Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. (Philippians 4:6, NLT)
I want to encourage you - you are the Church, the chosen people of God - and I want you to realise the potential of what God wants you to do with your life, and I want to share with you the simplest, most basic things to help you. Our faith is not just a theory, something we learn about. Our God is practical, He answers prayer. Prayer is communication, simply talking to God. And God works miracles. I know miracles happen every time I pray. I don’t have any question about it. It’s not different from knowing that every morning the sun will get out of bed and show itself at my window - it’s simple, it’s a fact, it happens every day. God works miracles, every day, just like that! It’s true!
The only way that you can recognise who the God of the Bible is, is by His words and actions. But words are not enough, God is so great and powerful, His power and His character are better expressed by His actions. His word says that ‘God so loved the world,’ His action says, ‘that He gave His only Son.’ But everything about that ‘gift’ was a miracle - His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection. The power of God is shown by the miracles, because a miracle is something you can’t do, it’s impossible; therefore it is not the action of a man. My God, our God, is the God of miracles!
I expect miracles to happen, it is normal in a Christian’s life! I believe they will happen, and they do, as simple as that. I don’t just believe, I know that when I pray for the sick, people will be healed. I just talk to God - miracles and God go together! Simple! Nothing complicated, nothing difficult. If you want a miracle - ASK God, He’ll do it, IF you believe He will!
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27, NKJV)
After more than 70 years of ministry I am still learning - I am still asking, “Lord teach me how to pray”. In Romans 8, Paul writes, ‘When we know not what to pray for as we ought, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.’ Simply talk to God, ask Him. Miracles happen by the simple way in which we relate to Him, communicate with Him! In our normal life, we need to talk to each other - if you don’t communicate with God, you don’t have a relationship with Him! As simple as that. Religion has ‘hijacked’ prayer and turned it into a formula. People light candles, repeat set prayers, even read what someone else has said - that’s not prayer - prayer is simple, its not just communion but communication with God.
I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! (Isaiah 65:24, NLT)
We sometimes have powerful prayer meetings in our office - but before we pray, I talk to the staff: what we’re going to pray about, why, what we need. And whatever we need, it only comes from God - we have to pray. So I talk about these things with the staff first, and God is present, He’s the unseen guest, the silent listener to every conversation. I know God is there, He is listening. Before we ask, He’s already heard everything; He knows what is in our heart, what we think, what we want, what we need, but He wants us to put it into words.
I want you to understand that God wants to work miracles in your life, not just mine. But how does God work miracles? The challenge can be found in many verses but I want to show you a simple secret. In Matthew 17 when the disciples could not heal the boy, they asked Jesus why? He said because their faith was too small, He put the responsibility back on them! They should move mountains! In Mark 11 Peter asked why did the fig tree die overnight? Jesus said, whatever you ask, if you believe that you will receive - you will - you CAN move mountains! Putting this very simply it means that your words and your actions must coincide, they must agree!
So the first most basic thing is to learn how to REALLY pray, and the second most basic thing is learn how to REALLY read your Bible!
The Bible is the most important Book in the world! Why do I see miracles when I pray? Two reasons: one, I ask God to do it; two, miracles are promised in the Book - God WILL send His Holy Spirit, He WILL send revival, He WILL work miracles! So what happens? God does it! There is no limit to what God will do.