According to Dictionary.com: The definition of a miracle is a highly improbable or extraordinary event.
One day, I asked God, “What is faith?”
A few days later, I was sound asleep when I heard God say, “Any problem that you face can be solved by listening, believing, and following.”
Then, a few nights later, I was sound asleep when He gave me a crystal clear example of what it means to listen, believe, and follow to an answer from God.
While I was asleep, I had a crystal-clear vision of a person who had a mouth full of nuts and bolts. Next, I saw a vision of a pot of very healthy, beautiful, white flowers. Then, I woke up immediately when I heard God say that the vision was for someone my friend Karen knew, who needed healing.
I looked at the clock. It wasn’t even 6 am but I felt it was important enough to message Karen right away, so I shot her a text explaining the vision and the message.
After a few moments, she realized that the “friend” was her uncle, Joe, who had recently been diagnosed with oral cancer and had given up on life. Karen explained that her uncle decided not to have surgery because the doctor’s pre-surgery prognosis was not good, without having the surgery, they gave Joe a year to live. If Joe had the surgery, they estimated that he would have an additional 2 – 3 years but he wouldn’t be able to eat or talk. This report caused Joe to give up on life and to refuse the surgery.
As soon as God gave me the visions and the instructions, I knew that Joe was supposed to have surgery immediately so I advised Karen to tell her uncle to have it as soon as possible – which Karen did.
As soon as we finished messaging, Karen immediately called her mother and explained everything. To Karen’s surprise, her mother explained that she and all of Joe’s other brothers and sisters had gathered together twelve hours earlier to pray and ask God to heal Joe. When we realized that less than twelve hours after their group prayer God sent me the vision and the instructions, we were all blown away.
Immediately after hearing the details of the vision and instructions, Karen’s mother rushed Karen off the phone so that she could call and deliver the news to her brother, Joe, immediately.
When Joe found out that his brothers and sisters received a direct answer from God, he believed the answer and followed the instructions by scheduling surgery the very next day.
Testimony… by Karen in Faith Village: Following God to Miracles, Signs, and Wonders.
My uncle was recently diagnosed with oral cancer. The doctor told my family that the cancer was aggressively spreading, and surgery was needed ASAP. The Doctors told my family that they would need to remove a bone from his jaw and his chances of talking and eating regular food were slim. The Doctors gave my uncle no hope for the future. My uncle immediately refused surgery and had pretty much given up on life.
I called my mother, and she wasted no time (As Mia instructed).
I am rejoicing and thankful to share that my uncle followed the instructions, and his surgery was a success. The Doctors were amazed because they did not have to remove the bone from his jaw and were successful in removing all cancer. In addition to that, my uncle called my aunt and talked to her for over 30 minutes two weeks after the surgery. God is so faithful!!!! We are so thankful to God for the healing miracle that took place in my uncle.
Mia, my family sends their love and gratitude for your prayers and obedience to God. Thank you so much!!!
Joe’s story is the perfect example of how following God’s instructions leads to a highly improbable event that brings ‘very welcome consequences’, aka a miracle.
Joe heard from God (highly improbable) who instructed him to have surgery, thus answering his prayers, and resulting in very welcome consequences.
BIBLE MIRACLES ILLUSTRATE THAT FAITH IS LISTENING, BELIEVING, AND FOLLOWING
MIRACLE PRINCIPLE #1
Whatever He says to do, do it.
Almost every Bible miracle exemplifies the ‘listen, believe, and follow’ ingredients of faith.
Whenever someone asked Jesus for a miracle, the first thing he usually did was issue an instruction for them to follow: ‘Stretch out your arm,’ ‘get up and walk,’ ‘fill the waterpots with water,’ and ‘go wash,’ are just a few examples that resulted in receiving the answer to prayer.
Mary Knew To Listen, Believe, and Follow
‘ ‘2 ‘On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; ‘and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ‘When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” ‘4 ‘And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” ‘5 ‘His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” ‘6 ‘Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. ‘7Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 ‘And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. ‘When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,10 ‘and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
When Mary asked Jesus to help make wine, she didn’t wait for him to agree. In fact, Jesus didn’t agree. On the contrary, he shut her down by saying, ‘My hour has not yet come.’ But Mary was undeterred and she ignored him by instructing the servants, saying, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
This interaction between Jesus and Mary reveals something incredibly important. It reveals that Mary was very familiar with the ‘listen, believe, and follow’ principles of faith. Mary knew that getting a miracle meant following the instructions that were certain to be forthcoming.
Mary’s understanding of faith came from knowing the history of Israel. Mary knew that Israel’s history was nothing short of one miraculous story after another, and all of them had resulted from listening to, believing, and following God’s instructions.
For example…..
God said, Build a boat. Noah listened, believed, and followed. His family was saved by doing what God said.
God said, Paint the door with blood. Whoever followed these instructions was saved.
God said, Possess the land. This is a significant example because there only two Israelites from the original group that left Egypt and went into the promised land.
God said, Walk around Jericho seven times. Israel followed and the walls fell.
God said, Wash in the Jordan. The leper followed and was healed.
Touch the hem of his garment. She did and she was healed.
God said, Fill the jugs with water. They followed and the water became wine.
God said, Get up and walk. The man got up and that instant he was healed.
And the examples go on and on…..
Open your eyes….
Stretch forth your arm….
Throw your net to the other side….
Believe
Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord….
This same principle of faith held true in the story of Karen’s Uncle Joe. If he didn’t immediately follow the instructions by having the surgery, the cancer would have spread and, eventually, it would have been too late to remove. When the doctors told him that it was already too advanced to remove, Joe gave up on life. But God knew differently! God’s intervention turned an ordinary surgery into a miracle of faith. Joe listened, believed, and followed, and the result was a very unlikely and welcome consequence that was even better than anyone had hoped. It was a miracle.
Israel’s examples reveal that if we are willing to listen, believe, and follow, a victorious outcome is guaranteed.
In Joe’s example, God told Joe what to do and He promised good results IF Joe followed. If Joe choose not to follow God’s instructions and instead chose to believe the doctor’s report, he would have declined surgery and died. But because he followed God, the ending turned out to be better than anyone ever expected. The doctors were amazed at the results and, now, Joe has a new lease on life.
If you were one of the Israelites who found themselves in front of the parted Red Sea, you would have two options: Follow God through the sea or face Pharaoh’s army. Many of us probably think how easy it would be to walk through the parted sea, but I think that more than one person thought, What if the sea closes before I get through? Those who escaped Egypt did so by following God through the terrifying walls of the parted sea. But what if they were too afraid to follow the cloud into the parted Sea? God provided an escape, but only those who followed Him through the parted waves prospered by it. The same principle still applies for God’s people today and the very true story of Karen’s uncle Joe is a great example. If Joe didn’t listen right then (before the cancer spread), he wouldn’t have a testimony. But he did, and the results speak for themselves.
Our walk of faith is based on using our free will to follow God’s lead. Walking with God in a world at spiritual war is not, and never will be, free of trials. When there is a crossroads, when we come to a place where the Sea is on one side and those trying to kill us on the other, the only way out is to follow God’s instructions. All men are appointed to die once, but if we follow God, we don’t have to die the first time death shows up on our doorstep looking for us.
Joe had to choose who to follow. Joe could have believed the doctor’s report and, by doing nothing, allowed their terrible prognosis to come true or he could choose to believe and follow God. By following God Joe was victorious. God directed him to get surgery right away, and his outcome is amazingly better than what the doctors predicted. He has his mouth, his health, and a future instead of a certain death sentence. The best part of the ordeal was that God was there with him through it all, offering comfort, direction, and amazing results along the way. The doctor’s grim report was put to naught by following God, and after more than two months on Death Row, God gave Joe his life back!
Abiding under God’s wing means following God so closely, like a little chicken following its mother, that we find ourselves in his shadow (which is the safest place to be.) Following God is the key to security, and knowing God is the key to comfort. When we know God and wisely follow Him, we don’t have to depend upon our limited abilities. Instead, we can safely depend on God’s knowledge and abilities.
The first step is learning to hear from God.
NEXT READ:
CONTENTS
Hearing from God is Biblical
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HEARING FROM GOD,
Miraculous Examples of Faith
MIA’S MIRACULOUS EXAMPLES OF FAITH
