SID: One thing that was left out when I was interviewing Billy Burke about his marvelous healing under the Kathryn Kuhlman ministry is many years later he bumped into an usher that was there. You know he was just a young kid. He didn’t remember everything. And the ushers said that Kathryn said to him, “You will do the same thing that I am doing.” And one day Billy has been moving in miracles and he gets a phone call, a message, a voice message and the message says, “Hey hotshot, if you really got the goods, why don’t you go to the school for the blind. Why don’t you go to the school for the blind and just clear them out.” What affect did that have on you?
BILLY: Initially, I thought I dismissed it. I thought, well that’s just somebody that’s deranged or angry, or jealous and don’t understand. But the more that I thought about that voice, because up until that time I hadn’t seen any blind people healed. We’ve seen a lot of people deaf, a lot of people paralyzed, a lot of cancer people healed. But I hadn’t seen a lot of people, I hadn’t seen any. And there was something riveting about that. And I went over and I sat down at my desk and I said, “You know Lord, I don’t like this spirit that was said.” It was very condemning, very judgmental. I said, “But there’s a ray of truth in that.” And I put my hands up and I began to cry. I said, “Lord, I need to see some people that are blind, healed.” I said, “If I’m gonna represent you fully then I want to be able to fully say that I’ve seen everything that there is to see. I’m asking you for more.” And I just spent time in that presence crying out to Him. I believe in crying out to Him. And it was a week after that.
SID: What exactly, tell me some words you were crying out. Take me back to that time. Cry out one thing you cried out at that time.
BILLY: Master, I need more of your presence. I call Him Master. Master, I need more of your presence in these meetings. I need to see more tangible, more glory.
SID: Like it was almost a desperation.
BILLY: Yes.
SID: That’s what I’m catching, In that crying out he was desperate for more of God like some of you are right now.
BILLY: Hungry, desperate. And that cry, it’s hard to imitate that cry because I’m feeling now what I felt then, that importance, that need at the moment. And for all of you that are watching out there, for wherever you are don’t ever think you have to be educated than what you are. Maybe you don’t know the Bible like you think you should or you’re not a church goer. You don’t go to church at all. Maybe you’re not even a Christian today, but you have a cry. Every one of us have a cry locked up in here. Barnabas cried out. He didn’t even know the Lord. He cried out. And you have a cry and you can just get vertical and look up and begin to cry. He will hear you. He will hear you.
SID: Okay, so Billy cried out. His next meeting, would you believe the first person that he’s going to pray for is blind. What went through your mind at that point?
BILLY: I was amazed. I was out in California visiting a placed called Melody Land with Dr. Wilkerson and he had asked me to come up and he said you one end of, it was about a thousand people at the altar. He said, “You take one end and I’ll take another end.” And the first person that they brought there was a blind man. And I just said, oh my, ‘cause I had remembered a week prior I cried out. And Sid, it was amazing. I just put my hands up on his eyes and his eyes just opened right up. He began to, “Oh my God, I can see! My God, I can see.”
Pastor Wilkerson: Come on. What, what, what, what?
Man: I can see!
Pastor Wilkerson: What!
Man: I can see!
[cheers, applause]
BILLY: I was across the stage and I said, “Pastor Wilkerson, this man got his eye sight.” And he yelled back and he said, “I’m glad ‘cause I got another one for you.” So I ran over on the other side of the stage and there’s a woman standing there and she was blind, and he touched her and her eyes came open.
Pastor Wilkerson: That’s gonna change tonight by the power of the Holy Ghost, Jesus!
[cheers, applause]
SID: And since that point have any more blind people gotten their site?
BILLY: Oh amazing.
SID: Since that point it kind of opened up even a greater level of miracles for you.
BILLY: A greater realm, you know, because our faith grows. Our faith is progressive. And often times, you know, our faith follows knowledge. Our faith follows–
SID: Now did you want to see a blind person get their site back? Let’s take a look at this person right now.
BILLY: Ten years blind. How did she go blind?
Woman: There was an accident. She as poked in the eye.
BILLY: She got poked in the eyes? Everything is still there?
Woman: In her brain, the part of the brain that controls the eye doesn’t work any more. So even if they did surgery she wouldn’t–
BILLY: We had a little boy that was healed that didn’t have the optic nerve. You don’t need all the components. That’s for normal people.
Woman: Only God can make her see.
BILLY: Can’t you see out of that eye? Can you see anything at all? Can you see out of this eye? How many fingers do I have? How many fingers over here? You can’t see anything. Close your eyes, sweetheart. Close your eyes. Time will heal you. Oh we give mighty Jesus praise. Do you believe Jesus can heal your eyes? He’s touching you.
[music, singing]
BILLY: By the Holy Ghost, come on heal! Can you see out of this eye? What do I have? Close this eye. Put your hand over it. How many?
Woman: Four.
[cheers, applause]
[singing] Eyes wide open. With eyes wide open.
SID: I don’t know about, but I can feel the presence of God. Billy, what else was going on?
BILLY: In that particular meeting, when her eyes came open it riveted through that whole church. And there was a man in there that had been a hit by a tractor trailer. And his hand was locked and paralyzed. He used to play keyboard, the organ for Oral Roberts back in the early days. And he was in that meeting and his wife raised her hand and said, “Can I get him into the meeting and get him in?” So she brought him up and his hand was locked. He hadn’t played in years. He was hit head on by a tractor trailer. And the power of God hit him and he fell unto the power, on to the floor, and when he got up his hand opened up, and that place went crazy. He went over to the organ. I said, “Get over there and play something.”
SID: Faith is contagious.
BILLY: That’s it. That’s it.
SID: I can imagine when he played that, you know what? You’re about ready to catch the faith to believe for a miracle to happen in your life. And I did hear that someone’s neck was just healed in Jesus’ name. Be right after this word.
