Dolores "Dodie" Osteen, mother of Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen, believes in the power of miracle healing, and she shared this belief in her new autobiography entitled "If My Heart Could Talk."
Dodie is speaking from personal experience in her battle against liver cancer. Without the healing power of the Word of God, Dodie says she is certain that she would not be alive today. This is also the case with her daughter Lisa, who was born with a condition similar to cerebral palsy and brain damage.
Dodie and her husband read the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to learn more about the miraculous healings Jesus performed in order to help Lisa. When they finally encountered Hebrews 13:8, their lives were changed forever.
"We prayed and asked God to touch and heal our baby girl. Jesus did just that. He sent His Word and healed Lisa. She is a perfectly normal adult now — strong in the Lord and in the power of His might," Dodie writes on her son's website.
Dodie is now sharing what she knows about miracle healing to other people. She told the Houston Chronicle that she is actually an "exhorter" at Lakewood Church because she would pray for sick congregants.
"About five or six years ago," she says, "I was putting on my makeup, and God put it in my heart that He wanted me to have drive-by healing services for those who are too sick to leave their cars. I stand out by the church's front door and just get into the car to pray."
Dodie says her service to God now is in gratitude for the miraculous healings He performed on her family. "I could have died when I was 48. Now I'm 82, and I'm working for Him. I want people to know that God is a good God. He does want to answer prayers. All we have to do is have faith and hope. Sometimes life is hard, but God helps us get through," she says.
