I was Miraculously Healed by a Televangelist, and I Still Didn't Give My Life to Christ
Until 10 years later
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I was Miraculously Healed by a Televangelist, and I Still Didn't Give My Life to Christ: Until 10 years later
Reader, can I tell you a story? One that might make you raise your eyebrows at me. One that might make you want to argue with me on the authenticity of televangelists.
Google defines “televangelist” as “an evangelical preacher who appears regularly on television to preach and appeal for funds.” I can see how the “appeal for funds” part might ruffle some feathers. But I cannot deny what I experienced. In fact, I’ve spent more than ten years hiding this story from even close friends and family, half avoiding sounding like a crazy person and half taking for granted the Lord’s miracle hand in my life. And I’m so fed up with being someone who doesn’t glorify God, who minimizes the power of the Holy Spirit, who negates the fact that Jesus was a healer 2,000 years ago and still a Healer today. So, here’s the story. I was miraculously healed by a televangelist, and I still didn’t give my life to Christ. Until 10 years later. How foolish of me. How patient is our God. How merciful beyond all belief. He saved a wretch like me.
Do you remember those fat, boxy, little televisions from the 1990’s and 2000’s? Comparable to the size (and weight) of a pumpkin or a watermelon? When I was growing up, my parents allowed one in my bedroom. It sat atop my dresser, usually to play background noise while I did homework or read a book.
I was a big “Nick at Nite” fan, the Nickelodeon channel in the evening. They played classic sitcoms like Full House, Family Matters, George Lopez, etc. And if you stayed up long enough, Nick at Nite turned into The 700 Club, a broadcasted program showing news, interviews with live guests, and featured stories, all for the purpose of Christian ministry. They’ve been running since 1966 and are still running today. I checked.
At the end of every episode, the hosts would sit down, close their eyes, and begin praying for viewers using the spiritual gift of knowledge.
“I feel like there is somebody out there who is struggling with…,” they’d say.
Time after time I’d look up from my book, teenage Katie with black nail polish chipping on my fingernails, leftover eyeliner still smudged on my eyelids, and I’d scoff.
What a load of baloney, I’d think.
If you’ve read my previous post, I was Delivered from Mental Illnesses by the Power of the Holy Spirit & I'm Afraid to Talk about It: Why getting sold out for Jesus made me question my career as a therapist, then you know that my childhood and adolescence was riddled with much pain and suffering. So much demonic oppression, so much bondage. But if you’ve also read Why I Miss the Catholic Church from My Childhood: A story about the gift of faith and overcoming shame, then you also know that the Lord was reaching for me all my life. It was me who continuously turned my back on Him. This story, about this night, in the bedroom of a broken teenage girl up way too late, is one of those times that the Lord made Himself known.
It’s important to note that at the time, I was plagued physically by (brace yourself, this is pretty gross) dozens of painful warts on the bottoms of my feet and toes. Blame it on being a dancer and having my skin exposed to bacteria on the studio dance floors. Or blame it on living in the hot and sweaty climate of Florida and going to a school that was primarily outdoors aside from the classrooms themselves, the buildings defined by their open-aired hallways and unshaded courtyards. But these warts had grown worse with time that I even started to walk with a small limp. I remember counting 28 on one foot alone, and they began to feel like open sores on my feet, constantly being rubbed by my socks and feeling the pressure and friction from each step.
As this particular airing of The 700 Club came to an end, the hosts sat down together to begin a time of prayer. One by one, praying for a specific viewer. I remember glancing at the small television screen and dismissing them.
Here they go, I thought to myself, just a bunch of hullabaloo.
It was then that the older gentleman on the screen, Pat Robertson, began to describe a young teenage girl with warts on her feet. I remember looking up from my book, eyebrows pushed together, in disbelief. I looked down at my book again. That’s not real, I thought.
“It’s gotten to the point that it’s painful for her to walk,” he said. And again I looked back up at the screen. No, it can’t be.
He declared complete healing over the girl’s feet in the mighty name of Jesus and then continued on to the next phase of the show’s prayer time. I was confused. I was curious. A coincidence perhaps? I remember pondering. No, I decided, It’s not real. And I eventually got ready for bed and turned out the light.
The next morning my alarm clock rang at 5:45 AM. I got out of bed and began to get ready for school, floating from my room to the bathroom, half awake, robotic, as most people are at 5:45 AM. And I remember so vividly, Reader, sitting on the floor at the foot of my bed, socks and shoes in front of me, and as I began to put on the first sock I looked down at my left foot and it was… smooth. Eyes wide now, I took my fingers and spread apart each and every one of my toes. I grabbed my foot and brought it straight up to my face, examining it with ferocity, and…nothing. It was perfect. Not a wart in sight. I took my right foot and brought it up to my face and it was the same. Perfect. Not a blemish, not a sore, not a spot. I paused for a moment, remembering the televangelist on the television from the night before. No way.
I wish I could say I was like the woman at the well, who told the city about Jesus after encountering Him.1 Or the prison guard who immediately went home to tell his family about Jesus after Paul and Silas were miraculously freed from their cells.2 But I didn’t. They were better than me. I kept it to myself and only brought it up once with an atheist friend during ceramics class while debating the existence of God. I believed in Jesus, oh yes, very much so. But I didn’t follow Him.
My life then and in the decade to come did not reflect the life of someone who could say Jesus was Lord of her life. I was a lukewarm believer. A far cry from being a follower of Jesus, a servant of the Most High.
I loved Jesus, yes. But not more than I loved sin. I wanted Jesus, surely. But I was convinced I needed the sinful things of this world and couldn’t live without them. I knew about Jesus, most definitely. But I didn’t know Him.
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” James 2:19
It was only this past year that a fellow therapist (and pastor), Thomas, and I were discussing the spiritual gifts and this memory re-emerged.
“I don’t know why Jesus healed me that day,” I said, pondering the miracle. “And I still didn’t give my life to Christ.”
Saying the words out loud felt like slapping myself in the chest.
How could I have been so foolish? I thought to myself. Jesus had encountered me. Me. And I walked away.
“The Bible talks about how Jesus healed people to make God known and glorify Him. And you did that, you told your atheist friend,” Thomas said.
But that’s not enough, I thought.
The more I thought about it, the more I was brought to my knees in repentance.
I’m sorry for taking advantage of your miracle, Jesus.
I’m sorry I didn’t give my life to You then. For continuing to live in sin.
I’m sorry I was so foolish.
How blessed are we to serve a God who says, “Forgive them Father. For they know not what they do.”3
How often do we still continue to do that? We experience the Lord move in our lives, sometimes in small ways and other times, large ways, and we are so quick to forget. We are so quick to get wrapped up in the next thing that bothers us, that hurts, that seems unfair, that is uncomfortable.
The longer I sat with this memory, the more I wondered how many times does the Lord reveal Himself to us before He hands us over to our desires?4 How many chances do we get to walk the narrow road, to make Jesus Lord of our life, to surrender everything to Him, before it’s too late?5 How many of His children throughout time were spat out for being lukewarm, because they looked at the God who gave us His all and decided to only give Him some, or worse, nothing at all.6
In the writing of this post, I learned that Pat Robertson died last year in June of 2023 at the age of 93. My heart sank. Regret filled me. I remember as a teenager they would say at the end of a show that if you were one of the people who was described and healed, to call in and let them know. I thought about doing it many times but never did. I wish I could tell Pat now. Thank you for your obedience to Christ. Thank you. He used you in mighty ways. Whether or not I could appreciate it at the time. Every day I can walk on my feet with no pain should be a reminder of God’s grace, His power, His pursuit, His love. I suppose it’s never too late for that.
If I could go back in time, I’d tell my younger self to give your whole life to Jesus. Right then and there. Right there in that moment at the foot of your bed. You have been encountered by El Shaddai, the Almighty God. He is calling you into relationship with Him, into righteousness, not religion. Turn from your wicked ways. Save yourself the heartache and suffering and spiritual warfare of these next ten years. Keep the demonic portals closed now before you continue to live a worldly life and kick them wide open. Stop getting drunk. Don’t do drugs. Stop dressing like that. Please, stop being lustful. Stop looking to anything other than Jesus for answers, validation, comfort, and love! They are idols. All idols! Cheap perversions of what Christ has for you! Stop believing Satan’s lies and deceit! It’s lies! All lies! Please!
Save yourself, Katie! I’d shout.
Or rather, surrender, and be saved by Him.
Be a citizen of Heaven, not a slave to the world. No matter what you’ve done, the Lord has mercy for you. He wants you to find Him. He is jealous for you. Get lost in the love of Jesus and follow Him, Katie. Obey Him. His way is best, I promise. I love you.
Katie Donohue Tona
“Therefore, watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven…
There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.” Deuteronomy 4: 15-19, 28-31
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“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’” John 4:39
“The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.” Acts 16:27-34
“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’” Luke 23:34
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore, God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.” Romans 1:21-24
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16
When I was 19, I was struggling with suicidal thoughts. I wanted to crash my car off a bridge. Obviously that didn't happen. It was was a little under ten years later the Lord revealed to me that He was beside me in the passenger seat weeping with me and stopping me from killing myself. Praise God.
There's a part of me that wishes I gave myself to Christ that same day. Lukewarm would be too generous of a label to describe me. Prodigal, more like.
But what a grace it is to reflect on our past and see how the Lord works in our lives! I'm happy you see the same in yours, and I pray that whoever reads this has the same happen to them.
Glory to Jesus Christ.
I would like to tell you something Katie; Jesus knew you before you were even born and He called you for such a time as this! I’ve had words spoken over me and had still looked back but one time, almost 15 years ago, I was going through Cleansing Streams (a ministry in Colorado), and some people who were praying over me wrote down what the Lord had spoken to them about me; I found that note last night and this morning in church the sermon was about words being spoken and the woman was told to hold on to them, which she did even though it seemed that there was no way that what she was told would happen and today she can say confidently what God has said,He will perform. And the note, I found last night in the front of my bible that says “you are marked as a child of God” , I wouldn’t have believed 4 years ago, and didn’t even think God would welcome me back; I believed that I was going to die and go to hell! This is, was, and always will be the absolute grace of God