When the Toronto Blessing broke out I “knew” this wasn’t the Lord’s doing. It did not fit my understanding of Scripture that people fall to the ground and twitch for extended periods of time, much less break out in prolonged laughter and claim God was healing them in it. I called myself a Spirit-filled Christian – steeped in tongues and healings – but this was not the way God did it in my experience. It turns out God wanted me to bust my own paradigm for reasons of His own, and He had His own methods for making it happen.

In July 1995 I attended a Congress on the Holy Spirit in Orlando, Florida, with some twenty thousand Christians of every denomination and style. I was having a wonderful time when Jack Hayford – one of my heroes – busted my chops saying Toronto was clearly a God-breathed event. I was so shocked to hear that from the mouth of this leader I gasped to God that if He wanted me to change my view I would have to discuss it with Dr. Hayford personally – knowing how impossible that would be to arrange as I stood behind a thousand people who wanted a moment of his time in front of me. Yet when his talk was finished I watched as the crowd literally parted and I was able to walk up and talk with Hayford – a talk which led me to take my family to Toronto and see for myself. The crowd parting under those circumstances can only be described as a miracle. I witnessed other miracles in Toronto, including a deep inner healing I did not even know I needed.
 
One was in the finances. To take my family to Toronto would cost $900.00 and change. Though I had never before just called on God for a particular amount, I had no way to afford the trip without His intervention; I prayed for the exact amount and asked no one else to help. Over the course of a week unexpected gifts came that totaled what I needed to the penny. I can only call this too a miracle.
 
What is the difference between magic and miracle? In an age in which we think spirituality a catch-all in which any variety is life giving that’s an important question to ask, but the answer is pretty simple. Magic is our effort to intervene in the life of God. Miracle is what happens when we permit Him to intervene in ours. 
Even in the churches we practice positive thinking and confessing what we want until we get it. We visualize having the things we seek and devise strategies to manipulate both circumstances and people. We watch movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, failing to discern that one is about seeking power and the other is about surrendering it. In business we attend seminars designed to unleash the power person within us. Only a few years ago a book and film series called The Secret made a splash amongst Christians and New Agers alike in which the author made the incredible claim that Jesus was just a guy who knew how to visualize and then obtain what He wanted; it was nothing but a rehash of the practice of conjuring and no more compatible with Christian faith than a ouija board. But we can only recognize the dichotomy if our heart is to accept God instead of manipulating Him.
 
The Christian scriptures tell us we will do the things Jesus did – and greater things than these – asked in His Name. But the clear meaning of “in His Name” is in accordance with His will for us. I received my chat with Jack Hayford and the funds to act on his advice because God had plans for me and I chose to want what He wanted. The fruit was a life re-shaping experience grounded in a season of repentance that looked a lot like progressive surrender to my God. It was great fun into the bargain.
 
I have watched limbs grow out, cancers and heart conditions healed, and the dead raised. I have prayed wildfires out, droughts broken, and monsoons ended. I have never thought these things happened because I wanted them enough, and never spent a moment thinking I somehow possessed the power to do these things. I have also experienced the complete success of my manipulations – only to stand jaw-dropped before the unintended consequences of having my way. I’ve tried magic and I’ve tried miracle. I recommend miracle.
 
 
Our God is a God of miracle – of intervention. Truth is, I recommend God.

 

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

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