-This I must try. It is my only option, thought Ingvar Johnsen (63) from Søgne near Kristiansand, when he saw Svein-Magne on the Norwegian talkshow called «Holmgang» October 5, 2005.
He had been a Christian his whole life and believed in the message of healing through prayer. After the TV program, he decided to call this evangelist for prayer.
Severe allergies
As early as the age of two Ingvar got proven allergies to different kinds of flowers and trees, including birch.
-I struggled a lot with this growing up. I got red eyes and was bullied at school because it always looked like I had been crying, he said.
Every year he had to stay indoors for a period of about two weeks, when birch pollen was at its heaviest. He had a total of 22 different allergies.
Hereditary asthma
When he was a teenager, he also got asthma bronchitis.
-It is a hereditary sickness in the family, and many have died from asthma, he said.
As he approached the age of 30, he first landed in the hospital with severe breathing difficulties. After that he had to use a breathing machine every morning. He had to bring a breathing machine everywhere. In addition to this, he used the asthma medication called prednisone. And the acute hospital trips became more frequent. When the asthma was at its worst, he was admitted to the hospital every other month. At the hospital, he had intravenous treatment and then he was to go on a tablet treatment for 14 days - every time. At one time the doctor sent him to Glittreklinikken in Nittedal, which is a nationwide specialty hospital for patients with lung ailments. There he received guidance and medication from some of the country's leading specialists in the field, but they did not find a permanent treatment for the pain.
Got a heart attack
As if this were not enough, he had a heart attack in 1994. After this the doctors confirmed that he had had enough angina.
-I had to have nitro spray in my pocket all the time, and I used it a lot, he says.
At the same time, he also was diagnosed with COPD. This year he started receiving disability benefits, after having for the last 15 years worked as a purchaser for the military.
Clarity in the chest
Then came the evening in 2005 when Ingvar sat and watched the talkshow «Holmgang» on the channel TV2, where the theme of the evening's debate was «healing by prayer». Svein-Magne was a guest on the program. He told about his ministry, and Ingvar felt hope. This he had to try. The next day he called Svein-Magne on his prayer telephone. This changed everything. Ingvar discovered this when he got up the day after he had received prayer.
-I picked up the breathing machine, like I used to do every morning, but I felt that I did not need it this time. My chest was clear, as if I was a normal healthy person, he says.
Everything is gone
After receiving prayer, Ingvar has been healthy and free from all the diseases that plagued him before. The allergy is a thing of the past.
-Now I can sit in the grass without any problems. It is amazing, he says.
Asthmatic bronchitis and COPD were also gone.
-I have not taken either antibiotics or other medication, and I have not needed to use the breathing machine after he prayed for me. When the doctor listens to my lungs, he finds nothing, says Ingvar.
And the angina disappeared simultaneously. Since then he has not needed to use the nitro.
-Now I feel fit as a colt, he smiles.
Quit smoking
When Ingvar received prayer, he also received answered prayer in a different field as well. He lost the desire to smoke. It had been years since he was told by the doctors that he needed to quit smoking, but he had not managed do it up until then. The morning when he discovered that he had been healed, also was the turning point of quitting smoking.
-After this I have never tasted a cigarette, and I will never in my life do it either, he said.
-Intercession gave me a nudge to get into better shape. I started walking five or six times a week and started working out a lot. It's never too late to start, he says.
