Rod Parsley: ‘How Norvel Hayes Saved My Sister’s Life & It Can Save Yours’

The accident changed everything.

Her femur was dislocated, her hip shattered, her pelvis compromised, her womb punctured, and her baby was in peril. The trauma of the accident had caused the baby to begin to crown. The decision after the triage team’s examination was unanimous: surgery was immediately necessary, which would most likely cost the baby’s life to save hers.

Her response was immediate. “Give me a few minutes,” she said. The medical staff reluctantly left the room. She and her husband prayed. Her decision was calm, but firm. When the doctors returned, she said, “Whatever has to happen to me, I’m going to keep my baby.”

They warned her of the potential consequences. They attempted to persuade her to change her mind. She was unmoved. They examined her again and found that her baby had inexplicably moved back into proper position in her womb! After a very long stay in the hospital, she was sent home with a prognosis of no more than three months of life. Miraculously, she carried the baby to term and brought her into the world through natural childbirth, even with a still-shattered hip.

However, the delay caused her hip to become irreparable. Despite the best efforts of medical science—including five consecutive total hip replacements—she did not fully recover from the damage that had occurred, and she became dependent upon painkillers in the process. Months of dependency turned into years. Eventually, she was living on thirty-plus prescriptions a day, given three months to live, and sent home to die.

Only those who have experienced the effects of a family member with a substance abuse disorder can begin to understand what our family experienced as a result of my sister’s physical, mental, and emotional dependency upon those medications. We searched for answers anywhere we thought they could be found. I had recently begun pastoring, and although we were experiencing an unusual measure of growth and success, my sister Debbie’s condition weighed on every thought and every decision.

A friend of ours told us about a man who was successful in dealing with situations like my sister was experiencing. He was scheduled to have a public meeting in a city a few hours’ drive from our home. We had only weeks left with Debbie, and she was growing worse every day. We arranged to attend.

The entire story of what transpired in the next few days is too long to detail here, but I can summarize it by saying this: by the end of the businessman Bible teacher’s meeting in a hotel ballroom, my sister was totally, completely, and miraculously free from bondage to pain medication. Her mind, which had been so completely overtaken by the forces of darkness, was totally restored by the power of God. Her spirit was set free. She was able to return to normal activity. Her life, which was to be measured by no more than three months, continued for more than three decades. She became the greatest prayer warrior for my life and our church that I have ever known.

Not only was Debbie irreversibly changed, but our church was also revolutionized as well. I returned to the pulpit and announced, “From this day forward, anything in the book of Acts is not only possible in this church, it is entirely probable.” Signs, wonders, and miracles began to occur that very service, and they have not diminished in the many years since then.

The man whose meeting we attended was not a profound expositor of deep revelation. He spoke very plainly and practically. He was not a gifted orator. He used everyday examples and simple words. He had snow-white hair, a gentle disposition, and an unassuming demeanor. His unusual power was not in his thundering voice or his towering intellect. It was in his intimate connection with our almighty and everlasting God, in his submission to a resurrected Christ, and in his sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He was a businessman and a southern gentleman who was called to teach the Bible. He obeyed, and people’s lives were transformed.

His name was Norvel Hayes. It became my privilege to know him as an example of a life of faith, a confidant regarding the things of ministry, and as a true and faithful friend. Many of the truths I heard for the first time in that meeting so many years ago have been reproduced in this book, How to Live and Not Die. It is my profound pleasure to recommend it to you without hesitation and with great encouragement.