I grew up in church my whole life. It wasn’t unusual for me to witness miracles and see people healed by the power of God. I had seen it happen so many times. But there’s a difference between watching a miracle from the sidelines and being the one in desperate need of one. You never expect you’ll be the person praying for a life-changing miracle—until it happens to you.

Up until 2010, I had experienced small healings—minor things we all pray about daily. But nothing could’ve prepared me for what was about to happen. I was close to graduating from Rhema Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and my faith was strong. I had learned about healing through the scriptures, especially Mark 11:23, which says, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” This verse was the foundation of my training at Rhema. We were taught to speak with authority, believing in God’s power to heal.

It all seemed straightforward until I found myself in a fight for my life.

The Fight Begins

A few weeks before graduation, I started feeling sick. At first, it seemed minor. I thought it was just something I could shake off. But then, it got worse. I couldn’t keep food down, and the weight started falling off me. By the time graduation came around, I had lost so much weight I didn’t even feel like attending. But I pushed through and made it.

Things didn’t get better. The sickness worsened, and I continued to lose weight at an alarming rate. I could barely eat. Even though I knew God’s Word about healing, my health was deteriorating fast. Fear started creeping into my mind—thoughts about cancer, and what could be wrong with me. My faith was under attack, and I had spent years building it. When you’re going through a storm, it’s one thing to know the scriptures; it’s another to live them out in real time.

My wife was getting more concerned with each passing day as I wasted away. I had lost over 40 pounds in just a few months. She urged me to go to the doctor, and though I scheduled an appointment, things took a turn before I could even get there. One day, the pain became so unbearable that I ended up in the emergency room.

The doctor was concerned I might have cancer. She referred me to a specialist—a gastroenterologist—who ran several tests to figure out what was happening.

The Diagnosis: Crohn’s Disease

The tests came back, and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. If you haven’t heard of it, Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. It causes extreme pain, weight loss, and a host of other debilitating symptoms. The doctor explained that Crohn’s is considered incurable, but it can be managed with medication. The thought that I’d have to live with this for the rest of my life hit me hard.

Hearing the word “incurable” felt like a gut punch. The pain I was experiencing was indescribable, like shards of hot, broken glass scraping through my insides. I remember thinking, “I can’t do this. I don’t want to live like this.” Even though I knew God’s Word on healing, my faith was being tested like never before. It was hard to see beyond the pain and diagnosis.

The medication they gave me didn’t seem to help. If anything, it made me feel worse. I was bedridden for days on end, barely functioning, and missing work regularly. It reached a point where I found myself lying in bed, crying out to God, saying, “Lord, if I have to live like this, I don’t want to live anymore.” The disease wasn’t just destroying my body—it was tearing me apart emotionally and spiritually. I had reached my breaking point.

Faith on the Brink

My wife, seeing how desperate I had become, gave me some tough love. She told me, “You can lie there and die, or you can believe what God says and live.” Her words stung at first. I felt a little offended. But as I lay there, I began reflecting on what she had said. I realized that, up until then, I had been speaking the Word of God without truly believing it deep in my heart. There’s a big difference between having “head faith” and having “heart faith.”

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I knew the scriptures. I had heard them all my life. But I needed to establish that faith in my heart, not just my mind. I needed that heart faith—the kind Jesus talks about in Mark 11:23. It wasn’t enough to just know the Word; I had to believe it and speak it with real conviction.

Speaking in Faith

That’s when things began to change. I made a shift. Instead of just quoting scriptures out of habit, I started declaring them with true, heart-level faith. I began speaking Psalm 118:17 over myself: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” I knew I had to declare life over myself, even when I felt like I was dying.

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” I began to see that my words were powerful. I needed to speak life, not defeat. Instead of talking about how sick I was or how bad things were, I started declaring healing. I spoke Isaiah 53:5 over myself: “By His stripes, we are healed.” I wasn’t just hoping for healing—I was claiming it.

The Turning Point

Then, one day, while I was praying, God gave me a revelation that changed everything. He showed me a picture of walking an unruly dog on a leash. The dog was pulling, thrashing, and out of control. Then, God said, “Why are you trying to manage this disease like you’re walking a wild dog? You don’t need to control it—you need to get rid of it.” That was the wake-up call I needed.

I realized I had been trying to live with Crohn’s, managing it, instead of fully rejecting it. In that moment, I decided I wasn’t going to “walk” this disease anymore. I wasn’t going to manage it—I was going to be free from it, in Jesus’ name. Luke 10:19 came alive in me: “Behold, I give you authority… over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” I had the authority to speak to this disease and command it to leave.

The Shift from Head Faith to Heart Faith

For two years, I had lived with Crohn’s disease, letting it control me. But now, I was walking in authority. The shift from head faith to heart faith was about more than just knowing the Word—it was about believing it with all my heart and speaking it boldly. 2 Corinthians 4:13 says, “We having the same spirit of faith… I believed, and therefore I spoke; we also believe, and therefore speak.” That became my daily mantra.

I began to declare my healing every day. Even when I didn’t feel any better, I stood on the promises of God. Little by little, I started to see improvement. The pain lessened. I gained strength. Over time, I went from being body ruled by this disease to walking in total health.

The Power of the Spoken Word

Mark 11:23 emphasizes the power of speaking and declaring: “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in their heart but believes… it will be done.” That’s the key—speaking and believing.

Faith isn’t just about thinking positively—it’s about standing on the finished work of Jesus Christ and declaring that truth into existence. Romans 10:10 says, “With the heart, man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.” The same principle applies to healing.

I learned that the words we speak, combined with heart-level faith, have the power to change everything. Today, I’m living proof of that truth.

—Joshua L Mullins