s not glorify the symptoms, but let’s praise and thank God. Go into the room where your child is sleeping and start praising God for the healing. Go to the place where your child’s workstation is and start to praise God, declaring the Word of God.
When you do this, you will see a change, and complete healing will take place. God is unlimited, and there is a realm that is healing many, including those with autism, Asperger’s and OCD. Deuteronomy 10:21 says, “He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.” So praise Jesus for your son or daughter, praising Him for their healing over and over. Get a diary or a journal, and each day record the changes you see, then praise Him. The more you praise, the more change you’ll see.
When you get better, the enemy will start to attack you more intensely, and you might be dragged back again. He knows your child is going to get healed very, very soon, and he will try to stop that plan. Please don’t buy into the lie of the enemy or his smokescreen. Rather, hold fast to the truth: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
Psalm 106:47 says, “Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise.” We have been trained to only give Him thanks when we see the healing, but God does not work that way. God works in the realm of faith, and it will only kick in when you start to praise Him in advance. I’ve prayed for many children, guiding parents to do this, and now they’re getting healed!
Parents, if would like me to pray for your child, join my private Facebook group “Breaking the Spirit of Autism,” where you can post a photo of your child. If you start to see changes after implementing these strategies, please send us a praise report. In addition, check out the Charisma Podcast Network for my new podcast, Autism Overturned.”
Reg Morais is the senior pastor of Living Faith Community Church, launched from Anoint the World Ministries, which he founded 15 years prior. Each week he runs seven services, reaching a global audience through social media platforms. Learn more about him and his ministry at regmorais.com.
This article was excerpted from the August issue of Charisma magazine. If you don’t subscribe to Charisma, click here to get every issue delivered to your mailbox. During this time of change, your subscription is a vote of confidence for the kind of Spirit-filled content we offer. In the same way you would support a ministry with a donation, subscribing is your way to support Charisma. Also, we encourage you to give gift subscriptions at shop.charismamag.com, and share our articles on social media.
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