HEROES OF THE FAITH: Kathryn Kuhlman: A Life Yielded to the Holy Spirit

Friend, there are so many people who have actually walked in the miraculous. Just because you aren’t seeing it in your group or church doesn’t mean it’s not available to you. If you look, you will find that there is massive evidence to support the truth of divine healing and the truth of God’s Word when applied with faith.

Kathryn Kuhlman was one such woman. She absolutely lived in the miraculous—not because she was special, but because she knew the One who works miracles in an intimate and powerful way. Her entire life was a testament to what happens when a person is fully yielded to the Holy Spirit.

Even decades after her passing, her legacy still ignites faith, calling believers higher—urging them to step beyond routine Christianity and into a life marked by the power of God.

But Kathryn didn’t start out as a healing evangelist. In fact, her journey was marked by failure, heartbreak, and a deep, personal breaking—one that ultimately led to one of the most powerful miracle ministries of the 20th century.

Kathryn was born in 1907 in a small town in Missouri. Unlike many well-known evangelists, she wasn’t raised in a family of preachers or revivalists. She was just a girl who fell in love with Jesus.

At the age of 14, she experienced a powerful conversion—a moment so real that she never doubted her salvation again. From that point on, she wanted nothing more than to serve Him completely.

Her early ministry years were spent traveling with her sister and brother-in-law, who were itinerant preachers. Kathryn’s job was simple—invite people to the meetings and share her testimony. But soon, she discovered she had a gift for preaching. People responded to the presence of God on her life, and her ministry grew.

It wasn’t glamorous. She wasn’t well-known. She was just a young woman who wanted to see lives changed.

But then, everything changed.

The anointing she once carried faded. She tried to keep preaching, but something was missing. The presence of God—the very thing that had marked her ministry—wasn’t there anymore.

Finally, she reached her breaking point.

In what she later called “the hardest moment of my life,” she walked away from the marriage. She gave up everything—her reputation, her position, even the ministry she had built—because she knew she had grieved the Holy Spirit.

For a time, she disappeared from public ministry, wrestling with the consequences of her choices. Whatever you think about her choice at that time, that choice led to a place of deeper surrender because God wasn’t finished with her.

She later said: “I died. I can take you to the place where Kathryn Kuhlman died. And once you’ve died, you don’t have to fight anymore. You just surrender.”³

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny self, take up their cross and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

I believe we miss this all the time. We miss the point. That death is not about crossing our entire being out. No, it’s a death to the flesh, the soul life, the life that wants to operate apart from God.

When that part is out of the way, God’s power is free to move, the living waters can flow.

And in Kathryn’s surrender, God restored her and opened up a path for her to walk in the highest fulfillment of her calling and destiny.

And so Kathryn’s ministry was reborn—not through ambition, but through absolute surrender.

And when she stepped back into the pulpit after that, everything was different.

The presence of God was so strong that people were healed just sitting in the audience. No one laid hands on them. No one called them out. The Holy Spirit Himself moved through the room—and one by one, people rose from wheelchairs, tumors disappeared, and deaf ears opened.

Her meetings weren’t filled with hype. There were no theatrics, no shouting, no manipulation.

There was just a woman in love with Jesus, weeping under the weight of His presence.

Many healing evangelists focused on bold prayers and direct commands. But Kathryn?

She was different.

She refused to take any credit for the miracles. She always said:

“Don’t look at me—I have nothing to do with it. It’s the Holy Spirit.”¹

She wasn’t known for power. She was known for presence—the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.

If there was one thing Kathryn Kuhlman wanted people to understand, it was this:

“The Holy Spirit is more real than anything in this world.”⁵

She spoke about Him like He was her closest friend—because He was.

She never wanted to grieve Him again. That was her greatest fear. And because she walked in such intimacy with Him, the miraculous followed.

Kathryn Kuhlman passed away in 1976, but her influence is still felt worldwide.

Her books and recordings continue to stir hunger for the miraculous in the hearts of believers today. Her unwavering devotion to the Holy Spirit serves as a blueprint for those who want to walk in the power of God.

And perhaps the greatest lesson from her life is this:

God doesn’t use perfect people. He uses surrendered ones.

If you ever hear Kathryn Kuhlman speak—whether by watching a YouTube video or another recording—I think you’ll realize something about her. She didn’t just talk about the Holy Spirit—she knew Him. There was an unmistakable reverence in her voice, a depth that came from years of intimacy with God. She spoke as someone who had walked with Him, surrendered to Him, and trusted Him completely. That’s what made her different.

Kathryn’s life challenges us. It helps us realize that miracles aren’t reserved for a few special people—they are for anyone who fully yields to the Spirit of God.

And that means they are for me and you.

After all, Jesus Himself said, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

If there’s one thing I want you to take from Kathryn Kuhlman’s story, it’s this:

Miracles haven’t stopped.
The power of God isn’t gone.
The question is—will you surrender?

Sources

¹ Kuhlman, Kathryn. I Believe in Miracles. Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1992.
² Harrell, David Edwin. All Things Are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America. Indiana University Press, 1975.
³ Liardon, Roberts. God’s Generals: The Healing Evangelists. Whitaker House, 1998.
⁴ Nolen, William A. A Doctor in Search of a Miracle. Random House, 1974.
⁵ Warner, Wayne E. The Woman Behind the Miracles: Kathryn Kuhlman. Servant Publications, 1993.