Miracle versus Answered Prayer

For the ease of getting my message across in this article, when I say “miracle” as in the title, I am referring to both the divine gifts of “healing” and “miracles”, even though they are separately outlined in the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church in 1 Corinthians 12:9-10. An example of a divine “miracle” is when Jesus fed the 5000. An example of a divine “healing” is when Jesus gave a blind man his sight.

But, before looking at “miracles”, let’s look at some scriptures and facts.

First, God knows every thought that passes through our mind and nothing, but not nothing is too small for God to notice:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” (Matthew 10:29 NKJV)

Second, ‘prayer changes things’, so as Christians we are to be in a constant state of prayer and thanksgiving:

Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV)

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6 NKJV)

Third, even though God is not obliged to hear and answer non-Christian’s prayers (John 9:31), His blessings will sometimes spill over:

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:44-45 NKJV)

Fourth, our salvation is not dependent upon a miracle or miraculous healing. It is only dependent upon faith in our Lord Jesus Christ:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18 NLT)

Fifth, not all healing from sickness is miraculous healing, even though it is brought about by prayer:

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:14-15 NKJV)

Even though we are to be thankful and praise God for everything, what I want to do is differentiate blessings, overcomings, and recoveries from miracles and miraculous healings. Or simply differentiate between miracles and answered prayer. In other words, not every action by God is a miracle.

So what is a miracle? Let’s look at this definition screenshot from the dictionary:

Then what is a miracle according to the Bible? It is a special gift of the Holy Spirit. It is something that astonishes people and gets their attention, especially unbelievers, because it surpasses all known human and natural powers:

And God confirmed the message (of salvation) by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose. (Hebrews 2:4 NLT)

So, miracles are not to be handled lightly and treated as commonplace. True miracles speak for themselves. If you listen to some people’s testimonies, they make it sound like they are God’s favorite and miracles and miraculous healings are weekly events in their lives. Keep these two portions of Scripture from Paul in mind:

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (Romans 12:3 NLT)

Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you. (1 Corinthians 14:26 NLT)

A true testimony must only bring attention to the Lord, and never to any human being!

“The greatest weakness of a preacher is when he draws men to himself.” (Wigglesworth)

“The Holy Spirit did not come to exalt you; He came so that you could exalt the Lord.” (Wigglesworth)

Advertisement