Actively Engaging in the Miraculous
There are those that reveal an almost apathetic attitude regarding the miraculous: “Well, if God is going to do it, He will just do it with no help from me….” Of course, God doesn’t need anybody’s help or permission. But those who hold to this attitude are severely limiting their possibilities in the realm of the supernatural.
It is when we act on our faith that miracles happen. One intentional act of faith can do much more than months and years of passive waiting. An act of faith accelerates a miracle. The word “accelerate” means to increase the speed of; to cause to develop or progress more quickly; to cause to happen sooner.
Many times I have challenged people I had just prayed for to do something they could not do before. If they had trouble with their eyesight or hearing, I would encourage them to actively check for any betterment of their condition. As for one, by doing this we are not only evaluating to which degree people may have been improved, but we are also challenging them to add action to their faith, which may accelerate the completion of the miracle.
For example, I would encourage a person who has say, leg trouble, to walk or move his legs as an act of faith. I have found that God honors such acts of faith. An act of faith may accelerate the miracle. Jesus told the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13.)
And it was when he stretched forth his hand that the hand became healed. Jesus didn’t heal the hand first and then have the man stretch it forth. It was while his hand was still in a withered condition that Jesus commanded him to stretch forth his hand. He encouraged him to do something he couldn’t do before. It was when he was in the very act of stretching forth his hand that it became healed. The same thing happened when Jesus told a lame man to “Arise, take up thy bed… and immediately he arose…” (Mark 2:11-12.)
This key to miracles once again applies to both the agent administering the miracle as well as the recipient. If the agent administering the miracle would act with a greater boldness by encouraging and challenging the faith and subsequent action of the recipient, and if the recipient would react in active faith, there would most definitively be an increase of the miraculous.
The Bible teaches that “…faith without works is dead” (James 2:26.) While this verse most certainly applies to the morally good works that should follow our faith or reborn righteous nature, it also is true of our corresponding actions that are to line up with our faith for healing and miracle signs and wonders.
The Ministry of Signs and Wonders:
Taking Little Steps, then Leaps and Bounds
They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Recently my family and I took a 13,000 mile ministry journey in our travel trailer as we zigzagged from Delaware to California and back, over an 8-month period. In the beginning just the first 1,700 miles seemed endless, but we completed that journey one mile at a time. When operating in the ministry of signs and wonders, we become acutely aware of our human limitations.
We look at some great ministries and wonder how they ever became that effective. But we may also attain similar greatness in ministry, because a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, then the next mile and so on, until the journey is completed. If we will be faithful, we will see the power of God increase in our lives.
“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” How true that is! However, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” because it is easy to become discouraged when we take too much on ourselves and realize later we cannot live up to the task. It is better to take little steps and keep at it until the journey is completed, than to take on too much and not finish the job.
This is very true with regard to The Ministry of Signs and Wonders. There are people who wake up one morning and decide that they should go into the full time ministry. They quit their jobs and a few months later they are broke, despondent, and mad at God. If God would want us to go into the ministry, He would surely make a way if we are willing and obedient. He will take us on a journey and train us—like He did His disciples during their three years with Christ. God leads us step by step progressively into that which He has for us.
The same is true with The Ministry of Signs and Wonders. There were times I prayed for people without seeming to see any real results. I lifted some out of wheel chairs, just to put them back again in great disappointment. But step-by-step He was training and teaching me as I was progressively growing into that which He had in mind for me.
According to Ephesians 3:20, God can do more than we can ask or think. We can certainly believe Him for anything. But if we do not have the results we expected, we should not become despondent. Consider that God is training us. He will bring us into a position where we will accomplish incredible things in His Name. Even Peter sank during his first water walking venture. At least he walked a while and then later on in his life became a choice apostle of the Lord.
It is important to understand that an important aspect of faith is that it is a gift from God. True faith is not something that we can nervously “work up.” It is that calm sense of knowing that we know. Faith cannot be worked up. Sometimes the miracle ministry requires that we shut out all the voices of doubt and boldly charge into the situation head first! At other times it seems that God grants us calmness, a sense of peace and an inner knowing concerning a certain situation.
For example, when Jesus heard about the sickness of his friend Lazarus, He did not go into panic. In this case He actually waited till he died because God had a greater plan—a resurrection. Lazarus’ resurrection glorified Jesus even more than a healing before his death would have. Many Christians have been offended because they have not yet understood this principle. God is a sovereign God, and He has the last say. A miracle is His prerogative. His delays are not His denials.
Even death can be seen as the ultimate healing, because sickness can no longer plague the dead and is now safe in the arms of Jesus. Precious in the sight of the Lord are the death of His saints. I remember Pastor Daniels’ resolve that he would be healed. He humorously said “This is my story and I’m sticking to it!” A few weeks later he died. But he did not die despondent and in unbelief. He believed God for healing and when he died, he died in faith. Why he died we may only know by and by, but his faith to the very end was and remains inspiring.
This does not mean that we should just lay back and expect miracles to happen “when and if they might happen.” This is not the attitude of faith. Those who pursue miracles will also actively pursue the working of miracles.
I want to refer back to one of the miracles I have witnessed during our outreaches. We were holding an outreach in a township in South Africa. People came from everywhere, including the countryside. One lady was brought to the outreach in a wheelbarrow. Yes, a wheelbarrow with a pillow in it to make it more comfortable. God had already done several healing miracles that night, and my faith was high. I prayed a powerful, passionate prayer over the dear lady, and then lifted her out of her wheelbarrow with as bold a faith as I could muster. Well, although she was healed to a considerable degree, the miracle was not perfect, and I felt disappointed. She had not been able to stand before, but now she could, and the crowd was cheering in approval. But although she could stand, she still could not walk.
Although I was thankful for all God had done, I was still not a completely happy healing evangelist. I even told the Lord after the service, “Lord, if I was You, I would have made that lady walk. You are so much more compassionate than I am, yet ...” I could not understand why the Lord hadn’t healed her completely that night. Surely the God who could make her stand could also make her leap and walk and praise the Lord? A week after the outreach I talked to the person who facilitated that outreach for me. His voice sounded excited over the phone, recalling all the wonderful things God had done.
He told me that they had collected some 800 decision cards from those who had made a decision for Christ and that their church was packed out that Sunday! And, “Do you remember the lady in the wheelbarrow? She came to our church walking with a stick and is walking all over town now!” Why did the Lord complete the healing a week after I left? I think it was to show the community that knew her and saw her every day that Joel Hitchcock was not the healer, but Jesus was. God does things in ways we may not understand right away, but in His wisdom He has a greater plan.
There is a saying in the business world that “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” I think that this suggestion has a parallel in The Ministry of Signs and Wonders. If we consistently pursue The Ministry of Signs and Wonders by taking small steps at a time, we will also occasionally face situations that demand a greater step of faith. We could call this phenomenon a leap of faith. Those who are not used to little steps of faith are typically not equipped to take the leap of faith when needed. Take small steps first, then leaps of faith!
I think it may also be appropriate to briefly address an issue regarding the use and discontinuation of medical treatment. On the one hand there have been those who have denied themselves and their loved ones medical treatment because their belief was that their sickness simply did not exist. Not only is this belief system unbiblical, but it is also dangerous and has resulted in the tragic deaths of many dear individuals whose lives may have been spared if they had sought proper medical treatment.
Although most of us who adhere to the Biblical teachings on Divine Healing do not hold such unsound teachings, yet we may have erred in other areas. For example someone with faith to be healed may discontinue medical treatment—not because they think their sickness does not exist, but because they claim their healing by faith. While this is amiable, it may be foolish and unnecessary.
I am not a psychiatrist or a doctor, but even with my limited knowledge on anti-depressant medication, I am especially very much opposed to the initial use of such drugs. However, great caution should be used in the weaning process off of these or other drugs and it should typically be done with the caring guidance of a doctor.
If a person is healed, it will show. Years ago, a lady came to our miracle meetings who was using about seven different prescription drugs—some of them several times a day because of her acute depression. The Spirit of God touched her in a mighty way in one of those services, and she begun to laugh and giggle under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This continued not only throughout the rest of that service but also throughout the rest of the revival. We all were amused by this phenomenon but we also acknowledged that she indeed seemed to have truly been touched by God. Without our knowledge, nor our encouragement to do so, she instantly ceased using this medication, because there was no doubt in her mind that she had been healed. I have seen her several times since and fifteen years later she is still enjoying her healing. What a wonderful testimony! Yet much wisdom should be used when we suddenly discontinue medical treatment. Again—take small steps first, then leaps and bounds.
The Ministry of Signs and Wonders:
Overcoming the Fear of Failure
I don't think any of us that have operated in The Ministry of Signs and Wonders have always done so without a fear of failure. I can attest to the fact that oftentimes I could almost hear the demons of doubt scream in my mind that I would fail—even while I was in the very act of praying for the sick.
But we need not be paralyzed by this fear. Any great venture would naturally make us nervous. We need to boldly push though those limitations and joyfully enter into the glorious domain of the miraculous. This is how I do it.
As for one, by ministering to the sick we are merely obeying the Lord's command. Whether we are successful in healing them is not so much the issue. It is the fact that we are obedient to His command to heal in His Name that is more important. Even if we might fail at performing a miracle, at least we have succeeded in obeying the Lord! This in itself is a greater success than had the actual miracle taken place!
Also would I point out that it is really insensible to fear because we are not the ones doing the miracle anyhow—He is! We can be successful in praying for the miracle. Just the action of stepping out in faith is a success story right there! Jesus is the One who does the miracles. We lose our fear when we realize that we can only do what we can do, and leave the rest up to Him.
I heard this somewhere and have repeated it often: I have a deal with the Lord that if they get healed I don’t take the glory; and if they are not healed, I don’t take the blame!
There are times I might not see immediate betterment in the situation of a person I had just prayed for. Oftentimes I would then ask fellow believers to continue praying for them, while I would proceed to the next person. Those fellow believers have come back to me and told me that the person I had just sent to them was now healed.
Other times I might not see the miracle, or perhaps only see a partial miracle take place under my prayer. This may be discouraging to us, but again—it shouldn't. We should do our part and leave the rest in the hands of the Lord. Many people are completely healed a few hours later, or even over the course of the next few days.
What if nothing happens? So what? We have still obeyed the Lord. We should rather ask ourselves What if something does happen? Let’s give faith the benefit of the doubt :-)
The Ministry of Signs and Wonders:
The Healing Anointing
The anointing can be defined as the tangible power of God. The power of God can be tangibly felt in different ways. At times the anointing may manifest itself as a sensation similar to an electrical current. Other times it may be as if a blanket or canopy of peace has fallen on us. Sometimes there is this overwhelming sense of God’s love.
We don’t know how it was manifested in that glorious day when Jesus healed the lame man, but it says that the power of the Lord was present to heal them (Luke 5:17.) The power of the Lord must have been manifested in some extraordinary way for Luke to pen down these words.
We don’t know exactly what it felt like when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus and she was instantly healed. “Jesus, knowing within Himself that virtue had gone out from him…said Who touched my clothes” (Mark 5:30.) The word virtue is the same word for power. It was the healing anointing.
This anointing was what Jesus operated on when He healed the sick and delivered the oppressed. Acts explains it this way: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38.)
Such power was on the early apostles that not only were “…by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought...” (Acts 5:12,) but “they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them” (Acts 5:15.) What was it about the shadow of Peter? A shadow is nothing more that a shape that is formed by an object that is blocking the sun. Yet there was something about Peter’s shadow—it was the power of God—the healing anointing that flowed from him. The Ministry of Signs and Wonders are wrought by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Such power was on the apostle Paul, that “…God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and evil spirits went out of them.” (Acts 19:11-12.)
If we earnestly seek God to endue us with power and the healing anointing, we will also operate in great power in The Ministry of Signs and Wonders.
The Ministry of Signs and Wonders: Conclusion
As believers in a big and Almighty God, we should actively challenge our faith to believe God for even more. He is bigger than we can think of in our wildest imagination. If you read this book this far, I would guess that you and I share that same passion and cry towards God which screams for more of Him and His glory. Yes, there is indeed more. And it is available to those who are truly hungry enough to seek both His Person and His power.
I believe that the last days are to be the finest days of the Church. I am praying for more blind people to miraculously receive their sight. As great the healing revival of the 1940's and 1950's were, and as great it was in the days of John G Lake and Smith Wigglesworth—I believe God can do even greater things than then.
I am praying for creative miracles such as eyes placed into empty eye sockets.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do...” (John 14:12.) “Thou shalt see greater things than these…” (John 1:50.)
Recently, I prayed for a young man who suffered from puss running out of his one ear. I asked him if his hearing was impaired, and he said that he was totally deaf in that ear. But he explained that he wasn’t bothered that much about the deafness—he just wanted an end to the puss. I believed that God could not only stop the puss, but also give him hearing in that ear. After prayer he could even hear a whisper from the back of the church!
We all rejoiced but it would be about a year later that I would be informed of the astonishing details of this miracle. Unbeknownst to me was the fact that he did not even have an eardrum in that ear. He went back to the doctor, and told him that he could hear out of his ear. The doctor first told him that it couldn’t be, because there was no eardrum in that ear. So the doctor examined him again and said that there was now indeed an eardrum in that ear. This is a creative miracle. Imagine that! God had supernaturally caused a non existent eardrum to be added into his ear. I have heard reports of similar creative miracles. Personally, I believe God can increase both the quantity as well as the quality of the miracles.
I have prayed for limbs to grow where there had been no limbs. As of this writing I have not received any reports that this has happened in our ministry yet, but they have happened in times of old. I think we have every reason to believe that the same could happen in our generation. I am praying that clubbed feet of helpless little children and hopeless adults would be straightened, and that withered arms would grow to normal size—completely healthy and mobile. I am praying for the lame to walk and that the dead will be raised. Cancers and AIDS will disappear and dissipate. Growths will fall off before our very eyes.
It was when I was still in Bible School that God wrought a miracle through me that might very possibly have been a resurrection from the dead. I say might, because we have no proof that she actually died. I was working on a vacation resort to earn some extra income during the school holidays. My job was to run an entertainment program with all kinds of activities—everything from races and sport to hiking and barbeques.
One night something terrible happened at the barbeque. I saw a crowd gather around a table, so I went to see what was going on. A little girl had suffered a seizure and swallowed her tongue in the process. It was already too late. They had laid the girl on a table and the father of the child had given up on trying to pry open her clenched teeth with a spoon. He had dropped his elbows on the table in despair, and the crying mother was already being escorted away because she could not bear seeing her child in that condition.
Suddenly someone said something like “Joel, you’re a preacher—you pray for her!” In that bewildered atmosphere, with beer cans and glasses filled with alcohol all over, I laid my hand on her head and prayed. I said “Lord, I pray that you heal this girl. I rebuke the devil, in the Name of Jesus…” As soon as I said “Jesus,” the little girl coughed her tongue out, breath came into her lounges and she begun to cry—to the utter joy and amazement of everyone there!
Something holy filled the atmosphere that night. The mother of the girl came to me later and thanked me. She wanted me to know that she knew that had it not been for my prayer—that they would have lost their child that day. And this was not the end of the story.
I learnt that she had suffered seizure attacks on a continuous basis before this incident. I met them again a year later, and she had not had another seizure again! I wish I could somehow meet them again and hear how they are. Jesus said:
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?... the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works” (John 14:11.)
Jesus performed the miraculous by the Father who dwelt on the inside of Him. Even though we know His Father was in heaven, He was in such union with the Father that He stated that the Father was dwelling in Him. This consciousness caused Jesus to say that His Father was doing the miraculous works from within Him.
Moments later, Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit would come and indwell us,
“...ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you ...If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him…” (John 14:17 23.)
I don’t think we always realize how profound this statement from the lips of our Lord is. He said that the very same way His Father dwelt in Him, that He, the Holy Spirit and the Father would dwell in us! And therefore, we would do the same works that the Father did through Jesus! For with God nothing is impossible. And with His dwelling on the inside of us, the impossible becomes possible.
My friend, get ready for an acceleration of The Ministry of Signs and Wonders. His miraculous wonders may happen in an intimate setting of the home of God-fearing family, where the parents teach their children faith. These miracles may also happen in both small and large congregations. They may happen in tent revivals, camp meetings and conferences where the people of God turn the spigot of their faith wide open. Signs and wonders will also happen in massive outreach settings in which the multitudes receive both salvation and miracle healing.
“...But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits (Daniel 11:32.)
The Prayer for Miracles, Signs and Wonders
Oh God, I pray that You will reveal Yourself in our generation with miracles, signs and wonders—that man may know that You are real and that Your Gospel is true. Grant unto thy servant that with all boldness I may speak Your Word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the mighty Name of Jesus (Acts 4:30.) Go with us Lord, confirming Your Word with signs following (Mark 16:20.)
I believe Your promise that the works that Christ did, I will do also. And greater works than those will do—for You have gone unto Your Father. (Jon 14:12.) Anything I will ask in Your Name, You will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (vs. 13.) Enable me to lay our hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17.)
I pray for those who have dared to do miracles in your Name. I will show solidarity with them with my prayers and support. May my speech and my preaching not be with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but with the demonstration of the Spirit and of power—that their faith will not depend on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:4-5.) I open myself up to the tangible anointing of the Holy Spirit—that the power of the Lord may be present to heal (Luke 5:17.) I pursue the gifts of healings, faith and the working of miracles (1 Corinthians 12:9-10,) and faith that worketh by love (Galatians 5:6.) Amen
"Miracles for the Multitudes" is a combination of two focal points of Joel Hitchcock's Ministry, namely:
(a) Miracles, Signs and Wonders and (b) Massive Miracle Campaigns
This Blog is based on Dr. Joel Hitchcock's book "Miracles for the Multitudes".
To order Joel's eBook, go to http://www.joelhitchcock.com/p/product-store_4.html
www.joelhitchcock.com // www.joelhitchcock.blogspot.com // www.manifestingchristinyou.blogspot.com // www.joelhitchcock.wordpress.com // www.joelhitchcockonline.blogspot.com // www.healingevangelist.blogspot.com // www.endtimerevivalandgreatawakening.blogspot.com
Copyright since 1999:
All rights reserved under international copyright law.
Permission to duplicate is hereby granted as long as the complete quote does not exceed more than 1,000 words and that due credit is given to the source.
Permission to duplicate is hereby granted as long as the complete quote does not exceed more than 1,000 words and that due credit is given to the source.
For the website of the church led by Pastor Joel and Heidi Hitchcock in
Georgetown DE, which is an exciting Pentecostal, Charismatic, Word of
Faith, Cross-of-Christ preaching church in Sussex County, Delaware, go
to www.rivercity.co.
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