I hesitated to write this story because I know a family who recently lost their 10-year-old to cancer. I hate it for them. I hate it for anyone who suffers, but even the most faithful of us have questions for God when it's a child.
I knew I would write this story as soon as God gave it to me, but in the aftermath of this bad news, I felt guilty and didn't want to come off as insensitive. I asked God, “How can I share about the healing of a little cat when people are going through even bigger things?”
That’s exactly why you should share it, He answered.
Because when we grow our conviction that God heals the small things, that God was and still is Healer, we’re better equipped to face bigger challenges and to see beyond our physical reality.
Over the past few years, I’ve learned sickness and disease are not God’s will. They are attacks from the kingdom of darkness. Sometimes God allows the attacks to come, but this doesn’t mean He wants suffering or death for His children. If He did, that would mean He is a thief. Not so. Satan is the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus came so that we "may have life and have it to the full"—including good health. (John 10:10)
The spirit of religion has weakened the power of God's people, especially in the area of healing. Poor health is one of the most convenient ways Satan causes us to doubt and fear, especially when we see some people healed and others not. But praising God in spite of poor health or loss can be just as powerful as proclaiming the restoration of health.
And this is why God gently corrected my comparison between a little cat and a little girl. I remembered it’s not my responsibility to decide how God will work through my stories. It’s simply my job to tell them.
The Bible tells us we are co-heirs with Christ. That means we have the same authority to heal.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14: 12-14)
Even greater things!?
I've always been uncomfortable with that. I can't picture myself doing greater things than Jesus. Even so, it forces me to rise higher. He said if we believe in Him, we can do what He did, and I can at least begin to wrap my mind around that.
So, every time I face a situation that requires healing, I’ve been submitting to Holy Spirit. And on more than one occasion, He has used sweet, little Itty to teach me how to put my faith into action.
In my last story, I wrote about how I took Itty to the vet after I noticed a bump protruding from her lip. I thought it was an abscess. The vet determined it was a benign tumor and nothing to worry about. But when she opened Itty’s mouth, she found a larger bump.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but it could be cancer,” she said. “Or it could be really bad gingivitis (Stomatitis).”
After I asked questions, I immediately thought, it’s Stomatitis. The words sounded so clearly and with such authority that I knew they were not my own.
I scheduled a dental and drove home, following a truck with John 3:16 on its window.
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Morning and night, I prayed intensely over Itty, personalizing these Scriptural declarations. (You can use these yourself by tapping here to download). I prayed, “Jehovah Rapha over you, girl,” and commanded all evidence of sickness and disease out of my cat’s body and back to hell.
Jehovah Rapha means God is Healer. It’s one of my favorite names of God, and I utilize it often. I've spoken Isaiah 53:5 ("By His wounds, I am healed”), and seen Him overpower the attack of aches, pains, injuries, sickness, and disease many times, especially for Itty and me. I even speak "Jehovah Rapha" over splinters and stubbed toes or when I feel a headache coming on. It's much more effective than cussing, and God cares about it all.
I love praying over animals. With them, I’m free to pray as me. There’s none of that what will they think of me if I say this stuff interrupting my flow. They don’t tell me I’m doing it wrong. They simply receive it. And they confirm this by small gestures made at the right moments.
When I started speaking the declarations, Itty repeatedly headbutted my arm. When I commanded the pain to leave, her whiskers twitched. And she stretched her paws upward when we praised Him. I immediately saw her appetite increase. Within days, her fur softened. I saw life in her eyes. I was reminded faith doesn’t have to be complicated, and I don’t have to come up with pretty prayers. I could just say what’s in the Bible and watch it come to life.
After Itty’s procedure, the vet called to confirm a badly infected tooth. But the large bump remained. Stumped, she consulted with another vet, who agreed it was probably cancer.
I respect my vet. But, once again, deep inside, I rejected what she reported. I asked more questions about Stomatitis. She explained why it probably wasn’t that and said we would know by how it healed.
But I knew what I had heard. I knew Itty was already healed. And I dug deeper into the declarations.
For two weeks, as Itty recovered, I continued praying. But as my intensity faded, doubt teased. What if it is cancer? I thought. What if she isn’t healing well? One day while talking to God, I realized I was afraid to say that word—cancer. Even when I spoke to my vet, I would say, "that scenario," and she would clarify, "Do you mean cancer?" I refused to verbalize it because I didn't want to energize it.
But now God told me, name it.
Call it out.
Spiritually annihilate it to destroy it physically.
So, I went to Itty, and in my declarations, I substituted "cancer" for every place it said "sickness and disease." I commanded healing to manifest physically, not only so I could see it but also my vet.
A day before Itty’s follow-up appointment, I saw the small, benign tumor on her bottom lip grow.
This can’t be happening, I thought. I’ve prayed all the prayers, believing with my whole heart.
I checked again. Was stress causing me to imagine the bump bigger? I didn't think so. At least I wasn’t stressed before I noticed the bump. But now, as my neck tensed, I realized this was a point of testing.
I could throw my hands up or press in.
I knew God was using this experience to teach me. I closed my eyes, refusing to back off. “No. I will not settle,” I said. “Go back to hell, bump. Itty is healed!”
I took that attitude into Itty’s follow-up appointment, which started well. She had gained 25% body weight. And when the vet opened her mouth, she said, “wow.”
“The bump’s still there, but I expected it to be worse,” she said. “It’s the same, if not better.” And when I asked about the bump on her bottom lip, she said it was the same.
If only she had seen it the day before!
It’s been five months since Itty’s last appointment. The bump on her bottom lip is still there but isn’t a factor. In the past week, she’s yawned three times, as if she knows I’m writing this story and wanted to add her own line. She’s showed me all is well inside her mouth, just as I declared, just as God promised.
But what about when our prayers aren't answered, and it seems God doesn't keep His promises? When we’ve seen the suffering of a precious 10-year-old, a best friend, or a family member. It’s enough to convince us God no longer heals.
But He does because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
He was and still is Jehovah Rapha.
I believe God is calling us back to simple faith, to believing in miracles again, in spite of the ones we never received. To untrain our minds from the corrupt systems that have imprisoned us in poor health and from the manmade religious doctrines that have taught us the opposite of what Jesus taught about healing.
He’s calling us to relearn what "on earth as it is in Heaven" means. To stop fighting Him, trying to come up with pretty prayers of our own, and begging Him for what He has already given us. To surrender everything we don’t understand so we can make way for His glory like never before.
Through a sweet, little cat, I believe He wants you to know that if your belief has been bruised or broken, it’s okay to start over, or even begin believing for the first time, by starting small, with a stubbed toe, or a splinter, or an itty-bitty kitty with a not-so-good diagnosis.
Because if we do not increase our faith enough to trust God to alleviate a headache, how can we expect to see healing over massive heartaches?
We only have to open the Word, own our authority in Jesus, declare the victory that has already been won for us by Him, and keep declaring it no matter what we see. Because what we see is not all there is.
Tami McCandlish is the author of Let the Bees Buzz: Finding Redemption in the Aftermath of School Bullying. As a writer, speaker, and businesswoman for the past 20 years, she has shared her story with thousands. She is also a fitness coach who has inspired thousands to healthier lifestyles. She and her husband, Charlie, live in Ohio with their kitties.
Follow her stories about faith, fitness, friendship, and felines at tamimccandlish.com.
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