Miracles
Jeremiah chapter 12 is a prayerful conversation between Jeremiah and God. To Jeremiah, it seems that the wicked, who had plotted against his life, prosper while the righteous are in misery and will suffer more. God told Jeremiah that he would endure worse but heavy punishment await faithless people who do not know God but speak evil of Him and the faithful. Even as a prophet of God, Jeremiah did not know everything that happened in Judah. The plans for His chosen people and the protection God offered to His faithful remnant were not always evident.
God sees our needs and is working to provide them even before we are aware of them. We become set into a schedule or routine in daily life and lose sight of God taking care of the universe and our small allotted portion. The wise man of Israel said, “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We may remain unaware of the suffering of others until a sickness becomes personal. Floods and famine affect many in this world but are no concern until hunger strikes home. But God is concerned about all of His creation all the time (Matthew 6:25-34).
There are times when many have turned to God asking for a miracle to help them, or a loved one, through sickness or disaster. They want the quick-fix like the instantaneous miracles they read about in the Bible. If they do not get the result they want, they blame God for not answering prayer, or they claim He does not exist. Many blaspheme saying a God of love wouldn’t allow suffering and death for those about whom they care. Some have even lost faith because God does not do what they want Him to do. The Scriptures, however, explain why and when God performed miracles. They also explain that those miraculous signs worked through the apostles are no longer needed and have ceased.
Instead of reading or hearing the Word of God in the Bible, some people search for a perfect prayer that will result in a miracle. They depend on others to instruct them in the proper phrases to speak to entice the God they refuse to obey to do their will. They find various ways, but all are contrary to God’s Word. Today, there is an internet with boundless advice on how to pray for a miracle. A search on Google gave the following sample of titles and websites for advice.
- What is a Miracle Prayer? How to Pray for a Miracle
- 6 Dangerously Powerful Prayers That Bring Instant Answers
- 12 Powerful Prayers For Miracles to Happen Instantly
Other people search for prayers recorded in the Bible and repeat them with hopes of wealth and prosperity, without considering the context of the prayer, who was praying it, or the conditions during that time. They may go to (John 10:10) but only look at the last part of that verse. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” They assume Jesus is speaking about the health and wealth of this physical life, but Jesus meant eternal life. It is eternal life that is the great miracle that Jesus has offered to everyone and the one we should seek (Matthew 7:7-8).
We need to remember that God’s timing is different from what we might want. Israel prayed for a deliverer from Egypt and, “in His time,” God sent Moses. Later, Israel prayed for the Messiah to come. But God, who planned before creation to send His Son, waited for the fullness of time to send Jesus. In today’s world, we pray for our Lord to come for us “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). God knows our needs and also the solution before we ask. He may be using the results of His creation, the people and materials He made, to answer our prayers. One hundred years ago, the terrible poliomyelitis virus affected thousands each year. Prayers by individuals and groups begged for a cure for those afflicted and prevention to stop the spread of polio, a disabling and life-threatening disease. During times of depression and war, the “March of Dimes” campaign collected dimes to fund the research. Two men of the many working on the problem were Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert B. Sabin. They worked separately from two different views, but each arrived at a solution to prevent the virus from spreading from person to person.
Many praised the vaccine as a truly miraculous answer to prayer. Was there a miracle that finally cured polio? Was it the vaccines, or was it the creation of Adam and Eve, whose descendants, along with their God-given ability to learn, experiment, and solve problems, that worked and developed the vaccine? Can there be a greater miracle than imparting rational and conscious life to the dust and water to form man in the beginning? God’s providence, which causes the earth to grow plants, also provides everything necessary for everyone until Christ returns. “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
