God’s Word Activates Miracles: Praying Prayers that Release Heaven’s Power

When we use the Word of God beyond just a historical document and speak in the same Spirit in which it was written, miracles occur.

It is written in 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NKJV): “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” The power of the word of God is still today connected to speaking as Holy Spirit-inspired or God-breathed. There is a huge difference between a scribe who thinks it’s more important to write the Scripture with every dot and stroke of the pen precisely, than to speak the Word through the inspired life of the Holy Spirit. The Word without the Spirit is just a word, but with the quickening of the Holy Spirit, the Word comes alive and is sent toward a target. It’s not the repetitiveness of saying the word as a mantra, it’s through the same Spirit who was there in creation to oversee its completion and accomplishment.

We cannot see the power of the Word manifest without the agreement of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the depth and life of the word you are speaking, and He will add His anointing to the word, and it becomes not just a reading word but a speaking rhema word.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11 NKJV).

The word is inspired and made alive by the Holy Spirit and will bring about the intended results. The disappointment for some is when they repeat the word but do not invite the Holy Spirit into partnering with the Word.

The word without the Spirit is static and has no movement. Just as it was in creation is still true today; God the Father willed it, Jesus the Son/ Word spoke it, and the Holy Spirit moved upon it and accomplished it.

We read in Ephesians 5:26-27 (NKJV): “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.” Water in Scripture has several symbolic meanings, two of which are in this verse. The context is picturing Christ and His bride, the church. Here water is seen as cleansing as expected for a bride to prepare herself for her wedding day. Also, water is used to sanctify, meaning to separate or set apart for an exclusive use. In both cases, water is used to describe the word of God that separates us from the earthly and prepares us to be sensitive to the eternal purpose. Being sanctified is being set apart or putting a boundary around the bride so nothing can pollute her from being readied for her special day. It’s amazing to me how many different areas of our lives are affected by the word of God.

Living in and listening to God’s word cleanses us; it is used as a weapon in our mouth, it guides us toward the will and purposes of God, and it gives us access into the throne of God. The word of God prepares us for higher levels of service. For example, Psalm 105:19 (NKJV) says, “Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.” This verse refers to Joseph and the dream he had concerning his future. As soon as he shared his dream with his brothers, the word began to work as a catalyst toward the fulfillment. The higher the level of the word, the greater the extent and extreme working of the word to test and prepare us for its completion. Joseph was destined to go ahead of his people into Egypt.

Joseph was 17 years old when he had the dream, and for thirteen years the word tested him three different times and places. Notice it was the word doing the testing, not his brothers or Potiphar. The word is alive, always moving us toward our destiny if we don’t give up and abort the mission. When Joseph was 30 years of age, he began to serve in Pharoah’s court. There was another seven years of prosperity in the land before his family arrived in Egypt. The word was Joseph’s foundation, and he held to his word which opened doors and shut doors all the while it was moving him toward the ultimate fulfillment of his destiny, which was to preserve his family and satisfy the covenant God had made to Abraham. God goes to great lengths to prepare us with His word, and there are no shortcuts. So, when it came time for Joseph to step into his role as the preserver of life due to the famine, he was ready and had developed compassion and sensitivity to the fear of God.

A Summer of Surprise

I was 17 and it was the summer before I was to enter my senior in high school. I was full of excitement, looking forward to playing sports and full of wonder as to what I would do when I graduated from high school. No one in my family had attended college, so there was not much expectation except to get a job like most. I had a summer job, and I asked my boss if I could take off for a week to go to youth camp. His answer was an emphatic “No,” as it was the busiest time of the year for fence building. I was disappointed because I felt a strong pull in my heart that I was to go to the camp. I thanked my boss for the job and told him that I was going to go. He said, “Don’t expect the job to be here when you get back.”

That youth camp became the pivotal point in my life.

It was the last night of the camp and many of my friends had received prophetic words, but nothing for me. I was sitting in the back wearing a pink shirt and set on pulling the long hair of the girl sitting in front of me. I can’t say I was really engaged in the preaching. The speaker was a very austere lady name Grace Solis. She was a little scary to me. When she prophesied, she would shut one eye and point as if she had taken aim with a rifle. I can still feel that stare as I write this today.

She said, “Young man in the pink shirt in the back.” I looked around to see how many other pink shirts there were in the outside pavilion. I couldn’t see any others. She insisted and pointed in my direction, and said, “Stand up.” With my friend pushing on me to stand up, I finally gathered the courage and stood to my feet. I felt like I was being called into the principal’s office to be rebuked for pulling the girl’s hair.

Then the woman turned sideways, put her one-eyed scope on me, pointed her long index finger at me, and I felt like I had a giant target on my chest. I was always taught to look someone in the eye who was talking to me. I mustered enough courage to raise my head and look, hoping she was aiming at someone else. I raised my head and caught sight of her one eye aiming right at my chest and there was no doubt she had me in her crosshairs. Her voiced boomed across the pavilion, “Young man, God’s hand is upon you to preach the Gospel to the nations and your feet will stand in many places to preach without fear or favor of man. God has given you an unusual ability to make money, but the time will come when you will lay it all down and follow Him. You will become a troubleshooter in the body of Christ.”

I asked my friend sitting next to me, “What is a troubleshooter?” He replied, “I think it’s someone who gets shot for causing trouble.”

I though, Oh man, I don’t want that word. I knew something had impacted me, but I just didn’t know what it was. Fortunately, someone had recorded the word and had transcribed it for me. I still have the prophecy today; the paper has yellowed but the words are etched into my memory because I read the word weekly and sometimes daily.

When I returned home, I made the decision to pursue that word. I told all my friends I was called to be a preacher and most shrugged their shoulders not really knowing what that meant. The word became the catalyst that managed my life in ways I could not even begin to imagine. Friends I had known most of my life disappeared and I found new ones who had a similar passion for the Lord. I received more clarification on the word troubleshooter.

Over the years I understood, like Joseph, the word I received that day led me into some strange circumstances that were tailored just for me. The chaos I had to deal with forced me to go deep into the Holy Spirit and get wisdom about what to do. The word I received that momentous evening at camp took me into times of experiencing betrayal and rejection from some I thought would be friends forever.

Today I help oversee several churches and, on many occasions, I am called upon to intervene as an arbitrator in the lives of pastors and their leadership teams. The word certainly didn’t stop working until, you guessed it, I had become a “troubleshooter.” It’s not a job anyone really wants, but it’s one that through much pain on my own and plenty of mistakes, I learned to have compassion for those going through similar difficulty, hopefully helping them avoid pitfalls along the way. The word certainly does test, but not for failure—for graduation. At each point of graduation there is a new level of authority given and a greater under- standing of how to use the spiritual weapons gifted to us.

Like currency we use every day to buy food and clothing, that currency is recognized by banks and our government guarantees the value of the paper and value presented. In much the same way, the word of God is backed up by the government in Heaven and guarantees the worth and responsiveness to His Word. Speaking the Word of God is much more than quoting Scriptures correctly, it is the spirit inside you that gives witness to the Word.

I can tell the difference when I am reading my Bible for personal edification and when the Holy Spirit highlights a particular verse, and the intensity of its worth comes out of my mouth different from when I am only reciting it.

And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NKJV).

The Old Testament was the letter of the law, and the New Testament is the Word with the Spirit. The currency I am referring to is the Word that is Spirit led and energized that causes things to be transformed. A sermon filled with Scriptures that have not been made alive by the Spirit is full of knowledge but no life. Knowledge doesn’t cause Heaven to respond; it is the Word of God that speaks, and it will not return without accomplishing what it was sent to do.