A Simple Prayer, A Stubborn Pain, And Why Self-Forgiveness Matters

A Facebook Marketplace meet-up outside a Walgreens turned into a surprising moment of prayer, honesty, and healing. We share how a simple offer—can I pray for you?—opened the door for relief from back pain and revealed a deeper struggle most of us know too well: the heavy drag of guilt and the habit of not forgiving ourselves. What happens when physical pain collides with inner shame, and how does faith speak into both?

We walk through the story step by step: the message from Bill who could barely move, the bold ask for a “new back,” and the careful follow-up that uncovered why the pain wouldn’t fully let go. Along the way, we talk candidly about the spiritual mechanics of forgiveness, why self-reproach pretends to be humility, and how refusing mercy can keep us stuck. This isn’t theory; it’s the ground-level reality of ministry—meeting people where they are, praying with expectation, and inviting them to lay down old verdicts that no longer serve life.

You’ll hear how we approach healing with both compassion and clarity, why forgiveness is central to wholeness, and what practical steps help when relief is partial and doubts are loud. If you’ve wrestled with shame, if you’ve told yourself you don’t deserve to get better, or if you’re curious about how prayer can work in everyday places, this conversation offers both hope and a path forward.

Want to go deeper or invite us to speak at your church or event? Reach out to Rivergate Church Tulsa at 918-492-5511. If the story moves you, subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review to help others find their way to healing and grace.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Faith Healing
• 0:40 Bill's Back Pain Testimony
• 2:26 The Importance of Forgiveness
• 3:29 Contact Information and Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, I'm Linda Budd. I'm a pastor at Rivergate Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And I take the scriptures literally that says that we are to lay hands on the sick and see them recover. And so for several years I've gone after a healing anointing. I've prayed for people dozens of times over the years, and I see so many get healed. I've seen all manner of sickness and disease healed. If you have any pain in your body, if you're infirmed, if you have any disease, if you have any sickness at all, I just reach my hand up to heaven right now in the name of Jesus and I call forth the new body part that you need. Listen to this testimony. I sell stuff on Marketplace on Facebook and meet people at a Walgreens near my house. I'm always on the lookout for who I can heal. Well, I had an appointment scheduled with a man named Bill. And Bill Facebooked me when it was time to meet and said that he could not meet because he had hurt his back real bad and that he couldn't move. And so I asked him to come anyway. And I said, I will pray for you if you will come. And here was his response. He told me he had tried everything else, so he said, I guess it wouldn't hurt. He said, I'll desperate, I'm desperate, I'll try anything. So he came to Walgreens just so I would pray for him. He wouldn't get out of his truck, and so I walked up to his new truck to the driver's side where he was driving, and I asked the Lord to give me a new back for Bill. And uh then I asked him how it was, and he said, Well, I won't know unless I get out of the truck and I move. And he didn't appear to be willing to do so. So after he got home, he Facebooked me and he told me it was better, but that it was not completely gone. And so I kept leading him through healing by talking with him on Facebook. Isn't that great? Well, today he still has a level five pain and he refuses to forgive himself for anything he has done in the past. And I have told him that unless he does, he will keep his pain. And I get the feeling that he must have done some really bad things in his past because there was nothing that I could do to convince him that he needed to forgive himself. So I just want to say to all of you that forgiveness is so huge. The Lord died for our forgiveness, he died for the forgiveness of our sins and our sicknesses, and he does not want us to keep unforgiveness of any kind. And so I asked this man on Facebook if he's asked Jesus into his life, and he states that he has. I just get the feeling that he's really not living for the Lord, and that he has a lot of guilt and shame. And so if you have guilt and shame and unforgiveness today, I just want to encourage you right now in the name of Jesus to let it go, give it to the Lord, and no longer hold yourself up bigger than Jesus, because that's what we're doing when we say, I refuse to forgive, I can't forgive myself, I've been so awful. You're making yourself bigger in God when you do that because He died for your forgiveness. Aren't these just great testimonies of the goodness of God and the healing power of Jesus Christ? If you are interested in having me come and speak at a motivational event, your church, or a conference of some sort, I am more than happy to consider that invitation. Please contact my church's office, Rivergate Church Tulsa 918 492 5511, and we'll see if we can set something up. God bless you.