And they went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen"
If we do not believe in miracles, or to put it plainly, we do not subscribe to those who testify to the miraculous, we might as well stop praying, for answered prayer is miraculous. What a strange prayer it would be if we said to God, "Lord, please help the Christians who are suffering in prison for their faith. Please give them strength to go through their great trials, even if it means death. I pray that if it is your Sovereign will, that you will speedily deliver them from prison and their tortuous guards. But, Lord, I really don't believe that miracles are for today, for that's what the church has taught me. Amen."
Men and Fathers, we must teach our children to pray for miracles. We must teach them to expect miracles. Many Christians in Iraq and Syria are living in tent cities and need miracles of provision of food, blankets, and healing. Most of all, they need their daily supply of heavenly bread for their spirits. Many of the people in these tent cities need to be told of the love of God who is able to miraculously keep them safe, and from further attack.
Many so-called Christians do not know what it is to be miraculously born again. Even true repentance is in essence a miraculous thing that can only happen as God enables (John 6:44; Acts 5:31; and Romans 2:4).
As we start this New Year, let us renew ourselves to believe that God is still more than willing to grant us miracles in so many different ways. There are multitudes amongst us who have cancer, pain, and life-threatening diseases, and to be honest, they need miracles. How can we not teach our children to believe in a miraculous God who still loves to do miracles? We also need to expose ourselves and our children to members of the overall Christian church who really believe in prayer that incorporates the miraculous.
The fact that there are those who have no fruit in their lives (Matthew 7:15-23) and yet espouse the miraculous should not cause us to deny the truth. The church should firstly seek the miraculous fruit of the Spirit and secondly, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. Both are needed in this increasingly evil and unbelieving world.
In our next post we will discuss the prayer meeting of Acts 4:23-31. Men, we need to take the shackles off the church when it comes to prayer.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell