When we are willing to pray for others, God moves through us to touch people’s lives.

by Merle Shenk

We serve a God of the supernatural! The Holy Spirit is the Helper who Jesus promised in John 14:16-17. He is the means through which we live in continual connection with God. He leads us into truth in every matter that concerns us. He is the one who makes known to us all that God has for us. He also makes known what we need to know and reveals it to us when we need to know it.

In this article, I will share several of my own encounters with the supernatural works of God. In doing so, I want to caution us that any experience we may have, without a foundation on the Word of God, cannot be trusted. May we always remain grounded in God’s Word as we step into a world of spiritual gifts, signs, wonders, and miracles. And remember, it is all for God’s glory!

The Holy Spirit Gives Gifts

Knowing information that we have no way of knowing naturally is one gift that the Holy Spirit relays to God’s children. As explained in 1 Corinthians 2:12, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

This gift of the Holy Spirit is identified in 1 Corinthians 12:8:

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit.

One of the ways that this gift has manifested in my life is through receiving timely Scripture references that turn out to be accurate “now” words for certain situations. Sometimes people have marveled at what they perceive to be an extensive knowledge of Scripture; in pulling up relevant and applicable verses on demand. It is actually a supernatural gift at work, a word of knowledge given through the Holy Spirit. I am not that smart!

I was never adept at Bible memorization as a child. Even as an adult, I rarely remember Bible references for verses that I have memorized. (An internet search often helps me to find references.) Honestly, getting Scripture references in times of prayer did not come easily at first; it required a lot of practice. During my Bible school days, I was often embarrassed and frustrated by looking for reference numbers in the Bible that did not even exist. But I kept with it. I learned to discern the types of impressions that were from the Holy Spirit and those that were from my own imagination or human effort.

It is the Holy Spirit who gives us what we need to know when we need to know it. He is the one who makes known to us all that God has for us. Everything that we need from the mind of Christ for our situations is available to us through the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit Presents God’s Love

During a conference I attended, I received prayer for impartation to experience words of knowledge and prophetic messages. Not long after, I was invited to speak at a conference for DOVE churches in Toronto, Canada. I felt as if God showed me the name “Ken” and the word “orphans” during the worship time. Then, in my mind, I saw a drop-down menu of names. The middle name, Jaclyn, stood out to me. As my speaking time was coming to an end, I asked if there was a Ken or a Jaclyn present, and whether they had anything to do with orphans. No one responded. So, I chalked it up as a “learning experience.”

The next morning, I was speaking at Harvest Church. After the service, the pastor was meeting with a first-time visitor who introduced herself as Jackie. I asked if her birth name was Jaclyn and she said that it was. I asked her if she knew someone named Ken. She explained, “Ken is my father, but he recently passed away so I am moving back to Toronto this weekend to be close to my other siblings, because we are all feeling like orphans.” I was so humbled as I explained to her that I had received part of these details the day before.

God loved Jaclyn so much that He gave me her name, her father’s name, and the word “orphan” the day before—in a totally different meeting! Considering that Jaclyn was an adult, it seemed a bit unusual for her to describe the pain of losing her father as “feeling like an orphan.” Yet God cared about how she was feeling based on how she defined and experienced it.

God cares for each of us in the same way. He is involved in the emotional details of our lives, especially when we experience loss or pain.

Words of Knowledge for Physical Healing

One time when ministering at a church in central Pennsylvania, I received a short list of body parts before the service for which I felt God wanted me to pray specifically for healing. At the time of ministry, I read through the list. One of the things on my list was a problem with compressed discs due to damaged cartilage in someone’s back. I did not know any specific medical terms for the condition, but described it as best I could.

As I asked about this ailment, no one responded. I asked again because I was feeling an intensity from the Lord about it. Again, no one responded. I even asked if anyone had a close family or friend with that condition. Still no response. However, I noticed tears running down the face of one lady. So I prayed aloud that if anyone had this particular problem, that the pain would go and that Jesus would touch and heal him or her. I then proceeded to minister on other topics.

Two years later, the pastor of that church came to me at a leader’s conference and told me there had been a woman in the room that day who had that specific problem with her back. When I prayed out loud for it, she could feel God touching her—but did not want to come forward because she was scheduled to have surgery on her discs and did not want to testify without being sure that she was really healed. When she went to the doctor, it was confirmed that she had been healed. She did not need the surgery.

It was two years until I heard that testimony of healing. This should encourage us to step out in faith and pray obediently, even if no one responds.

Miracles of Provision

The Word of God promises us, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Scripture also explains that cheerful giving is the context for God’s promise of provision, as seen in 2 Corinthians 9:7-8: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

My wife and I always strive to be generous with our finances. We tithe faithfully and give as much as we can beyond that amount.

In the early years of our ministry, there were many times when we did not have enough money to make it through the end of the month. Cheree and I agreed that God would always want us to fulfill our financial obligations. If needs could not be met, we would need to leave the mission field and move back home.

One incident took place when we were in Bible school. Our rent was due and we did not have the full amount to pay. When we went to the landlords to tell them that we could not pay, they told us that someone from our church had stopped by earlier that day to pay our rent. We were so shocked! We had not told anyone about our financial situation. But God moved upon someone’s heart to bless us on the very day that we were out of money!

Another time while serving in South Africa, our health insurance, rent, credit card payment, and some other bills were all due in one week. The total amount that we owed was several thousand dollars, but we had fifty dollars to our name. We were stressed, to say the least. In fact, we told each other that we had probably reached the end of our time on the mission field. We would just need to go back home.

I drove to an internet café to check our bank balance so that I could plot the way forward. Guess what. A gift of $3,000 had been deposited the day before! Praise God. This person did not know—actually no one else apart from God and us knew—how close we were to giving up!

Another time I paid an airline ticket for a ministry trip with air miles points. In the months leading up to the trip, our finances became very tight. I remember how distressed I felt about leaving my wife and young children with only $30 as I went on a ministry trip to interior parts of Africa. I would have cancelled the trip, but because I had booked my ticket with air miles, it could not be refunded.

The day before I left, Cheree packed a large jar of peanut butter in my suitcase. She was thinking that I would be able to survive on that peanut butter the entire two and a half weeks. That night a dear friend of ours was shopping and felt as if God told him to buy our family a half of a lamb. He was not sure why. He thought there may be symbolism involved since Jesus was the Lamb of God. But we knew why! This meat was going to last my family for the entire time I was out of the country!

As I packed my clothes, I decided to take along several sets of teaching CDs I had recorded. I was traveling African style, which means I was not staying in hotels but rather being hosted in people’s homes. On that trip, I sold all the CDs I had carried and had to make twice as many again while in the host country. All those sold, too! I was able to use that money to pay for transportation, bless each host home that I stayed in, and pay for all my needs! When I returned home I handed the unopened peanut butter jar back to my wife with a big smile on my face!

Prayer Welcomes the Supernatural

The week before we were to begin one of the Schools of Supernatural Ministry I led, we held prayer meetings with some of our staff. We were using a 24/7 house of prayer that was open to the public, so other people were free to come in and out during the time we were praying.

At the end of our time, we prayed for each person present. As we prayed for one elderly gentleman who had joined us, I asked if he had need for physical healing. He asked for prayer for his feet. He explained that he loved to run and at a younger age he had been a semi-pro basketball player. Because of crippling pain in his feet, he could now only walk very slowly. This pain was growing markedly worse over the last ten to fifteen years and was now making it very difficult for him to get around. We prayed for his feet, commanding any spirit of infirmity to leave his body. We also gave him several prophetic words.

Later that day he called the office to say that his feet were completely pain free! God healed him. When he felt the healing manifest, he went immediately to the gym. He had just finished a mile when he called us! Praise the Lord.

When we are willing to pray for others, God moves through us to touch people’s lives. When we are faithful to move in the measure of faith that we have, God can do mighty things! Infirmities that have bound people for decades can be healed and lifted from someone’s life in a moment!

We love praying with guests in our home, receiving and giving prophetic words and impressions. Great life and encouragement come from this environment of prayer. The atmosphere of a house of prayer helps create a healthy expectation for God to move in supernatural ways. We can create an atmosphere of God’s presence around us in our lives through our relationship with Him!

Be encouraged to make every encounter with others an opportunity for God to move. Cultivate an atmosphere of prayer and expectation for God to move supernaturally in the everyday moments of your life. When we are obedient, He does not disappoint us.

Learn more in Encountering the Supernatural
co-authored by Merle Shenk, Larry Kreider and Kevin Kazemi

In AUDIOBOOK, EBOOK and BOOK format!

Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, this book will place you on a path to a greater revelation of God’s supernatural power in everyday life.