In other words, this gift of faith is in operation many times when it comes to ministering the
baptism of the Holy Spirit to believers. This gift comes into operation with the ministry of laying
on of hands; as I said, there are those who are supernaturally equipped with a ministry more
along this line.
Of course, any believer can lay hands on people in general faith and appropriate God's
promises from His Word, even in receiving the Holy Spirit. But when it comes to a
manifestation of the Spirit of God ministered through one person to another, that is a gift of the
Spirit in operation.
If you lay hands on someone for healing or for any other blessing without a gift of the Spirit in
operation, that person can simply receive by faith whatever the Word promises. The laying on
of hands then is simply a point of contact for the one receiving to release his faith in the
promises in God's Word. And, of course, if the person receives the blessing by faith, that is still
a demonstration of God's power.
God works through sovereign demonstrations of power and through supernatural
manifestations in the gifts of the Spirit, as well as through simple faith in His Word.
Therefore, this gift of faith can be in operation to minister the Holy Spirit to believers, imparting
the fullness of God which is the promise of the Father, enriching the soul, and empowering one
for spiritual service.
In summary, we can say that by the gift of faith the violence of fire has been controlled as in
the case of Elijah (1 Kings 18:38). By the gift of faith, the miraculous has been supernaturally
manifested and a man was supernaturally fed and sustained (1 Kings 19:4,6); another lived
and labored for forty days without food or water and was sustained (Exod. 34:28).
Angels have stood guard over the servants of God, protecting them because this gift was in
manifestation; men have been delivered from the ferocity of beasts, such as Daniel in the lions'
den (Dan. 6:22). The gift of faith brings an inward calm within the spirit of those through whom
this gift is mani