Becky Dvorak - Greater than Magic: The Supernatural Power of Faith

A display of unusual manifestations of the supernatural began to occur under a large tree in the Serengeti Plains of Northern Tanzania as I preached to a Maasai tribe about the true power in the blood of Jesus Christ.

Behind the tree was a thick protective wall of thorns. On the other side of it sat an infuriated witch doctor who was displeased by our presence and the message we brought. He stewed his spiritual pot filled with hatred and jealousy against us and hexed us with his curses and conjured up magic tricks to disrupt and stop us. We found ourselves in the midst of a supernatural battle.

The atmosphere of the meeting became chaotic. The witch doctor started to cause disorder and confusion. He messed with the elements of nature. Suddenly, the heat of the sun became so unnaturally intense I almost fainted, but by the true power of faith I stood my ground and continued to preach about Gods plan of redemption.

As I spoke, I watched the people as they moved like a row of dominoes that had been pushed over. I said to the interpreter, It looks as if a snake is in our midst. And sure enough a long, bright, green snake moved rapidly through the crowd and slithered right past my feet. I shouted, I rebuke you, satan! and it vanished.

It came time for the altar call, but the people hesitated to commit their lives to Christ because they feared the witch doctors probable revenge. Then one woman stood up and came forward and testified of her decision to follow Jesus Christ. It just so happened that this woman was married to the witch doctor and took a bold stand of faith against witchcraft. By the power of this womans bold act of faith, the people came forward and many gave their lives to Jesus that day. But this also caused the witch doctors wrath to be loosed against us.

Next, we ministered divine healing in an open field behind our equipment. As the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit manifested and the people were healed, a sudden and very strong wind commenced to blow. It became so strong that it picked up objects and hurled them directly at us. Then the wind ripped off a metal sheet from a nearby tin roof and it almost decapitated us as we ministered over a young girl. But as the sheet of tin drew near, something unseen hit it and it sailed off in the opposite direction. I looked up at the interpreter who was a bit shaken and said, Its all right, keep on; the enemy is just mad at us, but God will protect us.

I then heard the people as they shouted. I looked over to the immense tree where I had just delivered the Word. The wind tried to pull this massive tree down on top of all the people. This would have killed many, but these newborn believers exercised their newfound authority in Christ over witchcraft, prayed corporately, and the tree lifted right back up.

Clearly, it was a power-filled encounter between the Christians and the occult world, but it was obvious to all present that the supernatural power of faith that we Christians possess is indeed greater than magic.

STEP FORWARD

A clear understanding of the supernatural is necessary. For too long Christians of the Western world have denied its existence while the Eastern world has readily walked in the supernatural, but denied God. Why did the Christians of the Western world deny the supernatural? Why did the Eastern world deny God but accept the supernatural? Where is the truth in all this denial?

A failure to understand the true power of the supernatural results in confusion and corruption of the truth. It is this confusion and corruption that mystifies the supernatural and leads many to stray from God and into occult practices. And this same mystification of the supernatural causes some Christians to become wary and fearful and step back and turn away from it. But is this fear the correct response from Christians?

People fear what they do not understand. This fear stems from a lack of knowledge. A deficiency of knowledge, especially in Gods Word, is destructive. God says through His prophet in Hosea 4:6a, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. He goes on to say that His people even reject it. They are unaware that everything that manifests in the physical world is an irrefutable result of spiritual occurrences around them. When it comes to partaking of the Word of God, many are malnourished. They do not have the substance to live victoriously. This insufficiency of the supernatural power of God causes great damage to the Body of Christ. It hinders Gods miraculous intervention to reach His people. God wants us to understand His supernatural ways. And according to John 16:13 in the Amplified Version of the Bible, He sends His Truth-giving Spirit to guide us into all truth, including the revelation knowledge of the supernatural. Jesus shares the power source of this truth in John 8:31-32. He says, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

I met a beautiful Christian woman at a private meeting in Chicago, Illinois, who suffered needlessly for 25 years of unbearable pain from a tethered spine because she was not taught the truth about supernatural healing. But her healing almost didnt happen because she was afraid that perhaps God would not heal her. After she heard the truth from Gods Word concerning the Lords will to heal, she was released from fear. Healing hands were laid upon her and she was instantly healed and delivered from all pain and suffering.

When we walk in the revelation of the Word, the presence of the Spirit of Truth manifests with signs and wonders through us and draws the hurting to Himself. As we allow the reality of Christ to shine through us, their spiritual eyes see beyond the deadness of religion that quenches the power of the Spirit. And as His active supernatural power works through us, it shatters the spiritual darkness that holds them in bondage and escorts them into a living relationship with the one true God.

By the supernatural power of faith a man was saved just in the nick of time. I met this Guatemalan man for the first time while he was in a coma breathing his last breaths. He was quickly slipping away from this earth. Now, religion would read him his last rites and hope he makes it into the sweet by-and-by, but there is no need to guess when the supernatural power of faith is in operation and the Gifts of the Spirit are activated. As I walked up to his hospital bed, I could see a spiritual cloud of darkness all around him. I knew by the discerning of spirits found in 1 Corinthians 12 that he was not saved. I reached out and touched him and told him to wake up. He did, and he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

What would have happened to this man had I not known how to operate in the supernatural power of faith? What if I had been intimidated by the situation and walked away? He would have died and been lost for an eternity in hell. I thanked God I arrived just in time and that I had the courage to believe what the Bible said about the supernatural power of faith. But how many people entered into their eternal destination without Jesus Christ because the brethren were either intimidated by the situation or did not know how to operate in the supernatural power of faith?

Dear Jesus,

As Your spiritual body, we repent for our part in the denial and rejection of the supernatural, for our lack of knowledge and for the unnecessary destruction that it causes in the lives of so many of Your people. Forgive us, for we do not realize the consequences that others suffer when we allow fear and ignorance to paralyze and override the supernatural power of our faith.