The Bryce Crawford Podcast

Episode 1: "My Healing Testimony"

Date: November 19, 2021
Host: Bryce Crawford

Main Theme and Purpose

In this inaugural episode, Bryce Crawford shares his personal testimony of miraculous physical healing, attributing the experience to the power of God. Through storytelling, Bryce explores the role of spiritual gifts, personal encounters with the Holy Spirit, and the ways in which God demonstrates His presence in everyday life. The episode is intended to encourage listeners in their faith, showcase the relevance of testimonies, and give all glory to God.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Power and Purpose of Testimonies

• Bryce clarifies the role of a testimony:

  “The biggest mistake we have with testimonies is... we try to point the fingers at us, but a testimony is something that we didn’t do. The testimony should be pointing fingers to God.” (02:00)

• Testimonies are foundational in Christian life, serving as evidence of God’s work rather than personal achievement.

2. Spiritual Journey: Rededication and Digging Deeper

• Bryce recounts growing up in church but not fully committing until December 2020, when he “rededicated” his life to Jesus and began serious Bible study (04:00).

• Observes that understanding the Holy Spirit's activity deepens with engagement in Scripture:

  “You kind of, like, understand things a little bit better when you dive into scripture.” (04:30)

• Expresses early uncertainty about whether miraculous healing by the Holy Spirit still happens today, despite biblical precedent (05:00).

3. The Wrestling Injury and Pain

• Wrestling since sixth grade, Bryce describes chronic bursitis in his knees and frequent finger injuries (06:50).
• On Thursday, November 11, 2021, he reinjures his knee before a trip to Chattanooga for a youth ministry event, leaving him in significant pain despite chiropractor treatment (08:30).
• Describes physical pain: “I'm limping horribly... I don't want to move. So I just kind of lay around this chair reading this book called The Imitation of Christ.” (09:15)

4. Providence and a Divine Encounter

• While making faces at a house security camera, the host family and their visiting missionary friends from Ecuador—Poncho (dad), Pitti (mom), and their children—notice Bryce (11:40).
• The security camera antics connect Bryce with Poncho, who soon begins speaking into Bryce’s life.

5. Supernatural Knowledge and Prayer: The First Miracle Moment

• Through Pitti translating, Poncho shares divinely inspired knowledge about Bryce’s life and secret prayers:

  “Poncho starts telling me things about my life I’ve never told anyone in my entire life… things that I’ve prayed for that I never told anyone I prayed for.” (13:00)

• This revelation moves Bryce to tears, confirming God’s reality for him in a deeply personal way:

  “If nothing else happens in my life, I can’t deny God, because this has to be from God.” (14:00)

6. Physical Healing: The Second Miracle Moment

• As Poncho's son prays, Bryce sets low expectations for healing:

  “In my mind, I’m like, my leg’s not important… God has no intention of healing me right now.” (16:00)

• The son prays, and Bryce describes a physical sensation:

  “When he lays his hand on my knee, my knee gets really hot… calm and tranquil. After the prayer… it was as if nothing had ever been wrong with my knee.” (17:00)

• Bryce celebrates by running and jumping, shocking friends who witnessed his earlier pain (18:00).
• Later, while worshiping, Bryce feels prompted to remove finger bandages and discovers his swelling and bruising are gone (18:45):

  “God healed me. And I’m so grateful for it. I have no reason to deny God because of the power of God that I experienced. It was so mind-blowing.” (19:00)

7. Lasting Impact: Changed Heart and Further Spiritual Gifts

• Reflects on how the experience changed his willingness to surrender and trust God completely:

  “A week ago, if you’d asked me if I would drop everything for God, I would say yes, because that’s what you wanted to hear… but today, no doubt, I would drop everything just to praise him.” (20:15)

• The following night, Bryce discerns specific needs in a stranger during ministry prayer, experiencing God moving through him:

  “God is moving through me now and telling him things about his life that I didn’t know… He starts bawling his eyes out.” (21:45)

• Emphasizes the importance of humility in ministry and recognizing God as the source:

  "When God moves through us to touch people's hearts, there's nothing we did by ourself. It's God moving through us." (22:30)

8. Ongoing Experiences of Spiritual Insight

• A girl contacts Bryce on social media for prayer for her family. As he prays, he receives an impression of her specific situation and shares it, which she confirms astonished (23:50).
• Bryce is again awed by God's faithfulness and the “incredible” reality of God’s personal knowledge and love.

9. Reflection on God’s Personal Love and Sovereignty

• Bryce closes with thoughts on the magnitude of God’s love, referencing statistical improbabilities:

  “There’s a 1 in 400 trillion chance that a human being is born. And yet you were born with those odds… and God is personal to you and chooses to know you…” (25:00)

• Shares a metaphor: even knowing humanity’s frequent disobedience, God “still leaves a seat open at the table for us with our name reserved for it.” (27:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On what makes a testimony powerful:

  “A testimony is something that we didn’t do. The testimony should be pointing fingers to God.” (02:00)

• When Poncho relates secret prayers:

  “He’s telling this to my face. I’m getting so excited because I just… the power of God is so beautiful.” (13:00)

• During the moment of physical healing:

  “As he’s praying for my knee… when he lays his hand on my knee, my knee gets really hot. I’m getting chills… calm and tranquil. After the prayer, he says amen. I extend my knee and it was as if nothing was wrong with it ever.” (17:00)

• Describing his transformation:

  “Like, if you had asked me if I would drop everything for God… but deep down, it would be hard for me because I just didn’t understand it. And like today, if you asked me that question, no doubt I would drop everything just to praise him. Everything.” (20:15)

• On God’s personal love:

  “Even though God knows that we’ll disobey him, he still loves us and shows us grace and still chooses to know us. And he still leaves a seat open at the table for us with our name reserved for it…” (27:00)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] - Introduction and opening prayer
• [02:00] - On the purpose of testimonies
• [04:00] - Bryce’s spiritual background and rededication
• [06:50] - Background on wrestling injury
• [09:15] - Describing pain and frustration before the healing
• [11:40] - Meeting Poncho and his family (divine appointment)
• [13:00] - Poncho reveals secret details (“word of knowledge” event)
• [17:00] - Dramatic healing of knee and fingers (“as if nothing was wrong with it ever”)
• [20:15] - Transformation in attitude toward surrendering to God
• [21:45] - God uses Bryce to minister to another at the event
• [23:50] - Social media prayer and receiving revelation
• [25:00] - Reflection on the improbability of life and God’s personal love
• [27:00] - Closing theological reflection on grace and belonging

Tone and Style

• The language is passionate, energetic, and colloquial; Bryce shares with warmth and genuine excitement.
• Storytelling is central, with transparent emotion (laughter, tears) and frequent expressions of awe for God’s actions.

Summary for New Listeners

Bryce Crawford’s first podcast episode is an authentic, moving recount of a weekend that radically affirmed his faith. Through chronicling his physical healing, supernatural insight from near-strangers, and personal transformation, Bryce aims to inspire listeners to believe in God’s power today. He emphasizes that testimonies belong to God, not the storyteller, and closes with a reminder of God’s improbable, personal love for every individual, regardless of their flaws.