Why We Do Not Recieve Our Miracles - Part 1

[Martin Schmaltz]

One of the pluses of traveling is you have time to think and ruminate over things. As I am returning from the Philippines, I have been thinking about the miraculous things God did. To those who were hungry He imparted an understanding and ability to operate in apostolic authority. In two services, there were those who received healings. Longstanding health issues were instantly eliminated; back, leg, should and heart problems to name a few. Yet there were those who did not receive a miracle.

This is what I am ruminating about. Why? Does God favor one person more than the other? I do not think so. I am reminded of some things I believe the Lord revealed to me 2-3 years ago when He began to show me how to operate in apostolic authority. There are actually quite a few reasons why people do not receive a miracle. In the next couple of Apostolic Notes, I will discuss some of them.

Why we do not receive our miracles

When we discuss the miraculous, obviously the first issue we should address is the faith issue. I could spend time discussing what faith actually is, but for this article I will use it in a common understanding of believing and trusting that God will keep his word.

Lack of faith is probably the most obvious reason people do not receive miracles. There are three areas where faith can be lacking:

1. The individuals do not have faith themselves.

There was a man who brought his possessed son to Jesus disciples and they could not deliver him. The man replied to Jesus comments regarding faith with “I do believe, but help me not to doubt.” (Mk 9:24 NLT emphasis added).

On another occasion, two blind men appealed to Jesus for healing and he asked them: “Do you believe that I can make you see?” (Mat 9:28 NLT emphasis added).

Having faith that God is able and willing is the first requirement to receiving the miraculous.

2. Those ministering do not have faith

Once again, the story of the man with the possessed boy; the disciples could not cast him out. (Mk 9:18)

Another instance that implies a lack of faith is the sons of Sceva. They attempted to cast out a demon by “Jesus whom Paul preacheth” in Acts 19:13. To me, in this instance, they did not have faith; they were exorcists trying to use the name of Jesus as some spell or incantation.

3. Sometimes the environment is not conducive for faith.

In Luke 4:24-27, Jesus rebukes the peoples lack of faith by comparing them to the history of Israel. He gives examples where there were numerous needs, yet only a handful received a miracle

In Mark 8:23, Jesus leads a blind man out of Bethsaida to heal him. The text is not clear why, yet I wonder could it be because of a lack of faith in the city?

There are many things that can affect the faith of a group of people or culture. Such things include: large unemployment in an area, a catastrophic natural disaster or a repressive social caste system.

Sometimes the church is too familiar with the word of God regarding the miraculous. It is a lot like revival – have heard it preached so many times, in some places it is hard to motivate the people to respond.

Many times when I minister, I go thru the following to test the faith level of people. I will ask congregation three questions and look for a show of hand as a response. These questions are:

“How many of you believe God is a healer?” – most if not all raise their hands.

“How many of you want God to use you to heal someone?” – a majority, but not as many raise their hands.

“How many of you are laying hands on people and praying for them?” - only a handful or one or two now raise their hands.

The point of this exercise is that it reveals the overall level of faith of the assembly. They say they believe He is a healer, yet their actions reveal otherwise.

The lack of faith is probably the number one reason we do not see the miraculous. In future blogs I will present more reasons.

[Martin Schmaltz]

Glen, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I can sense your past disappointments and your searching. On the surface, there may be something to what you are saying. However on thing I would have to get past is the biblical use of the words faith and belief/believe. According to Strongs:

Faith - NT:4102 pistis (pis'-tis); from NT:3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:

Believe, belief is derived from pistis -
NT:4100 pisteuo (pist-yoo'-o); from NT:4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ):

It appears they can be used interchangeably.

Something that may be related to what you are saying: what is our faith/belief in? The ability to be used of God, the miracle itself or Him? In my opinion, has to be centered on Him. Not that you are authorized to use his power or any action, solely on Him.

Something else to consider is how we "pray." Jesus and the example of the apostles is to speak to the condition, taking authority. Too many times I have seen others pray, begging God, or getting super emotional, speaking in tongues, but not addressing the problem.

In addition, there is speaking, knowing the mind of God (too much here for an email, I have an entire session I teach on speaking).

I do not claim to have all the answer, I am walking in the illumination He has given me, refining as He reveals more. If I can humbly suggest brother, you get back into ministry. None of us have it all: we have our faults, weaknesses but I believe while we are sincerely walking in the illumination we have, diligently seeking Him, we are developed. Start back with the known, build on this, let him lead you.

Hope this helps in some small way.

[Donnie Gillum]

It is most commonly accepted that that faith is the most likely factor. It is also very easy to place the entire fault upon the one seeking the miracle. However, as pointed out in the initial article, and Bro. Silvers’ response, others could very well bear responsibility as well.

Many times it is brought up that it may not be the will of God. And it may not be. But, when comparing to the ministry of Jesus, it seems that should be the exception and not the norm. 2 Cor. 12:8 is often use as support for the notion that it may not be the will of God. However, this is an unusual situation. Paul could not receive deliverance in order to protect him from being exalted above measure. And Paul was even told the reason why of the danger – because of his abundant revelations God had given him. Here it was obvious that it was not the will of God and for what reason. So if it is not the will of God, the question may be, how many of us are not receiving a miracle for this reason. I must confess I don’t think I have enough revelations to put me in danger…yet.

I’m of the opinion myself that healing is the will of God…unless He let’s one know otherwise. So most likely it is a lack of sufficient faith…for what ever reasons. My concern is, what can be done about it? Many have sought God in much prayer and fasting (even to the point of danger) without any manifestation or an answer why. Deep discouragement is usually the end result.

I’m interested in your further posts.

[James Silvers]

Matthew 8:5-13 is a story of Faith that does not involve the faith of the one being healed. Indeed, there is no mention that the servant even knew the centurion was requesting a miracle from Jesus. The text indicates that the Faith of the Centurion caused/allowed/transmitted the healing. No laying on of hands, no prayer just a statement, "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

Another example is in Acts 5:15-16 where people were brought and laid by the street so that Peter's shadow could fall on them and they would be healed. This did not rely on Peter's faith or even the faith of the one's being healed but the Faith of those who brought them to be healed.

15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

YES, FAITH is where it's at, where it is absent miracles cease.