BOOK REVIEW (2): Walking in the Miraculous

Book: Walking in the Miraculous

Author: Bishop David O. Oyedepo

No of Pages: 225

Publisher: Dominion Publishing House

 Reviewer: Tope Olukole

The author states emphatically that the world is in dire need of miracles because there is an increase in hardships of various sorts and many incurable diseases have surfaced, traceable to the oppressive hold of Satan. But he says by virtue of new status in Christ, the believer is exempted; and is also endowed with the wherewithal to stop the devil from continuing his ministry of oppression.

The author drives home a cardinal point which is that the world is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God, men and women who will, by the power of God, bring deliverance and liberty to mankind. He says also that everyone that is born again is a child of God, and a joint-heir with Jesus. But there is a caveat: the whole creation is not waiting for children, because children cannot exercise the dominion and authority that will result in their liberty; the world is waiting for the sons of God, with copious reference to Galatians 4:1 “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, different nothing from a servant, though he be Lord of all.”

According to the author, God does not entrust authority to children, but to sons. However, in the Church today, many are still children, suffering the same afflictions, oppressions, failures, family crisis and stagnation as the world.

All through the book, from Chapters 1 to 15, the author highlights God’s Miracle plan, New birth, Word, Faith, Spirit, Sound, Love, Growth, Prayer, Praise, Fellowship, How to safequard the Miraculous among others. He cites the example of James Owen who became a star by trading with a piece of information. While still in high school, he desired to be a sports star, so he asked his coach what it would take. His coach highlighted four key things: Determination, Dedication, Discipline and Attitude. Owen took advantage of that information, accepted the challenge, and went on to win four gold medals at the 1926 Olympics. In addition to that, he set a record that remained unbroken for twenty-two years. Information, indeed, the author says, is power!

The lesson in the above example to the believer is that, the world in which we live in is dire need of miracles. But, according to the author, miracles are not accidental occurrences: they are the deliberate acts of God, motivated by the deliberate faith of men. In essence, he writes that there is what to do to command a flow of miracles. He, therefore, charges the believer to walk in the miraculous: “The miraculous is yours for the taking, but it shall not be by wishes. If you have been wishing you can work miracles, stop wishing and start working! Nothing works until you work it. The Bible does not talk about the gift of waiting for miracles, but of the working of miracles. So, don’t wait for miracles, go and work them!”

With a note of finality, the author writes, those who wait end up wasting, just like the man at the pool of Bethesda, who waited for 38 years. If Jesus had not come to his rescue, he would have died beside the miracle pool. What an irony!