Delivering Miracles by Jeff Friend Can you, as an ordinary individual, assist God in the delivery of miracles? In an interview about his latest book, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson discusses this and how to become one of God’s “special agents” of change in a hurting world. God used Mary to deliver a baby to the world. He tapped Moses to deliver a message to Pharaoh. And Bruce Wilkinson believes God wants to use every Christian as a “delivery person” every day—to deliver miracles. In his new book, You Were Born For This: 7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles, Wilkinson (best-selling author of The Prayer of Jabez and Secrets of the Vine) explains that God anxiously waits for His people to make themselves available to deliver personal miracles to specific people by His direction. Wilkinson sees Heaven as a “Mission Control Center” where God is diligently working, not simply listening to angel choirs all day. When Wilkinson asked some audiences what they thought was happening in Heaven, the typical response mentioned ongoing praise and worship. This is certainly an important Heavenly activity, but Wilkinson wants to shift Christians’ paradigms to understand that there is also a considerable amount of Divine work occurring. “The majority of the time, God is actively working, either Himself, through angels, or through people,” he states. Partnering with God for “predictable miracles” may seem a strange concept, but Wilkinson notes it should be normal for believers. “When you followed Christ and He went to a new area, you knew as a follower of His that people would be coming to Him with all kinds of needs, and if somebody said, ‘Will Christ do miracles in the next town?’ You knew He would; it was a predictable action.” In his book, Wilkinson provides seven keys to a life of delivering personal miracles—miracles that occur when you help another person by intentionally depending on God’s power to meet that person’s specific need. The first four keys are: the Master Key, understanding that you were born to be sent on miracle missions from God; the People Key, which emphasizes you were born to share God’s heart for people; the Spirit Key, which describes how you were born to partner with the Holy Spirit; and the Risk Key, which covers the risks of faith in depending on God. No special experience or skills are required in order to participate in the delivery of miracles. The kind of miracles Wilkinson is describing here are “an extraordinary event manifesting Divine intervention in human affairs.” According to Wilkinson, “A miracle does not have to break a law of nature to be a miracle. It’s true that most of us will never be empowered by God to heal someone or walk on water. The Bible is clear that not everyone has been gifted to carry out such miracles. Yet the Bible is also clear that we are all invited to do God’s work by God’s power.” In You Were Born for This, Wilkinson gives examples of many different types of miracles. Among these is a story about a construction worker who initiated a conversation with a carpenter. Without any knowledge that the man’s marriage was on the edge of breaking up, God used the construction worker to deliver instructions on how to repair the marriage. On another occasion, a man walking through an airport is nudged by God to pray with a pregnant sales clerk. Unbeknownst to him, she had been told her baby would have serious health problems. A further dramatic example happened to Wilkinson directly during a conference he was leading. In the middle of speaking, he felt God’s nudge to speak to a specific man in the audience. Twice, he goes to the man and asks if there is a problem. The second time he spoke to him, the young man admitted that he was planning to quit the ministry that night because of a personal financial struggle. As Wilkinson questioned him, the young minister concluded that God hadn’t called him to quit, and so he told God he would continue. As the men gathered around him praying, he received a personal miracle. God used the men at the conference to provide the exact amount needed to meet his needs. All of these miracles, Wilkinson says, were accomplished simply because someone agreed to partner with God to be the delivery person. In the book, Wilkinson gives a very detailed descriptions of the ways God speaks to individuals directing them to deliver miracles. He uses terms such as nudge, cue, bump, spirit prompt, and fear alert. These sections explain how God gets the message to you when you are open to His will and ready to be His servant. Partnering with God’s Spirit, however, can be an intimidating concept for some people, but Wilkinson points out that fear is a normal feeling. He says, “When God told Moses to do certain things, how did he feel? He felt fear. And God would say over and over again, ‘Don’t be afraid. Take courage.’ It is the norm that when God asks you to do something, it’s usually out of your comfort zone.” Three additional keys that Wilkinson discusses in his book are areas that he classifies as Special Delivery Miracles— ones that are universal human needs and are needed the most—the Money Key, the Dream Key, and the Forgiveness Key. The Money Key delivers a miracle of financial provision. The Dream Key is a breakthrough miracle to those who need to embrace and achieve their Godgiven life dream. The Forgiveness Key, the one most used, addresses wounds to the heart. “I have yet to meet somebody that the Forgiveness Key wouldn’t work for right on the spot,” he says. To deliver a miracle, Wilkinson explains, requires total trust in God. “Picture being the FedEx person for God,” he says. “Just deliver the miracle, because He wants it delivered more than you do, but you’ve got to believe God will come through. That’s where our problem is: We believe that God won’t come through.” Wilkinson says he sees You Were Born for This as the next logical step in his writing. The Prayer of Jabez, Secrets of the Vine, A Life God Rewards, and Dream Giver were written to help individuals in their spiritual growth. You Were Born for This encourages an individual to live an outward-directed life of service. It is about making oneself available to God, living a life under His direction, and allowing yourself to be used as the answer to other people’s prayers. Visit www.brucewilkinson.com for more information.