Believing in Miracles

This week I was in a discussion about the power of Jesus.  We talked about whether we (1) limit the supernatural power of Jesus with our minds and our concept of what’s possible and (2) consider Jesus’ supernatural power as something that only occured when He walked on earth.  I’m often guilty of both.  When I pray for specific intercessions, it’s usually “normal” requests like safety driving home or to comfort a friend who’s lost a loved one or for someone’s financial situation.  Perhaps like beauty, a miracle is in the eye of the beholder and for me, these answered prayers are not of the raise-from-the-dead kind like Jesus did for Lazarus.

And even though I’ve heard stories of miracles happening in the present (people being healed of cancer or living past medically-ascribed life expectancy or surviving near-death accidents), I still have trouble with asking for and expecting miracles in my own life.  But this conversation brought up a larger issue that I need to understand and that is, when do you stop praying for that supernatural result?  I hear stories of people who have physical or mental limitations who’ve used what the world perceives as a tragedy, as a testimony, to inspire countless people and not remain limited.  I wonder if they still pray for limbs, a cure, sight, etc. when God is receiving glory from their lives as-is?  Or should they keep accepting it?

Years ago, almost a decade now, I prayed hard for my own miracle; I mean consistently day and night.  I even fasted a few times.  I still had intercessions for others, but this was really the only thing I prayed about for myself.  Now, I can’t pinpoint exactly when I stopped, but this request is no longer a part of my daily prayers.  I didn’t make a conscious decision to stop.  Thinking about it now, I guess there are a couple of reasons why I ceased praying on it:

• Unlike some of the people today who, as mentioned above, impact lives, I don’t think I’ve done enough for God’s kingdom through my story.  I think about the Parable of the Talents and how one of the servants buried his and so, since he wasn’t faithful over the few things given to him, his master did not give him an increase and what he had was taken away.  Before I’m blessed with any of the other things that are still in my prayers, I feel that God wants me to do more to help others through my experience; yes, this same experience I used to pray for Him to change.  Not that God is a quid pro quo master, but in all things we are to live out our faith and give Him glory (Philippians 2:12-14).  So, now I need to figure out what’s holding me back from fulfilling that mission.
• I think?  Perhaps?  Maybe, I’ve accepted that it’s not so bad?  Through time and growth, I’ve changed my perspective and conclude that it’s not the end of the world if the miracle doesn’t happen.  Would I still like it?  Sure.  But I’ll continue to be okay if it doesn’t come true.
• Finally, my intentions for the miracle were self-centered.  The “because” in my prayer back then was all about me.  I had to go through some aftershocks, and still experience them to this day, in order to realize that my life is supposed to be His life.  As a loved one challenged me, “If God took everything that I’ve known away from me, if there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, if He asked me to lay everything aside, would I still trust Him?”  It’s so easy to trust when things are going good, or even when life is not great, but still manageable.  But in those gut-wrenching, no-where-else-to-turn, tried-everything, what-did-I-do-to-deserve-this Job moments, that’s where the true test comes.

And while the Word says to pray without ceasing, I believe that the Lord knows my heart (1 Chronicles 28:9), wants me to know Him (Jeremiah 24:7), knows that I want Him to know me and grow me, (Psalm 139:23-24) and has amazing things in mind for me (1 Corinthians 2:9).

So, although I’m aware that I can pray for what I want, I’m not sure yet that I will reinsert this request for a miracle into my prayers.  Maybe the miracle for me is that my motivation and outlook are different.  But I do believe that Jesus still has the power to produce a supernatural result, if it is in His will.

Related articles

• Did You Miss a Miracle? – Romans 2:4 (dianneguthmuller.com)
• A Wilderness Miracle (powerofamoment.com)