“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; John 14:12 NKJV

The believer’s life should leave a trail of miracles. Jesus said, These signs shall follow those who believe. The miraculous is the normal state for any believer, the default setting for sons and daughters of God. The confession of the believer is such that he says, “God dwells in me. Wherever I go, He goes. Wherever I am, He is there. When I open my mouth, He is ready to speak through me. When I touch someone, His hands are on them as well. Others see His love in me, His presence in me, His power in me. I am as He is, His perfect representative.” When the believer agrees with God in his thoughts and actions, the stage is set for miracle evangelism.

The great outpouring on the day of Pentecost was followed by a miracle healing that rocked the city of Jerusalem. A significant citizen, certainly wealthy, highly respected and well known, gets healed under the ministry of Peter and John. I try to teach our people to change their communities from the top down as well as from the bottom up. The guys on top, the decision makers, the influencers, the leaders need Jesus as much as anyone else. All of our churches target the poor, the downtrodden, the disadvantaged in our communities as they should. But who targets the rich, the powerful, the leaders? When this guy gets healed, EVERYONE notices…

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.  And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. Acts 3:1-8 NKJV

The secret of miracles is in preparation. Benny Hinn tells the story of missing his preparation time with the Holy Spirit before going into a miracle service, and there were no miracles! Oral Roberts would pray in tongues for five hours before he went to minister in one of his meetings, and his ministry recorded one million healing miracles, and eight million decisions for Christ. One of my favorite healing stories, the kid with the polio leg, occurred the day after I had spent nine hours praying in tongues and reading the Word, only finishing when the Holy Spirit said, “You are ready.”

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. 1 Cor 14:14-15 NKJV

Peter, John and the rest of the apostles had been keeping the traditional hours of prayer in the Temple since Jesus had told them to tarry in the city for the coming of the Holy Spirit. These hours were the first, the third, the sixth, the ninth and the twelfth – five hours of prayer. You can be sure that after Pentecost they began to speak in tongues much during these hours. They were tremendously built up in their spirits, very prepared.

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:13-14 NKJV

Another GREAT aspect of preparation for miracles is to ask for miracles. You pray, and ask, and stay in prayer until you get the release, the confirmation. Smith Wigglesworth would pray on Saturday night for fifty souls to get saved on Sunday, and he would get his fifty or more. I used to pray for individual miracles. I still do! But now I pray for schools, house churches, conferences, seminars, etc. where we get multiple miracles. Its so incredible that right after the statement in John 14:12 Jesus says ASK! twice. Do you see it? Hungry people get filled, and you and I must stay hungry…

Peter and John were arriving at the ninth hour, for an hour of prayer, when the Spirit of God fell on them…

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you… Acts 1:8 NKJV

Christ is IN you permanently. But He only rests UPON you from time to time. In the deeper walk in the discerning of spirits there is the ability to discern when the Holy Spirit is resting upon you. You can influence His manifest presence by preparing the atmosphere for His coming upon you. First, confess and repent of anything you need to confess and repent of, then begin to praise. Here you see Elisha preparing the atmosphere with anointed music that brings in the manifest presence of God.

And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him…2 Kings 3:14-15 NKJV

You have to love Elisha’s attitude. I’m sure in many situations he was fun to be around. In this situation, he came across as a ‘no-nonsense’ kind of guy. I sometimes think we try to be everybody’s friend when they may not need a friend, but a leader. David used music in deliverance to bring in the presence of God.

And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him. 1 Sam 16:23 NKJV

It may seem axiomatic, but the presence of God is necessary to do the work of God. Jesus said, Without Me, you can do nothing. Therefore to seek and acknowledge His presence in your heart are great keys to prepare yourself for miracles.

When the Spirit of God fell on Peter, he took charge in the situation.

And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Acts 3:4-5 NKJV

RHEMA words inspire faith. When the crippled man heard that he was being called out by the man of God, his faith rose right up, as he was expecting to receive. Very possibly the crippled man had heard Peter preach in Acts chapter two, as Peter had spoken in the Temple and not in some sleeping room, and had gotten born again. His respect for Peter, and for the name of Jesus, was very high. We will discuss more relevant details about this man as we continue our study of this great miracle in Acts Three and Four.

But let’s get him healed first…

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Inspired utterance is not scripted. It’s just ‘there’ and you speak it out. Your ability to prophesy, to speak by the Spirit of God readily, in any situation, is key to your ability to minister miracles. Practice everyday giving people words from God. Ask God to give you words to speak to people. When you practice, DON’T TELL THEM THIS WORD IS FROM GOD…just speak it out and watch what happens. Words from God will always go to the heart of the person they are intended for.

…if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith… Rom 12:6 NKJV

Here is the principle – words from God do the work of God. You can do this! Christ is as great in you as He was in the Apostle Peter.

…And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. Acts 3:6-7 NKJV

Inspired action is not scripted either. What I mean by that is that every time you pray for someone you are not going to take them by the right hand and lift them up. At times you may be led to, but not every time, or in every situation. In fact, I’m real reluctant to do this unless I am sure I am right about doing it. But this is where practice and learning to understand how God works in you comes into play. The Lord will give you plenty of training if you ask Him. Our attitude toward training is such that, through training, we want to become ‘the right man or woman at the right time’ for God to use. The more we sweat in training, the more we do in the Kingdom. Do you see it?

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord… Luke 1:15 NKJV

Do miracles follow your life regularly? My prayer is that you become a miracle worker, and if you already are, that you increase. Excellence in any category requires the sacrifices and discipline to become excellent, and to maintain it. Ask anyone who is really good at anything and they will tell you that they have to constantly practice and refine their skills lest they lose their edge. If you’re not still climbing, you are slipping down the mountain, or you’ve crested and are on the downslope. My prayer for you and me is that we keep climbing until we hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant…” Enjoy those miracles…love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…