…and not only for “the mission field” but for the West as well
There are some miracles that we have found are not difficult to perform when in the context of proclaiming the Kingdom of God to the lost, for example, in an evangelistic meeting. One need not have the gift of healing or limit oneself to meetings in primitive Third-World countries to witness such miracles. To learn how, we can look at three outstanding miracles done by the apostles Peter and Paul in Acts.
Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk.
Acts 9:33 There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Acts 14:8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
In the first two of these cases, the miracles were a deciding factor in souls receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Although such miracles certainly cannot guarantee that people will turn to Him—as in Paul’s miracle—they do draw attention to Him and multiply the likelihood that they will believe on Him.
Even though it is not a simple matter to do miracles of such great magnitude, there are similar miracles of “lesser” magnitude that are not difficult. We have witnessed them in our meetings. We have found that there are many people with difficulty getting up and walking because of arthritis, knee and joint pain, hip problems and various pain in their legs. They can be elderly and when they limp forward to be healed their infirmity is obvious to everyone.
The purpose of the healing done in the name of Jesus Christ is to prove to the lost that He is the only way to the Father in heaven.
The very first step is not present in the above three miracles done through Peter and Paul, but may be appropriate for believers who are new to healing the sick. This step involves laying hands directly on the infirmity, for example, on arthritic knees. Then with utmost authority and mountain-moving faith rebuke the infirmity or arthritis in the name of Jesus. Authoritatively command the knees to be healed in Jesus’ name.
The second step involves commanding the person to get up or to walk in Jesus’ name, as did Peter and Paul. You can even help the person up as did Peter in Acts 3 and lead them forward by the hand. Usually the person will experience immediate improvement and walk much better than before. Often I will tell the person to run, and people who were previously unable to run will run in a way that they have not done in a long time. In this way the name of Jesus is exalted, believers are encouraged in their faith, and unbelievers are drawn to Christ. (If after the first time of ministry the person senses improvement but their healing is not yet complete, lay hands on them again and minister as before.)
Perhaps such miracles are “easy” to perform because the Lord is very willing to do them. With such infirmities in particular, the healing is very visible and obvious to all, and no one can deny the power of the name of Jesus Christ after having witnessed the miracle firsthand.