Show and tell!

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' (Luke 10:9)

The Kingdom of God is meant to be demonstrated.  When Jesus sent out the twelve in a very similar fashion to the way he sent out the 70, he told them, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

We are looking for a context in which to introduce a supernatural God.  You might even ask the person of peace, "Is there anyone in your family who needs prayer?"  or "Do you know anyone who lives round here who could use some prayer."  A person of peace knows many people.  They are sure to know someone with some needs that cannot be answered in the natural.

Then it's a question of taking a risk, stepping out on a limb, and asking God to answer prayer.  I have a friend who often prays for people for healing in the marketplace, and he sees churches result as God heals people and they tell all their friends what God has done for them.  God delights to answer our prayers in this kind of context.

It may not be healing that is demonstrated.  When we asked Rosa (see last post) what she needed prayer for, she asked us to pray that her disability checks would come through.  When they started coming within 2 weeks (she had applied 2 years previously), she knew it was in response to our prayers and she wanted the world to know about a God who answers prayer!

When God answers prayer, that is our opportunity to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.  I have blogged about the gospel of the Kingdom here and here.