Ruth Garland - Resurrection
Preacher Darrell Ward is no stranger to the miraculous acts of God. The amazing recovery of his daughter Jessica following a deadly car accident is featured in this book, on page ? In addition to being a preacher, Darrell is a medical professional himself, and is well acquainted with both the wonders and the limits of what human intervention can do.
Through the years Darrell has continued to boldly preach and testify to the miraculous power of God around the world, and has personally witnessed many miracles.
On May 24, 2023, at a Wednesday night service at Word of Life Tabernacle in Johnson city Tennessee, Darrell was in the middle of preaching on the subject of the miraculous power of God. It was in this very service, under the hearing of this topic, that a woman in the back suddenly collapsed! Her daughter who was nearby caught and held her limp body as she emitted the gurgling sound known as "agonal breathing," common in cardiac arrest.
The woman, Ruth Garland, was not a visitor. She was known to many in the congregation and had attended that church for years. Therefore the before, during, and after of this situation happened fully in the open, before people in the best of all positions to evaluate it.
Several people in the building had medical training, and these all confirmed that the woman had no pulse. Yet, the congregation remained calm. The service was being video recorded at the time. On the video, you can see Darrell pause in his preaching, and alert the pastor that someone was sick. He left the platform, and he and pastor Donny Reagan went to pray for the woman. The camera remained on the platform, but you can hear a calm prayer--unusually calm, considering the circumstances. A few minutes later, Darrell returned to the platform and finished his preaching, assuring the congregation that the woman would be allright.
Those near the event testify that as the prayer went forth, Ruth Garland immediately regained conciousness, and was perfectly fine from that moment. Ruth's brother in law texted this report the following day:
"I truly believe I witnessed a miracle at church as you prayed. Ruth was “out of it” and maybe even dead. She was lifeless and it looked as though she had passed. As you prayed, she came to life...almost immediately, she regained consciousness and was coherent. I believe and so does Wanda, we witnessed a miracle right before our very eyes. God bless you."
Ruth's daughter also texted in this report:
"Good morning brother Darryl, I brought Mom home at 5:30 this morning they did a CT scan, normal! chest x-ray, normal! Blood work, normal! Sugar slightly elevated, no dehydration, blood pressure a little high. The doctor actually had no explanation for what happened but I know God showed up! I know what I saw, I know what I heard, and I know God showed up. Thank you for your prayers I appreciate you, she is doing very good. Thursday evening sister Ruth was eating at a local restaurant with no memory of what happened. Our God is awesome He opens the eyes of the blind and raises the dead to life."
The service where this took place is viewable in its entirety here.
Ruth Garland - Resurrection
Incident happens at about 1:10.48
Some cases where God intervenes are replete medical records because the situation has progressed to the point where they are available. But in this situation, there are none, simply because the issue was fully resolved before a doctor even got involved! Is this a lesser miracle, or is it an even greater miracle? If it were you who were sick, which would you prefer: Months or years of treatment, or an immediate cure? If God can heal one person after the doctors have done all they can do, He can just as surely heal another before the doctors even arrive!
Whether it is immediate, or after some time has passed, cases like this show that God truly does answer back.