Learn to Have a Vibrant Christian Life

Life in the Spirit is anything but dull. Learn how obedience to the voice of God is your passport to a vibrant Christian experience.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Spirit-filled life is the fact that we can have adventures in God that reveal to those around us His supernatural nature. In the coming days, I believe many of you are going to begin to flow in signs and great and mighty wonders.

Some of you will be stirred to do even greater things than others have accomplished in the past through the name of Jesus. Often God works this way—doing greater things as each new generation comes along.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, I pored over books written about the great men and women of faith. As I read, I prayed, “Lord, I want to do these things and greater.” Often I would get down on my knees and weep, crying out to the Lord for revival and the harvest among the nations.

I read through the book of Acts, time and again, believing to see in my lifetime every type of miracle and wonder recorded there. I took God at His word. I expected Him not only to do miracles; I anticipated wonders, too.

The Bible declares that in the last days God will show wonders in the heavens and on Earth—this will include blood, fire and pillars of smoke (see Joel 2:30). Wonders are those supernatural experiences that make you marvel at the awesome power of God. In fact, in some Scriptures the word “wondrous” is translated marvelous (see Ps. 71:17).

Wonders prompt us to fear God and embrace the reality of who He is when we witness His power. Acts 2:43 declares: “Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles” (NKJV).

Signs, Wonders and Miracles You should expect to have supernatural adventures in your walk with God. You are His child, and He is supernatural. The power of the Holy Spirit lives in you. The Bible promises you that you can do greater things because Jesus went to be with the Father (see John 14:12).

Inside every believer lives the God who created the universe and everything in it. He is also the God who parted the Red Sea (see Ex. 14:15-31). This particular story fueled my belief and emboldened my faith during a prayer journey that I took to Vietnam in 1997.

Seven of us were praying in Danang City. We felt God had prompted us to go to Marble Mountain, which overlooks the old United States military base there. Our mission was to break the curses that Buddhists had placed on our servicemen and women during the Vietnam War.

An organization specializing in ministry to Vietnam veterans had told us about these curses, some of which declared that the soldiers would be homeless and unproductive.

The morning we were to go to the site and pray, the enemy fought against our plans. Early in the morning we awakened to the news that a river was overflowing because of heavy rains, and the floodwaters were rising. We were told that if we didn’t leave the city right away, we might not be able to get out.

When I heard this, faith rose up in me, and I asked our team to gather. We went to a small balcony overlooking the streets, which were already flooded. In fact, people were actually traveling the streets in boats.

It did not look as though we would make it to Marble Mountain. But I knew God had told me we were to go there on that day.

Suddenly I understood how to fix the problem. We were to stand on the balcony and command the water to stop flooding.

We began to worship God. Then we found the passage in Exodus 14 where God parted the Red Sea. We raised our Bibles and commanded the river to stop flooding and the streets to dry up.

Within one hour the water had completely gone down. We loaded our team into a van and were on our way, with the words from the song of Moses in our hearts: “‘Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?'” (Ex. 15:11.)

God parted the waters on that trip again as we were leaving Vietnam. A monsoon rolled in with enough rain to flood the runway at the airport. Our team looked at one another with a laugh and said, “Well, time for the wonder-working God to do it again.” And, of course, He did.

Listen and Obey God is indeed a God of wonders. He will do amazing things in your life if you believe Him and do what He says (see Jer. 11:4-5).

Some of you might say, “Cindy, obeying God does involve a certain measure of risk.” You’re right. This observation reminds me of something my father, who was a pastor, once wrote: “Great people are willing to take big risks. Small people rarely do.”

When God speaks, He expects you to believe Him largely. Then you will see major wonders happen.

Years ago I gave a word of prophecy to a friend of mine Guillermo Maldonado, a pastor. The word for him was, “Go buy a synagogue.” This was certainly an unusual word. Guillermo believed the prophecy and began looking for a synagogue to purchase.

When he found one, he made an offer on it. He had no money to put down, but he had the word. He took a leap of faith based on the prophecy, and he had to believe for a very large sum of money. God met him in a big way, and he bought the synagogue.

Later, Guillermo came to me and asked, “Cindy, do you know the next thing God says for me to do?” I thought a moment and listened to the Holy Spirit, then said, “Go and buy a large piece of property. You will know that it is yours because it will be [near] a major gateway to the city, have high-end homes at the end of it and an artificial lake.”

For seven months, Guillermo drove around the city looking for that property. Finally, he went to the regional airport—a gateway. Across the street he found the high-end homes and an artificial lake. This was it!

Guillermo called the owner and asked him if he would sell the 38-acre parcel of land. The man asked him, “How much money do you have?”

Guillermo said, “None.” The man said, “I don’t know why I am doing this, but I am going to give you the contract.” Once again, God came through for that congregation. Today they own that land.

I believe God is coming with great waves of glory to touch the world. This is to be a tremendous time to witness the miraculous. Allow the Holy Spirit to give you a fresh desire to be His supernatural ambassador to the world. Then go out and release His power to your generation.

God uses people in many different ways. It is very important to understand specifically how He wants to use you.

The Anointing Is in You We have seen many miracles, but one of the greatest tests of my faith came when we were doing healing meetings in Lahore, Pakistan. The meetings had been widely advertised, and on one occasion, the team had gone before me to prepare the way, leaving me in my hotel room.

As I paced the floor voices spoke in my head and shouted, “There will be no miracles tonight!” I had heard stories of meetings in India where miracles were advertised, and when none manifested, the people threw stones at those who were ministering and tried to kill them.

In anguish I cried out to the Lord, “God, I am going to do what I can do. I can go to the meeting and preach the gospel, and then You do what You can do!”

After many years of conducting healing meetings, we have learned to ask God to start the meeting with a notable miracle. Then people will run to the meetings to be healed.

That night in Lahore, a man ran onto the platform, in the middle of the worship, and requested to speak. The people looked at him in hushed silence. “I’m a Muslim,” he said. “I am not a follower of Jesus Christ.

“I am a beggar and have had many afflictions. In fact, I dragged myself to this meeting tonight because I have heard that the name of Jesus produced miracles. During the singing I suddenly found that I had strength in my legs, and I jumped up and could walk!”<

As we looked at the man it was apparent that he also had some kind of skin disorder. That was being healed, as well.

The next night the man gave his life to Jesus and came up to testify again. This time his skin was as smooth as a baby’s. He was totally and completely restored. After that incident, many others were healed.

However, the greatest wonder of that night involved a small 8-year-old boy. His father brought him to the meeting from the hospital, along with his doctor, because he had been given no hope to live. Even after I prayed for him, the child died, which his doctor verified.

As I kept praying for others, I encouraged our team to keep praying for the child and not to give up. They warred in the heavens for the life of that beautiful but emaciated little boy.

Before long, the team brought the child to me. Evidently he had coughed, taken a breath and come back to life. Later we received an e-mail stating that the boy was well and in good health.

The Bible says that those who believe will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover (see Mark 16:18). If you have hands and you believe, you can pray for the sick and they will recover.

The anointing is not just in me; it’s in you, too. And God wants to work through you. He is looking for hungry, willing and obedient hearts to believe His Word.

Jesus Christ is, indeed, the same yesterday, today and forever (see Heb. 13:8). People all around you want to know that He is real. Have faith to step into the supernatural realm and walk in it daily.

Make a list of all the wonders and miracles you want to see God perform in your life. Pray, listen to God and be obedient to His voice. You’ll be surprised to discover that every day holds many opportunities to experience His marvelous power.

Cindy Jacobs is co-founder, along with her husband, Mike, of Generals of Intersession, an international prayer organization that works to build prayer movements in nations around the world.