Today I want to share the devotional from Andrew Womack's website! It is a simple, yet very important explanation of the difference between healings and miracles!
WHAT IS A MIRACLE?
Luke 23:8 "And when Herod
saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long
season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some
miracle done by him."
Herod desired to see Jesus
perform some kind of miracle, and some of the questions he asked Jesus made
this desire obvious. However, Jesus did not use His faith to do any miracles
for Herod.
Miracles are God's way of meeting
the needs of those who seek Him in faith. Miracles will sometimes be used to
demonstrate God's ability so that people may believe (Mark 2:10-11), but they
will not happen to skeptics who are tempting God (Luke 4:9-12).
A miracle is a supernatural
intervention of God's power over natural law.
Healings occur within the
boundaries of natural law while miracles are not limited to natural law. A
person with a high fever who receives prayer and then begins to recover is
experiencing a healing. The Lord intervened but in natural ways. The virus,
infection, or whatever was rebuked left the body (Luke 4:39) and then the
natural healing process that the Lord built into all of us took over. When
something totally supernatural happens, that's a miracle. When Jesus reattached
the servant's ear and it was instantly whole after Peter cut it off (Luke 22:51), demonstrated a miracle. It was also a healing, but it was a miraculous
healing.
Feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14:19-20), walking on the water (Matthew 14:25), translating a ship and all aboard
to the other side of the sea (John 6:21) - all these are miracles. Miracles are
usually instantaneous whereas healings are sometimes gradual.
The Lord has never had anyone who
was qualified working for Him. It's by God's grace that He uses any of us.
Anyone who claims to be used of God because of his great holiness is either
deceived or a deceiver. It's our faith in the grace of God that allows miracles
to flow through us.
AMEN! For both healings and miracle, faith is required! Those believing for healing for their bodies who came to JESUS in faith always received their healing, and He said to them many times: "Your faith has made you whole"! JESUS wanted His people to know that His Name, through FAITH in His Name, would bring the same results to His people as He did when He was ministering on the earth! We are HIS BODY and when we speak HIS Word, in HIS Name, then HE confirms that Word with healings, deliverances, signs, wonders and miracles! At HIS choosing! I have no problem KNOWING that my every need is met because I am IN HIM! How He chooses to do it is of no concern to me! KNOWING that He will is enough for me! How about you? Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Wonder":Shalom in Him!
