Exercise Your Faith and Receive A Miracle
Dear Friends,
Expect a miracle. You will receive your miracle if you believe it. When Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24: “Have faith in God.” I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
If you believe these words of Jesus and act upon them, you will receive your miracle. The first thing Jesus said in Mark 11:22 is, “Have faith in God.” He is not simply giving advice. He doesn’t say it would be nice if we had faith, or that He prefers we have faith. He is commanding us to have “faith in God.”
I have personally witnessed countless miracles during the past 53 years as God has miraculously provided healing, financial help in times of need, and lives transformed through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. What a mighty God we serve.
The one thing we can do the most to honor God is to have faith in Him. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exist and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Over and over the Bible tells us that faith is that way to receive our miracle. Remember Mark 11:23, when Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done from him.”
Expect a miracle and speak to that mountain of need and command it by faith in Jesus Christ to be thrown into the sea? The Bible tells us and shows us repeatedly that we can expect a miracle because, with God, all things are possible.
To the Canaanite woman who interceded for her demon-possessed daughter, Jesus said, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Matthew 15:28 Like this woman, may our faith and love compel us to believe God for miracles in the lives of the hurting, the hungry, and homeless.
If more people prayed and then stepped forward by faith, we would see the miraculous unfold to the extent that no one would be homeless in America tonight. If churches would move forward and open their doors at night to the homeless, lives would be saved, and revival could come forth.
Helping the hurting and homeless takes faith and without faith we can't please God. "Everything that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23).
Faith grows by knowing and acting on the Word of God, because "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). If you are facing an impossible situation and are having a hard time expecting a miracle, I encourage you to look at what God did for David when he confronted the giant Goliath by faith. Take another look at what God did for the city of Jerusalem in Hezekiah's day, when Sennacherib's army surrounded the city and threatened to destroy it. The city stood steadfast with faith in God--who, in turn, miraculously saved the city.
Remember the story of Daniel and how God delivered Him when he was thrown in the lions ’den? Why are you so scared of being locked up or ridiculed when it comes to civil disobedience in the fight for justice on behalf of the homeless and downtrodden? After all, didn't Jesus say in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours?”
There is one way to increase your faith so that you expect to receive a miracle. That involves taking God at His word, testing and seeing if He keeps His promises. In Malachi 3:10, He says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, 'says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
Money molds people in the process of getting it, of saving it, of using it, of giving it, and of accounting for it. Depending upon how it is handled, it proves a blessing or a curse to its possessor. Either the person becomes master of the money and by faith into God's storehouse to help the needy, or the money becomes the master of the greedy who try to hold on to it or spend it on themselves.
If we allow our money to master us, we will find ourselves drifting further and further away from God. We can't expect God to answer our prayers for money if that money will only lead us further from Him. That is why Jesus said, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).
Our Lord takes money and makes it a touchstone to test the lives of people. If you use it for the glory of God and His work, He can use it as an instrument for molding you into the likeness of Himself and bless you with more of it in the process.
A major way to grow our faith and prepare to receive our miracle is to identify the greed and sins in our lives. Once we do this, we must confess and forsake them. We see Daniel doing this in behalf of his people in Daniel 9:4-19. There, we read Daniel's prayer, and in the chapters that follow, we witness that nothing shakes the heavens like a prayer from a repentant humble heart.
Today is the day to receive your miracle. When you read the Bible the God of the universe is talking to you. You can respond to Him as you hear Him speak to you through the scriptures by talking back to Him in prayer.
God is looking for a two-way conversation that results each of us repenting of our sins of unbelief which causes us to accept the status quo of allowing multitudes around the world to live in despair without the knowledge of a loving God, who desires to meet their needs through His people.
How we need to repent of our sins of self-centeredness and start to read the Bible as a means of a two-way conversation with God. We allow him to speak through his word to us, showing us that the miracles revealed in scriptures can be ours today. As we do this, we engage in a dialogue as we pray, standing on the promises of the scripture and by faith. Start expecting a miracle.
When we confess our sins, we have the assurance of God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ that our prayers will be answered. "If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him" (I John 3:21-22).
God is not a genie in a jar just waiting for the right prayer to be uttered before He will act. He will not answer prayers to aid the idols we create in our lives.
Knowing this is the day to expect a miracle, let us pray as St. Augustine did in Acts 17:28 when he declared: "Almighty God, in whom we live and move and have our being, You have made us for Yourself, so our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Grant us purity of heart and strength of purpose, that no selfish passion may hinder us from knowing your will, and no weakness from doing it. But that in your light we may see clearly, and in your service find perfect freedom, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Jesus promised that when people prayed together in his name miracles come forth. "Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:19- 20).
Every day we hear of different crises somewhere, social injustice, environmental destruction, family and personal problems, the list goes on and on. Yet, as men and women of prayer we can be more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us.
As people of faith, we pray in the name of Jesus. Peter Kreeft points out that "The prayer of Jesus’ name actually brings God closer, makes Him more present. He is always present in some way, since He knows and loves each of us at every moment; but he is not present to those who do not pray as intimately as He is to those who do. Prayer makes a difference, prayer changes things. It may or may not change our external circumstances. (It does if God sees that change is good for us; it does not if God sees that it is not.) But it always changes our relationship to God, which is infinitely more important than external circumstances, however pressing they may seem. Because it's eternal, and they are temporary. Because it is our very self, and they are not.”
The development of our relationship with God may be that miracle He has for us today. After all, what miracle could be greater than intimately knowing the Creator and Redeemer of heaven and earth? As we experience the miracle of a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ we will awaken to the eternal presence of God and the changes He desires to bring about in our lives.
Mother Teresa who is now Saint Teresa gave us that insight into the miracle of prayer when she said, "Love to pray-feel the need to pray often during the day and take the trouble to pray. If you want to pray better, you must pray more. Prayer enlargers the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself. We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. See how nature, the trees, the flowers, the grass grows in perfect silence. See the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. Is not our mission to give God to the poor? He is not a dead God but a living, loving God. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life.
Prayer birthed in the compassion of Jesus moves us among those in need. This movement enables us to experience that need in the depths of our souls to the extent we are able to and help those we are praying for receive the miracles they need.
As we see the hurting and homeless, it causes us to obey our Lord's command when He says, "Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into His harvest field?" Please believe God is with us now for the miracle of additional dedicated NLEC workers in this vast harvest of need?
As we see this magnitude of need around us, let us cry out with the prophet, "My eyes fail from weeping. I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground.” Because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. (Lamentations 2:11)
The miracle of compassion causes me to ask, “What would happen if I became desperate enough to wrestle with God like Jacob, if necessary, until my heart was broken over the pain of this generation of children and youth whom Satan has ravaged?” As I hear story after story about the terrible things people are doing to each other, I find myself asking.” What would happen if I were prepared to engage in the spiritual warfare necessary to see people set free from satanic chains that hold them in bondage?”
I must accept the fact that I can't really pray effectively without the Holy Spirit's help, for "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for.” (Romans 8:26).
As we begin to pray in the power of the Spirit, we must aggressively come against Satan in the powerful name of Jesus. Along with the sword, which is the word of God. In James 4:7 we are told, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
When you are praying to receive your miracle, don't be surprised if your mind starts going in every direction, filled with one anxious thought after another. As this happens don't panic or stop praying. Instead, remember Isaiah 26:3, which says: "You (Oh Lord) will keep him (and her) in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because (he or she) trusts in You."
With our minds at peace, trusting in the Lord, we are then able to pray with faith as we intercede in the name of Jesus who, "Having disarmed the powers and authorities, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15).
We can pray with the authority of Jesus knowing that through His work of redemption the powers and authorities have been disarmed. He has truly triumphed over them by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
Jesus makes it clear that the prayer of faith destroys the citadels of injustice, as Jesus asks: "Will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:6-8)
The prayers of faith by compassionate people enable them to expect the miracle of justice. They know that prayer is not an alibi for indifference to the plight of the poor (Isaiah 58:2; James 2:14-26).
As we care for those God cares for, He will provide for us as we put our faith in Him. Remember faith is an essential element in receiving our miracles. Jesus, knowing the love of many will grow cold in the last days, asks, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"
Many today claim to believe God is everywhere while they live like He is nowhere. No wonder their prayer life is so powerless, and they can't expect that God will give them a miracle.
Never forget the words of Hebrews 11:6 which says: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
How we need more men and women who are: "Always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured" (Colossians. 4:12).
To wrestle in prayer means to exercise faith as you pray. New Testament believers prayed with faith as they believed that each day was a day for miracles. They expected miracles and by faith they experienced miracles.
Today, as we face what seems like overwhelming needs, let us pray, with faith, expecting miracles. Now is the time to believe God That He will bring justice to those who cry out to Him day and night.
Please continue to pray earnestly for New Life Evangelistic Center's financial needs, the NLEC staff, and for the needs of the multitudes that we encounter daily. Let us agree in faith that today is the day we will receive the miracles needed in the lives of the hurting and homeless
Yours in Christ,
Larry Rice