healing— so that you might learn how to pray for those who
need God’s healing—by authors who have spent many years
studying the subject, such as Francis MacNutt or Neil
Anderson. Read the biographies of missionaries or
businesspersons, such as Hudson Taylor or Bill Bright, who
left indisputable lasting legacies for God and whose lives will
challenge you to do the same.
In fact, theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer concludes that if a
person is speaking on behalf of God, his words, his testimony,
and his message will be coupled with indomitable courage. In
his book The Cost of Discipleship, he writes, “Neither failure
nor hostility can weaken the messenger’s conviction that he
has been sent by Jesus.” 10
God Talks Through Dreams and Visions, Acts
of Nature, and Unusual Circumstances
Throughout the Bible, God used dreams and visions, acts of
nature, and unusual circumstances to get the attention of
people, to make an immediate impression upon them, to cause
them to stop what they were doing and to listen to His voice.
Each of the books of Amos, Obadiah, and Nahum begin with
the telling of a specific vision that each of these prophets
received from the Lord—and each man was required to tell
others what they heard God say to them.
A memorable example of how God spoke through dreams is
found very early in the Old Testament. In Genesis 37, we learn
about Joseph, who was his father Jacob’s favorite son. Joseph
received a dream in which he saw his brothers bowing down to