The power gifts from the Holy Spirit include Faith, Miracles, and Healing. The followers of Christ who believe are instructed to use these power gifts to build up the Church. Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner shares a recent healing and teaching about these important gifts of grace including teaching from the Lord and from Bishop Sam Jacobs and Fr. Stephen Barham. For audio, video and script please continue reading.
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On Easter Monday, our priest limped into Mass in our daily chapel. As he walked to the ambo to proclaim the Gospel about the women meeting the resurrected Jesus and embracing the feet of Jesus and as he walked around the front of the altar to distribute Holy Communion you could see the effect of pain on his face. He actually grabbed the altar for support as he walked. As I watched him during mass, I knew I had to speak to him after Mass and offer healing prayer. As he recessed out of the chapel, he could barely walk. In the hallway he told a few of us that the day before, on Easter Sunday before the noon service, he was questioned about the proper reading and with a little confusion he turned quickly to climb the steps and he missed a step and hurt his ankle. I said, “Father, you need prayer!” I asked him if we could pray for him. When he agreed, we asked him to sit down, thinking of alleviating a little of his pain. Father told us that at his age he just couldn’t get over this injury very quickly. The few people present quickly gathered around him to pray. He held my hand as I began to pray. We asked for repair. We asked for healing. We reminded our priest of the promise of Jesus to Faustina[i], and that anything we ask of God in Jesus’ name will be given if it is within God’s Will. I touched Father’s ankle and prayed for the ligaments to be strengthened and the inflammation to cease. We asked for the promise to be fulfilled of restoring his youth that his body quickly recover from the missing the step yesterday and turning his ankle. We reminded our priest that the restoration of youth was a promise of scripture[ii]. I prayed quietly in Tongues, and then we prayed a Hail Mary together, then we asked Mother Mary Blessed to kiss his ankle and make it feel all better. Father commented that it reminded him of his mom doing the same thing. As I continued to pray for his healing in adoration, I prayed “May your resurrection power be manifested as soon as Father allows it.” One woman who prayed with us shared witness about the strong awareness of the presence of God as we prayed for Father. She said it felt so “right” that we were paying for his healing.
The next day at mass Father again presided at the daily mass but entered without the pronounced limp he had the day before. As he greeted us, he told the story of his injury at the Easter Mass and the excruciating pain. He reminded us of his limp the previous day and how it kept getting worse during the mass. Then he told about us coming up to him after Easter Monday daily mass and telling him that we should pray for him, sitting him down and praying for him for healing. And now, he said with a big smile of joy, “Look!” Then he bounced on his feet in a little dance to show it was healed! He thanked us for praying for him. He told us that after the injury happened he began to concentrate on the tomb and death of Jesus but after the healing he focused on the Resurrection of Jesus.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I am your host Patti Brunner. Our episode today is Extraordinary Gifts of Power-Faith, Miracles & Healing. I love hearing from the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season readings. They give a great witness of the generous gifts of power given through the Resurrection of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord directed me to talk to you about the “power gifts” of the Holy Spirit. Certainly everything the Holy Spirit does is full of power! The Lord said to me a few weeks ago, “My Child, the interest in the extraordinary charisms is led by the prompting of the Most Holy Spirit. The curiosity of the move of God upon the world cannot easily be denied as My power gifts show My Presence among the people. Study the Power gifts then share them with your listeners.” The Lord said to me, “Certainly Healing is a shining example. The Greek word dynamis–also the root of dynamite—breaks loose the stony hearts of the people and rescues the needy who turn to God.
I have heard a mentor, Dr. Dennis Holt, speak of the dunamis power of God. The Greek dunamis is used 120 times in the New Testament. Loosely, the word refers to “strength, power, or ability.” It is the root word of our English words dynamite, dynamo, and dynamic. As I researched “dynamis” I found that the definition is “the state of that which is not yet fully realized: power, potentiality.” Shall I conclude that the power gifts of the Holy Spirit have potential that is only realized as they are fully accepted from the Holy Spirit and activated by the freewill of man? Can we not recognize the power the Holy Spirit has made available to us and manifests within us for the good of the Church?
Jesus told us that if we had the faith of a mustard seed, we could move mountains and trees and “nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20. In the Gospel of Luke 17:6 when the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ the Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.” I take this to mean that the power is supplied by the Holy Spirit. The Lord calls us to accept what He supplies. Our human freewill is small indeed, yet by surrendering our freewill to the Holy Spirit, the extraordinary power of faith, miracles and healing takes place through us to build up the Church.
Bishop Sam Jacobs taught me “This supernatural anointing of faith is different than historical or intellectual faith.” “The charismatic gift of Faith is a supernatural outpouring or anointing of the Holy Spirit which enables us to confidently believe without a doubt that what is spoken or undertaken in Jesus’ name will be accomplished. Faith involves entrusting oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely and completely what He reveals”. It is as St. Faustina wrote in her Diary, “O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the side of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.”
“The gift of the Faith of God is the supernatural Faith that will heal, bring about miracles, and move mountains! It is given spontaneously and lasts long enough for God’s purpose of the moment to be accomplished.” The charism of Faith is given to God’s followers when they are chosen to manifest His power and love to people.
My husband and I pray as a team usually when we pray for others. He quite often manifests the charism of Faith. He has the strong expectant faith that God will heal. This charismatic Faith can overcome the weak faith of the people for whom we pray and even the people who pray beside us. We have been personally given this faith to pray for storms to break apart in the midst of tornado sirens. We can see the immediate effect as the radar shows the intensity of the storms dissipating.
Charismatic priest Father Stephen Barham alsotaught us thatthegift of Faith is not just intellectual faith, but faith to believe supernaturally when everything else would go the other way. He taught that Miracles are works of power including exorcism. Miracles go beyond the type of healing that could have happened naturally—such as a replacement of limbs. He identified the Gift of Healing included the ability to “know”, “see”, or “feel” the healing taking place.
Mighty Deeds or “Miracles are interventions into the course of events which seem to contradict the so-called laws of nature. Through ‘working of miracles’ the Holy Spirit manifests the power of God to produce works which go beyond the natural: overriding natural laws, such as turning water into wine, multiplication of the loaves and fishes; healing beyond the ordinary, such as healing the withered hand in Luke Chapter 6:6-10, the replacement of an organ that is not there, disappearance of a tumor without surgery, making the blind see without surgery.” Many times people who have received prayer share reports that their doctors are amazed and have no idea how particular healings have occurred.
“Miracles, which always happen instantaneously, are a much more powerful sign of God’s presence and action than healings, which may be instantaneous, gradual or a speeded up recovery. The gift of Faith of God certainly has to be involved in the ministry of working miracles as one speaks the word of command in Jesus’ name without doubt and with full certitude and expectant faith.”
Bishop Sam Jacobs says, “Gifts of Healing are supernatural outpourings of God’s power which result in the healing of sickness and disease without the use of medical means.” “Jesus used many different methods of healing, such as laying on of hands, casting out demons, spitting and making mud then applying it, and proclaiming healing from a distance. Jesus is the healer.” “Healing is given as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit to build up, encourage, strengthen, make new or whole an individual or a group for the glory of God and the blessing of His people – to sanctify or to make holy the recipient, to glorify God, to build faith, to be a sign of the power and presence of God, to meet the need, to change the circumstances, to build up the Church. Healing may be physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual or relational. When we pray for healing, some type of healing comes, though it may not be specifically what we asked for.” Bishop Jacobs reminds us: “God wants healing—the type of healing is up to Him.”
Jesus knew that the power had gone through him to heal the woman with the hemorrhage who reached out in faith to touch Him. St. Luke wrote in Acts Chapter 4:30, “You stretch forth (your) hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Using the Charism of Miracles, of Mighty Deeds, Jesus healed the withered hand (Luke 6:6-10), He created an eye for a man who was blind from birth, and multiplied the loaves and fishes. Using discernment of spirits he identified when demonic activity was causing infirmity and He cast out demons. The Holy Spirit gives us the graces or charisms to do the same thing Jesus did. You can see in the Acts of the Apostles [Acts 5:1-9, Acts 3:1-10] and other New Testament books how the Church receives the Holy Spirit and uses the charisms to build it up.
Jesus tells us that if we are believers we should be laying hands on the sick and have them recover. In Mark 16:15-18, “He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 18 They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Jesus instructs us that the proclamation of the Gospel and healing should be connected for believers. Are you a believer?
Earlier in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 11:22-23; “22Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. 23Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.” Jesus continued, “24So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Luke 9:1-6 “Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal (the sick). … Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
After the Ascension, St. Luke wrote in the Acts 5:12-16 “Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. … they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.” What an anointing that even his shadow brought healing! Praise God, what a charism of healing! The scripture continues, “A large number of people … gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.” Do you see the power gifts draws people to Jesus, and they healed, and they are made clean, and they are cured. And the Church is build up.
In Acts 14: 8-10, we hear that, “At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.” He jumped up and began to walk about.” That reminded me of Father, when he jumped up and danced after his healing.
When so much power is involved, however, people can start to look at the gift rather than the Giver. Pride can enter in and cause issues. Jealousy of those who operate in power can cause issues. St. Paul gives the Corinthians and us a key to overcome these issues. The key is love. Teaching me about St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, the Lord told me last summer, “The Holy Spirit came upon the Church with such power and grace that had never before been seen that the difficulties of adjustments caused the Corinthians to lose their perspectives. Paul brings them back to the key element: Love. Whatever gifts that manifest if love is the base of all actions then they will not be ‘out of order’. Pride in the gifts—the glory is to the Lord not the person who receives the gift. Placing importance on the Giver of each particular manifestation allows the beholder to then share their gifts with others. Unique to one or another allows for the entire body to benefit. Faith and fear affect those to receive the benefits—one increases and one decreases it. Be not afraid to manifest God’s love for the benefit of others—you, too, shall benefit.” The Lord continued, “It is the joy of the Holy Spirit that, like a fountain, bubbles to the surface and spreads to give refreshment and hope.”
St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
The greatest of God’s gifts is Love. When we pray for people, it is with love in our heart. St. John wrote in the Gospel of John Chapter 8:32, “Once you know the truth, the truth does indeed set you free.” St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans Chapter 8:28 “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
Do not hesitate to call on the power of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of others. As believers we are commanded by Jesus to do so. As baptized Christians we are filled with the benefits and grace of the Holy Spirit not to put these gifts on a shelf up high because we don’t know how to use them. No! We are to seek the Lord’s goodness and share his generosity with others.
Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
That means your town! Our podcast is heard around the world to help you receive power when the Holy comes upon you and witness his power with love.
Second Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
Second Corinthians 12:9: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” Paul continues, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Second Timothy 1:7: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
Second Peter 1:3: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
Ephesians 3:20–21: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit and Extraordinary Gifts of Power-Faith, Miracles & Healing. You can read the transcript of this episode at PatriarchMinistries.Com/208. We have several episodes and playlists about the charisms and Life in the Spirit and healing, types of healing and instructions on these charisms on our YouTube channel. We invite you to listen to them and become familiar with the gifts God has granted you through the Holy Spirit. Ask him to manifest his love through you! Leave us a comment and share how God is using you! And then come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there’s always more. Amen.
https://PatriarchMinistries.com/208 Extraordinary Gifts of Power-Faith, Miracles & Healing
https://PatriarchMinistries.com/24 Healing and Gifts of the Spirit
https://PatriarchMinistries.com/9 Gifts of the Spirit
https://PatriarchMinsitries.com/13 Charisms of Miracles and Healing
[i] “Through this chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.” (Diary, 1731)
[ii] Isaiah 40: 31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
2 Corinthians 5:17 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
