“A Labor Not in Vain”

pp. 30 - 31

Fred Craddock, retired professor of preaching at Emory, tells a story about an incident that occurred when he was pastor of a small Christian church in east Tennessee and was visiting his hospitalized church members. As he happened to be passing the room of a patient, she called to him, “’Uh, sir, are you a minister?’ ‘Yes, Ma’am.’ ‘Would you come in here by the bed and pray over me?’ ‘Yes, Ma’am, I’ll be happy to. What would you like me to pray for?’ Craddock asked as he entered the room. She looked at him as if he’d lost his marbles and said rather curtly, ‘That I’ll be healed of course!’ And so Craddock went over by the bed, took her hand and began to pray that she be healed. When he had finished praying, the woman began to stretch in the bed a bit. ‘You know,’ she said, ‘I feel kind of strange. In fact, I feel pretty good!’ she said, throwing off the covers. She got out of bed, jumped up and down a little, and started shouting. ‘I’m healed! I’m healed! Thank you, pastor, thank you!’ When Craddock got back to his car, he bowed his head and prayed, ‘Dear God, don’t ever do that to me again.’”