What Is The Greatest Miracle I Could Pray For?
“10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14).
We read these words with great longing and great hope. We are each coming to the table of Jesus with different desires or requests. We want so to believe that we could perform miracles. That we could pray for peace in our family, our community and our country and God would respond immediately. What could Jesus possibly mean when He said that he would give us whatever we ask in His name? Or what did he mean when he said that because He goes to the Father we will be able to perform greater works? Does He mean miracles such as feeding a crowd with 2 fish and 2 loaves of bread? Or perhaps, the miracle is much greater than any of the physical miracles we long for!!
The works of Jesus that matter most as we saw with the lame man that He healed was the salvation of His soul—not the healing of His body. A true work of Grace displayed by Jesus was His transforming the Samaritan woman into His missionary to the Samaritans. The greatest work of Jesus Christ was His bringing spiritual life to men and women who were dead spiritually. It is a much greater miracle to cause a self-exalting heart to humbly, lovingly, sacrificially serve God and others. The greater miracle is when God can cause our blind hearts to see, seek and savor Glory. In a world filled with darkness we are shown light. A broken heart that sings forth a song of real joy—that is a miracle.
THE GREATER MIRACLE
For many years, I prayed for Pete to be made whole. I prayed that the sadness of his heart would be healed. I prayed that the darkness of his manic-depression would be healed so that he could find joy. I wanted to be a part of watching that joy and be recipient of his love. Love compelled me. Inside of his heart I saw a hurt child that was in desperate need of repair. Love allowed me to see inside the spark of good—the person he could be; if only, God would heal him. I longed for that healing to be here. I wanted to see him truly filled with joy, hope, and love. It was that love that compelled me to stay all those years through very dark times and even to forgive the violent outbursts which came out of the depths of his despair at moments. What came to be the greatest miracle of all was that Pete accepted Christ as His Savior before he died. Then, within 6 months; God took him home. With all my own frailties, my own failures, and my own weakness of heart; God had used me to present the gospel through my “works”, my deeds, and His word to change the eternity of one soul. During that same time, God changed and transformed my heart to see Glory more fully than I had ever before. In the midst of the ashes of my own broken heart, God had taught me of His Love. Through the trials, struggles, and tribulations of my life—God step by step has filled my heart with His Joy, His Hope, His Love; while opening my eyes to see His Glory. That is a miracle in itself.
“BECAUSE I GO TO THE FATHER”
Jesus was leaving these His Beloved Apostles so as to complete the work of redemption. Because He went to the Father, we now can be about the task, the work of presenting the gospel to the world. We are able to be used of the Holy Spirit to transform lives. Our greatest works are not the healing of the body; but, rather it is in displaying God’s Glory so that souls are eternally saved. We need to feed the world with the words of God. We need to be lights into the darkness. We need to be hope in the midst of chaos. We need to be the love in the midst of hatred. The greatest miracle of all—is that God chooses to use me to be His Ambassador. He is able to take all my stumbling steps and still use them to lead others to Himself. Each word I write, I pray that God will use to point at least one person to Himself—to use it to light the way for one struggling soul.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
As we grow in the Grace, knowledge and love of God; our prayers even transform. The Holy Spirit is there to guide our steps, to assist us in prayer, and to teach our hearts. The more time we spend in seeking after and following Christ, the more our own heart becomes like Him. As our love for Jesus grows, with His becoming our greatest treasure: our life becomes filled with seeing the wonder, the awe of His Joy, His Glory, and His Love. Then, as He shines through the windows of our lives; great and mighty works are performed by us for His Glory. To me that is an amazing miracle of pure Grace. The greatest miracle that I could pray for is: “Here I am Lord, Use me to shine forth your Glory, Your Love and your gospel to the world.”
The Song I chose for you today is We Have Seen God’s Glory
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2015
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.