Faith and Healings: Miraculous Gifts for Today
The earliest mention in Scripture of the gifts of the Holy Spirit occurs when Isaiah prophesies of the Messiah. The reason we receive these gifts, all embodied in Jesus, is so the body of Christ will function with diverse gifts, each “according to the grace that is given to us.”
As Paul tells us, “If prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; if service, in serving; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom. 12:6b-8, MEV). Most evangelicals would agree that the gifts of the Spirit are unique skills and abilities the Holy Spirit gives to faithful followers of Christ to serve God and benefit His people, the church. However, many seemingly sincere Christians twist their beliefs into pretzels to say that these gifts ended with the death of the last apostle, or otherwise with the establishment of the New Testament church. Across the body of Christ, this is known as cessationism.
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Gift of Faith
One of the most powerful is the gift of faith. The Bible says all believers are given a “measure of faith.” The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (11:1). And Jesus told us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can speak to mountains and they will be removed and cast into the sea. This type of faith is available to all believers.
But the gift of faith involves something more. It’s not saving faith but an extraordinary faith to see the impossible done. Without realizing it, I believe God gave me faith to believe Charisma magazine—and everything we’ve done since its founding—into existence.
I can remember once lying flat on my face, praying for a financial miracle at a critical time, and what I prayed for came to pass. Another time I fasted for 40 days during a season when I needed to hear from God. It wasn’t easy, but I was desperate for an answer, and I believe that answer came. Although not everyone operates in the gift of faith, as each of us walks in the Spirit we can believe and be inspired.
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