Smith Wigglesworth had one of the greatest
healing ministries in history. But there was a time when
this great apostle of faith was reluctant to even preach.
Smith
Wigglesworth was a plumber from Bradford, England. While he
believed in divine healing, he didn’t believe that anyone
was getting healed in Bradford. So Wigglesworth took
afflicted souls to nearby Leeds every Tuesday. He was
confident that a group that practiced divine healing there
had an anointing to break the yokes of sickness and disease.
He was confident because his wife Polly was healed in Leeds.
Little did he know that Bradford would soon be recognized as
a place for divine healing, too, and that God would use a
plumber as His chosen vessel.
It all started the day Bradford church leaders decided to
attend the Keswick Convention, an annual summer reunion held
to promote “practical holiness.” Smith Wigglesworth reluctantly
agreed to administrate the church meetings during their
absence, yet hoped to persuade someone else to preach. But
everyone he asked insisted that he must do it himself.
Wigglesworth did preach and although he could not remember
what he said, the first man he prayed for was healed
instantly. That miracle stirred the faith of at least 14
others at the meeting to believe God for healing. He prayed
for each one and each one was healed.
A humble Wigglesworth
was quick to announce that it was not his great faith at
work that day, but God’s great hand helping him in his hour
of need. Those miracles led to divine healing meetings in
Bradford that continued to produce signs and wonders.
Smith Wigglesworth’s healing ministry grew rapidly and moved to a
new building that displayed the words “I am the Lord that
healeth thee.” But it seems this great man of faith did not
yet fully believe God for his own healing. When a brother
with a healing ministry visited the church in Bradford,
Wigglesworth invited him home for tea and his wife opened up
a can of worms.
“What would you think of a man who preaches divine healing,
yet he himself uses medical means every day?” Polly asked
their visitor..
“I should say that man did not fully trust the Lord,”
answered the brother.
After the meal Wigglesworth confessed that he had suffered
from hemorrhoids since his childhood and used salts every
day for relief. The trio then agreed to pray and trust God
for his healing. Wigglesworth’s system functioned naturally
without any medication from then on. Wigglesworth and his
wife made a vow to God that day declaring: “From henceforth
no medicine, no doctors, no drugs of any kind shall come
into our house.” Wigglesworth was gripped by a violent pain
in his side not long afterwards – a pain so violent that he
was brought home to his wife. The couple prayed all night,
but he grew worse instead of better. He thought this was his
“home call” and reminded Polly of their agreement to send
for a doctor to avoid the embarrassment of a coroner’s
examination and the condemnation of outsiders if one of them
was nearing death.
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The doctor diagnosed Smith Wigglesworth with an advanced state of
appendicitis. The only hope would be an immediate operation,
but his body was too weak. The doctor left, promising to
return later. While Wigglesworth lay in the bed suffering an
elderly lady and a young man came to pray for him. The young
man laid his hands on Wigglesworth and cried, “Come out,
devil, in the name of Jesus!” Wigglesworth later testified,
“To my surprise the devil came out and I felt as well as I
had ever been.” He then went downstairs and told his wife
that he was healed.
Later that day Wigglesworth answered an emergency call from
a lady who needed a plumber. When the doctor returned to
hear that Wigglesworth had gone to work he pronounced, “They
will bring him back a corpse!” But upon examining
Wigglesworth later, the doctor recanted and agreed that he
was indeed healed. In fact, that “corpse” preached the
Gospel in many parts of the world for another 40 years.
Wigglesworth was also instrumental in bringing thousands of
people to salvation, baptism of the Holy Ghost and divine
healing. About 20 people were raised from the dead during
his ministry.
Many people are fascinated by the life of Smith Wigglesworth and
many books have been penned about him.
Find books about Smith Wigglesworth at
www.TheVoiceBooks.com
Born in 1859, by the
age of seven he was working 12 hours a day with his father
to supplement the family finances, so he had little
education. He was born again at age eight and immediately
sought to win others to Christ. His mother was his first
convert. As an adult, Wigglesworth was called by God to,
“come out.” First from the Methodist church, then the
Anglican, Brethren, Salvation Army, and so on. While he
ministered in Elim and Assemblies of God churches, he
remained independent of any denomination.
This great man of
God was far from perfect. He couldn’t read or write, had
speech problems, a violent temper and even backslid when his
business prospered. But His wife Polly helped him learn to
read, prayer and commitment helped him overcome his anger,
and when he backslid God restored him into victorious
living. In 1907, at age 48, Wigglesworth was baptized in the
Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues. After that he also
overcame his speech problem and many were surprised at his
fluency.
Wigglesworth read little other than the Bible. Before
preaching he would wait for the Holy Spirit to direct him to
a particular passage of Scripture. He often gave a short
message in tongues, which he immediately interpreted. And he
would often quote a chorus from a well-known Gospel song.
“Only believe,” was one of his favorites. Another, which was
his testimony, was “I know the Lord laid His hand on me.
Filled! A flowing, quickening, moving flame of God.” Many
examples of God’s healing power were related through the
songs. He believed his sermons should make his listeners
either glad or mad. He would say, “If you do not progress
every day, you are backsliding.” Once, when he preached in
Norway, the town hall was full and thousands were outside.
He had prayed for something different to happen. God told
him, “If you will ask Me, I will give you every soul here.”
Even though Wigglesworth knew it was God talking he was slow
to accept, but he was still obedient to ask. The Spirit
swept over the place. He had never seen anything like it.
Many cried for mercy and Smith was convinced that God gave
him every soul present.
Although Wigglesworth believed all sickness was from the
devil and everyone could be healed, there were still some
difficulties. The untimely death, for example, of his wife
in 1913 was a real blow. He commanded death to give her up.
While Smith was praying Polly said, “Smith, the Lord wants
me.” He responded, “If the Lord wants you, I will not hold
you.” And he let her go.
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His daughter, Alice Salter,
frequently traveled with him after Polly’s death. Alice was
another trial of Wigglesworth’s faith because she was deaf
and never healed. He believed that great trials lead to a
deeper experience with God and was often heard saying, “Only
melted gold is minted.”
Early in the 1930s X-rays revealed he was suffering from
kidney stones. The doctor said an immediate operation was
necessary to avoid a painful illness and eventual death.
Wigglesworth said, “Doctor, the God who made this body is
the one who can cure it. No knife shall ever cut it as long
as I live.” He endured six years of pain before he was
delivered. Long later Smith suffered from sciatica, which
made walking painful. He was often sicker than the people he
prayed for were.
Early one morning in 1937 while in South Africa,
Wigglesworth marched into the office of David du Plessis,
the secretary of the Apostolic Faith mission, and prophesied
what we now know today as the Charismatic Revival. The
Spirit of God spoke through him, saying that the 31-year-old
man would play a major part in the revival if he remained
humble and faithful. There was considerable antagonism
between the established denominations and Pentecostals at
that time, yet there were some refreshing exceptions. Du
Plessis was one of those exceptions. Smith told him, “The
day I pass away, then you can begin to think about it.”
In 1947 du Plessis went to the World Pentecostal Conference
in Zurich. His ministry and influence developed from that
point on and he later became known as the Father of
Pentecost. Wigglesworth also prophesied a second move of the
Spirit that would bring a revival of emphasis on the Word of
God. We know this now as the Faith Movement. He added that,
when these two moves, “the Word of God and the Spirit of
God,” combine the Body shall witness the greatest move the
Church of Jesus Christ has ever seen.
Wigglesworth died on March 12, 1947. His ministry is summed
up in his own words, “There are four principles we need to
maintain: First, read the Word of God. Second, consume the
Word of God until it consumes you. Third, believe the Word
of God. Fourth, act on the Word.” Acts 4:13 is true of
Wigglesworth, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John
and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were
astonished and they took note that these men had been with
Jesus” (NIV). Wigglesworth, an apostle of faith, lived so
that people would only see Jesus.
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