IOW quote February 22, 2008
“Miracles have happened when God’s people come together in prayer”—Billy Graham
There’s a funny thing about miracles. We don’t believe them when they happen and we fail to recognize them for what they are. For example, if God was to part the Pacific Ocean today and have us all walk to China when we got there, someone in the crowd would speak up and say, “I don’t think God did that. It must have been the reverse tidal wave brought on by a shift in the atmosphere due to the full moon on the 4th day of the 7th month in an odd calendar year that parted the ocean like that.” That’s how idiotic some people sound when they refuse to believe the wonders God can perform.
Another problem is people don’t have enough faith in themselves to think that their prayers can make a difference. Their reasoning is, “Yeah, the prayers of Billy Graham or other top evangelist maybe but not me, no way. After all I’m just a little follower of Christ from a hick town in Oregon who hasn’t been out in the field that long.” Wrong!
We forget where miracles come from and who is behind them. It’s not our power that makes mountains move. It’s not our strength that makes us walk on water. It’s God working through us. It’s His power. His miracle. And as always we get to be the recipient of them.
Big or little we are the ones who get to see God at work if we would take the time to observe. The miracle of birth, physical and emotional healing, safe travels, miraculous escapes and near misses all because of God’s miraculous power unleashed through prayers. I guess you can say, “It’s God at work and we helped.” That’s what we are here for so God can use us to do great things.
In Matthew 18:19, 20 Jesus told those listening, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Wow what a promise. Prayer is not reserved for those who have been Christians the longest. It’s not set aside for “preacher’s only” its for everyone. Praise the Lord. It’s there for all of us to use not abuse. How effective we are is up to us as the Bible says the “prayers of a righteous man are effective.” We can make a difference and it starts with believing and trusting in the one who makes miracles happen. Our Lord Savior.
CLOSING THOUGHT: We can’t be guilty of lining up the miracles we have seen happen and measure them against what others have experienced and draw an imaginary line showing who is more righteous or not. Some of the greatest miracles are the ones that go unseen. The ones we will never know about until we get to Heaven. Ones that made the biggest variation in the littlest way that show up when we least expect them as a result of going through life on our knees. To God be the glory. To His kingdom be the benefit, the recipient of these miracles in the making!
This week, Christelle is hosting "In 'Other' Words" at her site, Beloved Mama. Go on over there to read and share what others have to say about today's quote.
“Miracles have happened when God’s people come together in prayer”—Billy Graham
There’s a funny thing about miracles. We don’t believe them when they happen and we fail to recognize them for what they are. For example, if God was to part the Pacific Ocean today and have us all walk to China when we got there, someone in the crowd would speak up and say, “I don’t think God did that. It must have been the reverse tidal wave brought on by a shift in the atmosphere due to the full moon on the 4th day of the 7th month in an odd calendar year that parted the ocean like that.” That’s how idiotic some people sound when they refuse to believe the wonders God can perform.
Another problem is people don’t have enough faith in themselves to think that their prayers can make a difference. Their reasoning is, “Yeah, the prayers of Billy Graham or other top evangelist maybe but not me, no way. After all I’m just a little follower of Christ from a hick town in Oregon who hasn’t been out in the field that long.” Wrong!
We forget where miracles come from and who is behind them. It’s not our power that makes mountains move. It’s not our strength that makes us walk on water. It’s God working through us. It’s His power. His miracle. And as always we get to be the recipient of them.
Big or little we are the ones who get to see God at work if we would take the time to observe. The miracle of birth, physical and emotional healing, safe travels, miraculous escapes and near misses all because of God’s miraculous power unleashed through prayers. I guess you can say, “It’s God at work and we helped.” That’s what we are here for so God can use us to do great things.
In Matthew 18:19, 20 Jesus told those listening, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Wow what a promise. Prayer is not reserved for those who have been Christians the longest. It’s not set aside for “preacher’s only” its for everyone. Praise the Lord. It’s there for all of us to use not abuse. How effective we are is up to us as the Bible says the “prayers of a righteous man are effective.” We can make a difference and it starts with believing and trusting in the one who makes miracles happen. Our Lord Savior.
CLOSING THOUGHT: We can’t be guilty of lining up the miracles we have seen happen and measure them against what others have experienced and draw an imaginary line showing who is more righteous or not. Some of the greatest miracles are the ones that go unseen. The ones we will never know about until we get to Heaven. Ones that made the biggest variation in the littlest way that show up when we least expect them as a result of going through life on our knees. To God be the glory. To His kingdom be the benefit, the recipient of these miracles in the making!
This week, Christelle is hosting "In 'Other' Words" at her site, Beloved Mama. Go on over there to read and share what others have to say about today's quote.
7 comments:
It's so easy to be skeptical about the power of prayer and miracles but that's part of the fun challenge of being a follower of Christ...and the greatest miracle is learning how awesome and wonderful He is and can work when His children get together in prayer!
Great post!
I love the promise God gives us thru prayer. It doesn't matter who we are or how strong our faith or how long our walk with God. It is always there for each and everyone of us!
"Some of the greatest miracles are the ones that go unseen. The ones we will never know about until we get to Heaven."
Boy is that true!!
This was great~
Blessings to you my friend!
I just love the way you shared about people's skepticism. How ridiculous we sound sometimes!
thank you for sharing :0)
Thought provoking and insightful. Believing God is so freeing, believing Him and then seeing what we've believed for come to fruition - Breathtaking! Thanks for sharing!
"Some of the greatest miracles are the ones that go unseen. The ones we will never know about until we get to Heaven."
I so wholeheartedly agree with this. I so often find myself thinking about and thanking God for what God is doing behind the scenes. I have thought, "Why did God want me to do that?" It makes no sense... yet, I'm sure it all will when we can see the whole picture.
I also don't see why others are so afraid of living for eternity. I've heard people say that they would get bored and eventually manic! Wow, they don't know my God! I can't wait to be able to see all the ways God saved me and my family or sit with Paul and ask him about his race. And what about exploring this world? That in itself will take forever!
As you can tell you really got me thinking today! Great post!
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