New Hip from Heaven

“I'm too young to be acting like I'm 89, you know, can't move. And I didn't like it.”

At 60 years young, John Hawkins, a retired carpenter turned Pastor, couldn't believe he needed a cane to get around. 

John says, "I've always been active, and I liked to work. I worked with my hands. My mom was a good example of work and a lot of good work ethic in my family. Everybody worked all their life, always worked for what you want."

The problem was his hip. It had started a year earlier when he moved back to Los Angeles to care for his cancer-stricken mother. Shortly after and without warning, he fell to the ground twice. 

"And I just laid there for a minute trying to understand it. And it scared me to death because I didn't trip on anything, my hip just gave out. I didn't understand why."

An orthopedic specialist recommended John undergo hip surgery. John recalls: "[The orthopedic specialist] brought the results back and showed me that my tendon where the bone goes was gone. I'm bone against bone. I need a new hip."

Eventually, John declined the surgery after reading about problems with some of the replacement hips on the market. By then, the pain was so debilitating his wife Rose even had to help him with simple tasks, like putting on his shoes and socks. 

"It felt so bad, I didn't want to move. I was angry-real quick. I only wanted to move or go outside when I had to. But the pain got so excruciating to where I said, 'Well, you know, there's power in prayer, and God healed me before, so let me try this.’”

That went on for about a year when one night John was watching The 700 Club. Terry and Pat were praying: 

Co-host Terry Meeuwsen said, "There is someone, you have been praying a long time to the Lord with something. I don't really know what this is. I don't know if it's physical, financial, psychological, or whatever, but God is in the midst of changing your situation. Praise the Lord before you even see what is being done.”

John believed that he was that someone.

"So, I said, 'Lord, I'm gonna touch and agree with them. I’m gonna pray and have my hand on my hip. I'm going to believe for this healing.'"

On TV Pat Robertson said, "By the way, call us!"

John recalls, “And all of a sudden, it was time to go off the air. So, I just cut the TV off, said, 'Thank you, Lord.' I went to bed. I had tears in my heart, joy in my body because I was praying with Pat and Terry and it felt so good!"

He didn't think about it again until two weeks later when he realized he didn't need his wife's help or have any pain! 

John remembers, "So one day, we fixing to go to church and the wife went to grab one of my shoes, and I said, 'Wait a minute, these last two weeks I haven't had any pain in my hip.' And I said, 'In fact, I have been getting out the bathtub, lifting my leg by itself!' I said, 'Wait a minute, the last time I had pain was the day before I watched Pat Robertson and Terry and I prayed and laid hands, and I touched and agreed with them, that pain was gone that night.' It was gone so fast everything was normal like I never had pain at all. I didn't even realize it for two weeks. I said, 'Oh my, God. My God.' I started praising Him. I fell to my knees and started crying."  

John has been loving his active, pain-free life ever since.  

"I'm totally healed, and I thank God for it, you know. And God is awesome. He's awesome! [I] just can't give enough praise, can't give enough praise."