Stepping into Miracles by Phil Kinney
We live in the natural world but when challenges arrive we sometimes need supernatural intervention. When we read the stories of the Bible we continually see people in need- people who need God's intervention. It can come about in two ways: dreams Gods wants fulfilled through us; circumstances we need to get out of, or need deliverance from. Both require prayer.
"So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:22-24)
A great illustration of this passage is Hannah. Hannah was an Israelite who lived just before the time of King David in the OT. Hannah was childless. Her husband had two wives, and the other wife had many children. This was a point of sadness for Hannah, as in ancient Israel, failure to have children was regarded as a family tragedy, for several reasons. In an agrarian culture, children were needed to help with the work of everyday life. Without sons, the family name would not be preserved, and without an heir, the family would be unable to maintain its place in the tribal allotments. Finally, a woman without children would never be the mother—or an ancestor—of the promised Messiah. Thus being childless was a point of shame, and legitimate reason for divorce.
It is in this situation we meet Hannah (1 Samuel 1). She longs for a child with all she has. She is tormented by the other wife who has many children – because of her childlessness. Hannah looks across and sees the children of the other woman, and only sees her barrenness.
“Sometimes it seems others have more and others are getting all the breakthroughs. But it is what you don’t have that will make you what you need to become! God's supernatural power wants to help us achieve our dreams” (Mark Kelsey).
1. Not having the desire of your heart is a catalyst God uses to work through you for a miracle. It is this barrenness, this emptiness, which will either draw us to God for a miracle, or cause hurt and bitterness to rise up and distance us from God – the choice is ours.
Hannah's rival kept provoking her. When God is making the story in you, it can be horrible: miracles are awesome...when they are over. At that time trust Him and believe.
The Lord will sometimes initially resist fruitfulness to release greater fruitfulness. Matt 15:21 (The story of the Canaanite woman.)
2. Hannah comes to the house of God bringing offerings, and seeks an answer from God in prayer. A big key here is that Hannah stayed connected to the house of God. Even though Hannah didn’t see the answer to her prayer, she stayed connected to God and his place of worship – she kept coming to church. I know of many people who sought God moving in their life, and when it didn’t happen in their time slot – they walked away from church because they didn’t get what they wanted. I have seen others who have hung in there, committed themselves to God and His church, and seen the breakthrough – even though it wasn’t how and when they necessarily wanted it to happen.
We need to be as people connected to His church, meeting together, encouraging each other, building ourselves up in His Word. Our default setting on a Sunday should be to be here in church no matter what. It doesn’t matter if there is a great special on at the local shops, or that movie we always wanted to see is on, or this or that event is on – we need to be in the house every week giving our time to God – Romans calls it our spiritual act of worship, to make the sacrifice of putting God first. Then when the tough times hit, we have built a strong habit of being in church meeting with God and his people, and we have strength to draw on. If times are great we don’t drift out of church, we commit further in by serving in the house of God, preparing morning tea, serving communion, helping in Kids Church. This is how we serve Him, by serving each other here on a Sunday morning.
The enemy knows that there is a direct correlation between the House of God and your breakthrough so he will attempt to break your connection with the House. Before the breakthrough ridicule takes place because of your commitment to the House of God without results. Don't let frustration let you fall out of your dream.
So we have Hannah committed to the House of God. But she also goes a step further. Even though she hasn’t received what she wanted from God as yet, she is giving into the house – bringing her tithes and offerings.
Every time Hannah came to the House of God she is coming in with her tithes and offerings, giving thanks to God for what she does have. She is also sowing them as a seed toward what God will do in her life. She brings her offerings with faith in expectation of what God will do – that he shall supply her needs (Phil 4). Even though she is being ridiculed as she brings them, she remains faithful. The world does not understand your tithing, your giving into the House of God. The world system is get, get, get. But God’s system is to give, give, give.
(Story of loan for house – will give loan if we stop tithing)
So – we have Hannah:
1. Staying faithful in service to God by committing to be at church
2. Giving her tithes and offerings in thanks for what she has, and in expectation of what God is going to do
3. Hannah did all she could to ensure the dream in her life happened. We are told that Hannah’s husband Elkanah ‘knew’ Hannah. They did what they could to have a baby. We need to ensure we are doing all we can to make the dream come to pass – to see the miracle happen, to see God move supernaturally in our lives.
Maybe you dream of having your own business. Are you saving toward that business? Are you learning how to manage a business well, knowing good business practices to maximise your chance of success? Maybe you are wanting to buy a house? Are you saving? Do you have a budget and a plan? Do you know how much you need, and what sort of house you want? Maybe you need healing? Are you eating right, exercising, doing things that will benefit your body?
Too often we just leave it up to God and don’t step out into what he already has for us to do. Faith is not the absent of action on our behalf. James tells us that faith without action is not faith – it is dead. We need to do all we can, and this action makes room for God to do what can!
4. There is a time to finish what you are doing, stand up and pray! Sometimes the thing that you are doing is the block to prayer. Hannah stood up. There comes a point where you can't do anything more: finish and go to the place of prayer. When you stand up and trust God something happens. We need to be a people of prayer. If you have a need in your life, you need to be in the place of prayer. We need to be a people who come to God in prayer in season and out of season, bringing our requests to God in faith. We too often let the things of life choke out our times of prayer, and then wonder why we don’t experience God in our lives. Prayer develops relationship with God, and if you have a need the best and first place we can be is on our knees in prayer. You don’t have to live with that sickness. You don’t have to let go of that God given desire, you just need to get on your needs and come to God in prayer and faith asking that he do a miracle in your life.
5. Resist the enemy- keep going. God is bigger than natural circumstances. Hannah didn’t get her request the first moment, she had to keep going and persisting, even when others ridiculed her.
6.When you get your breakthrough, remember to say thanks. Hannah brought her son to the house of God in thanks for His miracle power.
Talk About
Discuss whether you are keeping miracles from occurring in your life. Have you slammed the door on the answer to your prayers?
Tell about challenges in your life that prayer has delivered you from.
