Norvel Hayes
Norvel Hayes (1927–2018) represents the Way of Fire in its most distilled, formula-based expression. His 60+ year ministry (1950s–2018) was fundamentally about democratizing apostolic power—proving that any believer, not just anointed ministers, could access the supernatural through understanding and applying biblical principles correctly.1
Hayes taught that the Way of Fire boils down to precise spiritual mechanics: Holy Spirit baptism + unwavering faith + spoken confession + daily persistence = guaranteed results.
The Childhood Crucible: Loss Forging Authority
Hayes' understanding of the Way of Fire was hammered out in personal tragedy. At age 10, he lost his mother to cancer. The Baptist church members would visit and pray: "Lord, heal Mrs. Hayes, if it be thy will." She died at 37. Years later, his brother Glen died at 19, met with the same equivocal prayer language: "Lord, heal Glen Hayes, if it be thy will."2
These two tragedies became the crucible in which Hayes forged his uncompromising theology of authority:
"That is why I am so bold and ruthless against the devil, and particularly against cancer. Cancer is a work of hell. All diseases come from the devil. All heartaches come from the devil. But Jesus came down from heaven to bring us eternal life and life more abundantly here on earth."2
Discovering Unwavering Faith
Unlike someone who might become cynical about God's power, Hayes responded by studying Scripture to understand why the church's prayers had failed. He discovered the principle of unwavering faith versus wavering faith.
The church had prayed with the condition "if it be thy will"—which Hayes recognized as doubt masquerading as piety. Mark 11:24 didn't say "if God wills"—it said "believe that you receive them and you shall have them."3
Hayes made a covenant with God: he would never again pray prayers filled with doubt. He would speak to mountains with absolute authority.
Holy Spirit Baptism as Power Source
Hayes' entire theological edifice rested on one non-negotiable: Holy Spirit baptism with fire and speaking in tongues. He taught unequivocally:
"Unless you allow Jesus to baptize you in the Holy Ghost, you won't ever receive power from on High to do the works of God."4
This wasn't emotional experience—it was power equipment. He taught that speaking in tongues edifies the inner man and builds faith to the point where believers can "believe God instead of circumstances."5
The Holy Ghost baptism wasn't optional supplemental experience for a few spiritual elite. It was mandatory equipment for any Christian claiming authority over sickness or demons.
The Faith Formula: Mark 11:23-24
Where John G. Lake emphasized laying on of hands and Aimee Semple McPherson emphasized institutional prayer towers, Hayes made one scripture the foundation of everything:
"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." — Mark 11:243
Hayes taught that this scripture contained a precise formula:
- Desire it — know specifically what you need
- Believe you receive it — not believe God CAN do it, but believe you HAVE it
- Confess it with your mouth — speak it, don't just think it mentally
- Don't waver — wavering faith separates you from God and results in nothing
- Receive it — the manifestation follows the confession
The Danger of Wavering
His most distinctive teaching was about wavering faith:
"Doubt will damn you forever. Doubt will separate you from God. Doubt will cause your body to be racked with pain and diseases for years and years."3
God said in James 1:6-7 that the one who doubts "don't even let that man think he's going to receive anything from God because he's not going to receive."
This wasn't harsh theology—it was clear diagnosis. Wavering faith produces wavering results. The believer must make up their mind once and for all, then never waver.
Specific Faith, Not General Faith
Hayes drew a critical distinction:
"God will not honor nonchalant faith. God will not honor general faith from anybody. God only honors specific faith."3
When someone said "Oh, I believe God. I believe that the Lord can do anything," Hayes recognized this as admission of non-belief. Saying "I believe God can do anything" is a cover phrase for people who don't actually believe anything specific.
Real faith is:
- "I believe God for my kidney to be healed."
- "I believe my husband will live and not die."
- "I believe God for this job."
The ICU Testimony
One of his most powerful examples came from a woman whose husband lay dying in the ICU. The Holy Spirit told Hayes: "Mark 11:23 would heal him if it was obeyed."3
Hayes instructed the wife to begin confessing daily: "My husband will live and not die."
She confessed thousands of times. Every time the devil attacked her faith with doubt, she confessed again. She thanked God before she saw the result. Her confession never wavered. And her husband was miraculously healed.
The key wasn't that she said it once. She said it with persistence and specificity, daily, until the manifestation came.
Authority Over Demons
Hayes taught that believers have the same commission Jesus gave the disciples in Luke 9:1:
"Jesus called his 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases."
This wasn't limited to apostles—it applied to every believer who understood their authority.6
Daily Spiritual Warfare
Hayes emphasized that this authority required daily application:
"The devil will give you a test like every week so he can find out who you are in him."3
The principle isn't: pray once and the demon leaves permanently. The principle is: exercise your authority persistently. If cancer tries to return, speak to it with authority in Jesus' name. If fear tries to oppress you, cast it out by the authority of Christ.
Hayes wrote "How to Cast Out Devils" and taught that "you have to break them loose and you break them loose by Authority in Jesus name and you make them leave. You make devils obey you."6
Miracle Testimonies
Hayes' healings illustrate his faith formula in operation.
New Feet for a Child
In a 1983 service, a little girl with completely deformed feet attended. Doctors had said she would never walk. During the service, without anyone praying for her specifically, God gave her new feet. She walked around the auditorium.7
New Kidneys
In the same service, a couple facing their 12-year-old son's kidney transplant the next morning witnessed the miracle of new feet. They said to each other: "If God would give that little girl new feet, why does our son have to be cut open for a kidney transplant?"
They brought their son to the front. Hayes laid hands and prayed, asking the Lord to perform a miracle and give him new kidneys. They took him back to his hospital room. The next morning before surgery, the doctor took an x-ray.
The nurse came to the parents and asked: "What's happened to this child? This child does not need an operation. He has two new kidneys!"7
These weren't exceptions to Hayes' ministry. They were demonstrations of the principle working.
The Power of Spoken Confession
Hayes' teaching on confession distinguished him from his predecessors. While Lake and McPherson demonstrated healing through direct ministry, Hayes taught that believers could trigger their own healing and others' healing through persistent verbal confession.
"Confession brings possession."8
Say what you mean, mean what you say, and say it "for the Holy Spirit is in it from way down deep inside of you."
The Principle
Your mouth determines reality. Proverbs teaches that "death and life are in the power of the tongue." When you confess with your mouth what God's Word promises, the Holy Spirit performs that Word. This applies to healing, deliverance, provision, or any promise in Scripture.3
A mother with a severely deformed child dragged the child across the floor daily and confessed: "In Jesus name I command you to walk. In Jesus name I command you to walk." Every night she knelt by the bed and confessed: "In Jesus name I command you to be normal." The specificity, daily application, and authoritative confession eventually produced the manifestation.9
Training: New Life Bible College
Hayes founded the School of Ministry at New Life Bible College with a focused two-year program designed to teach believers how to access and activate supernatural power.10
The curriculum centered on:
- Understanding faith principles from Scripture
- Learning to cast out demons
- Laying hands on the sick
- Maintaining unwavering belief
Hayes wasn't primarily interested in theological nuance—he was interested in reproducible power. He wanted to teach believers "how to do it."
In 2016, as Hayes entered his final years, he designated Pastor Keith Chancey to oversee all his ministries. The church and college continued without interruption, demonstrating institutional continuity.
Scripture-Only Authority
Hayes maintained a critical boundary: the Holy Spirit only manifests what's written in Scripture.
"The Holy Spirit when he comes... he never will manifest himself unless he has scripture for it."3
This protected believers from mysticism and guaranteed that all authority rested on the objective Word:
- If you wanted healing, you found the healing scriptures
- If you wanted deliverance, you found the deliverance scriptures
- If you wanted provision, you found the provision scriptures
The Holy Spirit's job was to perform what was written. This meant Hayes rejected visions, prophecies, and experiences that contradicted Scripture. The Bible was the absolute standard.
Why Hayes Matters Today
Norvel Hayes proved that the Way of Fire doesn't require special sociological conditions or institutional privilege. It requires:
1. Holy Spirit baptism — the power source
2. Scripture knowledge — the foundation of authority
3. Unwavering faith — the psychological condition
4. Specific confession — the activation mechanism
5. Daily persistence — the sustaining practice
Where Lake's miracles came through laying on of hands and McPherson's through institutional healing rooms, Hayes demonstrated that believers could access the same supernatural authority through understanding biblical formulas and applying them consistently.
"The age of miracles hasn't passed. When believers understand that faith is not vague mental assent but specific, spoken, persistent belief that refuses to waver, the miracle-working power of Christ operates."
Related
- Kenneth Hagin
- John G. Lake
- Smith Wigglesworth
- Faith Declarations
- Truth vs Facts
- Healing
- Deliverance
- The Way of Fire