We can’t create faith or increase expectation by trying directly to believe something more strongly than we do. If someone were to offer you money if you would believe that a pink elephant was standing in front of you, you couldn’t really believe it, even though you might say you did. But you would be faking it, and you would know it.

Beliefs are not subject to the direct control of the will, so we cannot simply will to believe something on the spot. Thankfully, we can change our beliefs or their degree of strength indirectly. By study, meditation, risk, practice, willingness to learn from successes and failures, and in similar related ways, we can grow in faith and become more “naturally supernatural.”

One of the best ways to grow in our faith is to increase our exposure to credible miraculous healings and other supernatural phenomena happening today. This is one of the reasons I’ve written this book, but there are other ways to grow in our faith as well. Start by reading the narrative portions of Scripture with new eyes, especially the Gospels and the book of Acts. Read the events as though they really happened — because they did!

You can also read credible books that recount miraculous events, including miraculous healings. These books will increase your awareness of the unseen world and the factual nature of current miracles. My wife and I read books like this together about five nights a week, and no single practice has enhanced our expectations more than this one. You can also subscribe to the Jesus Film Project email newsletter. It comes out once a month and reads like a modern-day continuation of the book of Acts. Credible eyewitness accounts of divine miraculous action pepper its pages. Your heart will be thrilled!

Consider having members of your church’s mission ministry report on credible accounts of miracles they have seen or heard about — especially those from any short-term mission trips or from your missionaries. Also, create space in your services for a regular (biweekly or monthly) five-minute testimony of a miracle experienced by a congregant. Be intentional about regularly asking your Christian friends if they have seen or heard of something supernatural occurring. And be intentional about making space for testimonies in your home group or Sunday school class.

You can also receive training in praying for the sick (and for deliverance). Do some research on credible churches in your area that are committed to an emphasis on supernatural ministry, especially healing prayer. Visit those churches, observe what they do, and find good training seminars in your area on these matters. Invite to your home group or Sunday school class a credible, well-known pastor or church leader who is skilled in supernatural ministry, and let them share stories and train your group.

Along with training, I urge you to practice, practice, practice (and take risks). Start praying for people. Find others to join you — perhaps in your home group or Sunday school class, or begin a healing prayer time right after the worship service — and just get started. Eventually, we have to take a risk and step out. Remember, we learn through our failures, and if we are teachable, we will grow over time.

 

Taken from A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ by J.P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy at Biola’s Talbot School of Theology. Copyright 2021 by J.P. Moreland. Used by permission of Zondervan. zondervan.com.