From Genesis to Revelations, the Holy Scriptures abound with magnificent miracles. God being a God of miracles,
we can expect miracles everyday. We live in the realm of the miraculous by pleasing God (1Jn 3:22). Without faith
we cannot please God (Heb. 11:6), and faith keeps coming by continuously hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17).
The foundation for miracles is the word of God. When there is a precedent, a provision or a promise in the Scriptures,
we can expect healings and other types of miracles.
Early in our ministry, we had no confidence to pray for others for any miracles other than physical healings. One day
a lady said, "I can bear any amount of sickness, but I cannot bear the agony of my husband's behavior”. How could I
pray for her? Jesus would surely do something about her condition but I had no verse, in particular for a foundation.
The Holy Spirit guided me to Isaiah 53:4 where we read, "Surely, He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows". All
believers know Isaiah 53:5 and despite different interpretations of the root Hebrew word for griefs and sorrows we
knew beyond doubt that there was now a foundation from which we could pray for agonizing situations that people
go through. The Holy Spirit gave supporting scriptures like Math 11:28 and Math 18:19. As the provisions of God
were opened peoples horrific situations were turned around, faces beamed with joy and eyes glinted with new hope
and hearts turned to the Almighty power of the Almighty Father, Bless God for His Word!
When Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda, He also told him, "Sin no more lest a worse thing
come unto thee". God intervenes in power to separate us unto Himself, God is a Jealous God who covets
us and will not have us to be friends of this world but rather partakers of His divine nature.
How many godly ministers can tell of some who have received a mighty miracle only to see their last state
worse than the first despite exhortations and admonitions!
The purpose of a miracle is that we might walk according to the principles of the Kingdom of heaven on earth.
Ten lepers cry to Jesus from a distance for mercy. Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to the priests
and as they went (obeyed) they were completely healed. Why didn’t Jesus heal them first with a word and then
send them? The manifestation of miracles demands obedience to Gods methods. He can manifest His power
anywhere, anytime and in the manner He sovereignly chooses. God however demands obedience, for the
opposite of obedience is REBELLION and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (l Sam. 15:23).
Ten lepers were healed but alas only one returns glorifies God with a loud voice and falls down at Jesus feet, giving
Him thanks. The other nine that were healed, did not think it necessary to do the same thing! Their behavior was
so strange that they were in danger of placing their souls in grave danger. Ingratitude wounds the giver of all good
things. It is also the first step towards backsliding (Rom. 1:21)
The leper who returned to give thanks was a foreigner, a Samaritan and not a Jew. The Jews often had a smug,
presumptuous attitude towards God because of His covenant with Abraham. Today's Jew or traditional christian
follows in the same steps of complacency, taking the things of God as granted. Ingratitude and complacence
leads to spiritual lethargy, which in turn brings destruction.
He that ministereth the Spirit and worketh miracles among you does it by the hearing of faith. God makes His
ministers a flame of fire and they minister the power of the Spirit by faith in the word of God. A gift from God can
be rejected. It can be received and not used. For a proper manifestation of Gods gifts it must be received by
faith and used by faith. He that comes to God must believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
The minister is an instrument of God just as a scalpel is an instrument in the hand of a skilled surgeon. Our
eyes look at the condition of the instrument but our confidence is in the hands that hold the instrument. The
minister of God is not an instrument of men but of God and is held by the giver of every good and perfect gift.
The minister of God has to be extremely sensitive. and courageous to do the exact bidding of God. Men sent
of God, are also equipped by God. Jesus said "As the Father has sent Me even so I send you".
May be there are ministers who have failed. For every one who fails, God has 10 others who march on
relentlessly to complete the task of building the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We long for instant miracles. Delays are irksome and we tend to resort to alternatives. Every one who came to
Jesus went away perfectly healed. The three cases in the ministry of Jesus that gives room for the theory of
progressive healing were in all probability healed within the hour. We know this from the Lords compassion
for the sick. Certain types of miracles are however not instant.
God chose to create the world in 6 days when He could have done it in a moment’s time. When Jesus cursed
the fig three the manifestation was seen only the next morning. No doubt the word of Jesus began to kill the
tree immediately. But the word was spoken to the root which was hidden. He could have burnt up the whole
tree – root, branches, and leaves with one word; but He wanted to get to the foundation - the source or the root.
If miracles are delayed it is because the word of God has been spoken to the unseen root cause of the problem.
Though we have the foundation for a miracle sometimes it seems to take ages before the miracles take place.
Why is this? Some miracles will take place only after certain desires of the Lord are fulfilled by us. "For you have
need of patience, that AFTER you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise" Heb. 10:36.
We have to be absolutely sure that we have done the will of God in as much it has been correctly told, taught and
revealed to us. God wants to bring us to a point where we will know without doubt that we are in His perfect will.
(Eph. 5:17, Rom. 12:2)
The word of God is our daily bread. It is our light and the sword of God with which we destroy satan’s kingdom!
By the promises of God, we partake of His divine nature. Satan knows these facts very well and makes every
attempt to remove or discredit the word in an individual’s life. He has 6000 years of experience in doing this.
Miracles are delayed when the word of God is tested by satan. We should remember this when miracles do not
happen sometimes, instead of quickly condemning ourselves or giving up on the promises.
God’s word can never fail. He is not deaf that He cannot hear. His power is not diminished that He cannot deliver.
Iniquity working in mysterious ways prevents miracles from happening. Many years ago a young man asked for
prayer, before going to an interview for a job in the Government. We prayed for him but he did not get the job. I
saw him the following Sunday and God revealed that the miracle was being hindered by iniquity in the man’s life.
As God did not reveal the particular sin, I spoke to him about hindrances. He said that however strong the hindrance
was, God was Almighty and had the power to break it. Unable to deny this I told him to be patient. Very soon he
confessed a sin. He had applied for the job with a false sports certificate. After pointing out that God could not
work in a man’s life while he transgresses the commands of God, we prayed for him again. This time he got a
Government job in his own hometown 500 kms away from Madras! God is able to do anything but iniquity prevents Him.
Though we have all the promises, sometimes miracles never happen. Men and women allow worldliness into their
lives and thus become enemies of God. Christians allow themselves to be polluted by ungodly business methods,
social standards and personal lives. God is holy and commands His people to lead a holy life.
Today many believers are motivated by desires to accumulate wealth and land, acquire status and fame - all with a
dose of godly language and behavior interspersed. The Bible calls this a "form of godliness".
We have quite a few people coming to us after having gone through the spiritual circuit of prayer meetings, prophecies
and even after being prayed for by many evangelists without the desired miracles happening. When godly men have
prayed and miracles do not happen, there is absolutely no need to go running from one man to the other to be
prayed for. It is better to check our own lives. The mystery of iniquity is so devious that sometimes it requires a
powerful group of Spirit filled true worshippers to break the powers of darkness. Three young people visited us
asking for prayer for a demon possessed relative. I said that I would like to pray with them first. I asked them all to
let the Holy Spirit to come and guide and deliver. One lady was immediately attacked by demons and became very
noisy and violent. She was delivered that night and the next morning, they began to relate and confess iniquities which
had been a mystery till then. The atrocities in the name of Christ were stunning. It was so complicated and. powerful
that it was disgusting. God granted deliverance after there was a thorough cleansing of many mysterious iniquities that
were going on in the name of christianity. I have often been asked the question, "Why isn’t God answering our prayers
and the prayers of so many others?" The curse does not come without a cause. When we spend time with God asking
Him the reason, He reveals it. Some accept what God reveals and some don't.
God does a miracle and expects a person to follow His ways. When the person doesn’t, he or she opens their spirit,
soul and body to the same problem and it is difficult to get the same miracle a second, time. It gets more and more
difficult each time and then finally almost impossible to get the miracle until the person fully repents.
A woman was often attacked by evil spirits and she was kept in a home. Every passing preacher including myself
cast the devils out of her only to hear a few weeks later that her condition was no better. All problems are caused
by demons. When a demon is removed, he needs a body and goes in search of one. When he is unable to find a
body, he groups up with seven other stronger spirits and returns to the first place from where they were removed.
Then it takes immense power and authority to release that person. This was what was happening in the case of the
lady. I had cast the devils out of her on more than one occasion but now a permanent solution was needed for this
poor, ignorant woman. We sought the face of the Lord for her. God showed us that when the soul is free of demons,
it must be washed by the blood of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. This will enable that person to be filled with
the life giving word of God. The next time I met that lady and cast the devils out of her, I immediately asked her to
cry out to God to cleanse her soul and fill her with the Holy Ghost. The moment she finished praying she burst out
with other tongues. Very soon she was able to work and even support the church. The mystery of iniquity will be
revealed by the light of Gods word and then the miracles which never seems to happen will begin to happen.
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