40 Acts – Day 38 – Practise Your Testimony

When practising your testimony, have different length versions for different situations. Consider one a trailer for the full movie with perhaps an extended version for that long conversation over a meal. Write it down. Don’t read or memorise a script, but writing can help to focus your thoughts and enable you to spot the important parts. Remember that listening is more important – your story is never more important than the person you are telling it too. And finally, watch your language! Make sure you don’t slip into Christianese; use words and phrases that make sense to ordinary people.

P1 was born early. She had several complications; one of them being a hole in the heart.

The hospital monitored her every few months and we were told it was closing up and that she’d be fine. However, on the appointment where we expected to be discharged we were given horrible news. The hole had suddenly increased and P1 would either need medication for the rest of her life or an operation. They booked us for a webcam appointment to a London hospital with a top heart consultant.

I’ve always believed in God, never practised Christianity, but always knew he was out there. So I contacted my local church to ask for them to baptise P1. The vicar wanted me to do an Alpha course to make sure that I was baptising her for all the right reasons. The Alpha course taught me knew things about God and the Bible – I was definitely doing the right thing.

P1 was baptised on the 21st March 2010 – she had a healing prayer done for her on this day too. On the 25th March 2010 we went up the hospital for that very scary appointment.

They scanned her heart on webcam to the consultant. Who kept asking lots of questions that we didn’t understand but it didn’t sound good. My own heart was thudding.

Then they gave us the news – P1 had a perfectly healthy and normal heart. They had no explanation for it and called it a miracle.

I have my own explanation. From that day I pray every night!