The Banker – A Person of Peace

The economic collapse of 2008 left many of us with some bitterness toward the banking industry. Bankers themselves have received a lot of criticism since then. My trip to Australia put me in close contact with one particular banker. What I’ve experienced since meeting him has changed my perspective.

The banker I would meet had created a successful life for himself, but his life wasn’t always one of fortune. He spent his younger days in Europe and for a season, was unable to find work, finally hiring on as a manual laborer in London, where he lived in a tiny house with a group of roughnecks. One night he was jumped by some people who robbed him, beat him up, and tossed him in a rubbish bin. Were it not for a good-hearted stranger who found him and called for an ambulance, things could have turned out even worse.

Over time, he married a wonderful and gifted woman, secured a good-paying job, and became the proud father of two charming children. One day he had a long talk with his wife while he was based in Perth for a short time. He asked her, “Do you want to have an ordinary life or an extraordinary life?”

His wife responded, “Well … obviously, I want an extraordinary life”.

They then spoke about what they should do with their lives and resources. It didn’t take long to agree that the best thing they could do with the abundance God had provided was to become generous givers. Their decision to give was not motivated by the idea that they would receive more money in return. Giving money to receive more of it, only puts you in greater bondage to greed. For them, money itself took on a whole new meaning. They began seeing it not as something to be treasured, but as a tool to be used to bring a blessing to others.

The banker had been raised as a Christian by his Pentecostal mother, though he’d never been a very spiritual person. One day in January 2011, while building a wall on his property, he heard the clear and distinct voice of God tell him it was time to take things more seriously. A short time later his wife became sick with cancer.

With a sense of urgency, he began looking for resources on divine healing. He found Curry Blake’s Divine Healing Technician series and devoured it. With a renewed faith, he sprang into action, praying for his wife to be healed. He began searching for more material on healing and that’s when he found my website. He began reading it and after months of poring over my articles, he contacted me.

Early in 2012, I received an inquiry from him. He asked if I would consider visiting Australia to teach on healing. I told him I was honored but that I had no money for such a trip.

The following night, I had a dream where I was being sent overseas as an ambassador to establish trade with a small group of people. When I woke that morning, I found an e-mail from the banker. He offered to pay all my travel expenses if I would agree to come to Australia to teach on healing. Taking the dream as confirmation that God wanted me to make the trip, the first order of business was finding out more about this fellow and what he wanted from me.

Over the next two months, we sent e-mails back and forth and talked over Skype. We had to develop some familiarity with each other if this venture was going to succeed.

And I had some personal issues to deal with.

I’d never traveled overseas before. I’d only taught one class on healing and although it was a success, teaching healing and miracles overseas to a group of strangers was a daunting task. I also work a full-time job and I had to arrange time off work. At the same time, my wife was trying to find a job. I had to convince her that taking time away from my work and her efforts to find work wouldn’t put us in a financial bind. After weeks of discussion, we finally agreed to go.

Once we committed to making the trip, the banker informed us that his wife had come down with terminal cancer. He didn’t tell us until after we made a commitment, because he didn’t want to appear desperate and didn’t want our decision to be influenced by emotions. The last thing he wanted was to use pressure or manipulation to get us to come to Australia.

We joined with him in prayer for his wife’s healing. I rallied some friends to pray on her behalf. Not long after we began praying, we received news that she had suddenly passed away. My wife was devastated. She spent the entire day crying. The Banker was heartbroken. He spent the following months battling thoughts of depression, hopelessness and despair, wondering what he did wrong in trying to get her healed.

Many people would have given up on the healing project at this point. His faith for healing was in shambles. I was an unknown person to his circle of friends. He’s a very busy man with two children to raise on his own. No one would have blamed him if he pulled the plug on the trip.

But the banker is a man of his word. Once he commits himself to a task, he sees it through to the end, regardless of the consequences to himself or feelings of doubt along the way. We made plans to visit Brisbane for two weeks in September. The first week we’d meet friends and volunteer on the street vans. The second week, we’d hold meetings where my wife and I would train them in prophecy, healing, deliverance, and whatever else they needed.

The Banker took a lot of risk in this adventure. The churches he’s connected to have hosted a number of itinerant preachers, who’ve been happy to visit for a few days, give an inspiring message, a few prophetic words, and perhaps lay hands on a few people – then leave. And they’re often never heard from again.

He had a different plan for me.

His hope was to bring us to Brisbane to mentor him and his friends in the ways of the supernatural. Not through preaching, but by example. He and his friends go into the dark places of society. They pray with the homeless, the addicted, and the mentally ill on the streets. He needed someone to ride along in the vans and discuss their concerns, answer their questions, and model the kingdom of God for them.

He also understood the need for relationships in ministry. He wanted to establish a long-term relationship where he and I would share in the work of ministry over many years so that the seeds we planted would grow into maturity. Reading my blog gave him insights into what makes me tick. He figured that once we met, we’d get along pretty well and a long-term relationship would follow.

His hope was that if he could get me to come to Australia and if things went well; if we were received by his friends if healing and miracles were demonstrated and if his friends were able to grow in the supernatural, we would return for a follow-up visit.

Officially, he set his expectations pretty low. He managed the expectations of those around him simply saying “Even if only one person gets this … if only one person is touched and learns how much God loves to bless, heal and restore people then it is worth it.”

He took the view that if we were simply able to encourage his friends with testimonies of healing and build their faith, that would be a successful trip. Anything more than that would be icing on the cake.

My goal was to show them that God could work through them in the same way he worked through me. We were both relieved when healing miracles happened virtually every day. Many of them happened when he and his friends prayed with the sick and injured.

The banker and I are now good friends. I was surprised at how much we have in common. Between days of ministry, he drove us to sightseeing destinations and we talked non-stop everywhere we went. He’s quite an amazing fellow, actually. And he’s very unlike the stereotype of the greedy banker many of us envision.

When Jesus sent His disciples out, He told them to find a person of peace (see Luke 10:6). A person of peace, like my friend the banker, is someone who sees the work that God is doing in us. They have a sphere of influence, into which they invite us to bring the kingdom of God. They are the door to the harvest field. We are the door to the kingdom of God. Ministry flows through these doors. It’s quite simple, really. And I’m finding that it works pretty well.

Our trip to Australia was a smashing success in every way possible. It’s my hope that you’ll find your person of peace and that you’ll have many years of success and fellowship together with them.

This is an excerpt from the book My Craziest Adventures With God Volume 2.