August 21, 2024
"For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.
- Mark 5:28 (NKJV)
The woman with the flow of blood for twelve years in Mark 5:25-34 received her healing from Jesus through her faith. Her approach did not require permission from anyone, including Jesus. Through the crowd she went, until she got behind Him, touched His clothes and received her healing. How was she able to convince herself that she would get her miracle?
It all started with hearing (Mark 5:27, Romans 10:17). She had heard about Jesus and the miraculous things He had done (Mark 1:28). Hearing birthed faith in her. She did not stop at hearing though.
She proceeded to build on her faith. The NLT translation of Mark 5:28a reads “For she thought to herself…“. The NLV reads “For she said to herself…”. The NASB version says, “For she had been saying to herself…”. In these different translations of the same scripture, we observe the mechanism through which the woman received conviction about her miracle. She received it through thinking, speaking and repetition.
For she thought to herself… For she said to herself… For she had been saying to herself…
By this process she became persuaded, fully convinced that she would be healed. This is important for us to note and do while we wait on God for the answers to our prayers.
Repeating the promises of God over any situation persuades our faith. It strengthens it. We become encouraged and can ward off doubt. The Bible warns against doubt in James 1:6-8 pointing out that whoever doubts is like a wave of the sea, being tossed by the wind. A person in this state of wavering and instability should not expect to receive miracles.
The concept of persuasive faith is highlighted in Romans 4:18-21. Despite his and Sarah (his wife’s) age, Abraham did not doubt God’s ability to bring the promise He made to him to pass. Verse 20-21 reads “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform”.
Abraham must have saturated his thoughts and self-talk with the promises of God. When we first hear God’s Word, it is normal for our faith to be immature, unripe to provoke the miraculous. This is where many Christians falter. We hear the Word of God or the testimony of others and for a brief moment we are encouraged in our faith. But after some time, we stagger because we don’t do what it takes to grow that faith to maturity—we do not persuade ourselves of God’s word to us.
Unless we come to a place of full persuasion over a matter, our prayers will likely go unanswered as we would not have generated enough faith to make it happen. Like the woman in Mark 5:25-34, after we hear the Word concerning a matter, we think about our miracle, we verbalize it internally and then we repeat it. Barring any shadow of doubt, at this point, we receive full conviction…we become fully persuaded, and we receive our miracle.
Song of Worship
See what the Lord has done (x2)
What we waited for, has come to pass
See what the Lord has done.
Song See what the Lord has done by Nathaniel Bassey
Prayer - Dear Lord, thank You for the ability to hear your Word, think about it, say it and keep repeating it until I become fully persuaded in my heart that surely, You are able to bring to pass in my life exceedingly and abundantly more than I can ask or imagine in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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