Hayley's Personal Testimony

This week Hayley is sharing her personal testimony with you. It's one of significant answers to prayer in her life and her need for us to all keep her in our prayers as she acts as Steps to Life's Bible Worker.

Here is 'her story'.

I didn’t go into the city this week, instead I felt impressed to write a little of my journey as I was called by God into the book ministry.

But first, I would like to say a sincere THANK YOU to all those who have sent in words of encouragement and for any financial help which keeps us being able to have resources to give out, and especially for all the wonderful support through the power of prayer as I would not be able to do this work with out our wonderful Father in Heaven leading us to go forward.

I would also like to share with you a bit of insight as to how I got started into giving out books.

I don’t know about you, but it is something that I always wanted to do but didn’t know how. Also for me I had health issues that physically stopped me from doing this sort of work.

I have back injuries, and other medical issues which I won’t bore you with, but I have had my body just shut down twice to the point where I sat and slept in a chair for three years each time my body shut down. I couldn’t use my arms, etc. My health state was so bad I couldn’t even dress myself. Even through our struggles God is always looking out for us and has a way to bring us healing, physically, mentally and spiritually. He has done this for me more than once. I am very dependent on Him.

It is amazing how the printed word can speak to us differently each time we read it.

I have a wonderful husband and daughter who took care of me through these hard times and who have gone through this journey with me. My husband set up a little table that adjusts so I could read as I could not even hold a book.

I started to read Steps to Christ even though I had read it in the past, but this time was different, it was exactly what I needed and I now have a deeper love for Jesus Christ. Over the next several years I was given some wonderful Spirit of Prophecy books which gave me a love for reading these books which are so full of information and made the Bible come to life for me and gave me the ability to understand what the Bible is saying. When I previously read these books I really struggled to understand them.

Over the last 12 years we have seen so many prophetic events being fulfilled. Then in 2020 the pandemic happened and we know things went haywire.

I was at a family Sabbath lunch and my nephew came a little later and he was telling us about the protests that had been going on in the city of Melbourne and mentioned there were people from our church who were handing out books.

So the next week I made a few phone calls to find out who these people were and if I could be of any use.

I said I couldn’t use my arms much and couldn’t stand for long but I at least I might be able to pile the books together on a display table or something, to help the others in the group.

So Sabbath came the following week and there was a protest in the city that was expected to be around several hundred thousand people, I asked my husband to take me into help. To be honest when I think about it now I really don’t know what I was thinking but God had a plan I just had to follow my heart. We met up with our little group and there were some wonderfully willing people full of the same desire to get the message out. Then the crowds started turning up.

There were so many people and so few workers and yet so many to be reached that God enabled me to pick up an arm load of books and pass them out and we all did this for the next few hours until the protest was over. God strengthened and prompted me to do this.

After the protest was over, our group went around to Flinders Street Railway Station, in Melbourne's CBD, as there has been a loyal group that has been giving out books there for at least 19 years. We joined this group and have been part of their book ministry ever since.

So God can use any of us in what ever condition we are in. He can change us in so many ways to bring us to do His will. He has done this for me.

We only need to look at Ellen White to see the health struggles she had to endure through her life and how the Devil tried to prevent her from preaching or writing. She would get people to help her get out of bed and even carry her to the pulpit to preach but once she started preaching her health would come good and God would give her the ability to stand and the words to speak.

I still have health problems, but God says as we go forward in His work He will enable us and this is how He also heals us in many different ways.

I could not stand and now I can be on my feet for hours at a time. I could not use my arms but now am able to use my arms. I am still a work in progress so after a lot of study and prayer I decided to ask to be anointed. The weeks before I spent a lot of time in prayer and study asking God to bring to mind anything from my past that I needed to bring to Him in confession, anything that would be keeping me from being separated from Him and would keep me from being healed. In James 5:17 the Bible says, “confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”.

I can recommend this process that God has set out for us to do which can be a wonderful experience in bringing us close to God.

I was very blessed that just before my anointing the week before a cousin of mine and her husband had come to Melbourne who I told I was being anointed so he prayed with me there and then. They were wonderful in walking me through this process.

Before I was anointed I was asked why I wanted to be anointed and I replied with, 'for healing spiritually, mentally and physically and that I would be able to sing again as I hadn’t been able to sing because of pain in my ribs and not being able to move etc.'

After my anointing I still felt the same. Everyone went home as we all had church in the morning. I went to church the next day and I was able to sing the hymns without pain and with a clear voice which brought tears of joy streaming down my face. I felt God was telling me He has me in His hands. I felt God’s healing hand spiritually the weeks prior to my anointing and He has answered my prayers.

Now I am able to sing. I still have struggles with my health but I know where God has led me and how He is leading me and healing me along my walk with Him in ways I could not of ever imagined. He gives me strength to give out books in Melbourne's CBD and to spend an hour 30 minutes on the train to get there and the same amount of time to get home again.

God has so many blessings for each and everyone of us and is calling and waiting for each one of us to just take a step forward for Him. I recall the words of that beautiful hymn "The Saviour is waiting to enter your heart why don’t you let him come in." We all have a different path to follow and so many joys for each of us to behold, we all need to pray for the desire to save souls and to do God’s will.

God Bless you all in your walk with Jesus.

Hayley Phillips.

Please keep Hayley and her family (Stuart and Jess) in your prayers as she continues as Steps to Life's Bible Worker a day each week.