BIBLE READING

Acts 2: 43

Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

1 Corinthians 12: 7-12

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

REFLECTION

The early church was a place where they expected and saw God move in supernatural ways. It was part of their daily experience. They were naturally supernatural.

That’s probably my greatest longing for the church today. That we would experience more and more of the supernatural power of God among us and through us. That our daily everyday lives would be naturally supernatural. That when we pray, we would see God heal - people would get out of wheelchairs; cancer disappears; blind eyes and deaf ears open; people who have been bound by Satan for many years would be set free.

That is what we are praying for when we say: "Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

At times I find myself frustrated and crying out to God: "God I believe you heal, your Word says you heal – so why aren’t You healing this person?" Perhaps you've been there too.

The temptation is just to stop praying for people. To hold a theological position that God can heal, but we just expect Him to do it.

However I am not willing to do that because God’s Word says that when we pray for the sick that God will heal them. Therefore when my experience falls short of God’s Word, it’s not God’s Word that needs to change, it’s my experience that needs to be transformed.

I love reading about John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Movement, and someone who did more in the last century than probably anyone else to see healing become a normal part of the Christian life. He saw many amazing miracles in his lifetime. But do you know how many people John Wimber prayed for before he saw his first healing? Over 1000. Over 1000 people prayed for and not one healed but he chose not to give up. Why? Because he saw in the Bible that God is a God who heals so he wasn’t willing to settle for anything less.

If we are going to see God move supernaturally, we need to press into and persevere with this. We need to pray for every sick person we meet with the expectation that God is at work.

We don't take the credit when healing happens, and we don't take the blame when it doesn't. God’s Word is the benchmark for what we can expect to see, not our past experience.