Devotional - April 17, 2004

A blind beggar repeatedly called out to Jesus as he approached Jericho, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The Lord stopped and asked for the man to be brought to him and healed him. Scripture says that the man followed Jesus and praised him for what he did. When the people saw and heard the man praising God, they joined in the praise chorus. (Luke 18)

David prayed in Psalm 86 that God would bless him in such a way his enemies would see and know he was anointed. Today, we don't see signs and wonders, but in the early church, it was the primary way that God demonstrated his favor on someone.

It's amazing what a little demonstration will do, isn't it? For the blind man, his healing was reason to rejoice; for David, his blessing was reason to put his enemies to shame. Regardless the reason, men have always sought a sign from God. I believe that we today can ask for a similar thing if the reason is honorable to God.

A miracle is that thing God does where man can't explain or replicate it. The Bible is full of instances where God did a miracle like the one He did for the blind man. But have you ever thought that every specific miracle served a certain purpose? It's true! Here are the reasons why God performs a miracle:

To Reveal His glory,
To Reveal Christ's glory,
To Reveal His presence,
To Reveal His messengers,
To Produce obedience,
To Vindicate Himself,
To Produce faith,
To Prove Jesus is Messiah,
To Identify His disciples,
To Authenticate the Gospel or
To Fulfill prophecy

A lot of people pray for miracles these days. In fact, some television ministries get their reputation for promising a miracle to someone who will claim a promise, pray and believe God. Oh yeah, and donate money to the ministry. But here's the gospel truth.

If you want to see a miracle in your life, examine each of the reasons above and determine which one(s) your situation falls under. Should you do it, you should also know that it will take your faith (acting on God's word) to activate it. ( http://www.prayertower.net/PrayForMiracle.htm )