Growing up as an autistic child with Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder was exceptionally difficult, to say the least. To a certain extent in those first 13 years or so, my behavior was robotic.
Coupled with those actions was a distorted outlook on life and everything in it. For this reason, anything outside my scope of thinking would set off some kind of reaction. I recall even something as basic as tomato sauce served as a trigger for me, and I would smash the bottle.
Children who suffer with autism, Asperger’s and obsessive-compulsive disorder have heightened senses and are known to react to certain things in their immediate surroundings. That explains why the tomato sauce sparked something inside me. In my mind, the tomato sauce was confrontational, as if it were an aggressor. Maybe it was the color, maybe the taste; I don’t know.
To add to the problem, I would hear voices in my head telling me what to do, another trait commonly associated with autism and clinically known as psychosis. One morning, my father found me with five cockroaches in my mouth. Somehow during the night, while I was sleepwalking, I must have caught them.
It sounds disgusting, but that gives you an idea of how confused and blinded my mind was at the time.
Every day I thank and praise God for healing me and removing that hindrance. Psalm 146:8a says, “The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.” Because He opened my eyes, I came to realize a lot of things in and around me were OK, including tomato sauce! God does hear the heart-cry of our prayers and will heal those areas of our lives that need healing.
I remember the first time I entered a church. I came in during the praise and worship portion of the service. Many people had their hands in the air, some clapped, and others I saw had tears in their eyes. I would later learn that these gratuitous actions came in part from the powerful healings God had worked in their lives. But they also came because of the sheer power of praise and worship.
Another element also carries weight in the kingdom of God, and that is our tears. Second Kings 20:5b says, “Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will heal you.” Some consider the shedding of tears a sign of weakness, but in God’s economy, tears are loaded with power and strength. Throughout the Bible, we find accounts of strong people of faith crying out to God.
Look at the life of Jesus. When He was among a crowd, those who saw Him would begin to weep. Following that, Jesus, moved with compassion, would heal them. When He heard of Lazarus passing away, Scripture says, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). And with those tears in His eyes and His resurrection power, He called Lazarus out of the tomb and restored him.
Scripture says to “Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you” (Ex. 23:25, NIV). Most of us would read this and say, “I like the last part of this Scripture.” However, if we take a closer look, we will see that before the sickness goes from us, we are to “worship the Lord your God.”
Be encouraged. If God healed me, why wouldn’t He heal your child too? Worship Him and allow your tears to flow.
Many wonderful testimonies are coming through our Autism Overturned private group and website—healings of autism, Asperger’s and others.
I invite you to join my private Facebook group, “Autism Overturned.” Post a picture of your child, and I will start to pray for them. When you have joined the group, let me know if you would like a free prayer cloth to place in your child’s pillowcase. Furthermore, check out my Autism Overturned podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network.
Reg Morais is the senior pastor of Living Faith Community Church, launched from Appoint the World Ministries, which he founded 15 years prior. Each week he runs seven services, reaching a global audience through social media platforms. Learn more about him and his ministry at regmorais.com.
