The working of a miracle is a gift of the Holy Spirit wherein God “meets you halfway.” It operates when movement is involved. “Working” means that energy is spent to move from point A to point B. God in His goodness extends mercy in healing by requiring faith through movement.

A scripture which will help you to understand this powerful gift is Luke 8:2-55: “Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, ‘Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.’ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.”

First, Jesus took the daughter of Jairus by the hand. That in itself was movement. Second, Jesus called the miracle into place by exercising authority: “Child, arise!” Third, the child got up immediately. She got up because Jesus told her to do so, but Jesus also helped by taking her by the hand. Jesus worked a miracle, and it involved movement. Let’s look more closely at this fascinating gift of the Holy Spirit, which is given in I Corinthians 12:10:

1 - When special faith comes into the situation, the working of a miracle is involved in the creation of that faith. Think of the story of Naaman in the Old Testament. When the instruction to move into the water and wash himself came to Naaman, he almost missed his healing. However, his servants insisted that he should wash in the river as indicated by the prophet Elisha. He was healed by leprosy only because he moved and did as requested.

2 - When Jesus met the 10 lepers in Luke 17:11-14, He commanded them to show themselves to the priests. As they went, they were healed. Why did He not first give their healing and then tell them to go to the priests? Because, in the working of a miracle, faith needs to be created, exercised, and implemented.

3 - Faith is movement between the person and God; the gift of healing is movement between God and the person; but the working of a miracle is movement between the person and obedience. Obedience is the key factor. Within us there are tunnels of unbelief yet untraveled and untouched. There are thoughts in our minds which still quietly defy the move of God. We want God to do what we want, when we want and the way we want it. It does not happen that way. The operation of a miracle comes when we move in obedience to God in the way He wants to see it done.

4 - Not too long ago I prayed for a man with terminal cancer. As I met his family, I encountered despair, sadness and an openness to the ministry of prayer. When a doctor tells you that you need to prepare yourself to die, most theology dies at that same moment. This man asked me to pray for him since he believed that prayer could change his situation. When I finished praying for him, I noticed that his glasses were bathed by tears, and that his tears were white. They were filled with salt from his deep despair and anguish, as he hoped for a miraculous intervention from God. He said to me, “I came to you because my friends said you could pray for me.” His obedience, along with his faith, worked a miracle for him. Today he is free of cancer.

Rick Bonfim

Edited by Betty Mckinney