Last month we received a beautiful message from a dear friend thanking us for our prayers for her husband. She said, "I know God performed a miracle because of your prayers." I felt humbled by the compliment, because I know we didn't perform the miracle of healing in this man's life. God did. All we did was simply ask and believe. When we received the prayer request from her as we were traveling through Oklahoma on a Sunday morning, she told us that her husband was extremely ill with flu like systems. We stopped and prayed. A half hour later, we received another message saying he had gotten dressed and was heading to church.
This is just one of many miracles we've seen since starting Rising Rivers. And though I've never stopped believing in miracles, I think my expectation level had dropped considerably. Has God stopped performing miracles? No. However, some people believe miracles were just something for the days of old and the miraculous somehow ceased with the death of the Apostles. They also believe that the Holy Spirit is only sent to convict, guide, and comfort the believers. Why would God now limit the supernatural miraculous power in our day? We need it as much today as Christ's followers did in the early days of the church.
As I read through the Gospels and Acts, I see Jesus and His followers performing one miracle after another. Reading about the miraculous has increased my faith for the miraculous. Hearing testimonies of healing, financial provision, and deliverance has also served to raise my level of expectation that God will come through for me and those who ask me to pray for them. I ask and then I consider it done.
Just in the past couple weeks I saw a broken down truck start up and drive away without any issues. I saw a man with severe back pain suddenly find relief. I woke up very ill one morning and was teaching the Word of God that evening. All of these were miracles that happened as the result of coming to God, asking in faith, and then expecting it to happen. There is no doubt in my mind that God is still in the miracle working business today.
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. (Luke 9:1 NKJV)
The good news for us as believers is that Jesus has given us, his followers (disciples), authority by His name to perform miracles. Miracles were an important part of spreading the good news about Jesus. Today, many in the church think it only comes through our eloquent teaching/preaching. Christians try to use some sort of logical deduction to prove the existence of God and the need for Jesus. Not even the Apostle Paul relied on that.
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, (1 Corinthians 2:4 NKJV)
Has the demonstration of the Spirit and of power faded away? Absolutely not! In Romans 8:11 we are told that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. Jesus promised in Acts 8:1 that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. And Jesus, who performed so many spectacular miracles, promised us that we would do even greater works (John 14:12). This is what I see in the Word of God. This is what I believe. This is how I intend to live my life.
My challenge to you today is that you would begin believing God for miracles. The time for believing is today.
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