Over the years, I have talked with thousands of believers who were greatly discouraged and frustrated because they had heard about the power of God to meet their needs and the needs of those around them, but they weren’t seeing its activity in their lives.
Their inability to access God’s power was leaving them without the help they desperately needed.
It is my desire to demystify the process of receiving miracles. We can identify specific spiritual steps that will free us and enable us to live in the miraculous.
I expect to see a miracle every day! I pray that this expectation will capture your heart as well and that you will begin to walk in the miraculous purposes that God has planned for you.
Here are five keys to activating God’s power in your life:
- Submit. To submit means to lay aside your own agenda so you can listen and respond to God’s agenda. He may take you in an entirely different direction than you originally planned to go. His direction often leads us in remarkable ways and leaves us awestruck!
One time, I noticed that a close friend was struggling to hear God’s voice, causing them great frustration. However, I also observed that during corporate prayer times, my friend would try to direct their prayers according to premeditated agendas, and also to direct the prayers of others, telling everyone how to pray and what to pray.
This close friend is a wonderful Christian, but they were not leaving room for the Holy Spirit to direct them or others who were praying. When we do this, the Holy Spirit is blocked from giving us the words to pray or prophetic insights for ourselves and others. We need to give the Holy Spirit room to speak to us.
- Obey. Second, do all that God instructs you to do in His Word and by the leading of His Spirit. It is important to respond to God’s precious directions and invitations in a timely manner. Obedience to the Lord includes following established biblical patterns and divine principles. For example, signs and wonders are meant primarily to bear witness to the power of the gospel. (See Hebrews 2:4.) Consequently, as we preach the gospel, we need to put in a claim, or “demand,” on God’s power to bring signs and wonders as confirmation of the message.
I vividly remember a time when I was preaching in Australia, and there was a man present who’d permanently injured one of his eyes in a motorcycle accident. The tissue between his eyeball and his brain had been disconnected, resulting in total blindness in that eye. He had been in that condition for over six years, yet as I preached the Word of God, this gentleman felt a “pop” in his eye, and all of a sudden, he could see!
No one had placed their hands on him and prayed for him. But the message of the kingdom releases miracles. Because the spiritual atmosphere had been established and Jesus had been glorified in the meeting, the presence and power of God were manifested and healing came.
- Expect. Living in expectation that God will work signs, wonders, and miracles is like playing catch with your hands open, your eyes focused, your knees bent, and your body leaning forward, ready to receive the ball. If you close your hands like a fist, turn and face the opposite way, become distracted by conversation, or give up and sit down, you will miss the ball. God is continuously releasing answers and manifestations and offering life-changing encounters, so don’t miss out! Stay ready!
As we remain prepared, we also need to learn to pray more specifically. One day, I was praying with my children, and we didn’t pray for any one particular thing. We prayed a general prayer for everything and everyone. We prayed for whatever came to mind, that our day would go well, and for the healing of some minor conditions we were dealing with. Then, when we listened for the Holy Spirit to speak, we didn’t hear anything.
The Holy Spirit later instructed me that in order to receive answers, we must 1) be in total agreement with our fellow intercessors, 2) pray fervently, and 3) take time to wait on the Lord, saying, “Lord, speak to me.” That is how we remain in expectation and receive breakthroughs during our prayer times.
- Stand. The fourth key is to stand firmly on the Word of God. When our faith is based on His Word, we can have confidence that He will intervene. There is nothing like knowing “I am in God’s perfect will.”
The Bible says, “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. So if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have whatever we asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). When you are in God’s will, “you know that you know” that you will see His manifestations.
- Respond. As you engage in heartfelt prayer based on God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will give you revelation and emphasize specific promises from the Scriptures. God will send people to you, either to help you in some way or to be ministered to. He will highlight a word from your pastor or another preacher. The Holy Spirit will even speak to you in the middle of the day with instruction, caution, direction and advice. You have to believe, receive and take action on the words He gives.
Sometimes, they may be a direct instruction, a call to trust Him and release your faith, or the guidance to wait. Other times, they may be a guideline for your prayers or an entire prayer strategy. The Lord might lead you to give a specific gift or offering to a person or ministry, including your home church.
Will you respond? The more you respond to God’s leading, the more of His glory you will see.
No matter where you are in life or ministry, know that a lifestyle of miracles is possible. God has equipped you through the Holy Spirit, and He desires to activate you today to operate in a dimension that is beyond limitations. {eoa}
Edited excerpt from School of the Miraculous, © 2020 by Kynan Bridges, published by Whitaker House. Used with permission.
Dr. Kynan T. Bridges is the senior pastor of Grace & Peace Global Fellowship in Tampa, Florida. With a profound revelation of the Word of God and a dynamic teaching ministry, Dr. Bridges has revolutionized the lives of many in the body of Christ. Through his practical approach to applying the deep truths of the Word of God, he reveals the authority and identity of the new covenant believer. A highly sought speaker and published author of several books, including Invading the Heavens, Unmasking the Accuser, and The Power of Prophetic Prayer, Dr. Bridges is also a committed husband to Gloria and father of five beautiful children. Visit whitakerhouse.com.
Stephen Strang 
Charisma Media Staff 
CBN News 
