I know Jesus is alive – I talked to Him this morning! The reality of our relationship with Christ is not in repeating prayers and phrases, it’s in knowing Him. I talk to Him, He talks to me!
I expect miracles to happen, it is normal in a true Christian life! I believe they will happen, and they do, as simple as that. I don’t just believe, I know that when I pray for the sick, people will be healed. I just talk to God – miracles and God go together! Simple! – Nothing complicated. – Nothing difficult. If you want a miracle – ask God, He’ll do it, if you believe that He will!
Lord, teach me how to pray
After more than 75 years of ministry I am still learning – I am still asking, “Lord teach me how to pray.” When I was a child, my mother said that I would never be a preacher! I don’t want to be a preacher; I’d rather see myself as a communicator. Most of my life I have tried to learn simple lessons about communication. Not many people have the ability to communicate exactly what is in their mind to other people – preachers can be some of the worst! But most of my life I have had to use interpreters and this is where I came to understand the problem. Unless my interpreter fully understands what I am trying to say, he cannot translate it. Grammar, sentence construction and even words are so different in other languages. I remember many years ago in Russia I had two different interpreters, both girls, trying to translate what I was saying to a pastor. Their translations were almost opposite! One said correctly that I would only do what the pastor asked ‘if’. This was very much conditional upon other people. The second, who really wanted me to do it, said simply that I would, unconditionally! Result – confusion! Another time I had an older woman translate. What I was speaking strongly as a man, she spoke so sweetly as a woman! As a result several times she had to re-phrase what she was saying as it was in contrast to me!
The secret of communication is when people respond to you. As an evangelist I need to communicate the reality of the Gospel – God’s love, forgiveness and power to deliver – I can only do this powerfully when the Holy Spirit comes on me – then I pour out my heart – and the people come forward in their thousands to respond. Only the Holy Spirit can enable me to communicate like this!
Prayer is talking to God
It is the same in prayer. Romans 8 says, ‘when we know not what to pray for as we ought, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.’ Simply talk to God, ask Him. Miracles happen by the simple way in which we relate to Him, communicate with Him! In our normal life, we need to talk to each other – if you don’t communicate, you have no relationship. And if you don’t communicate with God, you don’t have a relationship with Him! As simple as that. Religion has ‘hijacked’ prayer and turned it into a formula. People light candles, repeat set prayers, even read what someone else has said – that’s not prayer – prayer is simple, its not just communion but communication with God.
We sometimes have powerful prayer meetings in our office – but before we pray, I talk to the staff about what we’re going to pray about, and what we need. And whatever we need, it only comes from God – so we have to pray. I talk about these things with the staff first, and God is present, He’s the unseen guest, the silent listener to every conversation. I know God is there, God is listening. Before we ask, He’s already heard everything; He knows what is in our hearts, what we think, what we want, what we need, but He wants us to put it into words.