Kingdom Calling Blog…

I’m sure you’ve all heard of this spiritual gift, miracles! It’s a word that seems to be part of our everyday vocabulary and is seen in film and book titles.

Or perhaps you have had moments in your life when you feel like the only thing that can change your situation is a miracle!

So, let’s find out more about miracles and how we can see miracles happen in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

They are listed with the other spiritual gifts in 1 Cor 12;

1 Cor 12 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

They are also sometimes referred to as miraculous powers as you can see in the scripture and can also be translated from the Greek as working of powers. To be honest when I think of miracles I usually associate them with healings and I have been fortunate enough to have seen many healing miracles, but the gift of miracles is definitely listed as a separate gift.

So, what are these miracles then if they are not healings?

Miracles are supernatural events that occur outside the realm of what is possible for man. The bible says that;

Matt 19: 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jesus performed many miracles in his life on Earth such as his first miracle at the wedding of Cana where he turned the water into wine thus revealing His glory.

His disciples also performed many miracles including, driving out demons, raising people from the dead, causing someone to go blind and many more.

Acts 16:18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

Acts 9:40-41 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body the said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 

It seems that this gift is subject to God’s divine will and not decided upon by the person with the gifting. My understanding is that God makes the decision and the miracle that is needed in the situation comes to pass.

Many turn to God when they see signs, wonders and miracles. Or put another way they see signs that make them wonder, about how and why what they have witnessed is even possible. Signs point you towards something and so it is with miracles that point the way to God. So, as wonderful as they are, and they really are astonishing and leave me in awe they are just that, a way of God revealing something of His awesome nature that leave us in awe of Him.

People with this gifting often have heightened senses and sensitivity to the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is often combined with a measure of faith for God to perform such miracles and for people to come to know God through them. They tend to be people who are happy to not be in the spotlight and go out of their way to point people towards Jesus and have no need of a following or any earthly gain from what they do. They are simply people who understand the sovereignty of God and they make themselves available and listen closely to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

People with this gift also tend to be people who prayer and petition for God to sovereignly break into people’s lives. They tend to be humble people who know they have no power of their own but are fully reliant on God showing up for anything to happen so they don’t come to rely on the miracles but on Him.

As with all the spiritual gifts, they operate through the power of the Holy Spirit and we are a body of believers so that no one can boast. We need each other to fully function in a healthy way and no one gift is any more important than another.

There is much debate as to whether God still gives this gift and I am not entering into a debate but simply laying out the description of this gifting. I know that God still performs miracles today and have witnessed them myself. At the end of the day God can move however He sees fit and I always come back to scripture on this;

Luke 18:27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

I do know this; my God is a miracle working God and He is so good. Miracles are simply God revealing His nature. He delights in His partnership with us and gives gifts according to His good and perfect will.

You have many gifts within you, some that you may be aware of and are starting to step out in and some that you haven’t discovered you have yet!

If you would like to find out more about what your giftings may be, try this on-line spiritual gift test (youths), there is an adult version as well. This is simply to point you towards an area of gifting and is not a definitive answer. Speak to those people around you who know you well, your church pastor or youth leader and see what they think too. But, most important of all, speak to God about it and see what He says.

 

Have fun finding out and stepping into all that God has called you to!

 

To read my other Gifts of the Spirit series;

Speaking in Tongues

Gift of Exhortation

Gift of Healing

Gift of Mercy

Gift of Prophecy

Gift of Giving

Word of Knowledge

Interpretation of Tongues

Word of Wisdom

Discerning of Spirits

Miracles