There are times we need a miracle. Your loved one may have a life-threatening disease, you may soon need to move out to the streets, you may be wrongfully attacked by others – life has many ways to put you in need of a miracle. In these times we want and need to know how to pray to gain hope and confidence from God. How do you pray for a miracle?
The Early Church Needed a Miracle
The early church was in one such situation (Acts 12:1-19). James, the brother of John, one of the apostles, was captured by Herod and put to death by sword. Herod, realizing that the Jews were pleased with this turn of events, decided to capture Peter as well.
The church knew the plans for his execution were intended. They prayed fervently for a miracle.
What did that praying look like? Did they just pray the words ‘God release Peter’ over and over? Did they think of new ways to pray this main desired miracle? Did they attack the spiritual realm on Peter’s behalf? Did they pray in tongues?
This is what we really need to know. It is great to know that they prayed fervently, but if we don’t know what exactly that looked like, how are we to apply it?
You probably know the story. God sends an angel that helps with Peter’s release. It such a strange experience for Peter that he thinks he is dreaming. When Peter gets to the place his friends were praying, they rather believe it was his ghost than actually being Peter at the door. Not exactly the model of praying with faith.
This again brings up how they may be praying fervently. When they get the desired miracle, they are so surprised they don’t believe it.
A Clue to How to Pray for a Miracle
Several years ago my wife had a wonderful encounter with Jesus. As she was praying she felt Jesus come show her around heaven. It was a joyous and encouraging time spent with Him. After some time in this encounter, she realized she hadn’t prayed about anything on her prayer list.
Jesus knowing her thoughts told her when you spend time with Me you also bring every concern you carry on you heart.
While we are not told how the early church fervently prayed, I think this experience my wife had gives a clue to how we can effectively pray fervently for our miracle.
Praying are request over and over again turns prayer into begging. Praying once and trying to believe God will give you your desired miracle is presumptuous. Laying your request before His feet than continuing to spend time with Jesus is intercession that leads to life.
Since we have a living God to whom we pray, we always have hope. Jesus is life and He came to give us life. Spending time with Him allows us to find hope in all our circumstances. Doing this helps get our eyes off the problem and onto our hope. If you have lost all hope in you situation, you have gotten your focus off of Jesus.
It’s clear from the Bible that the early church’s response was prayer and that God provided the miracle. It is also implied that their prayers led to the solution God provided. No situation is beyond God’s ability to change it. Therefore use these five steps to pray for a miracle.
How Do You Pray for a Miracle?
1. Find your hope.
It is hard to pray when all looks lost. We have to know who we are in Christ and God’s immense love for us. Focus on His goodness because that never changes.
When God told David his son would die, David still fasted and prayed seven days for his life (2 Samuel 12:15-23). While God doesn’t lie, David knew He might have mercy. While our circumstances may not be good, God always is. When David’s son did die, David was able to get up and move on. He was right with God and knew God was good.
2. Praise God.
You can’t spend time focusing on God’s goodness without it leading to praise, but let’s add it to the list because you may need to do this first. If our circumstances are too heavy, the first step may be too difficult. Start here and let it lead you to finding your hope.
The difficulty with this step is to truly praise Him without trying to make God perform for you. You’re not praising God to get your miracle; you are praising Him because you are reminding yourself that He is always worthy of your praise.
3. Tell Him what you want.
Be specific. Of course you need to give room for God’s creativity, but let’s not miss the miracle because we failed to pray for it.
After the first couple steps, you may find yourself praying wild and crazy prayers. Go with it. If you have a good view of your hope, you start to realize no prayer is too big for God.
4. Give thanks.
Remember the goal of prayer is not to get your miracle, but to spend time with God. Your not thanking Him in faith for the answer; you are thanking Him for spending time with you. You are thanking Him for giving you hope and comfort in your situation.
Thanksgiving is fuel to your faith. It verbalizes God’s goodness to you and allows you to believe He will continue to be good to you. Thanksgiving opens you up to what God may want to do because you are not scared of Him not taking care of you. You are now prepared to receive God’s provision for your need.
5. Journal your time with God.
Keep a record of your time spent with God. If He gave you hope and comfort, write it down so you can always go back and find that same hope and comfort again.
Remember God compared us to sheep (John 10:14-15). Sheep are easily distracted and led off. We will again find ourselves in other situations when we need a new miracle or the same miracle. A journal will help you more quickly find your hope for those times.
God has a miracle in store for you. It is in His character to love you and to move on your behalf. You are never alone. You are never without hope. Use these five steps and learn to fervently pray for your miracle.