We all had been prayin' that God would arise Still nothing would move, all except for my eyes Then someone said Jesus was in the next town And if we went there and looked, he could surely be found At the place he was staying, there were crowds at the door But we'd made up our minds what we'd all come there for So I closed my eyes tight as they hauled me upstairs To the flat of the roof, and they laid me down there And my friends tore a hole to the room down below Through mud and the tiles and the thatching, and so They lowered me down in the midst of the crowd There was coughing and yelling and laughing out loud And fear rose inside me as they stared at me there That God or this teacher wouldn't answer our prayers But I heard softly spoken, "Take courage, my son Your sins are forgiven;" the fear came undone Then the same gentle voice asked the ones there inside "Why do such evil thoughts fill your hearts and your minds? Do ya think I've no right to my words here today That I bluff and blaspheme by these things that I say? What's easier to say, 'Your sins are washed clean'
Or 'Stand up and walk' since the proof will be seen? So to show you that God's in these words I've just said I say, 'Stand up and walk; go home with your bed.'" And at once then a power, alive and so strong Shot through me, and all was made right that was wrong I got quick to my feet, and I picked up that bed And pushed up through the throng with his words in my head And the crowd came alive as I walked to the street Much shouting and clapping and stamping of feet My friends and I danced like we'd just won a war And we laughed 'til we cried, and praised God some more When we came back next morning, he was down by the sea So we patched up the roof they'd torn open for me Then we listened to him, 'til the people had gone Then I went up to thank him for all he had done He just smiled as I tried to match words to my heart Then he said, "It's a pleasure for me on my part But it was your faith that let me come in Because you believed, now you're free of your sin Your faith was the door that let me come in And because you believed, you've been healed Set free of your sin."