TORONTO,
CANADA -- Many moves of God have been seen throughout the land
today but what if you set your goal to touch an entire city.
Reading books about Evan Roberts and Charles Finney causes you to
ask God, is it possible to touch an entire city at one time? A
better question would be, is it possible to see an entire nation
on fire? These are the dreams of men but only the hand of God can
cause this mountain to be cast into the sea.
On December 6th on a cold winters night in Toronto more than 700 people met with their pastor to prepare for the Sunday service in a place called the Prayer Palace on Jayne St. near downtown Toronto. What kind of people come together in the depth of winter to seek God. You would have to see them to believe it. More than 39 different nationalities come to the Prayer Palace. Pastor Paul Melnichuck speaks five languages and the power of God flows when he
takes the pulpit on Sunday morning. This pastor wants revival and is bold enough to believe that he can take the city. Very often the beginnings of a great move have a start by the desires of those willing to pay the price.
Chris Harvey was called upon by the pastor of the church to begin revival services. From the second week of November he came to the Canadian city called Toronto to unleash the power of God in the holy place on Jayne Street. Harvey had just came from a meeting with Rodney Howard-Browne. " I felt that God was going to move, it was in my Spirit even before I came." The fresh anointing of the Spirit of God flooded the sanctuary from the first night he came. It’s Jesus that is coming down at the church in old time Pentecostal fashion.
One
Friday night with the church packed to the back 
door the evangelist started his
service and into his sermon he said, "I feel a mighty wave
of God’s Glory here right now." The power of God began
to erupt in the sanctuary all at once. It’s hard to explain
but you wouldn’t forgotten it if you would had saw it for
yourself. It was like in the Book of Acts at the House of
Cornelius. In the midst of 2,500 people, God was dropping Holy
Ghost bombs all over the sanctuary, people were struck by holy
laughter. No it isn’t your average service, but if you would
have been their you would have understood that the power was
coming so hard and so fast on the people that the joy could not
be contained. Many would disagree with what is written on these
pages but in all my days this reporter has dreamed of the day
when God would move like this. God was showering his Spirit over
the people. You ask how many people can be saved in this Holy
Ghost bomb raid but at the end of the night more than 120 were at
the front of the altar giving their lives to Christ.
Harvey said it like this, "That’s what it’s all about. I can’t tell the Spirit of God to do this or that, He is the one that causes this to happen. Many would say that the church is out of control and I would agree. The church is out of control, the control of men. It’s been given to God and what he wants to do with it is just fine with me."
Paul Melnichuck is from the old school, very skilled in the delivery of the gospel but one thing he has never forgotten, the people he serves. You have to understand Melnichuck was around when Benny Hinn was a young preacher in Toronto. Many times the young Hinn ministered at the Prayer Palace in days past. Pastor Paul is a well known figure in the great city. He has never forgotten his role as servant, he wanted revival for the people at the church. The pastor has never forgotten how the Spirit of God can move in Pentecost. He was in love with what God was doing with his people because it was spontaneous. No man could have caused what happened at the Prayer Palace.
"I was hungry and wanted to bring revival to my people. I know this is real because I know my people. I have seen things happen to some of them that I would have never believed would have happened," said the pastor.
One church member said this about the unusual move in the church, "I’ve never seen anything like it. He (Chris Harvey) has a gentle way about him as he walks the church to minister to individuals. What is coming through him is a mighty river of joy." Night after night in a city that is no stranger to revival the tall Australian has walked the aisles of the church and has caused a flood of joy to be washed in like a mighty river. Oh it might not be the river that many have enjoyed in this new wave of God but it was big enough to heal and touch the very hearts of the people at the Prayer Palace.
Many at the church have experienced supernatural visions and healings while Harvey ministered. The anointing was so strong at times that when Harvey just passed by people they would be struck by the power and fall to the ground in laughter. One man in the congregation was so deeply touched as he laid under the sleep of the Holy Ghost he saw a clear view of the glory of Heaven and gave a visual description of it to the pastor.
Harvey has a respect for what God is doing around the world. When asked about John Arnott that was on the other side of town at the Airport Church, he said this. "I remember the first time Arnott prayed for me, I was under the power for almost an entire month. The work over there is very powerful." Harvey has a great respect for what God is doing in Pensacola. The night he visited Brownsville Assembly of God he said this about Evangelist Steve Hill, "I waited for him to come my way as my wife and baby were at the back of the church. When he laid hands on me, I felt the power of God sweep through me as I spun like a top and landed on the floor. Hill looked back at me on the floor and said, ‘That’s for you my friend take it.’ "
The burden of Paul Melnichuck’s heart is to touch the city of Toronto. On the Sunday morning he preached, more than 60 cars were turned away in the parking lot. In the lobby chairs went all the way back to the wall as every nationality poured through the sanctuary looking for a place they can call home. Make no mistake about the pastor, he loves his people. The day I saw him preach the Spirit of revival carried over into the afternoon past 2:00 PM, and nobody was anxious to leave.
The Prayer Palace has an outstanding television ministry that broadcasts on Sunday morning to all of Toronto. The viewing audience is powerful as the outreach has a potential viewing audience of millions. One of the pastor’s twin sons, Tom Melnichuck is over the television ministry . "It’s very hard to edit the video tape sometimes when so much good is pouring through the video monitors." The Prayer Palace television ministry is of the finest quality. It seems as if everything has been put in place for a tremendous move of God. On the Saturday morning that I visited with Pastor Melnichuck he had just returned from finishing the final architectural plans of the new 5,000 seat sanctuary. When asking one of his sons about the stress that is involved in building a structure that big, his son quickly said that his father has been through several building programs and he thrives on the process of building for God.
The mood of the sanctuary on Sunday morning is tremendous as the other twin son, Timothy leads worship. The Prayer Palace has several gifted musicians that bring the presence of God down before the preaching. Just like the city, the church is a cross of every nationality that can be found on the face of the earth. One night during the revival people were having to be taken home by taxis because they were so drunk in the Spirit. One east-Indian Taxi company that serves the city began to take the people home. The next night they refused to take anyone home from the church. They couldn’t figure out why people were having to be driven home from a church drunk.
Pastor Paul Melnichuck knows that the end is near for the church age. His people have had just a taste of revival and now they are hungry for more. The numbers that are coming through the doors are not impressive to the pastor, but what does impress the pastor is when God comes to the church in a supernatural way. The Prayer Palace has opened the door for the Holy Spirit to enter in. Perhaps in God’s divine plan the Prayer Palace will be the place where God chooses to bring revival to the city of Toronto.
