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Pray for your miracle in faith
Pray for your miracle in faith,
Be sincere early and not too late.
Pray for your miracle in hope,
And against all doubts to cope.
Pray for your miracle with gratitude,
Be for this in a humble attitude.
Pray for your miracle with passion,
And don’t act in a worldly fashion.
Pray for your miracle by God’s Son,
Be sure in Jesus that you have won.
Pray for your miracle by the Spirit of God,
And in courage and victory you trod.
Never pay for your miracles as Jesus has already paid it all
Anyone who believes in Christ ought to be careful against those who put a price on miracles of healing and restoration. There are wrong concepts being passed around that you must pay for your miracle. Basically, someone will say that pay up a certain amount of ‘love offering’ or ‘tithe’ over to their ‘ministry’ to get restored physically for financial, emotional or physical restoration. Nothing could be more far from the truth of the Gospel.
Jesus didn’t ask for anyone to charge others for miracles. In fact he said to his Apostles, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8 KJV)
Before I can elaborate on this, let me make something very clear, lest you miss the point. There is nothing wrong in donating to the cause of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s good to give to ministries that work to bring relief to the poor and afflicted. Now it’s true that certain preachers actually need money to cover the cost of running their ministries. They are genuinely into preaching the word and there are valid expenses in terms of travel and equipment costs, building maintenance costs etc. Never shy away from helping such ministers in whatever little way you can. For instance you can donate money or give them your extra Bibles or clothes that you don’t use which they can give to those who might need them.
Now coming back to the topic of not paying for miracles remember that Jesus himself never charged anyone to grant them their healing or deliverance. We are called to imitate Christ (read 1 John 2:6, 1 Corinthians 11:1 and 1 Thessalonians 1:6) and as we imitate him we are do so without being legalistic. As Jesus walked in wisdom so must we.
Jesus blesses us without charging us, all we need to do is believe in him. He has paid the price for your salvation and healing. Scripture says; But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5). This is again in the Scripture where it says; He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
Such a simple truth yet this is difficult to grasp for a world that is brought up on ‘earning your worth’. Here is our Lord Jesus who is giving you things you couldn’t even buy if you worked all your life for it. Now, lets read and reflect on the following verses:
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1)
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Revelation 22:16-17)
By these verses it becomes very clear that these blessings of God do NOT come with a price tag. What is most important is that you come to the Lord because he himself wills that you come.
Now I am aware of what the ‘pay for your miracle’ bandwagon say to justify their deeds as good. They usually quote; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38). And also they will quote “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it]. (Malachi 3:10 KJV)
I wish they could preach these verses but in the right context. The context of these verses is never about paying for your miracle but rather its about being generous towards God and partnering with him for his work on earth. The emphasis is on giving rather that receiving. And putting this in conjunction with Matthew 10:7-8 we can confirm that it’s not about buying up your miracle nor trying to sell one.
Even back in the Old Testament we have the instance of Elisha the prophet of God who refused any compensation from Naaman the Syrian whom he cured of leprosy (all this is mentioned in 2 Kings 5). The following verses stand witness to this:
Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. (2 Kings 5:15-16)
Moving forward to the New Testament we have the instance where the Apostles Peter and John encountered a lame beggar on their way into the temple. They didn’t ask him for money. How could they even ask anything from a beggar? But instead Peter healed the lame man in the following manner as mentioned in the Bible:
Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. (Acts 3:3-8)
With both the Old and New Testaments showing that those who did miracles by God didn’t need a payment for that we can understand one thing very clearly. That those who are demanding money in exchange for miracles are neither following the Old nor the New Testaments.
To this effect let us remember that when a certain Simon who previously practiced magic tried to bribe Peter to receive power, he got rebuked for it. Not just any power but that by which he could put his hands on anyone so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. Simon was duly rebuked by Peter for his sin of trying to get the free gift of God with money and then Simon did repent.
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” (Acts 8: 14-24)
So to conclude, never pay for your miracles as Jesus has already paid it all. He is all good and loving towards those who believe in him. We are to walk in light of the Holy Scriptures which not just tell us to be generous towards God but also to walk in wisdom. Never pay for your miracle ever again!
Disciples of hope 