Everyone in life has problems that require a miraculous, divine intervention from the Lord God. We may not have such an issue constantly, one after another in life, but at some point, everyone goes through something where we need a miracle. Jesus taught us to ask and we'd receive, seek and we'd find, and knock and it'd be opened to us. If Jesus said it, I believe it. However, I believe there are some requirements we must meet first before we can claim this verse. I believe God expects a few things of us before we can expect something from Him. I'm not a scholar or a prophet, but I'll attempt to lay out what I believe are prerequisites for a miracle.
Rhetorical Question #1 - Is There Sin In the Camp?
For many fundamentalists, this is the first thing they point out when someone has a hardship. Although I think many people are too quick to blame trouble on sin, there is definitely a reality to it. Joshua chapter 7 tells the story of a man who took gold, silver and a robe from the ruins of Jericho after God commanded all the spoils be brought into the Lord's treasury. The man's name was Achan. He buried these stolen goods under his tent. When Israel went to battle against the city of Ai, a small town they should have easily defeated, they got their butts handed to them. The men of Ai chased them away from the city gates and killed 36 of the Israelite soldiers.
Joshua cried out to God "What happened!?!?" God told him that someone had stolen from the Lord and broke his commandment. Achan confessed, they found the stolen goods, and stoned Achan and his entire family. They then went on to defeat Ai with the blessing and favor of God. While God doesn't do much stoning these days, there is a very real spiritual principle to observe here. Although Achan had hidden his sin from others, he didn't hide if from the all-seeing God. God would be condoning sin and disobedience if he gave His blessing and favor to a people who were willingly disobedient and sinful, therefore God could not bless Israel. Notice that Achan's sin not only affected himself and his family, but the entire nation of Israel. Our actions can have serious consequences for not only ourselves, but others as well.
The difference between then and now is the blood of Christ. Christ came to off forgiveness and mercy and to be justice for our sake. He didn't replace justice with mercy, he became justice so that we could have mercy. If there is hidden sin in your life, confess it and get rid of it. Turn and walk away from it. As long as you are willingly and knowingly being disobedient to God, He cannot and will not bless you.
Rhetorical Question #2 - Is What You Are Asking In God's Will?
Way to many Christians use this point as a crutch. "Oh, if it was God's will for me to be healed, I would be healed." They use this thought as an easy out, because let's face it, faith isn't always easy. It's much easier to believe in the obvious than to trust in an unseen God for a supernatural miracle. This is where reading God's word and seeking His heart come in. It is God's will that our bodies be made whole. It is God's will that we prosper and be in health. But if you are harboring sin, it is not God's will to bless you until you confess and repent of your sin. If God is ready to take you eternally home to be with Him, He may not remove the cancer that is accomplishing His will. (Side-note - That doesn't mean He won't give you the peace that passes all understanding in the face of death.) However, it is impossible to know God's will for you and your situation if you don't seek Him.
Often we look at delays as defeats. If God doesn't answer our prayer in a week, a month, or even a year, we don't think it is an answered prayer. I read a story a while back of a couple that was over $100,000 in debt and they prayed and prayed for a $100,000 miracle. God didn't answer there prayers by giving them the winning lotto numbers or having a generous stranger write them a check. The couple went through bankruptcy and struggled for several years. Way later in life, their daughter received a $100,000 scholarship, meaning they wouldn't have to pay for college. God answered their prayers, but He didn't do it on their terms. He had a bigger, better plan. God had His will in the matter.
If you ask God for $1 million, He may not give it to you all at once in a lump sum. If you ask God for $1 million to buy a dream house and the biggest SUV you can find, He probably won't give it to you because with great wealth comes great struggle relying on God instead of self. If you ask God for $1 million to accomplish a ministry goal or spread the gospel or feed the hungry, you are trying to carry out God's will, and he will give you exactly what you need to do that, whether it is a $1 million donation or a million people sending a dollar to the cause you are praying for.
Rhetorical Question #3 - Do You Believe?
Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Faith is what makes the invisible and intangible visible and tangible. There are Christians living on both sides of faith. Some believe that just because they believe, they can have anything. They believe that if they want to own the moon and believe hard enough for it, that they can. Then there are others who see the ridiculousness of this notion and couple it with their own doubting attitude and don't believe we can change ANYTHING with faith.
Both camps are wrong, and the truth lies somewhere in between. God makes it very clear in the Word that we can have whatever we ask for if we ask in His name (i.e., according to his desire for us) and believe for what we've asked. Without faith, we won't keep doing the things required to lay hold of that which we're asking for. If we don't believe the door will be opened, we won't keep knocking. If we don't believe we'll receive, we'll never ask, much less continue to ask.
There it is. We need to get rid of the sin in our life, ask according to God's will and desire for us, and finally believe that we'll receive in order to get the miracle that we're asking for. Laid out on paper, it sounds so simple, but like many things, putting it into action can often be difficult. Discovering secret sin is hard because so often, it's been there so long that we overlook it every time we inspect. A root of bitterness can be growing for years and it becomes so ingrained within us that we don't even notice that it is growing and crowding out what God wants to do in us. Sorting out our desires with God's will can often get pretty murky because many times, what we want lines up with the character of God because we are created in His image. But just because it lines up with God's character doesn't mean our motives are pure or that it is what God wants from us. A serious lack of faith in a loving, generous, giving God is often cleverly disguised by our subconscious as being "realistic." And the only way to sort out this murkiness is to talk to God. We must get to know his character through His word, His heart through His Son, and his desire for us through the Holy Spirit in prayer.
This has been a public service announcement from a hypocrite who can preach these points but struggles with living them out day to day. Or maybe I'm not a hypocrite because I can admit that I struggle with these myself. Either way, I hope that it has blessed you and clarified areas in your own life to improve upon and pray about in order to receive the miracles and blessings God is waiting to heap on you.
Cheers, and God bless!
Hoss
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