Miracles Happen When You Go!

Prayer Works

If there is anything I’m certain of is that prayer works. One of the benefits of having walked with God for an extended amount of time is that you begin to build experience with God. And the longer you walk with Him, the more experience you will have with Him. And though it’s only been 13 years since I fully committed my life to Him, because of my experience with him, I’m more convinced now that prayer works!

How I Learnt That Prayer Works

It began in the early years of following the Lord. I had graduated High School a couple of years prior and after a short stint in secondary education, God led me to enroll in an internship course at my local church in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Because I lived on the other side of town and transit was challenging, God put on my heart to pray and believe Him for a vehicle.

Shortly afterwards, God placed on my heart to give some money. I had $2500, and while it was a good start, it had not been enough to purchase a solid, reliable vehicle. I felt God wanted me to give all of it away. I was baffled. I said, “I thought you were going to provide a car, God. But now I’m giving away the only money that I have!” But trusting in Him, I gave away the money.

A few months later, an older friend of mine drove up to the church in a slick 2001 Volkswagen Passat. Though I had not advertised to anyone that I needed a vehicle, he insisted that I test drive his car and see what I thought. It was the perfect car for me. It had all the features I needed, great mileage, extremely roomy, even the color was perfect! But throughout the test drive, all I could think about was how I could not afford to buy this car and how I was going to break it to him. But as we pulled in and parked the car, with tears in his eyes, he told me that God had dealt with him and his wife to give me this car at no charge. I could hardly believe it. My prayer was being answered! The most amazing thing: He named the time that God had spoken to him, and it was the same time God had asked me to pray and believe Him for a car. Prayer works!

Miracles Happen When We Obey

James 5:16 (AMPC) says, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available…” Our prayers make tremendous power available, and this tremendous power comes alive when we step out in obedience! You see, James, who wrote these words, was the half-brother of Jesus. He had grown up with Jesus and had witnessed the amazing miracles that took place around Him. He saw that Jesus was a man of tremendous prayer and while power was made available, when Jesus prayed, the miracles came to pass when obedience was applied. So James would also write this in James 2:17, “So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).”

James would watch as Jesus prayed for the sick and then give them a step to obey. He told a paralyzed man to stand, and as he obeyed the command, strength came into his legs and he was healed. He told a man with a withered hand to stretch it out and as the man did, the hand was healed. He told a blind man to go and wash in a certain pool, and as the man obeyed and washed, he came out seeing. On and on, we see that as prayer makes the power available, the miracle happens when we step out in obedience!

As much as I was grateful for the car, I don’t think the miracle would have been completed had I not been obedient to give the $2500 away, because as James said, faith without steps of obedience is powerless.

What is Your Step?

So what have you been praying about? Is it for a loved one to come to know Jesus? Maybe your step of obedience is to invite them out to church. If its for a job, maybe the next step is to send that resume to that company. If its for a relationship, maybe the next step is to make that phone call you’ve been too timid to make. God will make it clear to you.

Remember: Faith without steps of obedience is powerless. So go ahead and reach out, because miracles happen when you go forward!