A movement saturated in prayer is a movement that fears the Lord and sees signs and wonders: "And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles." (Acts 2:43)
What would it have been like to be with the early Church, seeing and experiencing what they did? I don't know about you, but I often wish I could enter a time machine and go back in time to experience firsthand a little of what went on. Can you imagine being in that first group of followers, just having seen 3,000+ people come to the Lord, fellowshipping every day and seeing God do amazing things through the apostles? It would have been so exciting! My question is: why can't we experience this now? Well, I propose we can... if we pray! Remember, this was all birthed through a prayer meeting. (Acts 1:12-14)
It all comes down to belief... do we believe that the God who the early disciples were in total awe of is the same God that we worship today? Do we have the same kind of reverence and awe for God that we might have had when we first believed, or have we become complacent, apathetic and comfortable? When we believe that God is the God of the impossible (Luke 18:27, Ephesians 3:20-21), then our expectations are raised for what God can and will do through us.
I just heard an amazing story from one of Youth for Christ Australia's missionaries, Pat Steele, the leader of Hope Movement (https://www.yfc.org.au/hope):
A few weeks ago a young man came to an evangelism training we were holding. One of the leaders of the training wanted to pray for people for healing to demonstrate that God is a healer. The young man was a bit sceptical as he had titanium in his leg from a car accident. He asked "Can God heal even a leg with titanium in it?" The leader said, "Of course He can!" This young man was prayed for and he started feeling things in parts of his leg that he hadn't felt since before he had the accident. He went away so overjoyed at this that a few weeks later he invited a friend, a surgeon, to come to a worship night with him. She was so impressed by the change in the young man that she decided to go. This surgeon had a detached retina which meant she couldn't see out of one eye and therefore couldn't perform surgeries. She was very sceptical but also very desperate as she didn't want to go through the invasive surgery that she would have needed to repair it. I simply prayed for her two times, in the name of Jesus, for her sight to be restored. And it was! The last I heard she was driving again and getting back to her normal life.
You may also be sceptical as you read this story. I was once in that spot, until I experienced God's healing in my own life and also began praying for others for healing and saw God heal them, too. And I have seen and heard about too many stories from all over the world to doubt that God is doing the miraculous today.
The good thing is we don't have to depend on ourselves to do the miraculous! It is Jesus in and through us. Without Him, we don't have any authority. Colossians 2:9-10 says that we have been filled in Christ, who is the head of all rule and authority. All we need to do is respond to Him in obedience by actually praying.
Of course, there are times when we pray and nothing happens and we can then question and perhaps become disillusioned. At times like these, we need to trust the Lord for whatever His purpose is. Yet I believe a natural outflow of our intimacy with the Lord will be an increasing desire to have the same kind of compassion for the hurting and broken as Jesus has and we will want to pray in ways that we never have before.
As we pray this month, let's pray that we can be bold in praying for God's miracles in people's lives so that they can encounter the resurrected King. Seeing miracles should leave us in awe and wonder of a mighty God. It's not for our entertainment, or for immortality here and now (healed people still die at some stage), but for God's glory and for people to come into a personal relationship with Jesus and eternal salvation.
Lastly, I would love to hear any stories that you have from your own ministry of how you've seen God at work, whether it's the miracles of healed bodies or restoration of families or a provision from God. And of course, the greatest miracle of all, a brand new heart.
Until next time, may we see God move powerfully in our midst.
Blessings, Lyndal Walker International Prayer Director
P.S. I write more about the miraculous through prayer in "Intimacy, Intercession and Increase." Doing the 31-day journey will help you develop your own prayer life but it is also a great tool for discipling young people in prayer. It is available worldwide both in print and e-book from Amazon or iTunes. If you are in the States and are interested in a bulk order, email j17devo@yfci.org. In Australia, email info@yfc.org.au. All proceeds go straight back into the ministry of Youth for Christ.
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