Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matt. 17:18-20 It was about 15 years ago—I had just finished speaking at one of the largest churches on a beautiful island called Singapore. Pastor Ronnie followed me with what I thought was to be a benediction for the service. I will never forget what happened next. He proceeded to the podium and promptly told this congregation of several thousand people that Mr. Vince will now come back up to pray for us.

I thought to myself, I can certainly do that. I had no idea what was about to happen. Before I could utter a word of general prayer 2000 people got up from their seats and proceeded to the front of the altar. As they lined up I noticed that behind the front row of people there were other people standing there with pillows. Oh no—Pastor Ronnie means pray for all of them—individually. Not only that—these people are looking forward to falling down under the power of the Holy Spirit. Some call this being slain by the Spirit.

Now I had been in many meetings prior to this where I observed this type of ministry take place. Never had I participated in, or been asked to lead this kind of ministry. Fear began to well up in me—do I tell them I do not know how to do this—do I press on and hope God shows up? What happened next was incredible.

I remember stepping forward, closing my eyes and extending my arms toward the first woman in line. I remember the opening line of that prayer—God please don’t let her fall down. I looked up and she was gone—on the floor. I did not feel anything. I moved to the next person—then the next—all of them—on the floor.

I got home from this experience and shared what happened with Cindy. I will never forget what she said. She first asked me if I knew why this happened. I said no. She said, “they came expecting”.

With that simple answer a profound truth began to take root in my soul. Do I come to God expecting Him to do something extraordinary, special, something so far beyond my dreams and abilities? Or, could it be the reason why we do not see more supernatural works of God is that we do not have that kind of faith?

I recently had two different conversations with mature Christian leaders where we talked about this idea. They believe, as I do, that the secret to our seeing God move in these special ways is tied to our faith and ultimate trust in Him. Do we believe those words of Jesus found in Matthew about the power of faith or not?

Do you come expecting?

My friends here are a couple of takeaways from this TargetPoint. Do you come expecting? Do you come to God with such a sense of amazement and wonder of who He is and what He can do that nothing will surprise you? I believe that the same Jesus who spoke those powerful words in Matthew is alive today and is repeating them to His church in this present day. The problem is with us—His bride. Our human doubts and fear get in the way of seeing His miracle working power in action.

At the risk of stepping on some toes theologically, I must suggest that we may be missing something pretty important here. Our world is falling apart—I refuse to believe God intended his people to live as slaves, unable to affect our world. I believe we have not only the ability and power, but also the authority to call upon Him. I believe we do not do this for one of two reasons: First, we do not really believe He hears us—maybe it’s a sense of our unworthiness or perhaps we do not sense we are close enough to Him.

Second, lacking first-hand experience in this area combined with a narrow theological perspective suggest He does not work in this same way today.

I would like to suggest in closing that the only way to overcome either of these dispositions is to get closer to Him. Ask God for a renewed gift of faith. Come into His presence expecting He hears you. Will every experience be a miracle? No. I do know this—if we are praying for His will, sooner or later we will see miracles if we come expecting. Part of this whole idea of faith is having a sense of comfort that no matter if our prayer is answered or not—He hears us and is in control.

So, in these trying times I want to encourage you to expect God in every circumstance where you find yourself. I find that as I am able to do that I have a deep sense of peace, a peace that surpasses my understanding.

“Come near to God and He will come near to you”.

Vince D’Acchioli vince@ontargetinstitute.org , On Target Ministries www.ontargetinstitute.org