Praying for Ukraine

For 24 years I have ministered in Ukraine, first in Rovno in 1991, then in 1992, four times in a little village called Mayaki, near Odessa, where we saw twenty-thousand people gathered to hear the Gospel. Then, by a miracle, in 1992 and 1993, I was the first evangelist to take the Dynamo Stadium and the Sports Palace in Kiev for evangelism! At that time, there was one small Spirit-filled independent church in Ukraine of about 100 people. They stood with me in faith that God would do the impossible - and He did! Between May and October 1994 we held twenty-seven 17-day crusades in Belarus, Siberia and Ukraine; preaching 5 days out of 7, travelling enormous distances. We saw 100,000 saved! After all this evangelism there was an explosion of church growth in Kiev until some of the largest churches in all Europe were in Ukraine!

We need to pray for Ukraine. As recently as three years ago, I was still ministering in the cities which are now war zones. God opened the door for evangelism in 1991 but now that door is closing fast. Many areas are impossible to enter due to this armed conflict. In a letter dated 4 April 1991 I wrote, "There is a threat of a tremendous backlash in Eastern Europe to the freedom movement which may result in a greater repression... God has commanded me to get in there with the Gospel fast, and work while it is still day." That day has now passed for large parts of Russia and Ukraine.

We are so thankful that God gave us the opportunity to preach Jesus throughout Ukraine, Russia and Siberia. - At least they have heard the Truth, before it was too late.

Now, this week, we are ministering again in Ukraine, a country I have given my life for. Only the Holy Spirit can bring bring peace and unity to this dangerously divided nation. Join me in prayer as I ask, 'Holy Spirit bring unity again, Spirit move over this nation, bring healing, peace, restoration and reconciliation. Make these people whole again, Spirit move over this land and these people.'

Post by Ministry of David Hathaway.

My 'mountain' was lung cancer

In December 2002, as part of the process of getting a resident’s permit in Ukraine, in order to prove I did not have TB which is endemic out there, I had to have a lung X-ray. But the doctors called me back, took more X-rays, and then told me I had a shadow on my lung and that I had pneumonia. Probably I had already had it for over a month, because I remember a fever had started on the last day of October while I was evangelising in Siberia.

Back in England I was treated with antibiotics, but after two courses of treatment I went again for X-rays and the patch on my lung was bigger. The doctors became extremely worried, they didn’t want me to travel overseas and they set up exhaustive tests in a hurry. They said bluntly, "It's not pneumonia, you have lung cancer."

I prayed about it, and I did go overseas to carry out my ministry, but the day after I got back the hospital process started. On the Thursday I had the CT (computer tomography) scan and it showed the cancer.

I believe in prayer and in a God of miracles. But I am faced with a challenge: do I really believe God or not? On the following Monday I had to go for a bronchoscopy when they would put a camera down my lung and take a sample of the growth. The doctors had already fast-tracked me into a process which would lead to an operation to remove all or part of my right lung – on the Wednesday I was booked to go in for the final verdict. The only question, how much of my lung they would take away?

I said, "Lord, how can I go back into Russia and preach like I preach and say that You are a mighty God of miracles who's got power to do everything, including healing cancer, if I have got half of my right lung cut out, followed by chemotherapy? If You have finished with me, if my ministry is over, then don’t heal me, because if I can no longer evangelise I might as well die, I have no other reason to live! But if You want me to go back into Russia and Ukraine and finish the work You gave me to do, then I want You to heal me completely!" But I only had a few days, from Thursday to Monday!

God said to me, "David, you've got a mountain in your life that you've got to move - and that mountain is to get that cancer out from your lung. If you can believe that without an operation you can be completely healed, then nothing will be impossible from there on." Now desperately seeking God's answer from Scripture, I was reading from Jeremiah 33:6, "I will bring health and healing"; and Jeremiah 33:20-21, "I will not break my covenant with David"; and Psalm 89:35, "I will not lie to David"; and "Is anything impossible with God?" - Jeremiah 32:17&27.

On the Monday I was in the hospital, tubes down my lung looking for cancer - but God had already given me the answer, I knew it was gone. The doctors looked at me in amazement and said, "You have no cancer!"

I didn't go to a healing evangelist, I went to the Word of God and God completely healed me - no operation, no treatment - I only had God and the Bible, and that's all I needed to confound the doctors. They were shocked, they didn't believe God - but I do, I believe in a God of power, of miracles.

The Bible is very clear. Isaiah 53:5 says Jesus was wounded for our sin, bruised for our iniquity and with His stripes we are healed. Matthew 8:16-17 says Jesus healed all that were sick to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. So healing is to fulfil Bible prophecy! I talk about Bible prophecy, I write about it in Prophetic Vision magazine, but part of Bible prophecy is healing the sick. I believe Bible prophecy. Some people say that healing was only for the time of Jesus. But this prophecy is not ended. Jesus only healed for three years. There are more miracles of healing today than at any time in the history of the church – all over the world!

If you are sick or know someone with a terminal diagnosis, this 'Healed of Lung Cancer' podcast will strengthen your faith as you believe for a healing miracle. 13 years ago God dramatically healed me of lung cancer, and He can do the same for you when you believe and stand on His promises! God is not a man that He should lie, nor will He change His mind, what He has said that will He do (Numbers 23:19). You can be certain of this one thing, God answers prayer!

Jesus said 'lay your hands on the sick and they shall recover'. If you are in need of healing put your hand where the sickness is and say this prayer in faith and with conviction. - Then do what you could not do! I know Jesus is alive! I believe the Bible: God cannot lie! Your Word says Jesus took my sickness and healed me - so by faith I take my healing. In Jesus' Name I will fight in prayer and in the Word of God until I am healed! I command you devil, get out of my body! My body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit. Devil, get out of my life, my home, my family! In Jesus' Name I defeat you! I will not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord! And I will live in health and victory until Jesus comes! Amen!

Listen to my testimony, and be inspired by the beautiful worship of Vinesong as together we declare God's healing power over your life.

http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/healed-of-lung-cancer-featuring-vinesong/

'God answers prayer' and 'Run to the Father' used by permission of Vinesong, www.vinesong.com

"We did it together"

When David's wife, Zena, died in December among her final words were, "We did it together". David often preaches from Romans 12:1 on offering our lives as a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service. To be in ministry is a sacrifice; it was a sacrifice for Zena, especially when David was in prison for Bible smuggling, and the many long periods when he was evangelising in Russia and Siberia. She knew it was God's calling on his life and wouldn’t allow anyone to stop him. Her first words on being given her terminal diagnosis were, "David, you must carry on with the ministry!" Days later David was holding the largest evangelism he had ever held, with thousands of souls saved, reaching the whole nation live on national TV! She knew her eternal home was heaven and wanted others to have the same assurance. - That is why next week David will be Ukraine, followed by ministry in Switzerland, Israel, Germany, Slovakia and UK.

As she passed to her reward Vinesong's song 'Heaven' was playing. Using this song we have made a photo tribute of the ministry she sacrificed for. May it be a blessing to those of you who have also lost loved ones.

'I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.' (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, KJV)

Post by Ministry of David Hathaway.

Coming Home to Jesus: Working with Russian Holocaust Survivors

Since 2011, we have been holding special events in Israel to assist the Russian Holocaust survivors; in addition we provide them with financial and humanitarian support on an on-going basis. These survivors in the main have no pension from Russia or Israel, and no war compensation from Germany. They are one of the poorest groups in Israel. Rejected by many in the West for not being 'proper Jews' because of their Soviet heritage, but yet Jewish enough to go through the Holocaust; they need our help.

In these meetings I introduce them to Jesus, a Jew just like them. I know the only way to receive healing for the wounds of the past is to receive the peace and love that only He can give. Jesus says, 'Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man will open the door, I will come in!' I try to tell people how easy it is to receive Him. All you have to do is be like a drowning man: stop struggling, let go of your tiny piece of flotsam and come into His open arms.

Please remember to pray for our work with these Survivors; we are going back to Israel in May. We must work for their benefit whilst there is still time.

I would encourage you to listen to today's podcast, 'Come Home', as I pray with these survivors to receive this peace into their hearts. Click here for 'Come Home' Podcast

Don't let your praying go down a sinkhole

This year I have taken a lot of time to pray. I found myself asking the question we all ask, WHY? Why this? Why that? And I was asking, why is it that people pray and don't get an answer? Last year I read an unusual story in the newspaper: A family went to bed in their house at night, with their car outside on the drive. In the night the ground opened up, the car was swallowed, and in the morning they found the car 10 metres down at the bottom of the sinkhole! God used this story and said to me, "I'll tell you what's wrong when you pray. You start praying, and I'm over here waiting to answer. But instead of praying your way through, you stop in the middle, and the ground swallows you up! You stop praying just when I'm about to give you what you ask!!" We pray and we pray, and then we say, "Oh God isn't going to answer!" – And then we give up! And drop down the sinkhole! But God is there, waiting to give the answer and we've given up!

How have I learned how to pray? – Through trial, through tribulation! When I was just a young pastor, a man in my church was dying of terminal cancer. We prayed and God raised him, totally healed him, I saw the cancer coming out of his body! This wasn't healing – they had cut out parts of his body; God remade him! I was just a young man. When the son saw the power of God in his dad, God filled that boy with the Holy Ghost and he went on to preach the Gospel! That's the power of God – He changes men!

But what changed MY life a few years later was when I had throat cancer. I was a pastor and evangelist, but now I couldn't preach! I refused treatment, saying I believe in a God who answers prayer. I prayed three months, believed I was healed, so went back to the doctors. They said, "There is no God, there is no miracle, your cancer has become so big, on Monday we will operate and remove your voice." Did I say to myself, God doesn't answer prayer, God can't remove this, can't work miracles...? What kind of a God do YOU have?! Is He powerless? Or is He the greatest God in the whole world? MY God is the God of the Bible, powerful, glorious and who works miracles! There's no God like Jehovah! But I wasn't healed!! What did I do? I said, "Oh God, teach me how to pray!" I was a preacher, and evangelist, I had seen miracles of healing! Now I was on my face before God, "Oh God, is something wrong with me? – There’s nothing wrong with You Lord, it must be me! – Oh God, heal me!" Still nothing happened. Then I changed my prayer, saying "Oh God, if You want me to remain in my church, live in England – don't heal me! But I believe You are a God of power and authority, who can change the world! If You want me to leave my church, step out in faith, go to Russia, then I need a powerful miracle – HEAL ME!" That night God healed me! Next morning I went to the hospital, the surgeons examined me roughly, three times. And they were angry with me and accused me, "Who did it? What hospital, which doctor? We can see the scar where they cut the cancer out with a knife!" But I said, "His Name is Jesus! He can do what you can’t do!" But now I had made vows to God, so I went to my church and told them, "The good news is that God has healed me. The bad news is, goodbye..." I had made God a promise! How can we expect God to keep His promises, if we can’t keep ours? I stepped out in faith, and with no salary, no money, I bought a piece of land, built myself a new house – with no money – my own staff don't understand how I do this, nothing's changed in all the years – and I bought a brand new tour bus for the Bible smuggling – which cost two times the price of the house! Why? Because if God could work that miracle and heal me – now I had learned something – then nothing is impossible! Absolutely nothing! 

Let My people go!

Speaking to Russian Holocaust Survivors living in Israel David said, 'I have been many times to Carmel where Elijah called down fire from heaven. Scripture is history - here in Haifa we are in the vicinity of the place where it actually happened! We marvel that Elijah could work such a miracle as when he challenged the prophets of Baal, saying that the God who answered prayer, and would send fire on the sacrifice, would be the true God - 1 Kings 18. Today we have the same challenge - Israel is surrounded by followers of 'Baal', but the God of Israel will again prove that He is the true God. Elijah poured twelve barrels of water on the sacrifice so that it would be impossible for it to catch fire, then he called upon the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel - who answered by fire! This fire burned up the sacrifice, the water and even the very stones. What kind of fire was it? 45 years ago I stood on that site with a friend who was an eminent archaeologist. He had picked up a piece of blue stone, which he sent to the Atomic Research Centre in Britain; they found that this stone could only have been formed by an atomic explosion. That is when I realised that the God of Israel is the greatest God in the universe, who has authority and control even over nuclear power! But He loves you and has the ability to defend you and deliver you from your enemies. Even if it needs miracles, if it is impossible, God will always deliver Israel. Don't be afraid of the future.

'I want to show you miracles from your own history, and how important that history is in your life today. Your Scripture records in Deuteronomy 4:32 that when you were afraid and facing danger, the greatest miracle ever seen on the face of the earth was when God took you out of Egypt, and brought you to this promised land of Israel. It was a phenomenal miracle - only your God could do it!

'But your prophet Jeremiah refers back to this miracle, saying there will come a day when you will forget this great miracle of deliverance, because God says, "I will do a greater miracle when I bring the Jewish people from the land of the north - from all the lands where I have driven you!" God said, "I will do a greater miracle, when I deliver you from Russia, than when I delivered you out of Egypt!" For over 50 years I have been visiting Russia. Why? Because if I wanted to see the greatest miracles on the face of the earth, I had to go to Russia. And it was there that I actually saw God work miracle after miracle. He's your God, He's brought you out of Russia, into this land - He's a God of power, of love, of deliverance. This greater deliverance is happening now - here in Israel!'

'When Solomon prayed, God answered him and said, "If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray, I will forgive their sin, I will heal their land, I will deliver them. I will be their Father, I will deliver them forever and ever, for eternity." Israel is the land of God, you are the children of God - and He calls you to come Home! Not just to Israel, but to come to Him as Father.'

Blessed and Broken

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear! (Mathew 10:27)

There are times when God puts us through an experience of darkness to teach us to hear and obey His voice. When we are in the dark our senses are heightened, we hear sounds and detect movements that otherwise would be non-existent in the light. In the dark our deepest fears prey on our minds, we become vulnerable to the slightest movement, our imaginations run wild. Yet the darkness is a deliberate act of God, it is His divine will, for it is only in the dark that He teaches us the greatest lessons. Contained within darkness are treasures and secret riches (Is 45:3), but they can only be learnt in silence and stillness. There is hope in realising that before Jesus broke the bread He blessed it, for it is only in the breaking that multiplication took place. The bread was not blessed after it was broken and torn, but the blessing was in the tearing (Matthew 14:19).

When you are in darkness wait until God brings the light; never try and help Him bring better times, for they will surely come at the appointed time. Even in Genesis 1:1 after God had created the heavens and the earth, darkness covered the deep; but yet in this void and desolation the Spirit was hovering, waiting for the next instruction.

Oswald Chambers said of dark times: 'Pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood - darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. This is a time of discipline and instruction not displeasure.'