JOEL 2 GENERATION

Back in the year 2000, God turned our world upside down in a small Church meeting when a prophetic woman from South Africa gave us a prophetic word that was so accurate, and so detailed that there was simply no way that we could deny it was truly from God.  As for the future aspects/elements in the prophetic word, they have subsequently proven to just as true as what the Lord had shown the women about our past and present.  It changed our lives and ministry completely – and I would say that the best way to "weigh" (or judge) a prophetic word, in addition, to obviously its accuracy, would be the fruit that it produces.  Just this week a lifelong friend relayed a similar experience he had this past week with a guest minister at his church who gave him a prophetic word that was similar in its accuracy and detail.   In hindsight, I believe as I reflect back on that initial prophetic word that served to be a major turning point in our lives, I would have to say that it was

The day after seeing several muslims healed in a Middle Eastern mall, I noticed a muslim woman with her husband in a supermarket had her hand bandaged – it looked exactly like the Egyptian muslim man's hand from the night before who was healed.  I found them a few minutes later and quickly shared the testimony of the night before and asked if the husband would mind putting his hand on his wife's hand and that I would ask God to heal her.  They were willing.  I prayed a quick prayer in Arabic, including a part of the Lord's prayer, closed the my prayer in Jesus' Name and then asked the husband to take his hand away.  She was completely healed.  No more pain.  I shared a bit more with them .  They were so thankful.   It is not always easy to offer prayer for muslim women when I am not with my wife, but the Lord provided a way for me to pray, utilizing her husband as my "ministry partner" and God touched her with healing pointing them to the authority and power i

Last night I took out an Arabic-speaking Christian who had expressed an interest in learning about a supernatural lifestyle.  I had no idea that we would have so much "fun" in only a 1 hour visit to a Middle Eastern mall.  We saw 7 or 8 people healed – including 4 muslims.  It was such a "grace-filled" hour as we simply offered the Kingdom to people who might have needed healing.  All the words of knowledge I got were wrong except for one – but that didn't seem to matter.  In the first shop, I asked about a muslim man's shoulder and he didn't have a problem but pointed to his middle back.  I had him lay his hand on the affected area, prayed in Arabic and all the pain left.  After some further discussion, we moved on to another shop.   Next, I walked into a store where I wanted to do some Christmas shopping.  I felt like I got a word of knowledge for a problem in the right lower leg – it ended up being wrong (unless one of the employees wasn't being t

After DJ finished praying for the man whose knee was healed, I noticed one of the hostesses limping badly and asked her what happened.  She had just fallen and had injured her hip.  She was actually just going to tell the manager she couldn't work.  I had her put her hand on her hip.  Prayed.  And she was healed instantly - all the pain left.  Her reaction was exactly what we want to see -  "Oh my goodness, it's gone!  it's gone! How did you do that?  Who are you?"   She then started telling all her colleagues.   She was a Christian and wanted to know where I lived, where I went to Church.  She asked for my number and kept testifying!  It was awesome. Then I went back to our table and find out that our server needs serious prayer for some deep heart stuff and even starts to cry.  We exchanged numbers because it wasn't the venue to minister to her in that way, but she knew it was a divine appointment. The woman whose hip was healed keeps telling th

As we were finishing up our meal at the Cheesecake Factory, I got a strong word of knowledge for a knee problem and I called over the first server that I noticed after getting the word.  I asked him about a knee problem and at first he said no.  I asked again and sure enough he had a major knee problem and was actually considering a surgery to address the issue.  He was a buddhist and I asked him to put his hand on his knee and I prayed for him in Jesus' Name.  After praying once it was considerably better and after a second prayer he was completely healed.  I gave him my number to follow up with him and also asked one of the Christian staff  there to talk with him further about Jesus who had healed him. However we weren't done at the Cheesecake Factory.

I was out to dinner with my son and two Gulf Arab muslim women were sitting at a table close to ours.  I got a strong word of knowledge in my "right ankle" and yet wanted some confirmation.  I texted my wife and asked her if she was getting any words – she said "dizziness".  I asked her for something else and she said, "right ankle".  I texted back that this was what I got and proceeded to approach the women.  I explained that my wife got a "revelation" that one of them had an ankle problem and that she would pray for the problem and it would be healed.  One of the women had a left ankle problem and so I called Desert Princess and gave the woman the phone.  She instructed the muslim woman to put her own hand on her ankle and she prayed for the woman in the Name of Jesus.  The woman told my wife that the pain was almost gone after the prayer.  She was visibly impacted by the invasion of God's Kingdom touching her life.

One of my students had on a neck brace two days in a row.  When she came up the second day, I gave her my wife's phone number and told her that she could help her.  She called Desert Princess and after a short prayer in Jesus' Name, she was healed and told her all the pain was gone.  The real test however was if she would come to class the following day without the neck brace.  Sure enough, she showed up today without any neck brace and showed me with a big smile on her face.  She came up and said, "It was like magic!"  I corrected her and told her it was "faith" and she said, "I know" with another big smile.  Something has started with this young woman.

I feel like something is shifting in our outreach to Arab muslims.  Because we "temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:19), I have always believed that our very presence amongst muslims should be apparent.  We carry something that Islam doesn't have.  This has been something we have prayed and I think that this is something we are beginning to see happen.  For example, I've gotten to the women in a muslim Bedouin family.  I have prayed for them on several occasions and both the mother and her adult daughter were healed in Jesus' Name.  The last time time I went to visit, a relative was there and all of sudden the two women who had been healed, tell their visitor that I will pray for her and she will get healed.  They urge the other muslim woman to come sit next to me without even giving her a choice.  It was like they forced her!  She had a lot of pain in her arm and I prayed for her and released God's Kingdom in the Name of the Jesus the Messiah.  She looked r

There were two Omani muslim women working together and I was specifically drawn to one of them. For this woman, I got a word of knowledge as a thought or an impression for "ear pain", specifically the "right ear".  The other woman I was with also got the same word of knowledge where she physically felt it (it was her first word of knowledge that she'd ever "felt" like that).  The Omani woman had the right ear pain and after prayer she was healed!  The Omani woman took the number of the woman I was with as we offered to answer any further questions  she might have had.

I felt a craving for a soft drink.  We went out to get one and got a word for one working in the shop for a pain "in the side".  One of the men had a kidney stone that hurt him.  He left and returned the next day and the man had had no more pain.

I took out an "observer" who only wanted to "watch".  We also took an Omani muslim who wanted to come along and watch God heal people.  We got a word of knowledge for "knee"  for the Omani Muslim who came to watch. His knees would hurt when exercising .  He asked for prayer for a shoulder problem  that hurt right then , and I said that the "observer" has a gift of healing and will bring healing.  He prayed and all pain left the muslim's shoulder!  So much for coming along to only "watch".  The first-time "observer" was so impacted by the healing.   The Omani muslim man was able to articulate Christian truths about God's love .  "Out of the mouth of babes" has a new meaning – how about "out of the mouths of the yet-to-be-born-again"?

Waited on the Lord for clues - "glasses", "back pain",  and the shop – "Claire's" - We went to Claire's and a woman, with back pain was healed!  Next word about "headache" - saw a woman, she had a headache and was healed.  Then into H&M – got the word for "pregnancy".  We were drawn to two woman – one was pregnant and the other wanted to get pregnant.  Prayed for them.  Felt led to go into a Mothercare and saw a woman with glasses (one of the first words of knowledge).  She had diabetes and they prayed for her.  Next word for Dunkin Donuts – got a word for "shoulder pain" and saw another woman wearing "glasses" who had the shoulder pain. They prayed and she was healed. 

We were at a Chili's restaurant and I got a wrong word of knowledge for Egyptian muslim waiter (arm) but he said, "No, but my knee hurts".  I explained words of knowledge.  He had seen it before in Egypt from the Coptic Christians who had come and brought healing and done an exorcism.  "We muslims also pray for the sick, BUT YOU CHRISTIANS ARE PROFESSIONALS". His knee was completely healed!

I was out with someone who's never seen a healing.  We went into women's shop interacted with local Omani muslim woman.  Got a word of knowledge for a "back".  I asked the Omani woman if she has back pain who says "No".  Her Algerian muslim co-worker jumps in, "Yes, you do, what are you talking about"?  As we continued to talk, she begins to share about how she "sees" things in dreams that are revelatory.  She gets "overcome" with a spirit that she can't control and this causes her to sweat.   I realized it is clearly a demonic gifting.  I then shared about my dreams.  "If I see something bad", I explained, "it is so I can prevent it and pray".  I said, "I know you are a muslim but next time you have one of these demonic encounters, you need to cry out to Jesus to help you".  She agrees. Then I  got another word of knowledge about ear pain and this time she doesn't deny it and admits th

I love it when Jesus heals a muslims whose name is muhammad.   Last night a group of us were meeting in a coffee shop when I noticed a muslim guy whose wrist was wrapped.  I asked him what happened and he told me he was in a fight.  I told him that I believe God would heal him if I could pray for him.  He put his other hand, as per my instruction, on his wrist and I prayed a quick prayer in Arabic.  After praying part of the Lord's prayer and closing in Jesus' Name, he looked at his friend with "that look" (that look that said, "seriously, something just happened and I'm kind of freaking out").  Most of the pain left and he was really thankful.  I told him that as Christians we are commanded to pray for the sick and injured whenever or wherever we find them.  I gave him my number and asked him to call me to tell me how it was the next day (he hasn't called yet) P.S. As much as I love to see muhammads healed, I love it even more when muhammads become

Yesterday a few of us ended up in a restaurant and I got a word of knowledge for a problem in the left arm and hand.  I asked a manager about it and he said he'd check with his staff.  A few minutes later he brings out his supervisor, an Egyptian muslim came out with him.  I guess he wanted to make sure everything was fine with his boss!  Anyway, at that point I explained in Arabic to the head manager that God revealed to me.  I used a word for "revelation" (Arabic -  ilhaam ) that he as a muslim would understand.  A few minutes later he brought out an Indian man who worked there a problem with his left arm.  I asked him to sit down as the 2 managers watched.  The Indian man was a Christian and I had him lay hands on himself as we prayed.  He was healed right away. He was so thankful and wanted us to keep him in prayer.  The managers were grateful and walked away "thinking" about what just happened – especially I felt the Egyptian. A few minutes later another ma

i saw one of my muslim students had injured her hand.  I asked about it and her hand had been slammed in a door.  she was in pain.  the first day I saw it I had no opportunity to pray and waited till today.  during class I was thinking how I could acceptably get a chance to pray.  she left class earlier than some students so I thought I had lost the opportunity but decided to send her an email requesting her to stop by my office during my office hours.  she did and I asked her to put her hand other hand on the spot where it hurt.  I prayed once in English.  it seemed to get better and I asked her to put her hand back again and the next time I prayed in Arabic.  All of the pain left except in the wrist.  One more prayer and all the pain was gone!  Her comment as she was leaving was "Thank you sooooooo much sir". notice that sometimes people don't get healed after praying once and also that God will make a way when we seek to honor Him and bring His Kingdom even in t

Last night our community gathered and the testimonies shared of the people healed this week past week went on and on.  Our basic rule for testimony time is this – the testimony has to be something that took place during the week leading up to our weekly meeting AND that it needs to be miraculous/supernatural in character – a healing, accurate prophetic words or words of knowledge, dreams or visions, an exorcism, etc.  In some places the testimonies will come from just a few people, but this is NOT the case here in the muslim country in which we are living.  There are regularly as many as 10 different people sharing testimonies in a single meeting – and sometimes even more.  It is just a thrill to see what God is doing and I am always encouraged to see how many, men and women, old and young, who are being used by God each week to demonstrate God's Kingdom to the lost every single week. As we have believed this is to be "the norm", it has become normal.  

We don't seem to change very much even though we claim to know better.  Jesus didn't come to be the one man show, but chose 12 others, then 70 others and broke it open on the Day of Pentecost by pouring out His Spirit on "on flesh" and you'd think the rest would be history.  However, the "one man show" continues to be be model perpetuated by many and bringing people to "the special meeting with the gifted individual" continues to be the predominate model that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are being used.  I know there are notable exceptions, and the explosion in the past 30 years of "ministry teams" have been one of the healthiest things that ever happened to the Charismatic Church.  That however hasn't put the "one man show" model out of business.  It doesn't seem to matter how many of these individuals (which can of course be either men or women) crash and burn, fall into error or in some other way get off track and

1. Apostolic Ministry is "in Christ" - Jesus is the Chief Apostle - the focus is upon Christ and NOT the Apostle/s. - Heb. 3:1 -­ "consider (fix your thoughts) Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession" - 2 Cor. 4:5 ­ - "for we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake" 2. Apostolic ministry begins in humility & continues in humility - Consider the Incarnation. God left heaven can became a man IN HUMILITY - Phil. 2:3 - "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" 3. Apostolic ministry honors women ­ Mary "birthed" Jesus' earthly Apostolic ministry, women followed Jesus. - Gal. 3:28 - "there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus". 4. Apostolic Ministry is "team-oriented"­ Jesus buil

I was shopping in a store in the mall when I had strong sense that one of the employees there had pain. I didn't feel clarity as to what it was, and she was in the middle of working with two other employees on the design of the store. I didn't know what to do since she was focused and occupied with work. I walked away hesitantly, though I felt like God was highlighting her. I was a little frustrated at myself, but I went on to pray for a few other people who were touched and experienced healing!  Probably an hour or more later I was walking in the main area of the mall, and I glanced over and noticed the girl from the store whom God had highlighted. I almost ran to her because I knew that this was a divine appointment. She was with her friend, and they told me that they are both from the country we are located in. I explained that I had seen her in the store, and I asked if she had pain. She said yes, that she had back pain. I asked her to put her ha

At school this week one of the young Gulf Arab woman on the staff slowly shuffled by on crutches with a big bandaged up knee! She said she had just fallen down the stairs and was going to make her way to get X-rays taken, as the nurse had thought her knee cap might be broken. So I asked her if I could pray for her and she was so open and happy to let me pray! While praying her eyes got big and her mouth dropped open- she said she could feel so much heat!! However she shuffled off, still in so much pain! I felt God saying don't let your eyes let unbelief in- so I continued to pray for her during the day believing God was healing her. The next day I saw her get out of her car and run, yes run across the road, from my classroom window- no crutches! No bandage! She said her knee is 'all good!'! God is amazing!!!! I pray for an encounter with Jesus for this young lady!!!

Yesterday one of my muslim students was complaining about his ears. I had already had this particular student meet with a friend for some other prayer regarding his allergies. He was so touched by that prayer time that his shi'ite muslim mother also wanted prayer and subsequently met with my wife for ministry. After a quick prayer, my student's ear completely opened up and he told me it was 100% as we packed up to walk out of class. This student and his mother have now heard many things about Christ and His redemptive work. I believe they are closer to the Kingdom than they realize.

A question I am often asked is "How do you keep a lifestyle of miracles going"?  Many at one time or another in their Christian lives have an encounter, experience things and/or see something that they find is no longer happening 6 months or a year later – or even longer.  I am amazed as how many believers I meet who tell me about things they were "doing" (seeing people healed, having supernatural encounters, etc.) at one point but that have somehow stopped or ended.   I am getting this question again from several different sources – in particular, from some believers who saw some powerful stuff happen over the summer and want to ensure that things continue and don't die out. I did almost an hour podcast today to help answer that question from our own experience of having been pursuing a lifestyle of the supernatural for like 13 years now.  We aren't "changing the channel" as Bill Johnson has said.  We continue to run with a group of believers who

Today there were a couple of opportunities to pray for muslims who I gave my number to for them to call me back and tell me what had happened after prayer. The first one was a Gulf Arab muslim guy with a huge knee brace on (don't need a word of knowledge for that!).  I asked him about what had happened and it was from a soccer injury that was 5 years old.  I followed him out to his car and he let me pray for him in Jesus' Name.  He didn’t feel anything at that time (like tingling, heat, etc.) and so I gave him my phone number and asked him to call me back tomorrow with a report.  I am waiting for that call. In the evening, I thought for sure I had a word of knowledge for a right wrist problem (turns out I didn't) and asked these two muslim men sitting at a table outside of a restaurant.  After assuring me that neither of them had a wrist problem, they wanted to know why I had asked.  I explained a little bit about words of knowledge and the people we see God heal.  One of t

This is a unique healing miracle.  First of all, I've never seen a hernia healed before.  I had a student who asked if he could go to the bathroom.  Class had just started and so I wondered why he needed to leave so urgently.  I discover after class that it was because he had a hernia and it had popped through his stomach muscle lining (which he told me happened all the time) and he had to go to the restroom to push it back in.  Yes, pretty disturbing thought!  As he described the problem after the lecture and how it just pops out all the time, I decided I had to do something.  I asked him to put his hand on the hernia and I began to pray breaking off the shock and trauma, releasing healing and asking for pain to go in Jesus' Name.  He felt nothing at the time.  But today he comes to me and says, "Whatever you did to me worked because it hasn't popped out again"!  I was thrilled for him and told him that God had done something very special for him.

Desert Canuck and Pyromaniac were running errands together at a local mall. As we stopped at a Tea shop as Pyromaniac had a word of Knowledge for one of he girls giving away samples. She prayed over her and he was healed. DesertCanuck asked he second sales lady if she had back pain; she said yes but not at the moment. Anyway she prayed over her trusting The Lord to heal her. Then we headed to a furniture store - we had Words of Knowledge for pain but failed to identify the correct individual to approach. Next was a clothing store. Pyromaniac was ministering to a Muslin Tunisian woman with knee pain. We prayed and she felt heat in her knee and the pain left. She wanted to know how we could do that. DesertCanuck explained that God loves her and that Jesus teaches us to heal others. She tried to argue that she was Muslim. DesertCanuck repeated that God loved her and this is what Christians can do to  show others God's love for them. She was so excited she called over all the other wor

As I was getting my coffee in Starbucks, I noticed a muslim man had a wrist brace on.  I was thinking about the healing last night of the young man's broken hand and approached him and told him the story.  He was quite interested and I told him I'd like to pray for him.  I had him put his other hand on the affected wrist, prayed in Jesus' Name and all the pain left.  He checked it out and his girlfriend was celebrating with him.  As he was leaving, I waved and he came up with his muslim girlfriend and said, "she has pain too".  We went and sat down and I asked if he'd put his hand on her back.  I then prayed, breaking off the shock and trauma and releasing healing in Jesus' Name and all the pain left her back.  I gave her my wife's phone number and I know we'll be hearing from this couple again soon. Can't wait to tell them more about the Healer Himself!

While walking to watch my son's soccer practice, I noticed about a 15 year-old muslim player with his hand wrapped.  I asked him what happened and he told me he broke it fighting about a week earlier.  I asked him to put his other hand on where the pain was.  He did and I prayed breaking off the shock and trauma and releasing the Kingdom of God in Jesus' Name.  I asked him to check it out and he began moving it around – a big smile on his face and he tells me that there is no more pain.  I told him that God had just done a miracle for him.  I look forward to following up with this young man.

Last night as our community gathered, testimonies were shared of miraculous healings that happened THIS WEEK for nearly 2 hours.  The testimonies came from a number of different people.  The days we are living in are truly incredible!

Last weekend Dancing Girl and I went to the mall for a little lunch and an adventure with Jesus! While we were waiting on our waitress, I got a word of knowledge about her eyes. There was nothing visibly wrong, but when she came to our table I asked, and she said that she has had eye problems since moving here. She was experiencing both pain and vision issues in her left eye. I got her to put her hand on her eye, and I released healing in the name of Jesus. She said that her vision was clear, and there was no pain! She was excited! She explained that she had been very sad and depressed. We told her to put her hand on her heart, and we asked God to pour out his love on her. She was eager to get connected with a church here. Next, Dancing Girl got a word of knowledge for back pain. We talked to another waiter who said he didn't have back pain, but his hand was hurting really bad. He told us he was Buddhist, but he was very eager for us to pray for him because He had re

I was picking up my coffee when a strong word of knowledge came for a left foot problem.  I asked 2 of the employees and they didn't have it.  Then we asked another colleague of theirs but she didn't have it.  She however points to another employee who is coming out of the back room and he has the problem.  I ask him to come over, I take his hand and pray quickly in Jesus' Name.  I asked him to check it out and sure enough all the pain is gone.   Later he came to our table and thanked me testifying to being pain free.  I told him how much God loved him.

Last week we saw a number of people healed at a new Italian restaurant we visited.  Today I was there again and one of the women healed last week told me she was still fine.I asked her if anybody else needed healing.  So she went and asked another server who had back pain.  I asked the woman who had been healed to put her hand on his back and I prayed a quick prayer.  After that, I asked him "What are you feeling?".  He said, "Nothing".  I asked if he meant nothing had happened or if the pain was gone.  He was healed – no more pain!  He walked away moving his back all around with a big smile on his face

Here is another student's testimony from the Christian University: "In the beginning when school was just starting, I was stressed out, unable to sleep well, having panic attacks, and the worst of all, I had these horrible headaches that were inhibiting me of any kind of relaxation. About two or three days before class, I had a panic attack so severe, that it was getting hard to breathe. So I called out to the Lord and he rid me of my panic attack immediately. That was honestly, I feel, my first real encounter with God healing wise. Then when the guest speaker called out and said out of words of knowledge, "I am feeling that someone is having pain like headaches towards the back of their head, almost like a migraine." That was exactly what I was having and in the exact area. Even after he had said that, I could already feel some kind of sense of relief. Then when he wanted the people he called out to go to the back of the room, I was a little too nervous and ti

Here is another testimony from one of the other soccer players that was healed Last Friday I was extremely skeptical about the whole healing process that was being explained to me. I listened intently to the speaker and genuinely was interested in what he had to say but I did not know if I could believe all that he was saying since I had not seen it with my own eyes before. When my teammates and I decided to stay after and see if a couple of our injured players could be healed, we were presented with incredible emotion. Both my teammates Angie and Veronica had been healed and I was slowly beginning to feel the presence of God all around me. Never had I been surrounded by so many people who genuinely wanted to be a part of God's work. When it came time I finally stepped up and asked to have my right quad healed. As soon as the prayer began I felt an overwhelming amount of emotion and the pain had gone from my leg. Even still I had been a little confused but when Ric

Today I saw a muslim girl coming into the coffee shop on our University campus and she was limping pretty badly.  I asked her what happened.  She told me that it had been like that for 2 months.  I told her I could help her and she went over to a chair and sat down.  I told her that I was going to "read" over her (this is language that muslims would understand) and she asked, "Are you a muslim?".  I said no and explained I was a Christian.  She was was fine with that as I learned her mother was a Lebanese Christian, even though she was raised as a muslim.  I had her lay her hand on her lower leg (where the pain was) and prayed a quick prayer in Jesus' Name.  She began to move it around, and then got up to walk a bit.  She looks back at me startled and says, "What did you just do to me?"  I told her that HE, as I pointed upwards, did something.  I told her how much God loved her and left it at that.  She is a new student on my campus and will surely hav

After her friends knee was healed, this is what happened to another soccer player in her own words, "I was prayed over for healing of my right ankle which I had injured a few weeks prior. After the prayer, I felt way less pain than I had ever been in and I was able to start practicing at soccer again the next day. At first, I did not believe that just laying a hand on someone and praying could heal them, until I saw it with my own eyes. It really made me want to dive deeper into my faith and get to know God on a more personal level."

I don't know what it is about restaurants, but they seem to be one of the best places to see the Kingdom come. We were out with our good friends to lunch today and I had inquired about a wrist problem which none of the servers seemed to have but they asked me why I had inquired.  I told them I was a healer and they asked how I healed.  I said, "If somebody has pain, I'll show you".  One of them had back pain.  I had him lay his hands on himself and I released the Kingdom in Jesus' Name – he was instantly healed!  The other 5 or so watching were intrigued.  Two of the women asked if I could heal their hearts and so I had my wife come up and take over that discussion.  Numbers were exchanged and calls will be coming.  "What Church do you go to?" one man asked as I was walking out.  I told him and he'd heard of it! Next in the electronics shop I got a word of knowledge for a back problem for the muslim employee who was helping us.  He had the problem.  

Having just spoken with the Professor who teaches at the University, it is so encouraging to hear that things are continuing.  I heard that the soccer players that were healed are now back on the soccer field.  I heard that during the next two lectures others were healed - another soccer player after praying several times had his knee healed! They have started a blog now where students are/will be posting their testimonies - http://vanguardmiracles.blogspot.com - check it out and be sure to leave comments to encourage them. A couple of things that have come up that are important for them (and for us) to consider: 1. It is ALWAYS God's will to heal.  There is so much bad/poor theology out there that isn't rooted in what the Scriptures teach, but rather are rooted in people's experience.  This is also related to unbalanced concepts/ideas about God's sovereignty. I could list dozens of NT Scriptures here to illustrate why I believe the statement I have just made,

We went out to eat tonight in the Middle Eastern country in which we live and I was thinking that God wanted to do something.  I got a word of knowledge for a back problem and asked our server if he could find the employee who had the problem.  He asked around and we discovered it was the manager.  I went up to him, had him lay hands on himself and after a short prayer all the pain left.  It was "game on" in the restaurant.  In the wake of the manger getting healed, we saw another server's left hand healed, another one's neck healed (the Holy Spirit came on her powerfully) and finally a woman's head. With all the multiple healings breaking out in the last couple of weeks, it was good to see that the Lord hadn't changed His strategy ("He healed them all") just because we are now back in the Muslim world.

Miracles lead to more miracles because they release faith and communicate what is possible when we believe. I left that University, but my professor friend told me the healings continued in the faculty lounge as she shared the testimonies of what had happened with the students. When I got to my next appointment after leaving, the owner of the restaurant came up to tell me of a woman my wife and I prayed for how hadn't been able to conceive children. She was healed and we didn't know about it. She now has a baby and I find out about the miracle 2 years later! Why is this particularly interesting? Because my friend who is the professor who invited me for the lectures hasn't been able to get pregnant and I prayed between the two lectures for them to conceive. I felt like this little divine appointment was God letting us know that He'd "heard" our cries! That Friday night in a meeting we saw some other healing. We also prayed for another stutterer a

so after we'd seen a number of healings, a young man comes forward crying. He began to speak but hardly could. He was a life-long stutterer and could hardly get the words out of his mouth. People were moved by his efforts and he was crying quite hard explaining that he normally isn't the crying type but wanted to get healed and obviously after seeing so many others being touched and healed had enough faith to come forward. I had another student put his hand on him and I later learned that as I prayed, this "partner" who I had randomly asked to put his hand on the stuttering young man because he was standing next to him, began to speak in tongues for the first time in his life! Talk about a legitimate way to get a gift of the Holy Spirit! After the first prayer, I just felt I needed to embrace the man we were praying for as his crying had become sobbing and I prayed again breaking off all the shock and trauma from all the years of people teasing him, bullying h