We know a lovely couple with a young son called Joe who has Cystic Fibrosis. His doctor said that a serious infection called Pseudamonas had permanently ‘colonised’ his lungs – this word on its own stirred me to pray. It has no right to be there, let alone turn into a ‘colony’. I was determined to rise to the challenge of defeating it with Jesus’ help – Joe is precious to God and I’m not going to let some nasty illness rob him of his health.

I asked God: How do you destroy a colony of bacteria? The Bible says in Psalm 91 that ‘you will tread upon the lion and the cobra, you will trample the great lion and the serpent’ – for me this means we can defeat things that would have power over us in the natural world. I plan to tread upon this enemy and trample it underfoot. It might seem like an impossible task but the Bible says that ‘nothing is impossible with God’ Luke 1:37.

I prayed and fasted several times over a couple of months, when I felt prompted by God. When I pray he gives me pictures in my mind to help me visualise and understand the battle I am in. My first picture was of me entering the Pseudamonas colony like a gladiator in full armour, in a stance of aggression and righteous anger. I sensed that the impact of my arrival in the camp caused fear and panic, and I felt that the whole camp was mine for the taking – the Bible says ‘if we ask anything in God’s will, we have it’, 1 John 5:14-15, and this definitely felt like God’s will.

I asked God how it was going to be destroyed, and he showed me a dryness spreading through the camp, like a deathly arid drought that kills as it goes. Weeks after this prayer I could still see it spreading and killing all the Pseudamonas bacteria in its wake. I realised that this infection thrives on damp, humid conditions, and this picture of the deathly aridity seemed even more powerful. This was exactly what was needed to destroy this awful bacteria. Thank you, Jesus.

I stood my ground right in the middle of this colony of Pseudamonas, declaring God’s victory through Jesus. It felt significant to just stand there with God’s authority, and announce defeat for the infection and advance God’s kingdom of healing in this situation. Jesus said ‘all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’ Matthew 28:18, and he delegated this authority to us as ambassadors of the king. I will not retreat until this battle is won.

I spent a couple of weeks prayerfully standing right in the middle of this camp, listening to God’s guidance and confirming my authority in him. I felt like a soldier – unbeatable, unstoppable, and anointed by God for victory. I was administering justice for Joe, and I loved using the verse in Hebrews 11 about Christians who have a strong faith in God: ‘through faith, they conquered kingdoms, administered justice and routed foreign armies’. This colony of Pseudamonas will be routed – ‘routed’ means ‘an overwhelming defeat followed by a disorderly retreat.’

This is something of how I prayed against Pseudamonas: ‘Jesus has undermined your authority as an illness, by his death and resurrection. You are powerless to fight back, you cannot resist me or ignore me. My words have total authority over you’.

After the deathly dryness had passed, I saw lots of things burnt black in the colony, total charred destruction. These were amazing pictures in my mind from God. Then I saw a picture of a knee high wave of blue water, washing away all the burnt bits and making it clean.

7 months later we bumped into Joe and his parents at the Christmas market in Sheffield and Joe was on his dad’s shoulders. I asked his dad how he was and he said ‘we’ve had a miracle because the Pseudamonas has cleared off his lungs’. I couldn’t stop myself filling up and visibly celebrated this news with a ‘yes, come on!’ His parents were surprised at the strength of my reaction and I briefly explained to them that I had been praying hard for this to happen.

If you have a burden to see someone healed, or feel an injustice about something – you are the one to touch God’s throne!

John