One of the great promises of Pentecost is that we will see God’s power manifested in us to be His witnesses. The word “power” in Acts 1:8 means “dynamite.” When a stick of dynamite explodes, it is visible to everyone around the explosion. I believe the Holy Spirit was quite particular with the language used here—when He falls on us, we will receive explosive, visible power.
I believe that we need to contend to see such power in our generation.
The disciples in the upper room fervently prayed, and the Holy Spirit was poured out. The outpouring was disruptive to the society of the day, but 3,000 were saved! Personally, I want to see more of these disruptive demonstrations of God’s power.
Even though I have seen every type of miracle included in the book of Acts over our years of ministry, I still want to see more manifestations of His power in my everyday life, and I am contending for it! In fact, I have a list of the types of miracles I still have not seen.
For instance, yes, I have seen blind eyes open, but I want to see them healed on a regular basis. Another kind of miracle I am contending for is to see new limbs created and growing before the eyes of all! I want miracles to be more visible and dramatic; in other words, I want people to be healed in front of the crowds. I have heard wonderful testimonies from people who came forward to testify that they were already healed, but I want the Creator to create a new arm or leg where there was no limb before so that everyone can see and wonder!
There are also miracles that have to do with creation itself that I would like to see, such as water turning to wine or bodies of water parting and so on.
Some might say, “Oh, Cindy, that is too much!”
But aren’t we promised that we will see greater things because Jesus went to the Father? What do you think those greater things are? Shouldn’t we believe for them?
Jesus, full of the power of the Holy Spirit, regularly performed disruptive miracles that brought transformation to society. I am hungry to see all manner of power demonstrated in the streets of our cities—you know, the kind that turns the world upside down!
Imagine with me what would happen if students were praying for a crippled classmate, and suddenly, the person miraculously jumped out of their wheelchair! Now, that would be explosive and dynamic in that school!
How about a blind person who works in your office suddenly being able to see?
As the church, we need to contend until we are seeing manifestations that make headlines in our cities! Let’s shake up the media and astound them with the Good News that Jesus is alive!
Some people might say, “That is not possible!” And I would come right back and say, “Why not?”
God’s promises are for today, and there is so much more power in His name than we are seeing released in our generation today.
We need a new movement populated by fervent contenders who are discontent with a powerless Christianity and are willing to let God out of the box of unbelief that we have put Him into!
He wants to simply explode with His greatness onto the streets of our cities through multitudes of His children, young and old, all releasing His Pentecost power!
I, for one, am going to contend until I see this dream in my heart become a reality, until thousands are shouting His name throughout the nations of the world! {eoa}
Cindy Jacobs is the co-founder of Generals International along with her husband, Mike. She is an author, speaker and teacher with a heart for discipling nations in the areas of prayer and prophetic gifts.
