David Hathaway

So many people ask the question 'why'. Why the problems? Why the tragedy? There have been times when I have questioned why. Why did I have cancer? Why was I in prison for Bible smuggling? We all ask: why hasn't God delivered me? In Mark 5 we have this Jewish ruler. He had pleaded with Jesus to come to his house. But it was too late. In the delay between asking Jesus and Him arriving, the girl had died. The house was now full of mourners. - Have you ever mourned over lost opportunities? Has Jesus ever turned up too late?
'The storm around me rages. My peace has been denied. There's One that I can turn to, His arms are open wide. Oh I'm sheltered in the rock of ages. You hold me in Your arms and You tell me that You love me. I'm sheltered in the arms of my Lord.'
'The Living Word' and 'Sheltered in the Rock' used by kind permission of Vinesong
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 

In today's episode, speaking from the book of James chapter 1, David encourages you to count it all joy when you experience many trials. Don't be afraid in your uncertainty to ask God for help, but ask in faith.
We should never be discouraged when trials and hardships come our way. Instead, we must recognise that these difficulties serve as a testing ground for our faith. Never hesitate, even in times of doubt or questioning, to bring your needs directly to God.
I find myself doing this constantly – in truth, I must. Most mornings before even getting out of bed, my prayer is: "Lord, take charge of today and guide my steps." The older and busier I become, the more reliant I am on this prayer. With a full schedule ahead, I prayed that very thing this morning: "Lord, take care of this day and carry me through every responsibility."
Scripture reminds us to ask in faith, consistently and without wavering. As James 1:7 cautions, those who lack consistency and doubt will receive nothing. Often, people do not receive because they harbour doubt that God is truly able. Trust Him, ask with certainty, and know that He can do it.

In today's episode, David speaks on the importance of prayer. If you have enough faith to believe that you are saved, then put that same faith into believing God answers every other prayer.
The fundamental question when you pray for something significant is this: do you truly believe that God has the power to do it, and do you believe He wants to do it? If you do, command it. We have been given authority and power in prayer.
In my own walk, whenever I bring requests before the Lord – whether in deep conversation or daily prayer – I ask Him for an answer. How does He reply? Not through spoken words or personal prophecies, but directly through the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit brings God's Word to mind, revealing the exact path to the breakthrough. The answer is found right there in the text, and when it is anchored in His written Word, God always fulfils what He has promised.
I can tell you with certainty: God has never failed. Whenever He has given me a promise, He has kept it. If you have enough faith to trust Him for your eternal salvation, put that very same faith to work in your prayer life today.

In Acts 2, Peter described Jesus as "a man approved of God among you by miracles, wonders, and signs." From the very beginning – throughout the life of Jesus and in the early Church – miracles served as the undeniable evidence of divine power.
This presents a vital challenge for us: we must return to the evidential reality of the Gospel. The Gospel demonstrates the truth of everything Jesus lived and died to accomplish. He came to break the curse of sin, forgive our guilt, and set us free.
Some teach that one automatically receives the fullness of the Holy Spirit the moment they accept Christ. Scripture shows otherwise: these believers were truly converted and baptised in water, yet had not received the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not merely an optional, secondary blessing; He is the essential blessing. Before His ascension, Jesus commanded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high. That outpouring launched the apostolic church. Today, we still need to experience that authentic baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Watch the YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/UJa__HpCjdU 
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 

In today's episode, David speaks on the importance of prayer. If we have the faith to believe, God will give us what we ask, so long as we ask in accordance with His will.
For many of us, prayer begins with the model Jesus gave when His disciples asked, "Lord, teach us to pray." Yet the issue is that too many believers never move beyond that initial step of the Lord’s Prayer. It is profoundly important – God miraculously revealed its depth to me while I was in prison – but we are called to go further. We must actively combine our prayers with faith and true belief.
Often, when praying for the sick, I have felt an inner certainty that God was going to heal them. It was in that place of praying with absolute conviction that the miracles truly happened.
In my book, Why Siberia?, I share how, despite having dedicated intercessors supporting our teams and me personally, the breakthrough answers consistently came when I prayed in faith. Miracles followed – including the unexpected provision of transport and airplanes. God not only answered, but He gave specific instructions on what steps to take to receive that answer. It demonstrates what is possible when we simply trust that He has the power to fulfil what He has commanded us to ask.

Today, I want to direct our attention to a pivotal turning point in Scripture: Acts chapter 8.
Up to this point in the Book of Acts, Peter and John have held centre stage, proclaiming Christ with bold authority throughout Jerusalem. But as chapter 8 opens, the narrative shifts sharply under the shadow of intense hostility, introducing a man named Saul.
Acts 8 begins with a sombre marker: Saul was consenting to the death of Stephen. Stephen, a spirit-filled leader whose martyrdom closes chapter 7, looked steadfastly into heaven, saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and prayed for his executioners with his dying breath: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." Watching over the coats of the executioners stood Saul – a brilliant Pharisee trained under Gamaliel, born in Tarsus with Roman citizenship, and violently opposed to the Gospel.
Following Stephen’s death, a great persecution erupted against the church in Jerusalem. Verse 3 tells us, Saul "made havoc of the church," dragging men and women from their homes into prison. Yet, what the enemy intended for destruction, God used as an engine for expansion.
The believers scattered across Judea and Samaria – while the apostles remained in Jerusalem – and verse 4 records the astonishing result: those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. They refused to be silenced. Persecution did not extinguish the message; it dispersed the fire.
Out of this scattering, another leader steps into the light: Philip. He travelled down to Samaria and proclaimed Christ. The crowds listened intently, not only hearing his words but witnessing the undeniable demonstration of God's power. Unclean spirits were cast out, the paralysed were healed, and the lame walked.
From the ministry of Jesus – attested by signs and wonders – to the early church, the Gospel was never merely a philosophy; it was validated by the tangible power of God. Philip's ministry in Samaria challenges us deeply today: we cannot settle for mere words when the true witness of the Gospel has always been the power of God in action.
Watch the YouTube version: https://youtu.be/EaTZNbJUyZ0 
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway http://www.eurovision.org.uk 

In today’s episode, David continues his teaching on prayer, highlighting the key to seeing every divine promise fulfilled from Mark 11: “Have faith in God.”
Jesus declared: “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  
Jesus is remarkably specific here: you can witness the most extraordinary miracles if you only have the faith to speak them.
In verse 24, He reduces the principle to pure, profound simplicity: whatever you ask for when you pray, if you believe that God will answer, it will be given to you.
While similar teachings appear in Luke, Mark’s account carries exceptional weight because Jesus unveils an entirely deeper dimension of prayer. For many believers, prayer simply means reciting the pattern Jesus taught when the disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Yet here, Jesus invites us to take the next step: moving from routine petition into mountain-moving, faith-filled declaration.

David says the key to seeing the fulfillment of every promise is found in Mark 11: "Have faith in God."
If I turn you to Mark chapter 11, it's very interesting. Jesus was hungry – it's verse 12 – and seeing a fig tree having leaves, He came thinking that He would find some fruit, and there's nothing, only leaves. And Jesus cursed the fig tree.
But if you then turn to verse 20, the following morning as they pass by, and they saw the fig tree was already dead, Peter said, "Lord, how come?" This is verse 21: "That fig tree which You cursed is already dead."
And Jesus didn't answer him specifically on that question. But what Jesus says in verse 22: "Have faith in God."
Jesus said, "You say this and shall not doubt in your heart, but shall believe that those things which you have said shall happen, shall have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them."
So Jesus is being very specific here: that you can see the most incredible miracles if you have the faith to see it.

There is a solution to every problem and crisis. In your struggle, in your battle for survival, reach out and touch Jesus. What mystery there is in touch. When a child is born, that first touch by the mother means so much. She has carried the child for 9 months yet has never touched him; in that first touch her hopes and dreams are realised. Do you realise how important physical contact is? The child falling over in the street cries out; there is only one comfort, when the mother comes, picks up her child and tenderly embraces him. Her gentle touch is an expression of a mother's love. It is the same with Jesus. His tender touch will wipe away your tears and heal your sick body. These two people in Mark 5 recognised that if they can just touch Jesus a miracle is about to happen.
'Angels beckon me to come a little closer. Then Lord You said to me, leave behind your problems. Fears and troubles, some untold, surrounded by Your love. My tears You'll wipe away. To lean upon Your promises, never turning from You away.' - (Lamb of God)
'Jesus Jesus Jesus', 'Dios es Amor', 'Lamb of God' used by kind permission of Vinesong.
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://eurovision.org.uk 

Over twenty years ago, David was diagnosed with lung cancer. God gave him a clear promise of both health and healing – a word confirmed in Jeremiah 33. As David explains, the key to seeing God’s promises fulfilled is found in Mark 11: “Have faith in God.”
I remember crying out in prayer, asking the Lord to heal me. In response, He gave me a very clear scripture promising not only healing, but sustained health.
Remarkably, God spoke that word to me before the miracle took place. That night, after praying and getting into bed – feeling as though I were at the very point of death – the cancerous growth came out of my mouth. That was over twenty years ago. God didn’t just heal me in that moment; He has preserved my health ever since. It was a wonderful double promise.
I want to encourage you today: God does not simply hear our requests; He makes the impossible happen when we believe. Consider Jesus’ words in Mark 11:22, where He gives us the foundational key: “Have faith in God.”

While imprisoned for smuggling Bibles in 1972, God promised David that he would be miraculously delivered—a promise confirmed through Psalm 68. Seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives requires both steadfast faith and prayer.
Reflecting on Psalm 68:6, King David writes: “God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound with chains.”
I exclaimed, “Lord, that is the exact verse!”
To me, this meant God would perform two distinct miracles: first, that He would bring me home in time for my birthday; and second, that He would have me home for Easter to minister at the Easter convention.
God did, in fact, release me on my birthday. The British Prime Minister had personally flown out to secure my release, and I sat right beside him on the flight home. When we touched down at Heathrow Airport, the arrival was met with massive media coverage – reporters, press, and television cameras everywhere. He made quite an occasion of it.
Shortly after landing, I received a call from church leaders: “We have witnessed the miracle of your release. Would you have the strength to speak at the Royal Albert Hall this Monday?” Naturally, I answered yes.
Literally to the exact day, God fulfilled both of those promises.

In 1 Kings 18:21, Elijah confronts the people: "How long will you falter between two opinions?"
The trouble with Israel was that their religion was not enough. Ultimately, Jesus had to come to deliver people from the deadness of mere religion. He condemned the scribes and the Pharisees, calling them "whitewashed sepulchres" who entered people's homes and robbed the poor. That was Jesus' description of the religious leaders of His day.
Consider Saul: he was a Pharisee of Pharisees, educated under Gamaliel, Jewish by heritage, and a Roman citizen by birth. Yet Saul was the one holding the coats of the men stoning Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Despite his religious credentials, Saul needed a divine encounter. He experienced a complete transformation, going on to become an evangelist whose impact exceeded even the original eleven disciples. He needed a true transformation to change his life.
Throughout history, as in the days of Elijah, God poses that same challenge to His people. That challenge stands before the church today, and it challenges me personally: You must make up your mind. Are you going to serve God or not?
If you are going to serve God, do it completely. Surrender your whole life to Christ. Spiritually, you cannot sit on the fence; you must choose one side or the other. Jesus made it clear: "You must be born again." That is what He told the rich ruler. You do not become a Christian simply because you attend church, because religion is spoken over you, because you pray daily, or because you read the Bible. You become a Christian because you are born again. That is the only entrance into the Kingdom of God.
When Elijah challenged the people, they could not answer a word. In verse 22, Elijah stated: "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are 450 men."
Then came the showdown on Mount Carmel. Elijah proposed: "Bring two bullocks. Let Baal's prophets take one, prepare it, lay it on the wood on their altar, and put no fire under it. I will do the same with the other bullock. Then call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire – let Him be God!"
The prophets of Baal prayed all morning and afternoon. They leaped around the altar and cut themselves until blood gushed out. By midday, Elijah mocked them: "Cry louder! Perhaps he is a god; either he is meditating, or busy, or on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!" They cried louder, but there was no voice, no answer, and no one paying attention – because Baal is no living god.
When the time came for the evening sacrifice, Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord, arranged the wood and the sacrifice, and had water poured over it repeatedly until the trenches were full. Then he stepped forward and prayed: "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant... Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."
Then the fire of the Lord fell! It consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench. When the people saw it, they fell on their faces and cried, "The Lord, He is God!"
We need a demonstration of the power of God today. If we are going to impact nations, change the world, and preach the gospel effectively, we cannot rely on empty words. In my ministry, God has continually confirmed the preaching of His Word with powerful miracles. I have lived by faith, by the power of God, and by the power of miracles.
Miracles provide unmistakable evidence. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was through miraculous signs that our ministry was able to reach roughly 80% of the population across Russia and the former Soviet states with the gospel.
God answers by fire. We must call upon Him to answer by fire again. The church today does not need more empty ritual; it needs the fire of God. We need more power, more miracles, and undeniable evidence of His presence.
"O God, in these last days, send Your fire into the church and into our hearts! Baptise us with the Holy Spirit, with power, and with fire. Answer our prayers in Jesus' name, and work miracles today. Amen."
Watch the YouTube version: https://youtu.be/pGU4qS-3VqY 
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 
 

While imprisoned for smuggling Bibles, David received a divine promise of miraculous release – a word confirmed through Psalm 35. Yet, seeing that promise fulfilled required persistent faith and prayer.
In Psalm 35:18, King David writes: “I will give You thanks in the great congregation.”
That was where faith truly came alive for me. Standing in that prison cell, I leapt to my feet and declared, “Lord, that’s the answer!” David spoke of giving thanks in a great congregation, and while it demanded immense faith to believe that for my own life, I embraced it wholeheartedly.
A few days later, as I continued meditating on God's promise, I prayed boldly: “Lord, if You are going to perform such a great miracle, consider my birthday, which falls four days before Easter. Release me on my birthday. If You can perform one miracle, You can surely perform another. If this is Your will, confirm it through another psalm that specifically speaks of freeing those in chains.”
When I opened to Psalm 68:6, I read these words: “God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity [chains].”
I cried out, “Lord, that is the exact verse!”

We see God work two dramatic miracles through Elijah right at the start: first, Elijah shuts up the heavens so that it doesn't rain; second, he speaks God’s promise over the widow of Zarephath, and her jar of flour and cruse of oil never run dry.
Yet by verse 17, reality hits hard. Elijah is living in the widow’s home, and her son falls gravely ill. He stops breathing – he is completely dead.
In her grief, the widow lashes out: "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?" (v. 18). It is so easy in our broken human nature to forget yesterday's provision the moment today's tragedy strikes. Without Elijah’s faith, both she and her son would have starved months earlier. Yet pain clouds her memory, and she assumes God has brought this prophet to expose her hidden past.
Elijah doesn't debate her. He simply says, "Give me your son." He carries the boy up to the upper room where he was staying, lays him on his bed, and cries out honestly: "O Lord my God, have You brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge?" Stretching himself over the child three times, he prays, "Let this child’s soul come into him again."
God hears Elijah. The boy breathes, his life returns, and Elijah carries him downstairs: "See, your son lives." Only then does the woman say, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth."
Facing Ahab (1 Kings 18)
After more than three years of severe drought, God directs Elijah to step back into the fire: "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."
Even within a corrupt royal house, God has a faithful remnant. Obadiah, the governor of Ahab's palace, had risked his life to hide one hundred prophets of the Lord in caves, feeding them bread and water while Jezebel slaughtered the rest. When Elijah commands Obadiah to arrange an audience with Ahab, Obadiah obeys.
When Ahab meets Elijah, the king immediately shifts blame: "Are you the one who troubles Israel?" (v. 17).
Elijah doesn't flinch: "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals." Ahab was blind to the truth: the drought was not the prophet's malice; it was the direct consequence of the king's idolatry.
Mount Carmel: Refusing the Middle Ground
Elijah demands a showdown on Mount Carmel before all Israel, pitting the solitary prophet of God against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. Standing before the nation, Elijah delivers a challenge that echoes directly into our modern world:
"How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." (v. 21)
The scripture records a chilling silence: "The people answered him not a word."
You cannot sit on a spiritual fence. Try sitting on a physical fence – eventually, you fall off one side or the other. True faith does not allow for neutral ground. Israel was immersed in religious ritual, yet devoid of genuine surrender to God. Religion alone does not save; only covenant obedience does.
The Speed of Human Forgetfulness
This spiritual fickleness runs straight through Israel's history. When God delivered them from Egypt with ten devastating plagues and parted the Red Sea before their eyes, how long did it take for their devotion to crumble?
Within just a few weeks of seeing the sea split in half, Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the Law, and the people below were already stripping off their Egyptian gold to fashion a molten calf. Later, after the spies scouted the Promised Land for 40 days, the nation melted in fear, rejected God’s promise, and turned a short journey into 40 years of wilderness wandering.
The pattern is stark: whether it is the widow in Zarephath, the crowd on Mount Carmel, or the camp at the foot of Sinai, human hearts turn remarkably fast from witnessing God's power to questioning His goodness. The call of Elijah remains urgent for us today: stop halting between two opinions, lay aside the compromise, and decide whom you will truly serve.
Watch the YouTube version: https://youtu.be/pdiwX1NzE-0 
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 

The miraculous healing I experienced from throat cancer built a foundation of faith for an even greater trial years later. When I was sentenced to ten years in a foreign prison—five for smuggling Bibles and five for preaching the Gospel with the underground church – I turned to God, praying for deliverance.
Just three days after the trial, the Lord spoke to me through a vivid dream. He showed me that I would be released and standing in London’s largest auditorium, preaching to 10,000 people at an Easter convention. That dream provided two clear assurances: first, that I would definitely be set free; and second, it gave me an exact timeline – Easter.
I held onto that promise in prayer. Five months later, I managed to smuggle a Bible into my cell. Prompted by the Holy Spirit to look at the writings of King David, I opened to Psalm 35:18: "I will give You thanks in the great congregation."
Immediately, faith ignited in my spirit. I leapt to my feet inside that prison cell, knowing without a doubt that God’s word was sealed and my deliverance was on the way.

Answers to prayer are deeply intertwined with our faith. When Jesus descended from the Mount of Transfiguration, He found nine of His disciples unable to cast out a demon. When they asked why they had failed, Jesus pointed directly to their lack of faith, explaining that such breakthroughs require prayer and fasting. To see real answers to our prayers, we must maintain a positive posture of faith in both what we speak and how we pray.
I experienced this firsthand when God healed my throat cancer. The very next day, the doctors were astonished to find the tumour completely gone – cut out not by human hands, but by the hand of God.
That miracle anchored my faith years later when I was sentenced to ten years in a foreign prison: five years for smuggling Bibles and five years for preaching the Gospel with the underground church. As I prayed for God to deliver me, He answered just three days after my trial. Through a dream, the Lord showed me that I would be set free and return to London to preach to 10,000 people at an Easter convention in the city’s largest auditorium. When we pray with unwavering faith, God makes the impossible possible.