Although miracles and healings of all kinds and classes should be received gladly as a part of what it means to live in the kingdom of God. They merely come with the territory for those who walk in the light of God’s grace. They should be expected as part of the normal Christian life. While these endowments are wonderful, nothing special needs to be made of them since simple goodness and humble obedience are far more central to a life with God.

Understanding these matters is of supreme importance, for one of the greatest hindrances today to the free exercise of the healing ministry is the tendency to view certain aspects of it as some sort of “big deal.” The religion of the “big deal” stands in opposition to the way of Christ. It is this spirit that can lead to the cruelest excesses. But when we see divine healing as a part of the normal life of the people of God, we are set free from elevating one ministry above another. Seen in this light, healing prayer is simply a way of showing love to people. The healings, physical and otherwise, are the natural outflow of compassion.

Power Healing and the ministry that God has given to John Wimber exemplify this spirit of compassion. John is no wild-eyed charlatan. Nor does his book exploit the human lust for sensationalism. Rather, it is a sane and thoughtful discussion of the place of healing in the contemporary Church. Its pages abound with examples of God’s life and love and power dwelling in the midst of his people. And as I reflect on the contents of Power Healing, several descriptive words leap into my mind.

The first is boldness. John speaks with the confidence of one who is living out of the divine Center. Because of this reality in John’s life, he faces matters of intense controversy boldly, firmly, confidently. Prayer for the chronically ill, resurrections from the dead, inner healing, and much more are all topics given frank attention. The questions of demons and the “demonization” of individuals are faced with genuine candor, in spite of the fact that the very topics are so controversial that many people will have to gulp hard even to read about them.

The second word that comes to mind is honesty. John discusses with frankness the fact that some of the people that he and the Vineyard team members pray for are not healed. He speaks candidly of his own illness. And in giving some of the background of the Vineyard movement John shares the very human stumblings and fumblings that we all know so much about. He refuses to hide the warts, and for this we can be grateful.

A third way to characterize this book is with the word biblical. When I say this I am not suggesting that John is a Biblicist who scours the Bible for verses to proof text every joy and title of life. Rather he seeks to allow biblical worldview to inform all experience and teaching. John and his coauthor, Kevin Springer, scrutinize everything in this book in the light of biblical revelation..

Further, this book is intently biblical in that it follows the scriptural path wherever it leads. John takes healing seriously because the Bible takes healing seriously. He takes deliverance seriously because the Bible takes it seriously.

The fourth word is teachable. I find this aspect of the book especially appealing. James tells us that one of the marks of the wisdom from above is that it is “open to reason” (James 3:17). The moment anyone stops being teachable is the moment he or she becomes spiritually dangerous. In contrast, this book is marked by an openness to learn from others. The endnotes are a gold mine in this respect. The inclusion of a study on the signs and wonders manifestations by a social anthropologist from Oxford, England, is further evidence of this spirit. There is wholesome humility here that is genuinely refreshing.

The fifth thing that strikes me about this book and about the ministry of John Wimber as a whole is the emphasis upon team effort. This is not a one-man show! I have discovered that the most effective prayer ministries are those that are nurtured by a loving community and that emphasize teams of prayers. John Wimber and Vineyard ministries have developed this concept extensively by carefully training prayer teams to minister to a needy world. Wimber even stresses that the gifts of the Holy Spirit “are not primarily given to the individual but the whole body and for the building up of the whole body.
This healthy emphasis safeguards against any one person dominating a situation, because it places the focus upon God, who does the healing, rather than upon those who do the praying. This is important, because one sign that a movement is of God is that no single human being can (or should) control it.

Are there weaknesses or shortcomings in this book? Of course there are—what else is new! I especially would like to see more connections made between signs and wonders and the biblical call for social justice – the Bible literally bristles with these connections. But it is the inherent nature of finite human beings that we “see through a glass darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12). The fact that God has spoken to us does not, but itself, guarantee that we grasp the full dimensions of the teaching or even that we will always correctly understand the message. Only the most simpleminded insist that books be 100 percent pure. This is why John Wimber’s own willingness to learn and grow, as the Holy Spirit instructs, expands, and corrects, is so vitally important.

Finally, let me share one personal note. In May of 1978 I was walking alone along a beautiful stretch of the Oregon coast when I had an unusual experience of the presence of God – an experience that lasted for perhaps an hour and a half. I was never the same again. One of the many instructions from that encounter was that I should pray for new prophetic leaders to arise who could gather the people of God into fresh, bold expressions of faithfulness and obedience. Since that day I have been petitioning God to raise up a company of Spirit-led, Spirit-ordained, Spirit-trained prophetic leaders – leaders who are Lone like the Tishbite, like the Baptist, bold; Cast in a rare and apostolic mold.

I believe John Wimber to be one of that company.