Mario Murillo: The Spirit-Birthed Price of God’s Wonder-Working Power

America faces the greatest threat the nation has ever faced. Now it is you who are the vessels of God who must die to self in order to get out of God’s way and confront this threat head-on—not with words alone but with undeniable signs and wonders so notable as to invoke both unbridled joy and the fear of the Lord. In view of the state of our nation, nothing less will do.

You want to see the lame walk—the blind see—and the deaf hear? You want your days of powerless ministry to end? You want to unlock the how and why of the way God grants power to do mighty signs and wonders? Do you want to know why so many have asked but so few have received the gift of healing and working of miracles?

It is time to peel back misconceptions. It is time to be brutally honest. We have been able to create mind-bending technological breakthroughs, and we can now do in an instant what previously took decades—but we will never find a shortcut to supernatural power.

I am preparing for miracle rallies in the tent in Hanford, California. I already know God’s fiery passion to work miracles in that tent. I am equally aware of the fervent hope so many have who are bringing loved ones with life-threatening diseases to be healed. It is a lot to take in. The burden of all this drove me to review the truths that have been my best friend in so many past events when I relied on nothing other than the healing power and presence of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit’s work never changes. His process of taking raw material, such as you and I, to make a living breathing conduit for His power has never changed. In 2,000 years, the process has not been shortened or compromised one iota.

If you seek glamour and riches, skip this message. If you are dazzled by the people you have seen being used powerfully to perform miracles, save us both time—do not seek this power—you have no heart for it.

A young man, enthralled by the power he witnessed, ran up to Smith Wigglesworth and begged for the gift. Smith said, “You don’t want it. Before God is through with you, you will feel as if a thousand switch-trains have run over you.”

Before God uses you greatly, He will wound you deeply.

You still yearn to be used? You still want power—real power, and not the fluff of so many hyper-emotional meetings? Then proceed with caution.

The reason for our lack of power and miracles is plain—we are just not willing to pay the price. If you are willing, the Holy Spirit will take you through the process to power. Here then is the price of God’s miracle working power:

It’s all about self-emptying.

Listen to E. M. Bounds: “The preacher must throw himself—with all the abandon of a perfect, self-emptying faith and a self-consuming zeal—into His work for the salvation of men. The men who take hold of and shape a generation for God must be hearty, heroic, compassionate and fearless martyrs.”

A.W. Tozer said they would “… serve God and mankind from motives too high to be understood by the rank and file of religious retainers who today shuttle in and out of the sanctuary. They will make no decisions out of fear, take no course out of a desire to please, accept no service for financial considerations, perform no religious act out of mere custom; nor will they allow themselves to be influenced by the love of publicity or the desire for reputation.”

Oral Roberts despaired of life itself in his hunger to understand miracles. He was pastoring, without power, when he went to Kansas City to hear William Branham. That encounter with the supernatural was his line in the sand. He went into fasting and prayer. Roberts went into the prayer closet and there, he died to himself completely.

In her desperation to understand the supernatural, Kathryn Kuhlman visited several healing meetings. She often left disgusted and brokenhearted. Her tears and prayers reached critical mass, and she made a holy vow to conduct meetings that were full of power and dignity. And she never looked back. Kuhlman traced the moment of her power: She said, “I died.” From that moment on, there was no Kathryn Kuhlman, only an utterly devoted shell.

Compassion: Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn, Charles S. Price and Aimee Semple McPherson all reported being overcome by compassion for the sick. Their level of caring rose to divine heights; they agonized for the lost, the sick, and the dying.

“And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick” (Matt. 14:14, NKJV). Such compassion cannot be faked. It emanates from Christ Himself.

Hatred for sickness and evil: Few understand how the anointing is a product of hatred. Hebrews 1:9 says,: “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

Alexander Dowie saw miracles happen after a plague struck his church and killed 40 of his members in Sydney, Australia. An inner rage transformed him until he called out to God with a pure heart and was rewarded with so much power that it left his entire congregation free of plague.

John G. Lake saw his wife die, and it unlocked a fury against evil that swept the world with healing.

Power always has a purpose.

“And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:17-19).

The most powerful part of those verses is this phrase: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because.” Your “because” ruins you for all other plans, purposes and goals. You must surrender to the one thing you are assigned to do. You must be able to list your purpose, articulate it simply and clearly, and execute it with extreme focus.

Every vessel of God has one life message. It is an outstanding theme of their life and a distillation of all that the Holy Spirit has ever had them say. Osborn’s life reached millions, and his life said something astonishing—and what it said is something he never compromised or changed.

God is giving you power to do one special work. You cannot deviate from that divine intention. It will be a true work of God.

Wait. “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4).This is the key! Abraham could not wait, and Ishmael was the result. King Saul could not wait, and it cost him his kingdom. Esau could not wait, and it cost him his birthright.

How long will you have to wait? As long as it takes. All the powers of hell will challenge your decision to wait. Satan has too much to lose if true healing power begins to flow.

It will not come easily. Your flesh will scream for release from your vigil. But wait for true miracle power. Do not settle for the life you had before this quest. Your patience will be rewarded beyond measure. The Holy Spirit will come in power! {eoa}

Mario Murillo rose from poverty in the Mission District of San Francisco. After being revolutionized by Christ, he felt a call to the University of California at Berkeley, where he shared his faith and saw healings result from his preaching. His international ministry was launched after a four-day conference in San Jose, California, extended for six months with a total attendance of nearly 250,000 people. Since then, his voice has been heard by millions around the world, bringing a message that zeroes in on the hurts of society. He presents Christ clearly and intelligently, openly declaring the power of Jesus to totally transform a life.

This article originally appeared at mariomurillo.org.

Read articles like this one and other Spirit-led content in our new platform, CHARISMA PLUS.