May 2, 2008

Gary Oates with Robert Paul Lamb: "The Pathway to Miracles--SPENDING TIME WITH THE LORD"
Soaking in His Presence--Every Day

Of course, the heart of God is for intimacy with His children. In fact, I have come to see that God desires our presence more than we desire His. That's why He gives us an invitation from James 4:8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." It is in our DNA to seek after Him, to seek His face, because He created us for intimacy and fellowship with Him. We were not created as an animal or a plant or whatever. We were created in His likeness.

A part of intimacy with God is to experience His manifest presence every day. I believe it is more than just praying, reading the Bible or just talking to Him. It is experiencing His presence every day. You don't necessarily need a better theological understanding of the Lord. You need to experience the true intimate presence of the living God. That will radically change your life.

People describe His manifest presence in different ways. To some, it is heat, electricity or shaking. To others, it is lightness, peace or weeping. This desire of seeking the face of God has been placed in all of our hearts. Obviously, our natural man resists because he will lose his influence in our lives. Yet, it's absolutely vital to follow our heart and seek the face of God.

The presence of God is available to every believer. In that light, Jesus makes a wonderful promise in John 14:21 about how He is revealed or manifested through a life of obedience to Him. "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."

The Amplified Bible provides even greater understanding of John 14:21, "The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who (really) loves Me; and whoever (really) loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I (too) will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. (I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.)"

I suggest that people soak in His presence every day. There is a good illustration of a casserole dish that fits "soaking in His presence." A person fixes a casserole dish for supper, perhaps with lots of cheese and pasta. Afterwards it sits on the kitchen counter for several hours. Later, the person comes back to the kitchen and discovers the residue of the casserole is stuck so hard to the dish that it might require a hammer and chisel for removal. However, if that same dish was filled with water after the meal, the person would come back later and easily pour out the crud from the bowl.

That's what happens when you soak in His presence. The residue and the crud you've been carrying begin to fall off because it can't stand in His presence. Unfortunately, we carry our sinfulness and life's baggage into His presence with us. But it is being in His presence that a cleansing occurs, which frees us from those very sins and hindrances.

The Cumulative Effect

Even though the time might seem restful and peaceful, there are days when it seems my time seeking the Lord is unproductive. People often say the same thing to me: Is the time I spend with the Lord worth it? I realized some time ago that there is a cumulative effect that takes place when you spend time in the manifest presence of the Lord.

For some three weeks or so, my wife and I had not traveled in ministry even though I was spending time alone with the Lord every day. I went down to Brazil thinking I might be rusty and not hitting on all cylinders spiritually. But instantly, the anointing was there--even a higher anointing. There were more healings--major healings--and I attribute that to spending time alone with the Lord every day. From this cumulative effect, God is making a deposit into my innermost being all the while. As I begin to give out, the anointing flows out of this deposit.

In our meetings, we invite God's healing power to come and touch people right where they are without anybody laying hands on them or praying for them. In the beginning, people testified of being healed of pain in their shoulder or knee, or some other part of their body. Now they are testifying to blind eyes being opened after ten years or more of sightlessness. Even the lame and the crippled begin to walk.

Healings and Miracles in Brazil

In Brazil, the presence of God came into one of the services and touched a woman who had been in a wheelchair for seven years, suffering from multiple sclerosis. At first, she struggled to stand as the Spirit of God came upon her. Finally, she was able to get to her feet, shaking under God's power. People ran to her side offering help. "No, no, leave me alone," she protested. Then she began to take tiny steps--struggling all the while to keep her balance. Finally, the steps became larger and larger until she was finally walking all around the front of the auditorium. A few minutes later, she climbed the platform steps and testified to the healing power of God.

A man bound with some form of paralysis for five years sat nearby watching the woman walking. Doctors had told him that he would never walk again. As he watched the woman healed of MS, he stood up himself and began to walk!

In a recent meeting in South America, a woman came forward testifying that she had two tumors in her knee that completely disappeared. No one had even prayed for this woman. God's sovereign presence came upon her and mobility was completely restored to her knee.

Another woman testified that a tumor the size of a golf ball had popped out of its socket on her side. When I asked where the tumor was, she pulled back a bloody handkerchief covering the place and showed me a sunken area that looked like a darkened bruise on her side.

In another meeting, I had this definite impression that someone was deaf in their right ear and God wanted to heal them. Momentarily, a woman screamed in the back of the auditorium. One of the ushers went to check on the woman who had fallen to the floor and brought her to the platform. "The moment you spoke about the healing," she explained, "my ear popped open and I could hear perfectly."

A Miracle in Medellin, Colombia

Earlier this year in Medellin, Colombia, a pastor's teenage daughter came forward asking for prayer for her left eye, where the retina had been cut by a piece of glass when she was only a year old. Deep inside I knew it was God's will to heal this young lady who had been away from the Lord. I knew His desire was for her to know and experience more of His love. The first three or four times I prayed, the results were hardly noticeable. She began to vaguely see outlines of people standing nearby. I kept praying and she could discern features clearer. The more I prayed the better she could see.

As concentrated prayer continued to be made, her left eye began twitching and fluttering. She could now see for several feet, but everything was in black and white. We prayed more and she could now see in color. Gradually, she could see further and further way until she had perfect vision. I must have prayed at least thirty to forty-five minutes with that young lady because I knew God wanted to give her a complete healing.

The scene in Medellin reminded me of Jesus' unique healing of the blind man at Bethsaida (see Mark 8:22-26), because that notable miracle was accomplished in stages as well.

What Are You Seeking?

What is the most pressing need in your life today? Are you sick in your body? Are you in need of a miracle from God? I have discovered that a lot of times people are seeking God for an experience, for more power, or even for a gift to minister. It's almost as if we have the cart before the horse.

Our first priority is to daily seek the manifest presence of God! We must learn to come quietly into His presence just wanting more of Him in our lives. We need to "soak in His presence," extracting more of His fullness into those places where we are barren. The cumulative effect of spending time with the Lord will produce an increased anointing of healing for yourself and others.

Without question, people get healed for a variety of reasons, but I take note of two distinct examples that stand out in my thinking. First, I see that a healing gives a person a testimony to tell others what God has done for them. As the apostles Peter and John told the high priest, their rulers and elders, "...for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20).

According to Pastor Bill Johnson, the word "testimony" has its foundation in a root word meaning, "to do again." What God has done for me, He can do for others. As we tell others about God's healing power, He gets all the glory and it activates their faith to receive.

Secondly, a healed person can then become an instrument of God praying for the healing of others. "...Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10: .

When I travel overseas, I often believe to see creative miracles that are impossible in the natural realm. On various trips I have asked the Lord to heal blind eyes or deafness or some other infirmity. God has honored that prayer with each of our ministry trips.

In Manaus, Brazil, I prayed for a 36-year-old woman who had a tumor in her left ear as a tiny baby. The doctors had removed the tumor plus the auditory nerve and the fragile bones that allow the ear to function. She was stone deaf in that ear! As I prayed for her, I felt the power of God was present to heal. Yet, nothing happened. Finally, she fell on the floor and I thought she was healed. I got down on the floor to test her hearing and she still couldn't hear anything.

I kept praying. I wasn't going to quit until something happened. I didn't care how long it took. Finally, I checked her again and she jerked when I snapped my fingers next to her left ear. I kept praying, and her hearing improved until she could hear one hundred percent. She was totally healed!

A year later, back in that same church, I was praying for a man deaf in his left ear. This same woman who got healed of deafness walked up, and I recognized her right away. She reminded me that she had been healed and was still healed. "Wait a minute," I said, "I want you to pray for this man. Tell him what God did for you and then pray for him!" At first she was reluctant, but as I encouraged her, she testified about God's healing to the man. I could see a changed look in the man's face as the woman told about God's great miracle in her life. She prayed for him and instantly his ear popped open. He was healed.

Afterwards, I told her to pray over every deaf person she encountered. "Hunt them out, give them your testimony, and then pray for them," I urged. The next night at church she came up to greet me. "I prayed for four people who were deaf," she said excitedly, "and they were totally healed!" That's the virtue of sharing your testimony, so the Lord can "do it again!" Others can receive from the God who heals all diseases (see Psalm 103:3).

In Summary

The life of Jesus is beautifully described by the apostle Peter in Acts 10:38, "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."

Peter's summary in one single verse tells us that the good that Jesus did on this earth was expressed in the healing He dispensed to those "oppressed by the devil." Thus, healing was the supernatural result of the deep intimacy that God the Father and Jesus the Son shared. In turn, God releases power through us as we dwell in intimacy with Him. The natural outworking of His presence is miracles.

Healing is good because it comes from God. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father..." (James 1:17).

Healing is good because it demonstrates God's power over the devil's oppression. "For 'He has put all things under His feet.'" (1 Corinthians 15:27).

Healing is an expression of the character and compassionate nature of God. Mark 1:40-42 tells a story of the healing of a leper when Jesus was "moved with compassion." It is the direct motive for at least five of Jesus' miracles. Every time Jesus was "moved with compassion," He did something special--He healed! By the same token, when I tap into the Spirit realm through intimacy with God, my heart becomes tender and compassionate toward hurting people--with healing results every time.

How do I develop a compassionate heart toward people? Unquestionably, I believe it is found through times of intimacy with God. The Scriptures are filled with examples of Jesus spending time alone with His Father. It was the source of His power to accomplish the miraculous.

The Apostle John offers believers a mind-boggling statement in 1 John 4:17: "...as He is, so also are we in this world."
The implication of this verse is clear--believers should be like Him. That is next to impossible without spending quality time in His manifest presence. We will never understand His compassionate nature for a lost and wounded humanity without regular, daily times with Him. The cumulative effect of "soaking in His presence" will produce an anointing to do the works of Jesus--to save, heal and deliver. The release of that anointing in an individual's life will serve as a springboard to a life of miracles.

What is Jesus' expectation for His Church? I believe it is convincingly portrayed in John 14:12, "...he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do..." Greater works in the miraculous realm are Jesus' words and expectation for His people. They are happening in places--large and small--all over the world. I have seen them with my own eyes.

Intimacy with God is the simple means by which we access living in the miraculous. Spending time in His manifest presence is the discipline we must develop to access all God has for us. And, the cumulative effect is what happens in our anointing (or gifting) to function in healing or any of the supernatural.

God's timing has come for greater works to be accomplished among His people. Press in for more of God's presence in your own life!

Gary Oates with Robert Paul Lamb
Gary Oates Ministries
Email: info@garyoates.com

Gary and Kathi Oates have planted five churches during thirty years of pastoral ministry. However, their lives and ministry were dramatically redirected several years ago when, in separate experiences, both Gary and Kathi were caught up into the presence of the Lord and began seeing the ministry of angels in the realm of the spirit. Following those experiences, they were launched into worldwide itinerate ministry with an overwhelming abundance of supernatural results. The focus of Gary's ministry is intimacy with Jesus, how to experience the manifest presence of God, impartation to see in the spiritual realm, as well as healing for the whole person.

Gary is the author of the best selling book Open My Eyes, Lord and Kathi is the author of the new book Open My Heart, Lord. Together, Gary and Kathi are bringing an exciting wealth of ministry experience and supernatural wonder to the Body of Christ around the world.

Gary Oates' Itinerary:
May 24-26, 2008
Transgenerational Calling
Dasom Church
3655 N. Norwalk Bl., Long Beach, CA 90808
Contact: 562-596-8013

June 25-28, 2008
Mid Atlantic School of Power Evangelism
Christ Community Church
1201 Slate Hill Rd, Camp Hill, PA 17011
Contact: 717-620-8667 or email office@PowerandLove.org

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