It was fellowship night at the Boys State Training School in Eldora, IA. As Amber was talking with a couple of our boys from Bible Study, I began making my way from table to table to see if I could meet any new boys. I saw a boy I didn’t know sitting at a table with George, one of our regulars. I walked up to them and asked, “How are you guys doing?” They were very pleasant and said that they were doing well. I could see that a couple of them had slight sunburn, so I asked if they had been enjoying the outdoors. They had. After this, I stood and watched as they talked among themselves. James was telling the other boys how he enjoyed working on cars. He said, “When I get out, I want a pickup, a girlfriend, and a Bible. A little bit later, I heard him say something that stood out to me; he used the words “night terrors”. When he talked about it, his voice softened, and I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Just then, he got up to take his bowl back to the kitchen. As he walked away, I asked George, “What did he say about night terrors?” George hadn’t really caught it either, but as James sat back down, he asked him about it. James said that they were from P.T.S.D. (he’d been badly abused) and that he had them regularly (about every other night). I walked around the table and asked, “James, would you be willing to let my wife, Amber, and I pray for you that those night terrors stop? George piped in and said, “You should let them! When they pray, things happen!”

About the time George was saying “You should let them!”, Amber joined us. James agreed that we should pray for him. So, I turned to Mr. C., one of the staff “cottage parents”, and inquired if we could use the office to pray for James. “Sure, go right ahead!” We went right in.

As we were walking to the office, James said something about Ireland, not knowing that Ireland was an important part of Amber and my story. As we went in to take a seat, Amber and I began telling him a little bit about ourselves and how we had married in Ireland—this helped break the ice.

Then I asked him about the night terrors, and I could tell right away that he was uncomfortable talking about them. So I told him that he didn’t need to give us any details. He said that he wouldn’t talk about them, but that someday he might. I assured him that it didn’t matter. “We don’t need to know for God to heal you”, I said. I asked him if I could put my hand on his shoulder as we prayed. He was good with that. So we prayed, “Father, thank you for James, and we know you don’t want him to have the night terrors. So, in Jesus name, I command all night terrors to stop right now! All P.T.S.D. get out, now!” I paused and asked him if he was feeling anything. He said that he felt a weightiness. So, we continued, “In Jesus’ name, I speak healing to James’ psyche, his emotions, his mind, and his heart (his spirit). Brain, be healed in Jesus name!” And after praying like this—my hand still resting on his shoulder—I asked, “James, now are you feeling anything?” He responded, “Yes, I feel light [in the sense of weightlessness] and I feel lightheaded!” Amber and I told him that that feeling of “lightness” or “lightheadedness”, is often a manifestation of healing. I said, “Let me know when that sensation fades”. He did. And I believed he was healed.

I asked him about his relationship with God. I drew a cloud, wrote the word “God” inside of it, and said, “This represents God.” Then, I drew a line below it and said, “This represents Earth.” And I drew a little stick figure standing on the earth and said, “This man represents you or humanity in general.” I drew a ladder going up from the Earth to the cloud, explaining that the rungs on the ladder represent things people do to try and get closer to God.

“What are some things people do to get closer to God?” I asked. It’s been pretty rare that I've had a boy say, “Jesus”. Usually, it’ll be things like “good deeds, reading the Bible, church, baptism, prayer”, etc. But he actually said, “Believe in Jesus”. I wrote “Believe in Jesus” on one of the rungs of the ladder.

I think a lot of Christians would have stopped there and said, “Praise God! James, you’re a Christian!” and moved on. But there was something that told me James was not born again. So, I probed a little deeper. I said, “Well, ‘the demons believe Jesus exists, and they shutter’. They’re not Christians.” And I went on to ask him, “Have you ever given your life—your whole life—to him? Do you sense him regularly interacting with you? Do you have an ongoing relationship with him?” His answer was “No.”

We went on to explain the importance of experiencing God and walking with him. I told him that every boy I had ever led to the Lord in the Training School had had some experience of God’s presence when they came to him. If they didn’t experience Him in an intimate way, I realized something was missing, and we sought the Lord until we got it right.

Amber asked, “May I share my story with him?” “Sure.” I said. And she told him of how she grew up in church, had been confirmed and baptized, and had even prayed the “sinner’s prayer” numerous times, yet she hadn’t been changed. It wasn’t until she went through Christ Life Solutions—now called The Ultimate Journey—that she understood that she needed to forgive her father. It was then, after forgiving him, that she experienced the Spirit’s presence and an immediate change in her life. And it was then that she knew she was in a real relationship with Jesus.

“How will I know that I’ve experienced Him?” “You’ll know!” Amber said. I explained, “James, when I was a young boy, some friends took me and my family fishing. I asked, ‘How will I know when I have a fish on?’ ‘You’ll know!’ they explained. They were right!” And I said that everyone’s experience with God is unique; not everyone experiences the same thing.

So, I asked James, “Is there anyone you need to forgive?” There was. So, I explained how to forgive, repent, and surrender his life to Christ. I told him that forgiveness didn’t mean what the other person did was right or that he was to put himself back in harm’s way with that person. “Forgiveness is letting God be the Judge. It is a choice, an act of the will. Although you may not feel like forgiving, you can still choose to. The feelings come later. And repentance means turning from your old way of life to God and His ways. You give him your whole life, nothing held back, asking Him to come in and be Lord of your life.”

After leading him in prayer, I asked him, “Did you connect with God? Did you sense His presence?” He looked up and said, “Yes, I heard a voice.” “A voice?” I asked. “Did the voice have tone? What was it like?” “It was booming yet gentle.” “And what did the voice say?” I asked. He said, “It’s okay! It wasn’t your fault!”

There was no question in my mind that James had just heard the audible voice of God. It was comforting; it was strong yet gentle; it was the kind of thing God would say to a boy who had been terribly abused! and he was clearly touched! He had peace and joy in his heart! It was beautiful!

As we closed our conversation, James grabbed my hand, looked into my face with tears in his eyes, and with the most earnestness of soul, said, “Thank you for believing me! Thank you so much!” And then he turned to Amber and, in the same way, thanked her.

Looking back, Amber laughed and said to me, “I wish I’d asked, “Now, do you know...?" (If you experienced Him?) 😀

Like I said to James, “God is very creative when it comes to revealing His love to people.” I’ve had boys describe having a weight taken off their shoulders, instantly receiving a clear mind, peace, joy, a feeling of ecstasy, comfort, a hand on their shoulder, a sense of Him standing behind or beside them, a hug... I could go on and on. But almost always, they will look up with a beautiful smile (often with tears). It’s then that I ask, “What was that like?” or “Did you connect with Him?” or “Did He touch you?”

I wrote the above before hearing back from James—that’s how confident I was that he’d been healed! However, it wouldn’t be until two weeks later that the healing would be confirmed. We’d had our usual Tuesday night Bible study and had just walked out of the room when James walked up to me with an amazing smile! He looked me in the eye and said, “I just want you to know that I’m doing much better since you guys prayed with me!” I asked, “Have you had any more night terrors?” Not a single one since we'd prayed with him! “Praise Jesus! He loves you so much!” I told him.

God is so very good! Who says being a Christian is boring? Seriously! We are SO not bored!

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Note: The names of the boys in this testimony have been changed for anonymity.