According to Romans 12:3, everyone has been given a measure of faith to exercise in his or her everyday lives. This everyday faith is not what is being talked about in 1 Corinthians 12. What is being discussed in this portion of Scripture is a supernatural gift of faith, given to produce the miraculous.
Paul and Silas operated in the gift of faith when they were beaten and jailed for their faith in Acts 16. Despite the impossible situations they faced, they prayed and worshipped and the supernatural power of God manifested in their midst.
Here is one instance in which the Lord gave us this supernatural gift. David and I had signed an interest-free contract to purchase a piece of property for the ministry in Guatemala for $90,000 USD. At the time of the signing we paid $50,000 down, which the Lord had miraculously provided, and agreed to pay the remaining $40,000 balance within two years. That meant every six months, for the next two years, we were to pay $10,000.
Then during a time of prayer the Lord spoke to us and said,
“I want you to start building homes and do not stop. And I do not want you to save one penny for those payments. I will provide.”
We put our natural faith into action and did as the Lord instructed us to do, but then our natural faith was replaced by a divine gift of faith.
We did not have the means in the natural to pay this bill. In fact, this was downright risky for us to do. Nevertheless, we knew we heard from God. We also knew that, in reality, this bill belonged to Him and that He was faithful, willing and able to pay the full debt for this piece of property for the ministry.
It was the week when the first $10,000 installment was due, and the owner of the property came to David and said, “I know that the payment isn’t due for a few more days, but you can pay me now if you’d like.” David looked at him and said, “I would like to do that, but I don’t have the money yet. But I will.” At first the owner thought David was joking with him, but he soon realized that David was telling him the truth. Then David testified to this man of God’s faithfulness.
A few days later, in the afternoon, we received a phone call from the mission’s office and they asked to speak to David. They said, “David, we just wanted to let you know that we just received a check in the mail for the amount of $10,000. When is that first payment due?” David answered, “Tomorrow morning!”
The remainder of the payments all came in a similar fashion and right on time.
This was a divine gift of faith that the Spirit had given to us to believe for these finances. We did not fret over those payments. We knew we received an assignment and a word from the Lord and knew that He would provide. We thanked God for His supernatural provision before His provision had manifested.
If you would like more information on this topic you can read a free preview of my new book Greater than Magic here: Free Preview or get it here Buy Greater than Magic.
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About Becky Dvorak
