ASK For Your Miracle and the Lies I Believed

"Ask for Your Miracle" Part 3, The Conclusion

This essay comes from a longer message I originally shared on someone else’s platform, but I’ll continue to edit with fresh insight as I present one more woman whose boldness is admirable that we may glean as much as we can from her story while also recognizing this is not a Bible study, but rather something to inspire us to believe boldly and ask for the miracle we need. I’ll end with some of the lies I believed that hindered me in my own ASKing, but first I’ll begin with a woman who’s simply known as “the woman with the issue of blood” and whose story begins in Luke 8:43

This is a woman who make a decision one day to no longer wait her turn, but to take her turn, (thanks to Tomi Arayomi for this insight) and her story begins on this day she finds herself in the crowds mobbing Jesus as He’s on his way to heal a 12 year-old girl. After 12 years of misery, this woman basically decides to “cut to the front of the line” so she can touch the hem of Jesus’ garment because she’s made up her mind this is how she’ll be healed. It’s her “now or never” moment – and she chooses “now.” She chooses to move. Her desperation compels her. She pushes herself forward through the crowd and does what her faith has compelled to do. And take note of this - no one reproves her. Rather, Jesus commends her with these words before continuing on His way to heal the 12-year-old girl: “Daughter, be of good cheer daughter. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Jesus gives no analogy and no parable, but with these simple words her life is changed forever. Not only does she receive her healing, she receives her identity as “daughter.” She’ll no longer be an outcast. Her faith has made her whole, signifying a spiritual and emotional healing as well. She’ll no longer have to live on the fringes of society.

There’s yet more to consider however regarding this woman’s act of desperation. For it appears there’s a possibility she made another decision that day; a decision that undergirded her decision to push to the front of the line. Because it’s likely she heard about the 12-year-old girl Jesus was on his way to heal, as she was in the crowd flowing and bumping along with Jesus. And as Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus to make his request, we know Jesus and the crowd stopped. Many would have heard this request. Could it be that this woman made the decision that day that her own life was every bit as valuable as the life of a 12-year-old girl? Could she have come to the realization that if Jesus was on his way to heal this young girl, then surely He could redeem her 12 years of misery? I believe this suffering woman made the decision this day to count her worth as equal to that of the young girl. Despite how society had viewed her and treated her. I believe it’s probable.

And what if this this portrays for us is that our wholeness is on the other side of our willingness to ASK? If this is true, we must not hesitate. We must not be timid. This is our day and our hour, to ASK for the miracle. This woman never lost hope, and neither should we. I know there are as many unanswered prayers as there are answered ones, and there are things some of us have prayed for decades, but we cannot afford to lose hope. I know this is a delicate issue for some and that many have plaguing health conditions. But we cannot afford to bring our theology down to the level of our current circumstance. Yes, we can learn to be content in our present circumstances, this is theologically sound, and there are things we simply receive by virtue of being sons and daughters, but there are things we must contend for (in order to receive) and the Kingdom allows for this as well (Matthew 11:32). At any rate, God still rewards the faith inside the ask. Whether it’s been weeks or years, the doctor’s report doesn’t have to be the final report. Especially when there’s a better report to seek for.

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Isaiah 53:1

Of course I’m not saying there are some who aren’t healed because they don’t have enough faith. That’s insensitive and we’re admonished to weep with those who weep, which I’ve done recently. I don’t claim to have pat answers and I don’t understand why my grand-daughter just had her spleen and half her pancreas removed because of a cancerous tumor, or why I just had a rather hideous thing removed from my back instead of being healed. All I have is the Word and my own testimony of what’s hindered me from ASKing in times past.

First however, let’s take a quick look at the man at the pool of Bethesda, as he shared the same condition I had of low self-worth. This man had no one to put him in the pool for 38 years and the mindset of the day was - he must be a sinner. All his life people had literally looked down on him. And so he looked down on himself - so much so that when Jesus asked him a simple question, “Do you want to be made well?” he was unable to give his YES. He was stuck on his low view of himself, stuck on his problem, focused on his limitations, which he began to describe to Jesus. But I declare today we will not operate as this man did. We want wholeness in our lives, we want to be made well, we know this is our portion and we will ASK for what we need. I trust that you’re hearing me. Let’s lift up our voices therefore, and ASK for the miracle we need. And I declare also – we will not grow weary in the ASKing!

And then there was the Lame Man at the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3). His expectations were far too low. All he wanted was another hand-out for another day. His meager portion. But God had a far better idea! As did Peter! And He has a better idea for us as well. Perhaps for some of us it’s time to raise our expectations. For myself, I’ve had a tendency to think “this” or “that” regarding my expectations and what I think I should ASK for, but sometimes God has given me “both.” And then I’m reminded all over again - He is able and willing to do far above all that I can even think to ask (just as when He fed the multitudes, there were baskets left over). The limitations have been in my mind, not His. At any rate, we serve a God who wants us to have a good portion, even an abundant portion. He doesn’t want our expectations to be “dampened” by our circumstance, like the man at the Gate Beautiful.

And a brief bit of my story and how my expectations were hindered because of my perceived low self-worth. Growing up, when I asked for things, I was always told “we can’t afford it,” but as the years progressed and our financial situation improved I was able to see this wasn’t necessarily true; it was a matter of preference and how they wanted to spend money. So it got lodged in my psyche that I couldn’t have any of the things I wanted because I wasn’t worth it. Also, anytime I asked for privileges I was always told no, despite the responsibilities I carried as the oldest. Ain addition, anytime I voiced a need, an opinion, a concern, my needs were entirely discounted and dismissed. My voice was shut down. I felt overlooked, unseen, and valued only by the things I could do to earn my value such as getting good grades, and before that becoming a champion baton twirler. It was only by the things I could do well that I felt valued, and often I didn’t meet the expectations that were placed on me. Obviously, this isn’t a healthy state of being.

A secondary layer of my experience – Because I was always told NO I adjusted to the limitation of always receiving no for an answer. I got acclimated to the limitation of the NO. I became familiar if not comfortable with a limited portion. It became my normal. As you may have already ascertained, this affected my relationship with the Lord and with people when it came to asking for things. In particular, I found it extremely difficult to ask people for help. My subconscious told me I wasn’t worth it and certainly not worth their time. And all of this coincided with my “later in my Christian walk” revelation of God as my heavenly Father who actually wanted to give me good things. After He introduced Himself to me, I didn’t hold back from asking for physical healing, due to the miracles I experienced right from the start, but anything else, I was oddly content to go without. I remember one year as a single mom, telling my pastor’s wife I was just going to wait till January to give my daughters Christmas gifts, when I would have a bit of money to do so. And I said this with a straight face.

One final thing, and perhaps the biggest that profoundly affected my mindset was in regard to my perceived worth as a female because of the way I was treated growing up. I vividly remember my dad telling me once, before my parents’ divorce “women don’t go to college” and when I asked about this, because I was genuinely puzzled and already had aspirations for college, he countered back and ended the discussion with, “women don’t need to go to college.” These words lodged deep in my pyche. And because I was treated in many other ways as “less than” because I was female, in addition to not feeling valued or esteemed by my parents, I ended up with a low value of my worth. Which didn’t lend itself well in the relationships with the boys and men I would later encounter. And sadly, when I entered the church world at age 21, I perceived a lower value for women in the church hierarchy. The roles presented for women were limited. As a woman I was presented the options (and even the demand) that I work in the nursery, teach the children, and clean the toilets, all of which I did. Unfortunately, It took decades for me to recognize, accept, and embrace my value as a woman and a daughter of God who is also a co-heir with Christ, called to rule and reign with Him.

And as I conclude, please know I love the Bride of Christ, and I fellowship regularly. I don’t harbor any anger, but I do want to address more specifically what I encountered in church culture that sought to hinder who I was created to be in Christ, thus distorting my perception of myself and what I thought I could believe, contend, and ASK for. And because things have progressed to a much better place now, I’ll speak in past tense terms. Which is to say, my gift mix didn’t fit the confines of what the Church said femininity should look like and what it should sound like. The call of God on my life bubbled inside me, yet I wasn’t given room for expression of it. Some of the things inside of me were viewed as masculine, or the domain of men. These things simply didn’t fit the confines or the role that mainstream church would have assigned to me. So in order to be a “good Christian woman” I tried to bury what God had put inside of me. I I made myself smaller to conform others’ expectations. I toned it down. I kept quiet. I even put on an identity which wasn’t mine. And of course none of this served me well, especially as I believed it was selfish to want more.

So these were the lies I believed which distorted my understanding as to what I could hope, believe, and expect for as a daughter of God. And what I could ASK for. And just as I now know it’s not selfish to be and become who God created me to be, I also understand it’s not selfish to ASK and believe for more. Whether it’s asking for a miracle or my daily bread.

I pray I’ve encouraged you to do the same. And to reflect on any hindrances you may have had, past or present, that have inhibited you from the simplicity of ASKing. May grace and peace be yours. I leave you with a closing thought from the beatitudes:

Ask, and it will be given you; seek; and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

And these three words - Ask, Seek, Knock, become the acronym ASK!