Obedience in Prayer Leads to Healing and Renewed Faith

I’m just here to be obedient, thought 38-year-old JJ Hartung. We probably won’t see anything change today.

Hartung, lead pastor of Full Life Church in Fremont, Nebraska, arrived at the home of Isaac Zellmer, his longtime friend and a traveling musical evangelist.

Some months before, in November 2024, Zellmer bent to pick up a drum cage, an action he’d done countless times before. Yet, on that day, he felt a tightness in his back. Over the following weeks, the tightness morphed into excruciating pain, forcing Zellmer to depend on a walker and rendering him bedridden for weeks.

On Thursday, Jan. 23, Hartung awoke with Zellmer’s difficulty on his mind. “I felt urged, as I never have before, to go and pray for Isaac,” Hartung says.

In preparation for the visit, Hartung called other minister friends, hoping someone could accompany him, but none were available at the time. One friend he did manage to speak with and whom agreed to come along, made a rather surprising statement: “This is spiritual warfare.”

As the day went on, Hartung began to feel discouraged about visiting Zellmer, and considered putting it off. However, he went, with his friend joining in.

RENEWED FAITH

Upon stepping into Zellmer’s home, the sense of demonic oppression was palpable, says Hartung. “This is not possession, in which the enemy takes over a person, and which we do not believe can happen to those saved by Jesus,” Hartung explains. “It is oppression — a heavy and extreme spiritual attack that requires spiritual warfare.”

For three to four hours, Hartung and his friend prayed with and ministered to Zellmer. By the next Sunday, Zellmer reported that his pain was completely gone  – and has not returned since.

“At Isaac’s house, a divine moment took place,” Hartung says. “Including for me. Prior to this event, I was slipping into cessationism — the belief that spiritual gifts like healing and speaking in tongues ended with the apostolic age. But in this battle, God also revived me.”

Since Zellmer’s healing, the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:4 have taken special meaning for Hartung.

“When we have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, He helps us discern what is going on, including when we are facing spiritual warfare,” Hartung says, “The closer we are to Jesus, the more we can understand the authority we have in Him. The question is, are we drawing close to Him to be used as His vessels?”

CARRYING ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS

Full Life Church, which ranges from 80 to 125 attendees, is situated in a community of around 27,000 residents. A small town west of Omaha, Fremont is, according to Hartung, a good mix of both city and rural, characterized by hard workers. Challenges related to faith, race, and other matters common to mankind are present in this small community as well.

Since Zellmer’s experience, Hartung feels more strongly than ever the biblical mandate to “carry one another’s burdens.” He encourages this dynamic among the congregation, particularly as others experience the need for physical and spiritual healing.

Since he began placing more emphasis on prayer, several healings have taken place, and congregants are experiencing spiritual victories in their personal lives.

One such congregant, Vickie O’Neal, recently experienced complete physical healing at the altar of the church after a botched dental procedure. While at the altar, she was prayed with by another congregant, Danielle, who has been encouraging O’Neal in her walk.

Now, according to O’Neal, she has devoted more time to deeper study of Scripture and was baptized in the Holy Spirit. She states she has been praying in tongues on a regular basis, something she was not able to do before. The difference it has made in her life is clear. She says, “Now I can trust the Holy Spirit to pray exactly what needs to be prayed, and that has taken so much pressure off me.”

Hartung concludes, “I was an atheist and a former military man and have myself experienced spiritual and physical healing from Christ. I am not an eloquent man, but I truly believe in Jesus. I am concerned that we don’t talk enough about Him as our Lord and Healer and Miracle Worker.”

Kristel Zelaya

Kristel Zelaya is a freelance writer and editor with global experience. She served as marketing manager for Assemblies of God U.S. Missions and as a writer and editor for Assemblies of God World Missions. These experiences have led her to numerous countries and cultures — far from beaten paths — on behalf of many who did not know how deeply their stories matter. Zelaya is also a licensed Assemblies of God minister. She and her husband Rudy share one daughter.