Book Review for The Miracle Ship: And the Miracles Just Keep on Coming

                                                                  

                                                                  




















                                                                    The Miracle Ship

By

Brian O’Hare

The Miracle Ship is the biography of Irish faith-healer John Gillespie. A true story, this book takes us along an incredible journey. John, as a young boy, developed Developmental Dysplasia (DDH) a rare and incurable degeneration of the bones. As John grew up, determined to carry on as normal, he went from farm worker on his parents’ farm to manual laborer as young man. Each year the pain becomes more and more unbearable. Hoping for a curing operation, all the doctors gave him was a negative prognosis. A surgery could cripple him forever. That’s when he found and turned to prayer. Not the normal everyday kind of prayer, but an intensive “Please help me” type of direct communication with Jesus and God.

Brian O’ Hare says “John’s prayer was intense; it was real; it was loaded with a single-minded, if unsophisticated worship that poured from his heart and his immense faith.”

This is not a stuffy story, but does show us the immense faith John must have had in the Lord, because it took a long time for his prayers to come true. He never gave up.

He also shows us the humorous side of God as God healed John’s foot but not his knee. ‘“Ah, come on Lord,” John ejaculated, almost without thought, ready to defend his prayer.  And, after reflection added “All right, Lord. I’ll go back to the prayer of faith again...and the fasting, Lord. But this time, it’s for my knee.” He looked at the tabernacle and added, “Okay?”  And after some thought said, “Uh, that’s both knees, Lord, Okay?”’ 

That was profound, yes, but a really funny bit.

He also tells his readers about the ability to watch his healing process when John saw the Lord “weaving a new spinal cord...” Incredible.

The first part deals with John’s healing process and his developing relationship with God.

The second part of the book starts us along John’s journey to become a faith healer—kicking and screaming. This was not part of John’s life plan. The bantering continues between John and God: “But I didn’t ask to be chosen.”  Answer: “Did you not ask to be healed? Did you not promise to help my people?” Uh, yes, John had in his desperation. So, John was obligated, and he lives up to his promise. And God starts to answer John like he was talking to his next door neighbor.

This book holds great interest in the healing process and John’s relationship with God. It gets heavy and drags when the author starts to get preachy. This book also has minor editing and formatting faults, which should be addressed. 

You can order The Miracle Ship on Amazon. The author's name is Brian O'Hare.