I recently discovered that my discomfort with the label “charismatic church” or a Christian that focuses on the “supernatural” is that usually the Christians that use it aren’t supernaturally focused enough. Let me explain…

If you are taught to focus on seeing someone in a wheelchair as a potential supernatural encounter that may “walk” after years of oppression, you miss the outwardly healthy looking man that is struggling with pride and is loosing all of the meaningful relationships around him.

We need to expand our definition of supernatural. Jesus does speak of us doing greater things… John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Let’s not limit that to what our human minds may consider supernatural. Believe me I know what a huge burden it is to carry as we look at a city full of people in need of supernatural healing. There are many illnesses that are plaguing people today: cancer, heart disease, depression… but like our medical fields have become so specialized, I believe that the body of Christ has become too specialized.

God is by definition supernatural. How can we believe that God created us and wants to spend eternity with us after our death and not believe that He is supernatural? But also the supernatural deals with spiritual things that are unseen… so let’s not limit supernatural miracles to things that are seen.

This is a fallen world. Faith has to persist even when it feels like God says no. The sovereignty of God is holy. Trying to force God’s hand is a sin. Forcing God’s hand is what Satan tempted Jesus to do in the wilderness. Let’s not limit the “greater things” that Jesus speaks of in John 14 to only events that we can SEE for our own gratification.

Let us all pray that we have kingdom eyes. Eyes that see brokenness in every form. Eyes that see both the wheelchair and the pride, that see the cancer and the shackles, that see the crutch and the addiction. Open our eyes Lord to see the afflictions.

Can God use you through prayer to heal the sick? … absolutely. But in your quest to see the one person’s physical disability miraculously healed by God through your prayer, don’t miss the thousands of people that are hurting around you with spiritual disabilities that you can’t see and are in need our your attention and prayer.