SID: Hello, Sid Roth your investigative reporter here with Bill Prankard and we’re hearing about a very notable miracle. This man had a withered leg and before Bill Prankard’s very eyes that little scrawny, withered leg became normal. What does that do to you when you see that? Even though you’ve seen millions of miracles now, what does it do to you?
BILL: You never get used to seeing God touch people. You never get used to it. It’s always like the first time. I mean it’s so exciting.
SID: Well what about the rest of his health? I mean did he get totally healed? He had all those strokes.
BILL: He felt great. He called home that night. It was the middle of the night still in Northern Ireland, gets his wife out of bed, “Betty I’ve been healed!” “Oh really, George? What do you mean healed?” Because George had had touches before, people had prayed for him but he felt no change. Anyway, the long and short of it, he went back to the doctor, the doctor did every test, every blood test and said “George, this is a miracle of God.” That’s what the doctor said. He said “There is no other explanation.” “Not only are you totally restored, you have no physical problems.” It was so significant the newspaper, the secular newspaper, the front page, three-quarters of the front page, a picture about this miracle man.
SID: Bill, I must ask you this question. I know that you reluctantly went to a friend of mine’s meeting, thirty-plus years ago, on a bus from Canada to Pittsburgh. You did not want to go. Her name was Kathryn Kuhlman.
BILL: Yes, I remember her.
SID: You’re sitting there you’re amazed at the miracles. You know about the Spirit of God, you know The Lord, but all of a sudden something happened to you at that meeting that never happened before. What was it?
BILL: Sid, I was an ordained Assembly of God preacher. In Canada we’re called Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. And I thought I knew it all. I thought I had it all. But all my life I felt if God is God, He should be touching people, we should be seeing miracles, and I didn’t see it. I’d preach on healing and nobody would get healed. Preach on people coming to Jesus, nobody would come to Jesus. In that meeting I saw everything I thought should be happening. The problem was I’d been warned about her. I had an attitude about her. And I thought, really honestly I thought “What could this lady possibly have to give to me? I’m a Pentecostal minister.” Catholic lady sitting beside me; who I’m supposed to be helping because I know all about it. When people started falling under the power she grabbed my arm and said “What’s she doing to them?” And I said “Oh, it’s the power of God, it’s ok.” And she got excited and got her healing. If I could have been honest, I would’ve grabbed the Catholic lady’s arm and said “What’s she doing to them?” I’d never seen this. I was being overwhelmed by
God’s presence and power. I’d never felt this before. When I said that Sid, all I can tell you is He came. I had an encounter with the third Person of the Trinity that I never knew was possible. Up until that time I thought He was a force, power, experience, even though my doctor had said He was a Person. He came. I felt His fingers saying “Yes, this is My power and you’ve never seen it.” “You’ve had a form of godliness and you’ve denied My power.” That moment I made up my mind, through tears, I will never deny
Your power again and I’ll spend the rest of my life, not pursuing healing ministry as I was, pursuing You. Everything I’ve seen in 33 years has come out of pursuit of a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus said “You can know Him.” And I want to know Him today more than I’ve wanted to know Him 33 years ago.
SID: Now here’s the thing that is so amazing to me: Bill Prankard wasn’t fasting, he wasn’t praying, he went reluctantly, and the presence of God fell on him to the point, on the bus ride back, there wasn’t one person from that entire bus from Canada that was ill. And they were kind of disappointed. And the bus driver says to him “Huh. What about your God? Look at that young crippled girl.” And what did God do for that young crippled girl?
BILL: You know how did I start the ministry? I put my seat back and went to sleep. They woke me up and one after another after another was being healed. A little crippled girl who had never walked, never walked, her doctor said it was impossible for her to walk. A Greek Orthodox mother and daughter came, started running up the aisle. Not only did it change my life but it changed the bus driver’s life.
SID: What happened to him?
BILL: His whole family came to Christ. I got an e-mail from his son last year saying “I just want you to know, what happened on that bus in 1972 is still happening.” “I’m now the head of a Pentecostal denomination in western Canada” “and in every service we pray for the sick.”
SID: Ok. When did it dawn on you? Now it dawned on you something happened on that bus but when did it dawn on you that when you would just have a meeting it would be like popcorn. People would be healed all over the place. When did you first find this out?
BILL: Well you know, that first trip I was in a daze, almost like the healings and all of that was a distraction because I wanted to pursue the Holy Spirit. And I thought “I’m not going to lose focus here, I’m going to pursue you.”
SID: And that little girl, by the way, the reason the bus driver became a believer was she was totally healed right before everyone’s eyes.
BILL: She was totally healed, absolutely.
SID: And everyone knew she was bad off.
BILL: We all knew it, yes, exactly. So we came back to our little church in Canada and that Sunday morning I stood at the edge of the platform, I wouldn’t stand behind the pulpit. I’d been gone way too long. I was always so concerned about my image; I just blubbered through the meeting. I said “You know what, I’ve failed you, I’ve failed God, I’ve had a form of godliness.” So that was the meeting basically, I blubbered through. And people at the end of the service, on the way out, said “Pastor, I was healed this morning.” Sid, I didn’t talk about healing! I didn’t pray for them. These are people I prayed for so many times that I’m sure I had my fingerprints in their forehead. We poured oil upon oil on them.
SID: Nothing.
BILL: Now they sit there, I’m blubbering talking about “I’m giving my life to pursuing the Holy Spirit…”
SID: Wait a second. Why you? Why you?
BILL: Well do you know Kathryn Kuhlman, your friend, said in that service “What’s happening here should be happening everywhere.” I believe it’s for everybody.
SID: You know what? It is going to happen everywhere. That’s music to my ears because I know, as a matter of fact, we have to leave right now and we’ll be right back after this break. But you’re going to see, like popcorn, people being healed. Don’t go away. I know you’ll be back.
