Sid Roth - God's Response to My Immature Prayer Shocked Me
Sid Roth: Welcome, Holy Spirit. Go and flow. My guest, Shane Winnings, was raised in a religious home but saw no miracles. He lived like the world but thought he was going to Heaven. Shane, what was your lifestyle like?
Shane Winnings: Yeah. I grew up going to church, but the churches that we went to, there was never really an emphasis on miracles. I think I heard about a miracle one time with some missionaries in Africa, somewhere far off, something that I didn't have any validation of, and I just didn't have a grid for any of that. And I also grew up believing that becoming a Christian was about going to Heaven someday, and so I was kind of left trying to figure out what's my purpose on the Earth until then. And as a result, I just began to kind of live like everybody else. Now, all of my friends were Christians because my mom, she raised me right. She said, "Hey, make sure you have Christian friends". But when I got to college, the first person who invited me to a drinking party was a Christian, and I slowly just began to feel like this is normal. This is what everyone is doing. Even as I got involved with church, everyone else was also, in some way, I would say now compromising. And it wasn't until I had some encounter with God that I began to realize there's a lot more to being a Christian than just going to Heaven someday.
Sid Roth: And life actually really began to even get tougher.
Shane Winnings: Oh, yeah.
Sid Roth: What happened?
Shane Winnings: Yeah, so after college, I went into the Army as an officer, and I lost a couple of soldiers during my time as a platoon leader. I was 22 years old. I was in charge of about 80 guys, and we lost a soldier to suicide. We lost another soldier in Afghanistan. And when I went to Afghanistan, we were attacked with rockets and mortar fire over 155 times in 6 months just on our camp, not even talking about going outside of the camp for missions. And so all of this trauma plus getting home and my best friend... We made it home from Afghanistan, and then he died in a car accident. And so it just began to pile up, and I was coping with the things of the world even though I was also a guitarist and a drummer at a megachurch at the time. I was living in this tension of, I know I need to be in church because I was raised in church, and I intellectually believe, but something was missing in my heart. And I got to this place where I didn't care if I lived or died anymore, and I lived in that state for about 6 months.
Sid Roth: Then you had a very strange date.
Shane Winnings: I did.
Sid Roth: Tell me about that strange date.
Shane Winnings: Yeah. There was a young lady in my church that I was kind of interested in, and we had hung out in a group setting and asked if I would go to dinner, and I was like, "Okay, sure". And I'm thinking, I'm looking at the menu. I'm about to order a dessert or something like that, and she goes, "Shane, I know who you really are". And she says, "I don't even know if you're really saved. You're a hypocrite". And she began to call me out, and I'm thinking, "Well, I guess"...
Sid Roth: That's a nice date.
Shane Winnings: Yeah. I closed the menu. I'm like, "You have my attention. I don't think I'm going to be eating". And she began to tell me the Gospel, the real Gospel, why Jesus came. I immediately, I get filled with tears at one point as she tells me a testimony of a tumor shrinking under her hand. And it was like a light came out of the ceiling that didn't exist. I saw a physical light, and it hit me in the chest. And I felt the tangible presence of God, and I just knew I need to go home. And I went home, and I sat on my bed, and I'm balancing these emotions of, I just had this encounter, but I also still don't want to be alive anymore, and I'm kind of working these two things out. And I don't hear the audible voice of the Lord, but I have a thought that's directed at me, and it said, "Shane, you have never lived for Me one day in your whole life," and I was convicted. I was cut to the core, and I realized, "Oh, my gosh. This is God". And I immediately knew I'm guilty. I have professed, I've had an intellectual belief of Christ, but my life has been far from Him. But then the Lord came with His love, and I was overwhelmed by the forgiveness of Jesus. And so I said, "Lord, I don't want my life anymore. I'm giving it to You, and I'm sorry that I haven't lived for You a day in my life, but I'll live for You every day of my life after tonight," and I've never been the same since, and that was 8 years ago.
Sid Roth: And then a man by the name of Jacob takes you further.
Shane Winnings: That's right. Yeah, so Jacob was a guy in my church who I thought was so weird. He was one of those guys who was jumping around. He was dancing during worship. You just don't really do that. But it was funny because his wife was my worship leader, and I played the drums. I knew immediately when I got saved I needed to talk to Jacob. And so I hang out with Jacob. We go to breakfast, and I'm telling him everything that's happening, and I'm like, "My life is just getting flipped upside down. I'm reading in the Bible. I'm reading about miracles. I think miracles are for today". And he's like, "Dude, let's pray". And so we go sit in his car, and he is just like, "This is just an act of faith. Hold your hands out". And so I hold my hands out, and he begins to pray for me to move in the gift of healing. And really he's just praying for me to believe that it's possible. It's not like he's giving me something. He's helping me understand this is the Christian life. And I start feeling tingling in my hand, and look, I never grew up with a grid for this. I'll keep saying it. I was the skeptic, but I can't deny what I was feeling in my hands. I was feeling electricity. I was feeling heat. And then we just both were overcome by this crazy laughter. It was like the joy of the Lord filled that car, and we laughed for probably five straight minutes where I tried to make myself stop. I was thinking, "This is crazy. Who am I? What is happening right now? I'm going to make myself stop laughing," and I couldn't do it. And I just felt the Lord encouraging me, saying, "This is Me. Just enjoy what I'm doing right now". And that began a journey of walking out, healing and seeing it everywhere.
Sid Roth: Shane prays for, get this, over 500 people, and nothing happened. But he didn't give up. That's the key. And then his miracle ministry exploded. Be right back.
Sid Roth: Shane's best friend, Jacob, prays for him. Then Shane prays for over 500 people, and nothing happened. No one healed. So what did you do next?
Shane Winnings: Man, after Jacob prayed for me, I was filled with faith. And so after I would leave the police academy for the day, I would say, "Lord, where do you want me to go"? And I would pray for 10 people, and I did this for almost 2 months, so about 500 people. And I never saw anyone healed in front of my eyes. Now, I know people could have been healed later, but I didn't see any for about 500 people. And I remember I was sitting in my Jeep outside of a Safeway in Tacoma, Washington, which is a grocery story. And I said, "Lord", and this was my immature, just honest prayer. I said, "Lord, You've got to start healing some people". I said, "I'm telling all these people that You're going to heal them, and You're not, and You look a little silly out there. And I just want You to know"...
Sid Roth: You shifted it all on God.
Shane Winnings: I did. I did. I said, "I just want You to know that I still believe that You're the healer, and I'm never going to stop". And I got out of my Jeep, and there was a guy standing right there, just like always. There's a lot of homeless people in that area, and he said, "Do you have a couple bucks"? And I said, "Sure. I've got $2, but can I pray for you"? And he starts telling me about all these issues in his body, and the first thing we prayed for was his knee. And again, I was like a skeptic, and so I don't like to put my hands on people because I don't want them to think, "I felt this because you were touching me". So I would hover my hands. So I'm hovering my hands around his knee, and I'm just praying a simple prayer: "In the Name of Jesus, I command this knee to be healed". And he kicked his leg out straight, and he yelled. He was like, "Whoa," and I'm freaking out. I'm down on my knees. I'm like, "What"? And he's like, "My knee is hot, man". And He's like, "What does that mean"? I said, "I don't know. Test it out". And so he starts running laps around the parking lot. He's instantly healed, and he runs back to me, and he says, "Okay, I've got more. I've got a kidney. I've got a toe. Do it again. Do it again".
Sid Roth: So, yeah. You, you went through the police academy. You saw miracles. Then God put you through what you call the Holy Spirit Academy.
Shane Winnings: Yeah. This was just, I came under some great teaching through sermons I found online by some people that have been on this show, and I spent time with the Lord in my room. And I just read the Bible, and I read and read and read and read, and again, I had this attitude of, "Lord, I believe it's for today". And I was constantly going after things. It was cool to hear Marty talking about words of knowledge. Every day, I would go in my local park or in University of Washington Tacoma campus, and there would be people all around, and I would just go practice words of knowledge, and I would get it wrong all the time, and I would look silly all the time.
Shane Winnings: But I was like, I'm hungry for this, and over...
Sid Roth: Why didn't you give up?
Shane Winnings: Because I just knew that, I had a knowing, there was more.
Sid Roth: You knew it was true.
Shane Winnings: I knew it was true. No matter what you'd seen. Yes. I said, "This word has to be true above my experience always, no matter how uncomfortable it is". And I just kept going after it, and sometimes I'd see a little bit, and that would spark that fire even more. And after about six months of doing that, I started to get some really cool words of knowledge, see some really amazing healings. And my buddy, Jacob, again, he told me years later... He told me, and I think he spoke at my wedding. He was my best man, and he said, "You know what? I was actually jealous for a little while of Shane because he would text me every day with these crazy miracles, and I went to Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry, and I wasn't seeing miracles every day, and he just got saved". But we did a lot together, and so it was just amazing to watch God work in my life and to think I was humbled because just 8 months prior, I was a foul-mouthed guy who was sleeping around, who was addicted to alcohol, who wanted to be dead, and now God has totally redeemed my life, and He's using me to further His Kingdom. That's the greatest honor I could ever experience.
Sid Roth: Only God, only God. Now, tell about your first open vision that led you to meet the woman that would become your wife.
Shane Winnings: So I was in Starbucks down in Florida where I live now. I was just home visiting from Washington. And I just wanted to get a coffee and read my Bible. And I'm sitting here. I'm getting ready to order, and I'd been saved for, I'd been born again for about 18 months. So I was not necessarily always looking for a word. I would say that first year I was always, "Give me a word for this person, this person". I was zealous. But I'd started to kind of settle in and realize, "Hey, God will interrupt my life, and He'll give me words at times". And so I'm in line at Starbucks, and I look at this gentleman in front of me, and all of a sudden it's like I can see a hologram or something. I see a screen where I watch this guy walk up the stairs of this cheap-looking motel, and he goes into a room on the second floor, and I felt gross inside. I felt like I was watching something bad online. And I was like, "Lord, what is happening right now? Why are you showing me this"? And He said, "This man is going to commit adultery, and I want you to stop it". And I'm like, "I'm just here to get a coffee, and read my Bible". But He's like, "I want you to do the things you're reading about". And so I asked this guy, I said, "Hey, this is going to sound super awkward, but the Lord just showed me something about you, I think, and I need to talk to you in private". And so he's like, "All right," and we go out into the parking lot where there's no one around. And I say, "Hey, I was looking at you, and I just saw this, and I believe it's from the Lord". And as I begin to share, it's like I went from a place of wondering if it was God to I began to feel like, "Oh, this is the Lord". I had an assurance within me, and then I began to get more words of knowledge. I said, "And I feel like you have an addiction to pornography," and then the Lord gave me another thought. It's affecting his son. And so I said, "Do you have a son"? and he said, "Yes". And I said, "This is affecting your relationship with your son," and the guy just looked like the secrets of his heart had been laid bare, which is what the Bible tells us, 1 Corinthians 14. And so I just said, "Look, God loves your marriage, and He wants to save it. This is His mercy. Don't do this tonight". And so, after that encounter, I shared that testimony on Facebook. It goes viral on Facebook, and my wife, Her name is Jessica. She liked the post or commented or something.
Sid Roth: Before she was your wife.
Shane Winnings: Yeah, yeah. I didn't know her at all. I was actually in a period of singleness with the Lord because the Lord told me, "You're too distracted". He's like, "You're heart is pure now. You know you've been made new, but you're too distracted trying to find your wife. Just focus on Me". And so I'm in this phase, but then I see this picture of this beautiful lady, and I click on her profile, and it's Jesus. It's not like bikini pictures and Jeremiah 29:11. She actually, she seems like a pure girl. And so I'm like, "Lord, I think this girl is really pure. I kind of want to ask her, talk to her". And He goes, "Well, why not"? And so I said, "Okay". So I sent her a message, and...
Sid Roth: Excuse me. When He says, "Well, why not"? is this just an inner thought?
Shane Winnings: It's not.
Sid Roth: Is this of...
Shane Winnings: Yeah. I asked a question. I said, "Lord, can I message this girl"? And I had a thought, "Why not? Your heart is pure. You're not looking for something that you used to be looking for".
Sid Roth: But how did you know it was God? It might have been your thought.
Shane Winnings: You don't know until you take that leap of faith, and you figure out along the way. And so I sent her a message. We talked for a couple days, and I remember I had 2 days left on my vacation in Florida. I woke up from a dead sleep one night at, like, 1 in the morning, and I had a thought: "How far away is Lee University"? which is where she went to school in Tennessee. And I looked it up, and it was about an 8-hour drive. And so then I had this crazy thought, and I said, "Lord, can I take her on a date"? And I had another thought: "Why not"? And so I sent her a message, and I said, "This is going to sound crazy, but I'd love to drive up and just take you to dinner". And she says, "I want to pray about it," and I'm like, "Well, please do". And I hadn't told her any of my previous conversation with the Lord. So she gets back to me I think the next day, and she says, "All I could think was, why not"? And I'm laughing because I'm like, this is the Lord. This is going to be my wife for sure. And I go up. I take her to dinner. I fly home to Washington the next day. We did long distance for 9 months, and we've been married now for 6 years with two beautiful boys. And, yeah, it's amazing.
Sid Roth: But then you go on a 44-city tour, so to speak, and while you were in these various cities, you saw major miracles break out.
Shane Winnings: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I had begun preaching on social media, specifically on TikTok when COVID hit and the lockdowns came. And there were only maybe 10 of us in the beginning stages of the lockdown preaching on TikTok, and so I blew up to half a million followers in a couple of months.
Sid Roth: Wow.
Shane Winnings: And so I'm preaching on social media. I'm preaching live every Monday night. And I had this idea. I'm just going to gather all of my followers that I can in every major city around the country, and I'm going to gather them in parks and fields, because that's where I'm comfortable, and I'm going to preach the gospel, and we're going to lay hands on the sick, and we're going to cast demons out. And so I started rallying as many people as I could, and I went to 44 cities around the country. We raised all the money through social media. And in some of these cities, we saw incredible miracles. Well, let me back up. Over TikTok, live, I was preaching one night, and I had a word of knowledge. My wife and I were praying a couple hours earlier together because couples who pray together stay together. And so we were praying together, and I had a word of knowledge: brain issue. And I knew it was for the live that I was going to be preaching later that night. And so I get on the live. There's maybe 40 people who are streaming, which, it ended up growing to 5,000 during my last live. The Lord really exploded that social ministry. It was amazing. But there were 40 people there. I preached the Gospel, and then I would begin to move into healing and all of that. And I said, "Is there anyone on here with a brain issue"? And there was one woman, and she commented. She said, "I have a brain aneurysm, and it's growing a daughter aneurysm on top of that," and it was like level four or whatever is the highest level. It was about to, it could rupture at any moment. That can be fatal. And she said, "I've had a headache for 30 days straight that nothing can fix, no medication, nothing". So I said, "Everyone who is on this live, reach your hand to the screen". And I just said, "Aneurysm, leave in Jesus' Name. Brain, be healed," something simple like that. And she was commenting in like all caps. She's like, "My headache is gone. My headache is gone"! And I'm like, "Well, that's awesome," but I'm still this, I'm not a skeptic now, but I'm like, "Let's get you a brain scan". And she said, "Well, I have one coming up in a few weeks," and she reported back that the doctors were dumbfounded because it looked like someone had carved out where the issue was. They said there was no possible way that it could have shrunk in that amount of time, that it could have just disappeared on its own. They couldn't explain it, and she was all fired up, and she said, "Oh, I can explain it," and she began to testify to the doctors. And so we had that medically verified miracle. And then when I was in Nashville, we were doing a meeting in the park. There was a girl who got wheeled in who had epilepsy. And now my wife has epilepsy, and here is what's amazing, is that you can be walking through something and still have faith for someone else even if you haven't seen it yourself. That's elevating the Word of God above your experience. And so what people didn't know was my wife had recently had a seizure, and now I'm praying for this girl with epilepsy. Well, I command that thing to leave. She gets out of the wheelchair. She's walking around. Then she's dancing around, and eventually her mom is pushing the empty wheelchair out of the meeting, and she's totally healed. And then here is the best part: She goes and gets a brain scan done. She gets one done right after, and she gets another one done 6 months later. There is zero trace of epilepsy in her brain, and she's able to get a driver's license, and now she has a job that she drives her car to because God touched her.
Shane Winnings: That is amazing.
Sid Roth: Are you... Shane, how do you come up with a 63-day devotional? I've never heard of such a thing.
Shane Winnings: That's a great question. So science has shown that it takes about three weeks to form a habit, but it takes three times as long as that or 63 days to reprogram your mind. And so to sum it up, and a Christian neuroscientist figured this out, but our brain has neural pathways. They're like roads. And so say that you have a tendency to be afraid. Well, whenever you encounter a fearful situation, your brain is sending all these neurons saying, "Hey, it's time to be afraid". Well, as you speak the Truth of God's Word, because the Bible is true and science proves God, as you speak the Truth of God's Word, science has shown that you can shrink that neural pathway of fear, and then you can grow a new neural pathway of faith. And so what's cool is if you see all these people, and you're like, "How are they so bold all the time"? Because they've done it over and over and over. And so instead of having a tendency to be anxious or afraid, I have a tendency to be courageous because I know the God that lives inside of me.
Sid Roth: It's time for you to make a decision. I want you to say this very brief prayer out loud, but mean it. Say, "Dear God, I'm a sinner. I believe the Blood of Jesus washed me clean. It's so good to be clean". Shane, pray for people right now.
Shane Winnings: I will. Father, I thank You in the Name of Jesus for every person that's watching right now. God, You know every need. You know every ailment, every sickness, every illness, and right now, in the Name of Jesus, I pray that healing would break out on the other side of this screen and in this audience. Lord, I thank You that every sickness would flee, every pain would go, every disorder would be brought into alignment the way You designed them in the Name of Jesus so that You get the glory. Amen.