For decades, Christians have wrestled with one important question: How can you tell when the hand of God is truly on someone’s life?
According to Benny Hinn, the answer may not be found in the miracles, the size of the crowds or even the spiritual gifts a person displays.
During a recent conversation with minister Maksim Asenov, Hinn shared what he believes separates someone who appears anointed from someone who has genuinely been called by God: longevity.
“You can recognize the anointing quite easily,” Hinn said. “They preach well. There’s power that is demonstrated. People are blessed, touched, healed, delivered.”
But Hinn cautioned that spiritual gifts alone do not tell the entire story.
“The gifts don’t say a lot,” he said, warning that if a person does not remain close to the Lord, corruption can eventually enter in. “The gifts remain. The fruits leave.”
That distinction led Hinn to a deeper question: How can Christians recognize when God is truly with someone?
“Longevity,” Hinn said.
To order Benny Hinn’s book, Mysteries of the Anointing, visit Amazon.com.
Hinn recalled a conversation with his late pastor, Jack Hayford, who told him that while people had recognized God’s hand upon his ministry for years, something else eventually convinced Hayford that Hinn had truly been called.
“Now I know He called you,” Hinn remembered Hayford telling him.
The reason was simple. Hinn had endured.
“Had the Lord not called you, you would have been gone a long time ago,” Hinn recalled Hayford saying. “You would not have lasted.”
For Hinn, however, longevity cannot be separated from humility.
He recalled receiving a warning early in his ministry to remain “little in your own eyes,” pointing to the biblical account of Saul. Hinn said the lesson has remained with him throughout more than five decades of ministry: Never believe the power belongs to you.
“Never touch the glory,” Hinn said. “And always, always exalt Jesus. Only Jesus. No one else.”
Hinn also reflected on what he says the Lord told him after one of his earliest ministry experiences in December 1974. After witnessing people fall under the power of God, Hinn went home overwhelmed by what had happened.
“Dear Jesus, what did You do tonight?” he remembered asking.
The answer, Hinn says, was remarkably simple: “Be faithful to Me.”
“That’s all He requires of us today,” Hinn said.
It is a message that cuts against a culture increasingly captivated by platforms, influence and instant success. Anointing may attract attention, but character determines what happens when no one is watching.
The question, then, is not simply whether someone can preach, prophesy or operate in spiritual gifts. It is whether they will remain faithful when the crowds disappear, humble when influence grows and surrendered when God asks them to wait.
As Hinn’s warning makes clear, gifting can open doors, but faithfulness is what carries a believer through them.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].