What do you make of miracles? When I was in middle school, we prayed for one of my classmates who was diagnosed with cancer.
God delivered her and we knew God had answered our prayers for her. We pray for God to work, but do we expect him to? Last Wednesday night we prayed for the daughter of one of our members. After the service, I received word from her mom that her daughter’s worrisome symptoms improved while we were praying. This makes us want to pray.
God confirmed the truth of Paul’s teaching ministry through extraordinary miracles. God chose to use things Paul touched to heal and to exorcise. With you, I am nervous when people claim to have that kind of power today. But I wonder if we have not thrown out the baby with the bathwater. Clearly, we see seasons in scripture where God performed miracles. The times of Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus’ ministry, the Apostles’ ministry come to mind. But I am loathe to limit God by saying he cannot do it again.
When Naveen Maddiboyina preached in our Sunday night revival meetings, he told of a miracle that changed his family for generations. When a Christian pastor promised and delivered healing to Naveen’s grandfather, doing what the other religious leaders could not do, Naveen’s whole family came to Christ. Villages came to believe in Christ because God manifested power.
My college roommate told of a pastor’s meeting, in which the preachers were giving thanks. They were grateful for buildings and budgets. Standard preacher fare. But a pastor from Africa told of a healing he witnessed at a wedding. The other pastors listened with awe. May we never lose the wonder. God is at work. Let’s ask and see what he does.
