Miracle is an event that involves the direct and powerful action of God, transcending the ordinary laws of nature and defying common expectations of behavior. In other words, when God takes away the natural laws for a moment to bring about His will.
We believe that God does miracles: however, the days of God doing miracles on demand at the request of the prophets are gone. We see this progression in the book of Acts.
God is not a formula. The myth of religion is that if I do “A,” then He is obligated to do “B.” That is not the gospel!
He’s Lord, and He can do anything He wants, you cannot force Him or obligate Him. But you can prepare for God’s work in your life.
In 2 Kings 4:1-7, we find the story of the wife of a prophet who receives a miracle as the result of a pattern, not a formula. We can set our sails up so when God moves, we are ready.
Three Ways to Prepare for a Miracle
Cry out to Him in your brokenness
We have a widow in crisis. She was not expecting her husband to die, the creditor came knocking at the door. She had done everything she could to protect her children, to keep afloat.
At some point God will allow a situation in your life where all your resources run out. This woman comes to the prophet Elisha because she was in a situation that only God could fix.
Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor me.”
Often, the problem is not the intensity of the problem, but its duration. It is difficult to cry out to the Lord when the trial goes on for so long because it is easier to cope than to hope, because hope hurts.
If you are motivated by God’s glory and the good of others, you can still cry out in the midst of the storm and ask for Him to come and rescue you! God is more powerful than your circumstances!
Prayer is the first thing you do. Start crying out to the Lord again.
Use the resources you already have
V. 2 says, “So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”
Elisha is really asking: How much do you still want this?
There is a pattern in Scripture of God using what you already have to answer your prayers. The answer to your situation is more than likely something that God has already put into your hands.
The question is: What do you already have?
God has given his people the Bible, the gift of prayer, the local church community, counseling ministry, and other ministries. Are you using what you already have?
Take a faith-filled step
Do it, take a step!
Your faith has much more to do with your feet than with your feelings. Faith is not only how you come to the Lord Jesus, but also how you grow in His grace.
Faith has more to do with what you do, not simply with how you feel. What is the step of faith you need to take today?
Pastor Chris Williams
To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these weekly encouragements in your inbox.
