Giving Thanks Daily: I Took It By Faith For Me (testimony series) by Tertius Pretorius

I Took It By Faith For Me

By Tertius Pretorius

When I was born, things did not happen in the normal way. I was one of a twin, born two months prematurely at home and a breach baby, with the umbilical cord around my neck. I was born second and suffered brain damage. The result was that in the process I suffocated and the motor part of my brain was damaged i.e., my muscle control, coordination and balance was severely affected.

A year later my parents began to see specialists and numerous doctors and all told them the same thing, namely that I would never be able to walk, talk or learn anything. About a year later my mother heard what she was hoping for at a specialist in Johannesburg. He said that my intelligence was above average and that with the right lifestyle and physical exercises, my condition would improve. This confirmed what my mother already knew.

When she looked into my eyes, she said later, she did not see the eyes of a mindless vegetable. There was too much expression and alertness.

I was brought up very normally except for one change - I seemed to prefer to play with my feet instead of my hands. My two brothers and sisters treated me as one of them, no preference or difference being made. This had a very positive effect on me. In my mind I was normal. I joined in with most of what my siblings did. I learned to shoot a catty and to fight with a mock sword. I shot with a bow and arrow. Still later, when my two brothers began shooting with pellet guns, as usually I didn’t want to be left out. After a lot of practice, I realised that my shooting was coming up to their standard, this motivated me even more. In my early twenties I attempted to qualify for Springbok Colours.

I often used to look back on my life and clearly saw God's hand in it, but I did not want to see it. To me it implied living like God wanted me to. From what I saw around me, I did not want that.

Eventually I gave my life to Jesus with only the Holy Spirit drawing me and no one pushing me. I did not get what I thought I needed, from God and left the church I was born into and started going to Pentecostal churches. God was really merciful to me, my first pastor being the best teacher that I've ever heard up to now, live. God used it to give me a very firm grounding in His Word. After a few years he asked me occasionally to bring a short word at prayer meetings.

However, church was not all “plain sailing”. It was extremely lonely because I was ignored in many different churches and here is where the “tire hits the tar’. Even that was good for me. God was teaching me to only depend on Him and not on people. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.” ~Romans 8:28 (New International Version)

I started watching God TV and experienced a revival and when the Evangelist pointed his finger at the camera and prayed for impartation, I took it by faith for me. Now I had to see the evidence. That meant that now I had to see (remember I do everything with my feet) to put my feet on someone and pray for them. God's mercy is quite unbelievable. As soon as I did that, I felt something like high voltage current passing through me and the miracle that I was asking for happening. I got so used to it that, when a miracle did not take place, I am very surprised and usually knowing the cause of it.

This does not mean that all my prayers get answered. It does mean that when I lay my feet on somebody listening to the Holy Spirit there is a very good chance of a miracle happening and this is God's love to me and to other people, manifesting Himself through ordinary people like me. Is this a cause to thank God for?