I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. My grandmother was a Catholic who loved Jesus with all her heart. In my house, however, I did not see any of that or anything to do with God. I did not surrender my life to Jesus until I was 20 years old. When I did, I was zeal-filled, seeking to please the Lord, but very ignorant. Though I was zealous, I didn’t know the Bible very well and ended up being deceived by a religious spirit. You can read about it in my article, Cleansing the Temple, Part 1.

The church I joined was cessationist. This is a fancy word to describe those who believe the apostolic and prophetic age of signs, wonders, and miracles ceased when the last apostles died. This is what I was taught and what I believed in the early years of my faith. 

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However, when I read the Bible, I saw something different. Why was healing only permissible in those days? It didn’t seem fair. I read about the gifts of the Spirit and ascension gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 where the Lord says that the Holy Spirit gives these gifts to people as He determines. I felt confused and conflicted but knew God is not an author of confusion (see 1 Corinthians 14:33).

It  Started with a Prayer

The more I studied the Bible, the more I prayed for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth because He is the Spirit of Truth. 

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come (John 16:13). 

One day, as I closed my Bible, I prayed a simple prayer that changed my life. I said, “Lord, I’m confused. Does this (signs, wonders, and miracles) matter to you? Show me if it is important to your kingdom and matters today.” The scriptures were opened to me, and they changed how I prayed. I felt God’s yes as I read every scripture I could find about miracles; this stirred my faith. I asked God, “Where are the miracles today,” and “Why do I not hear about these things in churches?”  I was hungry to see the power of God in my own life and the church.

I stopped attending that church because I disagreed with many of its teachings. A few months after that prayer, a family member invited me to a youth rally. A friend mentioned that an evangelist preaching had a gift of healing and miracles. I felt a mix of emotions. Although I was curious, I had to fight skepticism. What ultimately led me to attend was utter desperation.

My eight-year-old son had begun to lose his hearing unexpectedly in his left ear. After several visits to the doctor and an audiologist, they could not determine why he lost hearing. They speculated it was connected to his middle ear, which is linked to the brain. They began to make plans for visits to more specialists. I took my son to the youth rally, awaiting an altar call so I could take him to be prayed for. I believed God was going to heal my son miraculously. I knew there was no other way for his hearing to be restored.

More Than I Could Imagine

After worship, the evangelist turned around and said that God revealed to him a woman coming to the meeting when he prayed. The Lord showed him a twenty-something Latina woman plagued with a spirit of infirmity. She was tormented with migraine headaches. She had prayed, fasted, and asked God to heal her, yet He had not yet. That woman was me! There was no way he could know I had suffered for nearly ten years. This is called a word of knowledge. 

My sister elbowed me and said, “Hey, that’s you!”  He was writing on a whiteboard, and I raised my hand. He smiled and said, “It’s you?” I nodded, unable to speak. He asked me to come to the altar to pray for me. Before he laid his hands on me, I felt a weight that was so strong I could no longer stand; I was on my face at the altar in front of a church full of people. It was my first encounter with the Presence of God. With authority, the evangelist prayed, breaking off this spirit that afflicted me, and commanded it to leave and never return. It has been 15 years, and I am still migraine-free. Glory to God! 

You might wonder about my son. When they did the altar call, the evangelist began to mention various diseases that the Lord was revealing to him, including the loss of hearing in the left ear. I took my son to the altar; he received prayer, and his hearing was restored immediately. It was on the spot.

I received the answer to my simple, heartfelt prayer. Yes, healing, signs, wonders, and miracles matter to God. Yes, the gifts of the Spirit are still in operation in His churches today. 

These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:5-8).

Healing Has Always Mattered

When Jesus sent out His disciples to preach the gospel, healing, miracles, and deliverance were all a part of His ministry. He taught His disciples to use the authority He gave them and do the same (see Mark 16:17-18). When the gospel is preached, The Lord confirms his Word; it is accompanied by signs (see Mark 16:20).  We also see this happening throughout Acts. The early church moved as an extension of Christ. We heard of the miracles during the numerous revivals, so what happened? When did we begin to doubt that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever?

Perhaps you prayed for a loved one to be healed, but they passed, and you lost hope. I have also watched people I love lose their battle to sickness, even when they believed God would heal them until their very last breath. He did. They are more alive in the Presence of God than we are on Earth. Though I do not understand why some are healed, and others are not, I don’t have to see it to believe Him. Isn’t that what faith is about, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen (see Hebrews 11:1)?

Maybe you or a family member are afflicted with illness, and you have asked God to heal and have yet to see the answer. I know what that is like. Although I was healed of migraines, I battle other things that I am trusting in God to heal. My faith says God can heal me. He’s done it before. He can do it again, but even if He doesn’t, He is still worthy of it all. The very act of Calvary means He has done more than enough. 

Have you gotten a bad report from the doctor that has filled you with fear and drained hope? I have also been there. 

I want to strengthen your faith and encourage you that God still heals and performs miracles. The work is all God’s, not ours. Miraculous manifestations are never about us. Signs, wonders, and miracles point to God, show His power, and bring salvation. They are invitations to share Jesus with others.

Miracles aren’t limited to physical needs. Do you need a miracle for a family member, a prodigal loved one, a relationship, or a financial need? “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). No one and nothing is beyond His reach. 

I am here many years later, yet I am hungry to see demonstrations of God’s power again. I want to see and hear about miracles — things so astounding that science or other brilliant methods cannot explain them away. I pray to see God fill His churches with demonstrations of His power. I’m thankful for the revivals of old that shaped church history, but that was then, and this is now. I want to see and hear Him do things that have never been done before. 

If you need a miracle—and we all do at some point—pray this out loud and lay your hand on yourself.

Precious Lord,

I believe You can heal me. I know You can. I know You are with me while I face _____________. I am not alone. I thank You in advance for the healing that is available to me through Jesus’s broken, bloodied body as He hung on the cross. I declare that by His stripes, I am healed. I praise You because the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me. This means I have resurrection power flowing in my veins. Quicken this mortal body. While miracles come in an instant, healing is a process. Show me how to partner with You for my healing. Highlight to me what I need to add to my life or remove. This body is Your temple; let me honor it as such. 

Because of Jesus, the heavens are opened to me; I can approach Your throne to find mercy and grace in my time of need. You know what I need. You know for whom and what I stand in the gap for. I acknowledge I need a miracle. I will do what I can by prayer and obedience, and now I say, Lord, do what only You can do so that You will be glorified. I want to see the greater works Jesus spoke of — things eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard, that You will receive the glory. 

Even though I need prayer, I say, Lord, anoint my hands to pray for others who are sick. Send me, and I will go. As I open my mouth, fill it with the Word of God, so I may know how to pray and share the gospel with everyone You have placed in my path. Show me how to pray in faith and use the authority You have given me. I ask this in Jesus’ name, the name above all names — the only name under heaven by which men can be saved. I pray in Jesus’ name because it’s in His name that every knee must bow, including sickness and disease. I pray in Jesus’ name because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If You said it, I believe it. I take You at Your Word. My faith tells me that nothing is impossible with You. I will praise You when I feel symptoms of sickness, and I will praise You when I am healed. Father, be glorified in my life in Jesus’ name, amen. 

Did you need this message today? Please share with a friend!

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share.