David Hathaway

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.

We all experience difficult circumstances. But what creates and defines your character, and with it your whole Christian life, is your reaction, not just to what is said, but what happens to you! If you believe God, you believe His Word - it's the same thing! God and His Word are the same! The decisions I have taken in my life have been formed by the Word of God. If you believe God, nothing is impossible - I expect miracles - the Bible teaches you to expect a miracle. - What is your reaction to your crisis? Anybody can pray, but it takes a determined believer to get answers from God. And the answer, when it comes, does not come in the ordinary way - but by fire! We must live by prayer and the Word of God! What else do you have? The Bible says that man does not live by the ordinary things, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God. I believe Him. Let your reaction be: never give up, translate your faith and prayer into action!!! He will not fail you. 
Often my reaction is somewhat extreme, because people are telling me that God is not big enough or powerful enough to do what we ask. All I know is that the Bible says God does the impossible things if we dare to ask Him - after all, there are many gods in the world - but the God I worship is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and the only real evidence of who He is, is seen by His miraculous actions! We have a prayer answering God!
'On Christ the Solid Rock' & 'Let Your Living Water Flow' used by kind permission of Vinesong.
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 

During the greatest crises of my life, prayer was essential. In 1964, when I was diagnosed with throat cancer, I made the decision to refuse medical treatment and trust God for healing. After three months, the doctors examined me and insisted prayer had failed. The tumour had grown so large that without an immediate operation, I would soon choke to death.
I stood firm, refusing surgery, and went before the Lord in desperate prayer. While I believed God would heal me, I asked for undeniable confirmation: "Lord, I want to see this in writing."
Initially, I opened to Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good." But I pressed further: "Lord, I don't want comfort; I want a clear answer: yes or no."
The Lord prompted me to read Romans chapter 8 from the beginning. As I read through to the passage describing how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God when we do not know how to pray, revelation broke through. Through the witness of the Holy Spirit, I knew with absolute certainty that God’s answer was yes; and divine healing followed.

Prayer is not merely about us speaking to God; it is about God speaking to us. Real communication is never one-sided. In any human relationship, silence or failing to respond creates distance – and the same principle applies to our walk with the Lord. Prayer is designed to be a dynamic, two-way conversation.
Throughout our ministry, we could never have accomplished what we did without the power of prayer. In the early 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, we led a team of 400 people on a three-month mission to Siberia. Standard communication was virtually non-existent: there were no mobile phones, and computers and local phone lines rarely functioned.
To contact our UK office, I had to wait in long queues at public call stations. If the coins ran out before a connection was made, I had to return to the back of the line and start over. Faced with impossible circumstances and zero earthly connectivity, we turned to the Lord. In every crisis, we prayed – and God miraculously answered.

True faith is defined by action. As the classic song proclaims, if we are to live in "the days of Elijah," we must demonstrate the same boldness, authority, and power with God that marked his ministry.
Living by Faith in the Miraculous
Reflecting on 1 Kings 17 and 18, Elijah's ministry provides vital lessons on bold, unapologetic faith. Faced with a rebellious king and a backslidden nation, Elijah boldly shut up the heavens so that it did not rain.
During the ensuing drought, God guided Elijah to the Brook Cherith, commanding ravens to supply him with food. When the brook eventually dried up, God commanded him to go to Zarephath, promising that a widow would sustain him.
The Never-Ending Provision
When Elijah met the widow, she was gathering sticks to prepare what she believed would be a final meal for herself and her son before starving. Yet, Elijah challenged her with a word from the Lord:
"The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth." (1 Kings 17:14)
She stepped out in faith, baked a cake for the prophet first, and experienced sustained divine provision. For two to three years, neither the meal nor the oil ran out.
This mirrors God's eternal promise for our spiritual walk: the divine oil, anointing, and fire of the Holy Spirit will never run dry in our lives.
Authority Over Life and Death
Later, tragedy struck when the widow’s son fell ill and stopped breathing. In her grief and confusion, she lashed out, assuming the boy's death was divine punishment for past sins.
Elijah remained steadfast in faith. Carrying the boy up to the upper room, he laid him on his bed and cried out to God in earnest prayer:
"O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again." (1 Kings 17.21)
Elijah refused to accept defeat or despair, standing on God’s authority to see life restored where death seemed final. When we walk intimately with God, our faith moves beyond mere words – it commands circumstances, releases supernatural provision, and resurrects life.
To watch the YouTube version: https://youtu.be/cCydC9mX_OM 
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 

We all understand the vital role prayer plays in the Christian life. At its core, prayer is simply communication between us and the Lord.
In any relationship, if there is no communication, the relationship ceases to truly exist. When a husband and wife stop talking to one another, the marriage struggles. The same principle applies to our walk with God: if we do not talk to Him, we do not have an active relationship with Him. Prayer is not a ritual; it is a living relationship, a genuine conversation, and a way of relating directly to the Father.
There is a real danger in treating prayer as a mere formality or relying purely on scripted recitations. Scripture instructs us to avoid vain repetitions because repeating empty phrases quickly becomes meaningless.
Reflecting on my own school days at a boys' school, we had morning devotions every day with a Scripture reading and a set prayer. Unfortunately, much of it devolved into vain repetition. By the time I left school, I resolved never to repeat those prayers again because they carried no real meaning for the boys reciting them. True prayer must come from the heart, engaging God in honest, personal communion.

I remember a few years ago I was on my prayer mountain in Austria. I was saying, “Lord, I want to see bigger miracles in my life.” I was questioning, asking, “Why is it that the bigger miracles are in the Old Testament rather than the New?” I said, “Lord, I want to see those bigger miracles. Give me an answer.”
Jesus gave me the answer. I opened my Bible, and in Matthew and Luke, I read where Jesus was on the Mount of Olives. He was hungry and went to a fig tree, but found no fruit, so He cursed the fig tree. That night they went to Bethany, and when they returned the next morning, Peter looked at the fig tree and said to Jesus, “Master, what's gone wrong? The fig tree is dead!” I don’t know what was wrong with Peter, but he exclaimed, “It’s dead!”
The only answer Jesus gave was to say firmly to Peter: “If you command this mountain to move” – they were standing on the Mount of Olives – “and believe in your heart that you will have what you say, that mountain will move.”
Peter didn’t do it, but what a challenge. If we pray in faith and believe, God will work the miracles.
All through my life, I have been dependent on this. I remember reading in 1 Chronicles about David’s vision to build the temple. He prepared everything – as recorded in 1 Chronicles 28 – but God told him: “You will not build the temple, but your son will.” In verse 6, He said, “Solomon your son shall build My house, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father.” Then in verse 11, David gave Solomon everything: the men, the money, and the materials to do the job.
In those early years, as I began working in the Soviet Union during the 1960s and 1970s – alone, with no mission, no finances, no staff, and living under terror before I was imprisoned – God said to me: “You will be like Solomon to Me. You will be My son, and I will be your Father. I will give you the men, the money, and the materials to do the job.” Exactly what God told David regarding Solomon, He spoke to me. And for 75 years, God has provided exactly what He promised: the people, the provision, and the resources to fulfil the work.
God answers prayer. My life is a tremendous testimony of miracles – not only healing from cancer, but so much more. When I first launched out, God spoke to me from the Book of Joshua, reminding me of what He said after Moses died: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.” During my hardest days – whether in prison or battling cancer – He reassured me, “I will be with you.” And He has always been with me.
When praying about bringing the power of the Holy Spirit behind the Iron Curtain, God brought to mind the promise in Joel: “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.” I stood on that promise in faith wherever I travelled, knowing God pours out His Spirit without measure. Even now, in my mid-90s, I continue to stand in faith on that truth. Everywhere I go, God pours out His Spirit.
I pray you experience that same life-changing relationship with God.
Heavenly Father, open their hearts and minds to see the power of Your Word. Communicate with Your people, Lord, and continue to speak to me all the days of my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-Ud_69OCZH0 
For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk 

Jesus did not begin His public ministry until He was about 30 years old. He was baptised in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit came upon Him. From that moment, His ministry began, accompanied by miracles and demonstrations of God’s power. It shows us that the power behind His earthly ministry was the Holy Spirit.
And that is why, before Jesus left His disciples, He told them, “Wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit has come.” He had been with them for 40 days after His resurrection, and Pentecost came on the fiftieth day. They were to wait those ten days in Jerusalem because Jesus knew they could not fulfil the commission in their own strength.
This is what my father taught me: when the Holy Spirit comes, He will do the work in you.
The power I have is not of myself. Without the Holy Spirit, I would be as powerless as the disciples were – and, sadly, as powerless as many churches are today.
But when I received the Holy Spirit, everything changed. From that moment, I understood that I was called to live and minister in the same way we see Peter, Paul, John, Philip, and the other apostles living and ministering in the Book of Acts.
The work of God cannot be accomplished in human strength. We need the power of the Holy Spirit.

When Peter received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, he immediately stood up and preached – and 3,000 people responded and received Christ. This shows us something of the power behind Spirit-filled preaching.
I know this from my own experience. When I first started preaching at the age of 13, I remember complaining to my father because nobody was repenting. He said to me, “You’ve been baptised in water, but you haven’t been baptised in the Holy Spirit. You need the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”
Look at Jesus Himself. He did not begin His public ministry until He was about 30. First, He was baptised in the Jordan, and then the Holy Spirit came upon Him. From that point, His public ministry began, accompanied by miracles and demonstrations of God’s power.
The lesson is clear: the Holy Spirit is the power behind the ministry.
That is why, before Jesus left His disciples, He told them to wait in Jerusalem. He knew they could not accomplish the task in their own strength. They needed the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was essentially saying, “Wait. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will do the work in you.”

I know many of you listening face difficulties and sicknesses, yet those problems will soon come to an end. I want to show how in your trials there is an answer, but sometimes that answer comes through hardship. In Mark 5 a ruler of the synagogue came to Jesus because his daughter was dying. He pleaded with Jesus to come to his house, saying, "Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." What a tremendous statement! Today, in your tragedy, in your battle to survive, reach out and find Jesus. He will answer. He has all power!
Make this declaration of faith as Vinesong sing: 'All will be well, the Son of God is on my side, all will be well!'
'It is well with my soul' and 'All will be well' used by kind permission of Vinesong.