Chapter 15 ~ Miracles & Faith

With excitement I am prepping you for what is about to come…in addition, I’m prepping myself!   I want the Book of Acts to play out in my life and in the Body of Christ.  My soul yearns for fresh manna and miracles from heaven.  No leftovers from the teachings of man and from a dispensation that is ending.  I want the banquet that God has prepared and is waiting to be unveiled.  Miracles are coming.

So, what is a miracle?  In my own simple words, I believe a miracle is that which is impossible with man but possible with God.  It is that which has the purpose of bringing glory to God and for us, an awareness of His presence.  I trust God likes impossible odds and as such, makes room for the unbelievable. 

I want to reiterate here what the Lord told me: “My daughter, believe Me for the works I do and believe Me for who I am in you.  But greater works than these you will do.  Just believe.  Believe miracles are for today.  Believing is receiving, your joy will be full.”  Along with the following scripture:

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13). 

A few days before I started this website, I received an email from The Return | Day 152 and titled: Do You Believe in Miracles?  The email read: 

“Do You Really Believe in Miracles? My answer was, ‘Yes, of course Lord.  I believe in every miracle I've read about in scripture.’  Yet this answer was not good enough. The Lord's question to each of us is, ‘Do you really believe I can work a miracle for you?’  And not just a miracle for you, but a miracle for every crisis, every situation we face.  We need more than Old Testament Miracles and New Testament Miracles and "by gone" miracles in history.  We need to have up-to-date, personal miracles that are designed just for us and our situation.  Think of the one difficulty you're facing now.  Your greatest need.  Your most troubling problem.  You've prayed about it for so long!  Do you really believe the Lord can and will work it out in ways you can't conceive?  That kind of faith commands the heart to quit fretting or asking questions.  It tells us to rest in the Father's care, trusting Him to do all in His way and in His time.  The Lord will allow you to enter into the rest.  He alone will give you the peace, and your faith will be so strong all fear will leave forever.”

Granted, God can do anything He wants and does miracles without our belief.  But does He need our faith to work a miracle for us personally?  First, I know I have to ask for His intervention, James 4:2: You have not because you ask not.  But I also know I have to believe He will do it.  How do I know God will do what I am hounding Him for?  Well, I want to make sure what I am asking is what He wants too.  The only way I know to find out what the Lord’s will is for a given situation is prayer.

I think scripture is clear on the subject of believing and receiving, here are just a few verses that push us towards a greater desire for faith to move mountains.

So, Jesus said to them, “…I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Matthew 17:20).

This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.  (Acts 14:9-10).

Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  (Mark 11:24).

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  (Hebrews 11:6).

But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her, He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.  (Matthew 9:22).

I certainly don’t claim to be an expert on this subject but I do pray that I will be given the gift of faith and the gift of miracles as in 1 Corinthians 12:9-10: “…to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles…”  I am hoping that the faith God is working in me through the years will be adequate to see the miracles that I am asking of Him. 

Indomitable Faith

I have said before, I wondered what came first…my faith or my dreams; my dreams or my faith?  Either way my dreams strengthened my faith and in turn, my faith was strengthened by my dreams.  This strengthening became what I refer to as ‘gut faith’.  In a recent prayer time, the Lord called it ‘INDOMITABLE’ faith.  I admit that I did not know what the word meant, so I looked it up…Indomitable to mean: impossible to subdue or defeat.  As in a woman of indomitable spirit indicating:  invincible · unconquerable · unbeatable · unassailable.

What is this kind of faith?  In my case, it is faith that has been born out of gut-wrenching prayer for a dying church inhabited by a sinister spirit, Jezebel.  It is also faith that says to the doctors after receiving a deadly diagnosis that I am not going to die because God still has a job for me to complete on this earth.  And for all of us, it is faith built on the promises and prophetic words from the Lord that are still unfulfilled…promises that have dug ditches in our hearts to retain the refreshing waters of God when the drought comes.  

“And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’  For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’  And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord...”  (2 Kings 3:16-18).

My faith has been built deeply into my soul during the years of the prayer assignment by scripture promises and the Lord’s words so that when the dark days of affliction and uncertainty came (the drought); my faith had dug ditches to retain the waters of God to keep me sustained through the valley.  The dreams that God used during this time also nourished my faith to keep me proceeding forward. 

After receiving the terminal diagnosis, I did ask God if He was going to kill me before I finished my calling.  I say this to you because in life and death situations you have to know that you know that you know what God’s plan is for your life.  Your calling, your destiny, in other words what the Lord has put you in this world to accomplish.  “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint...”  (Proverbs 29:18a).

What is your job in the kingdom of God on earth?  Only the Lord can reveal that purpose.  “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:33).  I believe this verse to mean if you seek the Lord with all your heart regarding your personal calling, pursue His righteousness then He will reveal your destiny in the kingdom of God.

“May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.” (Psalm 20:4).

Last night, I sat to pray about what to write next.  I saw the page #107 of my Every Day Light devotional in my head and miraculously, I opened the book to the exact page.  It reads: “Habakkuk 2:4 ‘Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.’  The Bible does tell us that we must have the right view of the world…in other words, we take our view of life and the world not from what the politicians or scientists say about them but from what God says about them.  And when we are willing to stake everything on the fact that what we read in the Bible is true, then and only then will we fulfill the statement: ‘the just shall live by his faith.’”

Understanding God’s overall plan for my life is what got me through and keeps me going.  To know that God’s promises and His work for my life are not completely fulfilled is my fuel.  The Lord gave me promises and a calling which He confirmed even though they have not altogether come to pass.  I pray this kind of fortitude of faith for you.