Miracles demonstrate God’s desire to meet the needs of His people.

Matthew 15:22-28 gives us a picture of the Canaanite woman who came to Jesus seeking healing. She had no access to the blessings available at that time to the children of Israel—the people God had made His covenant with and who were the ones to receive His blessings. She was apart from God, His temple, His covenant, separated by the law and without hope! Yet she reached beyond the barriers and touched the very heart of God and found something even deeper than religion. She found grace and mercy for her time of need.

The Canaanite woman discovered that healing is the children’s bread, the very sustenance of life that God intended for you and me to experience.

When you look at our modern world you see that we are ravaged with a multitude of diseases, many of them incurable. These are diseases that the best medical practices and technologies in the world have no answer for.

In this story, Jesus reveals the picture of healing as common as bread on the table. Bread was a central part of every meal in middle-eastern society, and healing is meant to be just as common for our everyday life.

The Gospel of Matthew reveals healing as the very bread of life, the very bread on our table, the very sustenance that you and I should experience!

What do you see when you look into the mirror? Do you see your weaknesses, your inadequacies, your imperfections? Or do you see what God sees? He sees you as the righteousness of Christ Himself. He sees you as more than a conqueror in Christ!

We have an opportunity to look into the mirror of God’s Word—the perfect Law of liberty—and allow it to transform us from the inside out! We must not form opinions of ourselves based upon other people’s opinions or our own failures. They do not define us!

See yourself as God sees you. His idea of you is as wonderful and glorious as the Apostle Paul wrote: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18 NKJV).

Have you ever stopped a storm? Jesus did. In a boat when all others feared for their lives, He spoke peace and the winds obeyed! Over the years we have seen the power of the Name of Jesus in similar situations when storm winds threatened our events.

It is truly a wonder when the winds respond to that name.

It happened in the northern desert of Mexico at a church roof dedication. We were suddenly pounded by a mighty wind and rain such as the people had not experienced before. First the side windows began to rattle. Then the roof we were dedicating began tearing off, panel by panel, right above the pulpit. The people ran for the door and the walls. I did also, but Leslie stood her ground at the pulpit and commanded the storm to stop in the name of Jesus. After she said the name three times, the wind and rain instantly stopped. The roof was saved and we had a glorious celebration!

Several years ago while conducting meetings in the Philippines we met a middle-eastern dignitary in our hotel lobby. My husband Kevin noticed that this man’s eyes were intently fixed on Kevin’s bible.

As Kevin looked over at this dignitary, the man moved in very close and began to whisper. He told how his wife had found him reading the bible and had turned him in to the authorities. His only hope to get out of prison and back to his family and position had been to renounce Christ. He was so discouraged, convinced that there was no hope for him.

My husband asked him a simple question. “Do you believe in Christ?” The man immediately responded “Yes, I believe!” Kevin prayed with him and he openly wept, knowing his faith had been restored.

He continued to stare at my husband’s bible, and Kevin slowly slid it across the table saying, “Here take my bible – but this time don’t let your wife find it!”

You may find yourself in a similar scenario where you have denied Christ. You are not alone, the Apostle Peter, one of the original disciples of Christ and author of two books of the New Testament, denied Christ three times after promising he would stand with Him to the end.

Regardless of where you find yourself today, Jesus said, “I will never leave you and never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). You can come to Him right now! He is waiting for you with arms wide-open!

Over and over it is stated that the just shall live by faith. Faith is the atmosphere the Lord has chosen for people to live in.

If you were to walk into the ocean you would not live very long without a tank of oxygen. Why? You’re not equipped to live in water. People are not equipped to live in a fallen world without faith. Some may exist a little longer than others, just like some may swim in the ocean a little longer than others. All will eventually drown without oxygen in water, and all will perish without faith in this world.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We have been given a sixth sense to see what others can’t see, and to declare the unseen as ours. If you’re sick you have an ability to see yourself whole by faith in God’s will for all to be healed. If you’re poor, you have an ability to see beyond your poverty to a promised abundance!

Sickness and disease are the precursor to death and all are a result of sin. When we see a miracle in operation, once again we see God initiating good. Anything you can do sick you can certainly do better healthy! His miracles are confirmation to us that He restores life.

In the beginning when God said “and it was good,” sickness and death were not a part of His original creation. So now when we see a miracle in evidence, we recognize that miracles come to us as a demonstration that God is with us, and His will to do good and not to do evil, to be a blessing and not to harm, to give life and not to curse; He is for us and not against us!

When I receive Jesus into my heart, He lives in me — His Spirit, His holiness, and His righteousness live in me. When I walk, He walks, and when I talk, it’s like He’s talking through me. When I heal or I lay my hands on someone, it’s like He is touching that person through me.

According to Colossians 1:27: “Christ now lives in you.” So where is the presence of God? I’m not looking forward over here or looking backward over there, or begging for it up there. I am relishing the abundance and living in the glory of His love and His life and His Spirit in me, right now.  I come boldly to His throne of grace and receive what I have need of from Him. I recognize that He lives in me, I live in Him, and His presence surrounds me.

This is one of the foundational premises for our miracle life, practicing and recognizing the presence of God!

Right now you and I can embrace the perspective which says, no giant of sickness and disease, no giant that comes against the living God, can exist in the presence of the One who lives in us, who believes in us, and who goes about doing good and healing all who are oppressed of the devil.

Jesus said in John 6, “I am the bread of life, and whoever comes to me will never hunger, and the one who believes on me will never thirst.” Have you pulled up to the table today? Have you taken hold of the promises that God has for you?

Many have found Jesus as Savior, but are not aware of His healing power. God said in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

Even today some church leaders are offended by miracles, saying that miracles have long passed and are no longer part of the Christian life.  That could be true if God has changed or Jesus has changed, but the authority of God’s Word says that neither one has changed. In fact, God says of Himself, “I am the Lord and I change not” (Malachi 3:6).

Jesus knew His mission. He was set to go to the cross, and on that cross He would pay the price for our sin, for our peace, for our sicknesses, and for our diseases. He took upon Himself all our punishment on that cross.

Remember, the miracle of salvation occurs without a touch. What happens to the body when the Spirit of God, Who created the whole universe, fills it? Our bodies need life just like our spirit needs life. When we respond to words that heaven backs up, then Life infuses our system and oftentimes, without even a prayer, transformation occurs. Scripture tells us that the same Spirit which raised up Jesus is now making our mortal bodies alive (Romans 8:11)!