Author: Billy Conrad

November 12

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. — 1 Corinthians 12:11

Scripture reading: Ephesians 3

People say to me, “Do you not have the gift of faith?” I say that it is an important gift, but that what is still more important is for us to be making an advancement in God every moment. Looking at the Word of God, I find that its realities are greater to me today than they were yesterday. It is the most sublime, joyful truth that God brings an enlargement, always an enlargement. Nothing dead, dry, or barren is in this life of the Spirit; God is always moving us on to something higher, and as we move on in the Spirit, our faith will always rise to each occasion.

This is how the gift of faith is manifested. You see something, and you know that your own faith is nothing in the situation. One day I was in San Francisco. I was sitting on a streetcar, and I saw a boy in great agony on the street. I said, “Let me get out.” I rushed to where the boy was. He was in agony because of stomach cramps. I put my hand on his stomach in the name of Jesus. The boy jumped and stared at me with astonishment. He found himself instantly free of pain. The gift of faith dared in the face of everything. It is as we are in the Spirit that the Spirit of God will operate this gift anywhere and at any time.

When the Spirit of God is operating this gift within a person, He causes him to know what God is going to do. When the man with the withered hand was in the synagogue, Jesus got all the people to look to see what would happen. The gift of faith always knows the results. Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). His words had creative force. He was not living on the edge of speculation. He spoke and something happened. He is the Son of God, and He came to bring us into sonship. He was the “firstfruits” of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20), and He calls us to be “firstfruits” (James 1:18), to be like Him.

Thought for today: God cannot trust some people with a gift, but He can trust those who have a humble, broken, contrite heart (Isaiah 66:2).

November 11

The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. — James 5:15

Scripture reading: James 5:7–18

One day when I came home and found that my wife was out. I was told that she was down at Mitchell‘s. I had seen Mitchell that day and knew that he was at the point of death. I knew that it would be impossible for him to survive the day unless the Lord undertook to heal him.

There are many who let up in sickness and do not take hold of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ that is provided for them. I hurried down to Mitchell‘s house, and as I got near I heard terrible screams. I knew that something had happened. I saw Mrs. Mitchell on the staircase and asked, “What is up?” She replied, “He is gone! He is gone!” I just passed by her and went into the room. Immediately I saw that Mitchell had gone. I could not understand it, but I began to pray. My wife was always afraid that I would go too far, and she laid hold of me and said, “Don‘t, Dad! Don‘t you see that he is dead?” I continued to pray and my wife continued to cry out to me, “Don‘t, Dad. Don‘t you see that he is dead?” But I continued praying. I got as far as I could with my own faith, and then God laid hold of me. Oh, it was such a laying hold that I could believe for anything. The faith of the Lord Jesus laid hold of me, and a solid peace came into my heart. I shouted, “He lives! He lives! He lives!” And he is living today.

There is a difference between our faith and the faith of the Lord Jesus. The faith of the Lord Jesus is needed. Your faith may get to a place where it wavers. The faith of Christ never wavers. When you have His faith, the thing is finished. When you have that faith, you will never look at things as they are. You will see the things of nature give way to the things of the Spirit; you will see the temporal swallowed up in the eternal.

As we remain steadfast and unmovable on the ground of faith, we will see in perfect manifestation what we are believing for.

Thought for today: It is when we are at the end of our own resources that we can enter into the riches of God‘s resources.

November 10

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. — Ephesians 6:16

Scripture reading: Galatians 5:1–15

Oh, this wonderful faith of the Lord Jesus. Our faith comes to an end. Many times I have been to the place where I have had to tell the Lord, “I have used all the faith I have,’ and then He has placed His own faith within me.

One of my fellow workers in ministry said to me at Christmastime, “Wigglesworth, I was never so near the end of my finances in my life.” I replied, “Thank God, you are just at the opening of God‘s treasures.” It is when we possess nothing that we can possess all things. The Lord will always meet you when you are on the edge of living.

I was in Ireland one time, and I went to a house and said to the lady who came to the door, “Is Brother Wallace here?” She replied, “Oh, he has gone to Bangor, but God has sent you here for me. I need you. Come in.” She told me her husband was a deacon of the Presbyterian church. She herself had received the baptism of the Spirit while she was a member of the Presbyterian church, but they did not accept it as from God. The people of the church said to her husband, “This thing cannot go on. We don‘t want you to be a deacon any longer, and your wife is not wanted in the church.”

The man was very enraged, and he became incensed against his wife. It seemed as though an evil spirit had possessed him, and the home that had once been peaceful became very terrible. Finally, he left home without leaving behind any money for his wife. The woman asked me what she should do.

We went to prayer, and before we had prayed five minutes, the woman was mightily filled with the Holy Spirit. I said to her, “Sit down and let me talk to you. Are you often in the Spirit like this?” She said, “Yes, and what could I do without the Holy Spirit now?” I said to her, “The situation is yours. The Word of God says that you have power to sanctify your husband. (See 1 Corinthians 7:14). Dare to believe the Word of God. Now the first thing we must do is to pray that your husband comes back tonight.” She said, “I know he won‘t.” I replied, “If we agree together, it is done.” She said, “I will agree.” Then I said to her, “When he comes home, show him all possible love; lavish everything upon him. If he won‘t hear what you have to say, let him go to bed. The situation is yours. Get down before God and claim him for the Lord. Get into the glory just as you have gotten into it today, and as the Spirit of God prays through you, you will find that God will grant all the desires of your heart.”

A month later I saw this sister at a conference. She told how her husband came home that night. He went to bed, but she prayed right through to victory and then put her hands on him and prayed. He cried out for mercy. The Lord saved him and baptized him in the Holy Spirit. The power of God is beyond all our conception. The trouble is that we do not have the power of God in a full manifestation because of our finite thoughts. But you will never get anywhere unless you are in constant pursuit of all the power of God.

Thought for today: There is no limit to what our limitless God will do in response to a limitless faith.

November 9

To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit. — 1 Corinthians 12:8

Scripture reading: Ecclesiastes 9:13–10:10

Brother Webster was a man who kilned lime. The most he ever got per week, to my knowledge, was $3.50. He wore corduroy trousers and a pair of big work boots. But he was a godly man.

Early in the morning, I jumped onto my bicycle and went to his house. I got there at eight o‘clock.

“Why, Brother Wigglesworth, what brings you so early?” he asked.

“I was speaking to the Lord last night about a little trouble,” I said, “and He told me to come and see you.”

“If that is the case,” he said, ―we will go down to my house and talk to the Lord.”

We went to the house and he locked the door.

“Now, tell me,” he said.

“Well, three weeks ago I arranged to buy a house. I found out I was short five hundred dollars. I have tried everything I know and have failed. My wife told me last night to go to God, and while I was there God said, ‘Go see Brother Webster,‘ so here I am.’”

“How long have you needed it?”

“Three weeks.”

“And you have never come to see me before?”

“No, God never told me.”

I could have been able to know the next day if I had gone to God, but I tried my way and went to every man possible without going straight to God. I hope you won‘t do that now that you are to have the word of wisdom God is going to give you.

Brother Webster said to me, ‘For twenty years I have been putting aside a little more than half a dollar a week into a cooperative society. Three weeks ago they told me that I had five hundred dollars and that I must take it out because I was not doing business with them. I brought it home. I put it under the mattresses, under the floor boards, in the ceiling, everywhere. Oh, I have been so troubled by it! If it will do you any good, you can have it.”

“I had so much trouble,” Brother Webster said, “that I took it to the bank yesterday to get rid of it. If I can get it out today, you can have it.”

He went to the bank and asked, “How much can I have?”

“Why, it is your own,” they said. “You can have it all.”

He came out, gave it to me, and said, “There it is! If it is as much blessing to you as it has been trouble to me, you will have a lot of blessing.”

Yes, beloved, He knows just what you need. Don‘t you know that if I had gone to the right place right away, I would never have been in trouble? What I ought to have known was this: there was no need for the house at all.

I could not rest. I got rid of the house and took the money back to Brother Webster and said, “Take it back; take the money back. It will be trouble to me if I keep that money; take it.”

Oh, to be in the will of God!

Don‘t you see, beloved, there is the word, the word of wisdom. One word is sufficient; you don‘t need a lot. One little word from God is all you require. You can count on it; it will never fail. It will bring forth what God has desired.

May the Lord give wisdom to you so that you may “rightly [handle] the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), walk in the “fear of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 19:7), and be an example to other believers (1 Timothy 4:12).

I have come to a conclusion that is very beautiful, in my estimation. I once thought I possessed the Holy Spirit, but I have come to the conclusion that He has to be entirely the Possessor of me.

God can tame your tongue. God can so reserve you for Himself that your entire body will be operating in the Spirit.

Thought for today: Never take advantage of the Holy Spirit, but allow the Holy Spirit to take advantage of you.

November 8

To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit. — 1 Corinthians 12:8

Scripture reading: Ecclesiastes 7:13–29

There is a saying that goes something like this: “No man fails to succeed in life because he makes a blunder; it is when he makes the blunder twice.” No person who fails once loses his “high calling” (Philippians 3:14 KJV). Therefore, the Word of God says that when you repent with godly repentance, you will never do the
same thing again. (See 2 Corinthians 7:9–11.)

It is not for you to give in; you have to fortify yourself. The day is young; the opportunities are tremendously large. May God help you not to give in. Believe that God can make you new and turn you into another person.

Now, what was the trouble with me? It was that I didn‘t discuss this transaction with God. Many of you are in the same place. What do we do afterward? We begin working our way out. So I began working this thing out.

“How much will you take for it?” I asked.

He named the price. I thought to myself—this was a human thought—-“Now, the banking society will give me all I want. They are well acquainted with me; that will be no trouble.”

So the loan officer came to look over the house.

“It is a beautiful house,” he said. “It is very reasonable. You will lose nothing on this if you ever sell it. It is well worth the money. But I cannot give you within five hundred dollars of what you need.”

I did not have five hundred dollars; I couldn‘t get it out of the business I had at that time, but I still tried a human way. I did not go to God. If I had, I could have gotten out of it. But I tried to work my way out.

The first thing I did was to try my relatives. Have you ever done that? What was wrong? They were all so pleased to see me, but I was either a bit too soon or a little bit too late; I absolutely just missed it. They all wanted to lend me the money, but I was there at the wrong time.

I had another human plan then: I tried my friends. The same thing happened.

Then I went to my lovely wife. Oh, she was a darling! She was holy! I went to her and I said, “Oh, Mother, I am in a hard place.”

“I know,” she said. “I will tell you what you have never done, my dear.”

“What?”

“You have never gone to God once about this thing.”

So then I knew she knew, and I knew what I would get if I went to prayer.

“All right, my dear, I will go pray.”

It is lovely to have a place to go in which to pray—those places where you open your eyes to see if you can see Him in reality because He is so near. Ah, to walk with God!

“Father,” I said, “You know all about it. If you will forgive me this time, I will never trouble you again as long as I live with anything like this.”

And then came the word of wisdom. He has it. Yet it was the most ridiculous word I ever heard in all my life. The Lord said, “Go see Brother Webster.”

I came downstairs. I said, “He has spoken.”

“I knew He would.”

“Yes, but you see He said such a ridiculous thing.”

“Believe it,” she said. “It will be all right. When God speaks, you know it means it is all right.”

“But Mother, you could hardly think it could be right. He has told me to go see Brother Webster.”

“Go,” she said.

Thought for today: When you get out of the will of God, then you try your own way.