Do you believe that God still does miracles? Do you live with a faith that only accepts the explainable? That relies on self-help rather than reliance on Christ? How much of your life is spent behaving as an atheist rather than a child of the one true God?
I think all of us struggle to really trust that God can and will come through when we need him. It’s so much easier to depend on the seen than to trust the unseen. I’m here to remind you that God is still a miracle worker!
God just brought to my attention that he is actively involved in my life in the past few weeks. I was feeling defeated. I felt overwhelmed by the needs of my kids and my inability to parent them perfectly. My body was feeling unwell and I struggled to know how to feel better again. Worries were compounding in my head and heart. Finally I did what I should always do, which is to pray fervently! I was in over my head and knew I needed something to give.
I prayed unsure if or how God would move but in my heart I knew I was in need of his mercy to see the burden on my heart lifted. Guess what in the weeks since that simple prayer of need I have seen God move in big and little ways. I am reminded that he is a miracle worker!
My sister-in-law found a miracle house in this crazy housing economy after years of prayer in my neighborhood! Major miracle! I found practitioners, parent coaches, and a whole community that I could go to as support as we wade deeper into the role of foster and adoptive parents. Through a knowledgeable health practitioner, I was given just what I needed to start feeling better physically after months of compounding stress, leaving my body struggling once again. A small miracle was one of my sons finding a math program that he could complete independently. I have prayed for him to grow in academic independence for quite a while, and all of a sudden, he is doing lessons on his own, making good grades along the way. How faithful is God to show up to meet our big needs and our small ones, too!
Don’t Miss the Miracles
As the past few weeks unfolded, life stayed busy, and my responsibilities continued to need to be fulfilled. That’s how life goes! Busyness makes it easy to miss the miracles. I had to step back and pause in order to see God has done a lot over the past three weeks. It even took some effort to remember everything I had brought to God in prayer because my brain is full. It’s hard to remember what I did yesterday, much less what needs have been sitting heavily on my heart.
Today at my Community Bible Study Class, I felt the spirit challenge me to pause and give God the glory for what he has done. That wisdom-filled Spirit urged me to take note of God’s goodness and love on display in my life. I’m so thankful for the ways God gets my attention because I’m so easily distracted.
I took time to write down what he had done and also to make a note of the needs I still needed to bring to Jesus. Then I shared the good news of his faithfulness with my small group because I regularly share with them my needs. I felt I should be diligent in giving thanks for God’s mercy, too!
Write Down Your Prayers and God’s Responses
As a young woman, I loved to write! I wrote to God daily, sharing my heart and listing my prayers before him. I have journals full of letters to Jesus from my younger years. As my life has grown fuller, my diligence in this area has waned, but my need for God’s hand at work in my life has only grown. I’ve felt convicted to return to the practice of making a record of my prayers so I can go back and give thanks for the answers God gives.
One year I went back over every prayer request I had written to see how God had responded. I kid you not every prayer was answered! How easily we take for granted his faithfulness. The record I kept opened my eyes to how much he loves me. How those words are not useless but are the most powerful practice I could engage in to help see my life excel towards grace and healing.
The Bible Promises God Hears Our Prayers
Why can we be confident that prayer matters? That our faith is something that produces change? Because the Bible promises that our prayers are heart! 1 John 5:14 says, “ And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
If we are Christ followers, we don’t live by our own might or power, but we are called to rely on God’s Spirit to meet our needs (Zachariah 4:6). Prayers of faith are essential to our relationship with God because they boost our ability to trust in him. What good would it be to us to know a God who leaves us to our own broken devices? God only matters because knowing him changes us. It changes our eternal destiny. It gives us access to wisdom. Grace. Peace, Joy. Comfort. Healing. Power. Guidance. And the list goes on.
Don’t hold back in approaching God with your needs! He loves to lavish us with his love; it’s who he is. We aren’t putting him out but requesting grace to show up in our chaos-filled world. It’s exactly what he wants us to do! Bring Heaven down, that’s the point of this Christian life (Matthew 6:9-13).
A Prayer for God to Do Miracles
Father, I thank you that you're a miracle worker! You have been showing up in the details of your people's lives going all the way back to the start of history. Your greatest miracle was the gift of your son, which paved the way for us to be a forever part of your family. For this we are so grateful and live in awe of your love that was displayed so boldly through a cross.
What grace you show in that you continue to offer us what we need beyond salvation from death and sin. You offer us healing. Your spirit guides us in wisdom. You give us assignments for our lives so we can feel your purpose. You bring Heaven down to Earth through us. Jesus in my life continues to bring Heaven down. Bring order to the chaos of my relationships, my body, my schedule, my community, my family, my worries, and more. I thank you for showing up in the details of life, in both the moments of abundance and the moments of despair. You never leave us or forsake us! Do what only you can do for me today. Amen.
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Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for My Daily Bible Verse Devotional and Podcast, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, the Daily Devotional App, she has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com. She has most recently published a devotional, Comfort: A 30 Day Devotional Exploring God's Heart of Love for Mommas. You can find out more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram.