I would like to share with you an account from “the Healing Anointing,” which is a book by Pastor Kenneth Hagin. In the book, he tells how God healed a crippled man in one of his meetings. The moment he laid his hands on the man and commanded healing in the name of Jesus, the man threw away his crutches and began to walk. This caught my attention becausePastor Hagin wrote it was done in the midst of a dead, dry meeting filled with uninterested, lukewarm people. I could not help thinking that we often believe we have to feel something and the crowd has to be excited for a miracle to happen. This, of course, is not true. It is often quite the opposite. God is sovereign and moves whenever and however He wants. Every student of the Bible knows this, but we easily forget. The battle seems to us hinge on our emotions. I reminded myself that we need to get beyond our emotions, and operate from a position of faith. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not see,” When God moves into the situation and heals someone, it has nothing to do with the presence or absence of emotions. It has everything to do with believing God is who He said He is and will do what He said He would do. Understanding this is especially vital for preachers. We always seem to be trying to sense the emotions of the person we are praying for, or of the congregation watching us. All too often, our emotions and thus our faith levels are affected adversely by doing so.
As I read Pastor Hagin’s account of this crippled man’s healing, I remembered Elijah’s words to King Ahab (1 Kings 17:1 (NKJV)). He said, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” Three and a half years later, Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundant rain” (1 Kings 18:41 (NKJV)). Elijah never doubted what God told him. Now, after all this time, the coming miracle would depend upon the words that came from Elijah’s mouth. Some things never change. Many times, miracles depend on what comes from our mouths.
Elijah sent his servant to look toward the sea to report back on the coming rain. 1 Kings 18: 43 (NKJV) tells us the servant reported, “There is nothing.” Even when his servant came back seven times with the same negative report, Elijah did not waver. He chose to steadfastly believe what God said about what the authority of his words. Even though it looked impossible because the sky was clear, he refused to consider any other possibility but rain. He simply kept sending the servant back, waiting patiently until the rain came. He said it and it was going to rain! Elijah knew, as we do, that with God, all things are possible. He never forgot it was to be only at his word that God would move.
Some things never change. We are tempted to doubt and settle for a spiritual drought, even though God promised that if we open our mouths in faith, it would rain down an abundance of His strong presence. We settle for dry places, when God promised living waters. We settle for sickness, when God promised healing. We settle for poverty, when God promised we would prosper in all things and be in health as our souls prosper (3 John 2). As I continued to read Pastor Hagin’s testimony of the crippled man’s healing, I had to ask myself whether I had been settling for less than God promised. Was I willing to speak miracles into reality? What about you? Are you willing, without doubt or wavering?
Faith is never a function of what you see as the natural circumstances around you. It never depends on what someone else says or does. Faith simply believes what God said is true. One of the powerful truths Jesus said is found in Mark 11:23-24. The NIV version says, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. {24} Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” The timeless principle is this. There is power and authority in your words when they agree with God’s words. (Remember, principles are not worth much until they are put into practice.)
Now would be a good time to reflect on how your faith has been functioning. Have you been operating in the faith God has given you, or have you been reluctant to speak into existence what you have not yet seen? Perhaps there has been a dry period concerning faith in your life. If you have been in a faith drought, it is the time to say, “I hear the sound of abundant rain!” Just believe what you say, and like Elijah, wait patiently until God honors your words… and He will!
It may be that you are in a place of transition as you read this. Perhaps it feels like you are never going to get beyond today’s circumstances. I have good news. Yesterday is dead and gone and today will soon become another yesterday. Your yesterdays may have been good, bad or ugly, but they are not qualified to determine your tomorrows. Only God and the words you speak can determine them. God is the God of your tomorrows. Put your faith in Him into action. It will move mountains. Keep speaking what you have believed and prayed for. Speak it into life and speak life into it! God is faithful.
Now, bathe your drying up dreams and visions in the living waters the Lord Jesus Christ has provided you. Do what the Prophet Malachi said in Habakkuk 2:2. Write your vision and make it plain. Then, speak life into it until it comes to pass. The only way you lose is if you quit. Quitters never win, but winners never quit! You are a winner and a champion for Jesus. You have the devil under your feet. Open our mouth and give that loser, Satan, the kind of headache that only words spoken in faith can bring. Now, go tell someone what God is about to do. Tell them you hear the sound of abundant rain. Declare to them that a flood of God’s mercy, grace and favor are coming.
Dr. Bob Abramson