An excerpt of an article written by Debby Wright for Christianity magazine.
Dear Church,
Let me tell you a story about a young man called Dom, from Trent Vineyard church in Nottingham. He and his friends felt God nudge them to go and stand outside the local hospital. While they were there they met a man named Charlie, who was in a wheelchair, and asked him about his life and thoughts on Jesus.
Wonderfully they had the opportunity to pray with him. Then they shared a word of knowledge, which led to Charlie opening his heart to Jesus. He had an experience of the Holy Spirit and was so excited that he asked Dom to call his mother, who wasn’t well. As Dom was leaving a voicemail praying for her, a chap called Matt came over and asked ‘What’s going on?’ Charlie said, ‘Let them pray for you, it’s amazing, it could change your life!’
Matt received prayer as well, and soon after a lady came up and asked what was happening. She too received prayer and also opened her heart to Jesus!
Let them pray for you, it’s amazing, it could change your life!
In the Gospels we read that Jesus built his kingdom with power; he healed the sick, raised the dead, gave prophetic insights, fed thousands of people miraculously, and set captives free.
These signs and wonders glorified God.
Jesus proclaimed that ‘signs will accompany those who believe’ (Mark 16:17). This applies to all who believe! Mark 16:19 says, ‘they will place their hands on people who are ill, and they will get well.’
Living a ‘kingdom life’ means we live every day with a sense of urgency, a sense that the Kingdom of God is advancing. Our call is to pay attention to God’s leading whenever and wherever we are. We are all invited to participate.
Living a ‘Kingdom life’ means we live every day with a sense of urgency
In Luke 10 we read of when Jesus sent out the 72. He told them to heal the sick and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ The 72 went, saw amazing things and returned with joy because of what they did in his name. Likewise the Kingdom is close to us, it is around us and it is advancing.
Many churches all over the country are involved with the Healing on the Streets (HOTS) initiative. A HOTS team from our church went into town to pray for people and met a young lady with a mouth full of ulcers. They prayed but nothing seemed to happen. Three weeks later the young lady and her mother arrived at our church (after catching three buses) to thank the team that had prayed for her. One hour after she had received prayer, all her ulcers had disappeared!
The Kingdom is close to us, it is around us and it is advancing.
As disciples of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, every day is an opportunity where we may see healing, every crisis has a potential breakthrough, and every broken heart has the potential to experience God’s healing power.
