By Asst Ps Lai Keet Keong
I often get this question: “Why aren’t we seeing or experiencing more miracles today?” The recent visits from our EquipAsia graduates sparked an interest once again with this question. One of the observations is: when challenging circumstances bring believers to a place of utter desperation and total dependence on God, extraordinary miracles happen.
Consider the familiar passage from 2 Chronicles 7:14-15. Interestingly, the Amplified Bible version puts it this way, “…and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place.” (AMP).
The word “seek”, elaborated as to crave, which is a necessity or a requirement, inferred an impression of one who cannot help it. It expresses almost a sense of being compelled to go after that one thing that could be dearer than life itself. This is illustrated in the beautiful words of Psalms 42:1-2, out of which came a most familiar chorus, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”
Such desperation, like a thirsty deer longing for water or otherwise it would die, so our souls should long for God as much as our thirst would drive us to get that glass of thirst quenching, life-saving water. There seems to be a direct correlation between our desperation, God, and miracles, much like the narratives of the woman with the issue of blood and the raising of Jairus’s daughter in Luke 8:40-56.
How desperate are we for God to move in our Church today?
How much do we really crave, long and thirst after Him?
Is that craving enough to instill sleepless nights, passionate prayers and humbled repentance?
So, what do believers of the early church have that we often lack? May I suggest that they have utter desperation and total dependence on God. The result is a demonstration of the power of God, miracles, signs, and wonders. The Church experienced revival of purity and faith that only God can satisfy.
Our recent sermon series and Care Group Bible Study series brought us on the journey with the early church in the book of Acts. In the diverse narratives that presented a young church filled with new believers who are so in love with their God, and a vibrant body of believers who kept on experiencing signs, wonders, and miracles. However, on the flip side of the coin, suffering and persecution were both ongoing threats, the cross that the young church must continue to carry. Yet through all this, the Church’s consistent attribute of desperation and dependence through constantly gathering in prayer and crying out to God for His help and deliverance was evident (cf. Acts 2:42, 4:23-31, Acts 12:2). Perhaps it was because they had no choice and God was the only way they knew how. Or perhaps it was just sheer fear or desperation that caused them to respond the way they did. This seeming innocent and foolish way of gathering, praying together which in fact made them a more glaring target than if they had gone into hiding.
I experienced a miracle of sorts with a certain eye condition that was recently diagnosed that requires further investigation. My family doctor tried not to appear too worried. She wrote a recommendation letter and immediately made an appointment for me at the Eye Center. Later, my wife shared with me that she prayed and committed her fears to the Lord, recognizing that it is a situation beyond her control. As she prayed on the morning of my medical appointment, she sensed an unusual peace of God in her heart assuring her of God’s presence and healing, which was most untypical, probably the first time she felt that way. After the diagnostic scans, the doctor asked me quizzically, more than once, as to why I came and what else did my family doctor said. He proceeded to share that scan in fact showed that everything is normal. My wife could not believe the report. It was nothing short of God’s miracle which set our hearts at peace, knowing that God is with us as we surrender our fears to Him in desperation.
Now we recognize that not all situations might end up in the form of miracles we may expect. But my dear friends, we can rest assured that in the least expected ways, God will show up in our lives, when we take 2 Chronicle 7:14 to heart and seek to apply it in the simplest of faith.
Do we wish to see signs, wonders and miracles in our community and our families in the form of healings both spiritually, emotionally, and physically? Let us pick up the simple mantle of desperate, corporate prayers, as we cry out to God, “Won’t you hear us from heaven, forgive us and heal our land?”