Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
— Mark 9:23

When our TV program was broadcast on Channel One in Belarus, every home in the entire nation had the ability to watch it. The proof of how many people watched our program was the mountains of mail we received every week from Belarus. The impact we had was simply phenomenal.

So at the urging of a pastor in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, we took the train to that city and held a three-day meeting for our television viewers. People came from all over Belarus, to the point that the auditorium could not hold everyone who tried to get into the meeting. It blessed us to see such a response to the Gospel message delivered through our TV program.

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However, the first night of the meeting was a real struggle because they gave me an interpreter who knew almost no English. All night he and I wrestled back and forth on the stage, trying to understand each other, and I knew that the crowd was missing what God wanted to say to them. When the meeting was over, I was exasperated and exhausted. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, and I didn’t want to pray for anyone. I just wanted to go home to our hotel and forget about what a disastrous evening that first meeting had been.

Yet there was a little lady who I could not shake off. She kept following me and saying, “Lay your hands on my ear, and my hearing will be restored.” To be honest, I was so discouraged from the evening that I didn’t want to pray. But she adamantly insisted, “Lay your hands on me, and I’ll be healed.”

The woman followed and followed me until finally, I asked an usher to remove her. I just wasn’t in the mood for praying and really didn’t believe anything would happen if I prayed for her that night. As they dragged her away, she kept yelling, “Just lay your hands on me, and I’ll be healed. Did you hear me? Just lay your hands on me, and I’ll be healed.” I watched as the ushers removed her, and I did not pray for her.

Before we left the auditorium that night, the pastor and I had a serious talk about how to choose interpreters, and I pleaded with him to get me an interpreter for the next night who knew English. By the time our talk concluded, it was very dark outside. We carefully made our way down the steps to the car, when suddenly a familiar voice called out from the shadows: “Lay your hands on me, and I’ll be healed!”

Although I felt absolutely nothing, I quickly turned to the deaf woman in that pitch darkness. Out of exasperation, I placed my hands on each side of her head, and commanded her ears to be opened. To my surprise, she started weeping and cried, “My ear has been opened! I can hear! I told you that if you would just lay your hands on me, I would be healed, and that is exactly what has happened!” She came back to the meeting the next night and publicly testified that her deaf ear had been completely healed as I laid hands on her the previous night. It remains one of the most remarkable miracles I’ve ever witnessed in my ministry — because I know it had nothing to do with me. It had to do entirely with that woman and with what she believed!

This woman in Minsk reminds me of the words that Jesus spoke in Mark 9:23. In that verse, Jesus addressed a father who had a son who was inflicted with a dumb and deaf spirit. The father cried out for Jesus to help his son. And “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23). What a promise Jesus made to this father and to all who dare to believe! According to this verse, “all things are possible” to them who believe!

“All things” in Greek is panta, an all-inclusive word that throws off all limitations and blows the door open for anything to happen to a person who believes. The word “possible” is the word dunata, a form of the word dunamis, which is a well-known and often-used word that carries the idea of power, strength, and ability. This word was even used to depict the strength of a whole army. Thus, when a person believes, it opens the door for power, strength, and ability to work — and that power is so mighty, it is like the full force of an entire army that is moved to operate on your behalf. How would you like the full force of an army to be at your disposal? That’s what happens when you believe!

But wait, there’s more that you must see in this verse. It concludes by saying all things are possible “to him that believeth.” In Greek, the tense means that all things are possible to the one who is believing. This is not a promise to one who used to believe or to one who once believed in the past. It is a guarantee to the one who is presently believing for something to happen. If a person will get in faith and stay in faith, Jesus says that absolutely anything can happen. For the believing one, anything and everything is possible!

That leads me back to the woman in Minsk. She came to that meeting believing that if I would touch her, she would be healed. She was so filled with faith that when I didn’t cooperate with her, it didn’t move her faith at all. She simply refused to leave the facility until I touched her and she received her healing. And what happened? Exactly what she believed. I touched her, and the power of God moved according to her faith — and within seconds, she was weeping because her hearing had been instantly restored. It had nothing to do with me and everything to do with her and what she believed. What she believed is precisely what she received. It came to her exactly as she had said: “Lay your hands on me, and I’ll be healed.”

This woman was determined that neither she nor I would leave that facility without my laying hands on her and her hearing being restored. To be honest, I didn’t even pray when I touched her. I simply lay my hands on her, as she demanded, and spoke to the ear to be opened — and the power of God moved liked a mighty army in response to her faith and opened her ear! Her miracle had everything to do with what she believed.

  • What about you and your faith?
  • What do you believe?

If you are believing right now, you are in a position for the ability of God to move against your problem and bring you the result you seek. If you are in faith and staying in faith, it’s only a matter of time until things will begin to change. That’s a promise that Jesus made to you, to me, and to anyone who will believe! So let’s get our faith in gear and determine to STAY in faith! As we make that rock-solid commitment, we’ll begin to experience the truth that anything really is possible to the one who believes and releases his or her faith!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY


F
ather, I realize that I have let some things slip regarding my walk of faith. Lord, I repent for being so carnal that I was moved by what I saw and what I felt. I commit afresh not to be provoked by circumstances that are subject to change. By Your grace, from this moment onward, I will be moved to take action only on the Word and by the Spirit of God. Thank You for strengthening my resolve to make a quality, lasting decision to step it up and get my faith in gear! You empower me by Your Spirit to stay consistent with my intake of the Word of God so my faith can remain fresh, current, and active and I can be strong in spirit to receive what I need.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY


I confess that my faith is alive and well and that I remain “in faith” to receive what I need! I keep my fellowship with the Lord intimate, fresh, and vibrant by spending time in His Word and in prayer daily. I keep myself in the love of God, and as a result, my faith does not fail. I give my attention to God’s words and His desired end results; therefore, the Lord Himself keeps my thoughts in agreement with His will. I speak and act in agreement with God’s words; therefore, I walk in and release the peace, wisdom, and supernatural ability of God everywhere I go. According to Jesus’ promise in Mark 9:23, anything and everything is possible to me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

  1. What do you think about the tenacious attitude of the woman in Minsk and the fact that she would not leave the facility until she received her hearing? Do you see that her healing had nothing to do with me, but everything to do with what she believed? Are you as persistent as she was to receive from God?
  2. What exactly are you standing on the Word of God and exercising your faith to believe for right now? Are you unwilling to be denied?
  3. Would God say that your faith is presently being released? Did the words that were once burning and alive in your heart now only flicker as a fact that you vaguely recall but no longer act upon? Or would He say that you have grown old in your confession and that your faith needs to be rekindled? If your faith needs to be rekindled, what are you going to do to make that happen?