Being led by the Spirit
Proclaiming the gospel and praying for the sick

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
– Romans 8:14 | English Standard Version (ESV)

Preface:
Never say “never”
This article comes within two weeks of sharing with a couple from my present Church at the time that this article was written, that I would never write a book or an article about the miracles that have occurred in my life as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. However, the Lord had changed my heart and mind as this topic is something that I believe we need to be encouraged in, and walk in as the Holy Spirit directs us. As believers, we are all filled for His glory and for His purposes:

• to have power (it’s His power, not ours) to be effective witnesses
• to enable us to share the Good News—the gospel of Jesus Christ
• to bring recovery of sight for the blind (spiritually)
• to release the oppressed
• to proclaim the Lord’s favor and grace
• to be benefactors, doing good to those in need
• to break the devil’s chains in the lives of bound-up people
• to teach us and help us know God’s truth versus error.

As a Truth warrior, I intend to teach and preach the Word of God, what the Lord is doing, and who He is for His honor and glory. None of us are to make “the supernatural” our ‘Lord,’ because we have Jesus as our Lord (not what we think we can “get” from Him). I hope this article encourages you in the uniqueness of your walk with the Lord, that He has chosen for you.

– Coffee Scribe

Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,”
– Luke 12:35 | (ESV)

A supernatural God

Everything about God is supernatural

As a Christian who actually believes what the Bible says, one has to believe in a supernatural God because everything He does is supernatural. Take for example the virgin birth of Messiah; the parting of the Red Sea; the creation account and numerous miracles recorded in both the Old and New Testaments—it’s all supernatural from the beginning to the end. So if we believe in a supernatural God who performs great and mighty miracles and acts, then why is it so hard for some in the Church not to believe in the miraculous works of the Holy Spirit for today? Even our salvation is supernatural and that’s definitely for today.

Being led by the Spirit is a supernatural way of living

Being led by the Spirit, also known as “walking after the Spirit” means that we trust the Holy Spirit to do in us what we cannot do ourselves. This life is completely different from the life we would naturally live by ourselves. In other words, each time we are faced with new demands from the Lord, we look to Him to do in us what He requires of us. It is not a case of trying but of trusting; not of struggling but of resting in Him; and the works He desires to do in and through us are by His choosing and will. Nevertheless, it’s when we trust in Him enough that we act according to His will, and therefore as James declares, our faith is alive and made perfect by the works that we do. This new way of living is both the workings of the Holy Spirit in us and the works by which we do by faith in Him.

¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?… ²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?”
– James 2:19-20, 22 | New King James Version (NKJV)

Demons are real!
The believer’s authority in Christ

¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.”
– Luke 10:19 | New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Demon-possession is real

First of all, Christians can not be possessed by a demon; secondly, All Christians are anointed by God the Holy Spirit as believers in Christ. Our goal is not to cast out demons, but rather, to lead people to Christ! With that said, every day I take a number of buses and trains to-and-from work. I meet a lot of interesting people, to say the least, and I’m sure that I’m also viewed in that same way by many of them as well.

During one of my train rides home, a woman had come onto the train and, in my opinion, blatantly displayed what I believed could possibly have been an overt manifestation of an unclean spirit right in front of me. Non-coincidentally, I had spent the last couple of months learning all about spiritual warfare according to the entire Book of Ephesians which concludes with chapter six as its overview; also, what these evil beings’ different tactics and characteristics are, and how they operate in an attempt to fulfill their demonic mission of distracting, enticing, and destroying people. However, without being absorbed into those distasteful details of how they were manifesting—and inevitably, Satan isn’t omnipresent nor all-powerful and is in fact already a defeated foe as Christ Himself has defeated him and his power at the cross (which is truly spiritual warfare), I can say with outright certainty that the voice of the Holy Spirit is always immeasurably louder, greater, and more effectual in His power than any spirits’ visually gross personifications of obvious enticement could ever be.

⁴ because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
– 1 John 4:4b | King James Version (KJV)

Ambassadorship

²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:20a | (ESV)

Faith, authority, and power are all His

By complete faith—bold, raw faith in believing what the Word of God says in Scripture, I took absolute authority (not my author, but His!) over those spirits by prayer in Jesus’ Name. This was done quietly, tactfully, and discreetly. There wasn’t any need for me to raise the level of my voice whatsoever as authority is not based upon how loudly one speaks but rather it’s about position—position is based upon where one is seated which is reflective of how much power and influence is granted from that place of authority—Christ Himself is The Only True, and Ultimate Authority, as His Word (the Scripture) is true and authoritative (not us!). As Christians, we walk according to what we know the Bible reveals about God and ourselves, not what we feel and think—it’s about knowing, not feelings. The rule or gauge by which we know the truth is the Word of God (full stop, period!) as it has been since the days the true Apostles wrote them thousands of years ago.

⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
– Ephesians 2:6 | (KJV)

As Christians, we are told that we are ambassadors of Christ. I don’t feel that I am, but I know that I am because of what the Bible says about that. With ambassadorship, we are representatives of heaven on behalf of Christ. Because of this, we are granted His authority to speak and work on His behalf here on earth according to His expressed will. We are never to tell God or demand of Him what He should do, but rather we are to submit our will according to His will, as we trust wholeheartedly in Him acknowledging His unequivocal Lordship. Also, faith is not some kind of power that we direct at God to force Him to act as we want Him to—that would be sin! Rather, true faith is submitting and then taking action because of what we know the Bible tells us about Him and how He acts and works according to His own purposes and pleasure.

¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
– Philippians 2:13 | New Living Translation (NLT)

The Word of God shows us this…

¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”
– Mark 16:17 | (KJV)

The Holy Spirit operating through His gifts in the believer

I could be absolutely, and completely wrong by misinterpreting what happened, but it’s in what followed next that caused me to believe that I may have possibly been dealing with unclean spirits. Immediately the woman (on the train that I and her were on) started to violently shake and convulse as I prayed. She slumped in her seat as her arms and legs went completely limp while still convulsing. Her eyes had rolled backward into her head and she wasn’t able to speak. Next, two young girls to my right who may have been on their way home from school quickly dropped their backpacks on the train floor as they both reached across the aisle to catch this woman from collapsing in front of us. They probably thought that she was having a violent epileptic seizure because of the sudden, uncontrollable physical shaking and contortions. I have also seen people contort who have been having an epileptic seizure, and I too had a concern that it might have been that as well.

Just then, the train came to a complete stop and the woman jumped up out of her seat with a torturing, contorted face and ran out of the train door screaming loudly—very loudly! The two girls beside me didn’t know what to think, and neither did anyone else for that matter—as we were all in shock (myself included) as to what had just taken place right in front of our very eyes.

Since the woman was screaming loudly as she fled the scene, which seemed to suggest that she was not delivered, but tormented and still possessed—yet for whatever reason which is beyond my understanding, I still prayed for her regardless, and left the outcome to the Lord and His will. (Compare with the before and after conditions described of some in the Bible who were delivered. I.e., Mark 5:7 and 15; or Mark 7:30; or Mark 9:26-27.) 

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.”
– Matthew 10:1 | (NASB)

Since that was my stop too, I disembarked from the train and carried on my way. I still have a hard time really understanding what exactly happened and why, as my interpretation of the events may not have been correct—but in Scripture, we often see that the expelling of unclean spirits and healing often accompany each other.

⁴¹ And demons also came out of many, crying, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.”
– Luke 4:41 | (ESV)

Healing the sick
Simply pray by faith

⁶ But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’”
– Acts 3:6 | (ESV)

Only the Holy Spirit can heal the sick

Healing is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and not all Christians have been given that gift. We do not decide which gifts the Spirit gives us, nor are they something that one can learn. It’s helpful to know what the Bible says about healing, and to not be arrogant or presumptuous in assuming that that’s a gift the Spirit gave you or me! We can know this by reading and believing the Scriptures. Healing is from God only and is based upon faith in the Word of God and what He says about it. Practically speaking, I am proposing that knowing and understanding how to go about sharing the gospel and healing the sick relationally go hand-in-hand. Whenever I pray for someone’s healing, that person oftentimes becomes saved if they were not already.

And just to be abundantly clear about something if it hasn’t been made clear already… I can not heal anyone, nor have I ever healed anyone (and never have even thought that I could, because I can’t) as I am just a man—only God heals; not me, not you, and not anyone! Also, I’m not even talking about spiritual ‘gifts’ right now as I’m talking about prayer in general. We should all be praying for the sick as Christians. If we do pray for the sick as the Bible says and tells us we should/can (James 5:13-16), then wouldn’t it make sense to believe in healing for those who are sick that we’re praying for? If not, then why are we instructed to pray for the sick in the first place? When we pray for the sick, do we not expect them to be healed, or are we just being religious? Also, I am not, nor have I ever claimed that I have the gift of healing—ever! But, I won’t stop praying for the homeless nor anyone else regardless of what I believe or you believe—it’s about what the Bible says we should do, not us; not me.

Tony

Meet “Tony” (or whatever his name was?)

I’ve always been really bad with names. So bad that I can’t even remember the names of my own relative, let alone a complete stranger that I’m meeting for the very first time. Sorry if that offends you, but it’s one of my shortcomings in life and you’ll just have to deal with it. I know this is wrong, but I can’t help it. Thanks, but I’ve already tried everything… and no, word association just doesn’t help and neither does shaming me to help me to remember, as plenty of friends and family have already tried that to no avail.

I had met, who I will call Tony just 20 minutes after, what could have possibly been casting unclean spirits out of the woman on the train (only God knows for sure). Backing up a bit—right after the woman ran off of the train screaming, I put my earbuds in and began listening to worship music. I felt in my spirit that there was something more. I was listening to a song by Phil Wickham called “Heaven Song (Oceans) – Live.” My spirit was instantly worshiping Christ as Phil began singing “more of You Jesus, more of You…” I could just sense in my bones that God was going to do something more. Was this hopeful thinking? Perhaps. So I put the whole incident of what had just happened with the delivered woman out of my mind and focused all of my attention on the Lord. As I praised Him, everything felt rather pleasantly normal, and I had forgotten about what had just happened only a few short minutes earlier—until along came Tony.

Give God your full attention

I am no longer naïve in believing that people just happen to walk across my path for no apparent reason at all. Because I know God loves people, I believe they are brought to me by God Himself. I constantly have the homeless, the addicts, and the demoniacs all come and sit down beside me on the train (even if all of the other seats are empty); and some will even fall asleep on my shoulder so that I can pray for them. I never question “why” because I am a representative of Christ and of His gospel of love. As I was waiting for my connector bus while I was busy enjoying the sun and the worship music, that’s when I first saw Tony. When I had first caught him out of the corner of my eye, I didn’t quite understand what was happening with him as he appeared to be staggering toward my general direction. I knew right away that I was brought there for him and needed to give both him and God my full attention.

As Tony limped and staggered his way towards me, he eventually stumbled right up to me while babbling away. I wasn’t so sure if he was drunk since I didn’t have that sense. However, the more I listened to what he was trying to say, I could tell that he was frantically distraught. If I’m recalling his continuous rambling correctly, I think he was talking about how his girlfriend had just left him and something was up concerning his dad who lived in Eastern Canada of where he was headed to.

Regardless of whatever it was that he was trying to say—all I remember is that to his surprise and to mine, I had unexpectedly interrupted him point-blank as I bluntly asked him where he was hurting in his body and if I could pray for him. I told him that I’m a Christian and that I pray for people; and those I pray for, they always are healed; (why I say “always” is because up to that point, only the people that I had prayed with did in fact get healed. However, for clarification—God does not always heal people when we or I ask). He told me that his knee was causing him agonizing pain and that he could hardly walk. So without hesitation, I prayed in the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and asked the Lord that all pain leave his physical body. I didn’t touch his knee but I remember being very focused and aware that the Lord is gracious and it is He that is the One Who Heals us. At once Tony started to shift from one leg to another as he told me that he was experiencing some kind of soothing heat in that area of his leg—and that it was somehow systematically sweeping throughout his knee cap and his entire leg. I told him that that was God healing him and restoring him back to health.

To make a long story short—basically, I told Tony that his life was a wreck and that he needed a new life. I gave Tony the gospel and we prayed for him to believe upon Jesus Christ to forgive his sins and to save him. I could tell that it was during the preaching of the gospel that Tony committed his life to Jesus even before we had prayed for his salvation. ALL THE PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD!

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,”
– Romans 1:16a | (NASB)

Was this actually a miracle? I believe so—Tony walked away with not even the slightest hint of a limp. But, even if it wasn’t real physical healing, then I would definitely say the greatest of all miracles actually did happen—a lost soul who was dead in his sins came to receive Christ and was saved! 

God uses us even though we are weak

Tony told me after praying with him that he unquestionably knew somehow that he was supposed to speak with me as soon as he saw me. Even though all during that time that I was speaking and praying with Tony, I was mistakenly using some other name other than what his actual name really was, and yet God still healed and saved him. It was during the salvation prayer together near the end of our conversation that Tony had asked me who whatever the name I had been using was. I told him it didn’t matter what name I had used as God knows who he is and that He still heard us regardless of my error. We both had a good laugh over that and Tony became a brand new man that day in Christ Jesus. No matter how inadequate and defective you or I may be in our shortcomings, God is not limited by our personal failings and limitations when it comes to doing God’s will. God will even use our mistakes such as not being able to remember someone’s name to His advantage.

Thankfully God is not looking for perfection; He’s looking for willingness and brokenness to showcase His Mighty deeds. He will express His life through anyone who dares to trust Him and believe that what He says is true. So wherever you are; whomever God brings across your path; whether you planned it but most likely not—you can pray for them and watch what God will do. “We want more of you God… more of you God… Jesus more of you… more of you Jesus—Jesus the chain-breaker… makes the stars… heal our hearts. This is our God!”

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