By Brian Koonce
Staff Writer
HANNIBAL – If you ask Bruce Wilkinson, there’s a serious lack of faith in the Church today and that unbelief is standing in the way of God’s desire to work His miracles.
“The unbelief in the Christian community is rampant,” he said. “And it was in my life for many, many years. I believed that God can and did, but not that God does. Ladies and gentlemen, this is supposed to be your normal.”
Wilkinson was the featured speaker at this year’s Booster Banquet at Hannibal-LaGrange College (HLG). He is the author of more than 60 books including the fastest-selling book of all time, 2001’s The Prayer of Jabez. He has been a seminar speaker for kings, presidents and CEOs, and is deeply involved in African hunger and AIDs ministries. His latest book, released Sept. 15 of this year, is You Were Born for This: Seven Keys for a Life of Predictable Miracles.
Miracles – more precisely God’s desire to show His power through them in our daily lives – was the topic of Wilkinson’s talk to a crowd of about 600 at the Booster Banquet in HLG’s Mabee Sports Complex.
“Expect a miracle,” he said. “What would happen if we learned to partner with God so that miracles actually became normal? Literally, just like the Book of Acts read. Wouldn’t that be something?”
Jesus commanded His to disciples to “live like I lived,” Wilkinson said, and that includes expecting God’s power to manifest itself through miracles.
Wilkinson said the idea for You Were Born for This came from discussions he was having with his editors about another book. He began telling them about miracles God was doing for and through the people in his life and they were skeptical.
“The Prayer of Jabez was all about how to partner with God so He does four things for you: ‘Please bless me,’ ‘Please let me do more ministry for You,’ ‘Please put Your hand upon me,’ ‘Please keep me from evil,’” he said. “It’s all for you; the perfect prayer. This book is the exact opposite. It turns the Jabez inside out. This asks ‘How do I partner with God to deliver a miracle?’”
That question is one of the central points on which You Were Born for This pivots: Wilkinson’s assertion that God most often worked through humans to do His miracles in Scripture.
“He wants to do something, then He uses a human being to get it done,” he said.
The book lists seven steps or “keys” to partner with God to deliver miracles, to be “God’s delivery agent:” The Master Key; The People Key; The Spirit Key; The Risk Key; The Money Key; The Dream Key; and The Forgiveness Key.
“Wasn’t this normal for Jesus?” he asked. “Wasn’t it normal for His disciples to live this way? Miracles happen because people have a need, and people still have needs today and God wants to meet them. All we do is talk about ‘old miracles’ instead of yesterday’s or today’s miracles. It happens not because you’re special, but because you’ve learned to partner with the Spirit of God. The power of God meets needs, convicts and does miracles. It’s your destiny. You were born for this.”
Next year’s event will be Nov. 19. The speaker has yet to be announced.