“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God” (John 16:24-27).
The first lesson I received in the power of the spoken word occurred one day when Jesus Christ came into my room during those memorable seven months in which He taught me the Bible personally. It was the year 1948. That particular day we had the usual appointment for four o’clock in the afternoon, and I was in a little early, waiting upon Him. Suddenly He was there, and His mood and attitude was upbeat. I was lifted up in heavenly places the moment he appeared. He said, “Ask me for anything you desire and you shall have it.” Immediately my mind was thrown into a whirl and I could not think of anything to ask for. At first, I thought that, “Here is God, I need to ask Him for something I think He would want me to ask for.” At the same time I found myself thinking that maybe the Scripture had some translation error, which said you should ask for anything you desire. He said, “No, ask for something that you desire, not what you think God wants you to desire.” I said, “Lord, give me a healing; let me see someone healed.” He said, “Take it.”
I got His word and asked Him to excuse me, because I had to use that gift right away. I ran out of the room seeking over the whole district for a sick person. I found a woman who was given up by the doctors to die shortly. They were actually preparing for her burial. But I couldn’t think of anything like that. All I was thinking of was the gift of healing! I wanted to see somebody healed! When I approached her, I didn’t think of praying. I didn’t say, “Oh, God, please touch her, and bless her, and heal her.” No! I had the gift of healing, so I rushed over to her and said, “Be healed!” It was such an absoluteness of child-like faith; it had no space for doubt. And the gift worked like magic. I saw it before my eyes. The woman got up, smiled at me, and was totally healed. When she saw me inquiring from her husband if she was really sick, she laughed at me and said, “You don’t believe, do you?” She was asking me if I didn’t believe, but it was difficult to believe after you see a person healed so easily and so quickly the first time in your life! It seemed to be too easy to be real.
At that point in time I began to understand what faith is. God says, “Walk by faith.” It means that you must make little steps, step by step, step by step, step by step. You are not going to be all good the same day, but you must walk by faith.
The first step you make is called belief. Jesus says in Matthew 21:22, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” If you believe the thing and believe that you have it, then you will receive it. For God says that whatever you desire, you must ask for it, and it will be given to you. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).
However there is a verse we mustn’t forget, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7).
The key to having a spiritual authority is the following:
1. Abide, abide, abide in Jesus Christ.
2. Let the Word abide in you.
The Word in you abides as a living person and you abide in Christ as a living organism. When these come together in divine unison, then every agent of God and nature must obey, for it is the Word of God.
