Miracles for Sale?

Are miracles for sale in the house of God and do we need to make a payment before we receive a miracle? Do we need to pay consultation fees before we see a man of God? Do we have to feel guilty when we can’t afford to give or pledge an amount before being prayed for or being prophesied upon? Are the blessings of God limited to those who get up to pledge or give during miracle services?

These are questions for you, for me, for pastors, prophets, churches, and church leaders.

This is a controversial conversation, but it still needs to be discussed. I have seen so many practices around this on TV and in person. Practices that I indulged in myself and which I have seen others also indulge in. Some of these are clearly due to ignorance of God’s word and some are due to greed, lack of love for God’s people, and a general laissez-faire attitude toward the right thing being done in God’s house.

Even with all this, as I have grown in my knowledge of God, one thing that has become clearer to me is that God loves us. He loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us. He loves us so much that He calls us His children, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. He loves us so much that He has given His Holy Spirit to us to guide us, to strengthen us, to teach us, and to give us power. He loves us way more than an earthly father would love their child. If an earthly father will not give his son a stone when he asks for bread or if he would not give his child a snake when he asks for fish, how much more will our Father in heaven not give good gifts to those who ask Him? Our God is more than ready and willing to bless us, to heal us, and to deliver us when we humble ourselves, pray, and turn from our wicked ways.

Additionally, giving to support the work of God is extremely important. We all know of Malachi 3:10-12, where we are commanded to bring the whole tithe into God’s house. We also know of the blessings associated with being obedient to this very important command. How God says He will open the windows of heaven and pour down blessings until there is no need and how He will rebuke the devourer and prevent him from destroying that which belongs to us. If you are not a tither or have not been a faithful tither like most of us, I encourage us all to do better. There are immense blessings associated with this, and we don’t want to miss out. It is an act of faith, and it is a test to God as per the scripture. When we tithe, no matter the level of our resources, we communicate to God our faith, trust, and reliance on Him.

Outside of tithing, giving to support the work of God as led by God also results in serious blessings. In my own life, I have experienced certain breakthroughs born out of some giving I have done over the years; therefore, I know firsthand how important it is to sow into God’s work. We are also encouraged in 2 Corinthians 9:6 to sow bountifully as we will reap bountifully in contrast to reaping sparingly when we sow sparingly. Verse 7 of this same chapter also mentions that ‘each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver’. In the beginning of time, the contrast between Cain and Abel’s way of giving to God also showed the kind of giving that was regarded by God. Abel brought to God his first and the best, while Cain's was very little in comparison. These passages show that it is not just about giving but giving in a way that is regarded by God. There are principles to this, but it’s important to remember that God is our loving Father and not some unapproachable judge ready to mark us down for the mistakes we make. These scriptures communicate the posture we must take when giving and clearly show us the things we must not succumb to when giving.

I have spent the preceding 3 paragraphs speaking about God’s love and the importance of giving because these are very important to note in our walk with God and are very much in contrast with some ongoing practices in our churches today.

The practice of coercing innocent and sometimes ignorant churchgoers to give exorbitantly through threats and by the use of giftings such as prophecies is nothing to write home about. I once heard somewhere about a prophet who asked a woman who was at the time praying for the fruit of the womb to sew into his ministry some amount of money which the woman could not afford before he prayed for her and ‘solved the problem for her’. A friend once told me about how a man of God called her into his hotel and asked that she give him money aside from the money that she had pledged at church fundraising where he was the guest prophet. This was communicated to the church leaders but the same man of God was subsequently invited to the church again for another fundraising at that same church. When I heard this I was just wondering what the church leaders were thinking but I wasn’t so shocked because we see this happening all around.

On TV, we also see so many men of God who require some consultation fee of significantly large amounts before they will see a church member and even pray for them. We also see how people who give big monies at churches are prayed for in a ‘special’ way whereas those who give small amounts are almost sidelined. A more common example is when guest prophets go to churches and because of their giftings, are able to see into the current and future circumstances of some wealthy members and find a way to get their contacts to speak to them under the guise of being their ‘spiritual fathers’. It’s really sad to see that all these are happening in the house of God but what will be worse is if we continue to let these happen.

To answer my questions above:

1. No, miracles are not for sale. God loves us and always has our best interests at heart. He wants us in good health and walking in prosperity so if things are not going well for us, we don’t need to pay any man of God or give beyond our means reluctantly or under compulsion just to please these men. We don’t please God when our giving is not from our heart and He is not going to bless us based on the amount of money we can give.

2. No, God is not man and man is not God. No man has more power than God. If God does not require consultation fees and His only requirement is to come to Him through His son, Jesus Christ, by accepting Him as our Lord and personal Saviour, then no man should be paid any money when it is the same God we are praying to. Also, to you man of God or prophet who is preying on people’s weaknesses, please have a rethink. If you are for God, please be for God and live as Christ would. Jesus Christ prayed for all sick people who came to Him without collecting anything in return. Yes, as men of God, you need to survive but it is not your job to deceive and extort people in order to survive. God, who gave you the gifts and who called you, will touch the hearts of men and women to support your ministry. Please trust the God who has called you.

3. My dear child of God, when God gave us His Holy Spirit, He gave us power. The Holy Spirit is power personified. He is the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and once the Holy Spirit is with us, we have access to all this power and wisdom. There is no need to feel guilty or less than when you’re not able to give at a particular point especially when it is not within your means. We need to draw closer to God so that He leads us and teaches us how to gain access to all the blessings and healing that He has already made available to us in His word. Of course, it’s never that simple, but He will lead us gradually when we trust in Him.

4. Lastly, the blessings of God are not limited to those who can give during these miracle services. It’s important that we all allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in our giving. It is very important to give to support the work of God. There are times that we might be led to give during these services and there are times that we might not be led to give during these services. Certain doors can be open once we give and certain doors are open through prayers and fasting. These are deeper things that some of us are still trying to understand but one thing I know is that God’s love and his willingness and ability to bless us is not restricted to our ability to give to support his work. But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Dear Child of God, draw closer to God and He will draw closer to you. God does not only speak to prophets and pastors, He speaks to all of us when we avail ourselves. When we draw closer to God, He will through the Holy Spirit teach us His word, bless us, and cause us to be a blessing to other people. He could even reveal deep mysteries to us and cause us to bring healing to generations. On the other hand, when we fail to have a deeper relationship with God, we fall victim to preying men of God, wolves in sheep's clothing which the word of God warns us against, and before we know it, we become frustrated with God and the false expectations created by these men of God. We all need to draw closer to God.

Dear Church Leader and Pastor, you are in that position to serve, shepherd, and lead the children of God. Your role is to demonstrate God’s love and to guide people in a way that leads them to God. Bringing the wrong men of God in contact with your congregation finds a way to steer their attention from what is important and causes your congregation to be preyed upon. It leads to major on the minors and causes God’s people to gradually lose sight of the power available to them through the Holy Spirit. Please focus on what is important for the spiritual growth and upliftment of your congregation rather than wanting more money from them.

Dear Prophet or man of God with a special gift, yes, you see beyond the physical, yes, you can heal the sick and are anointed, and that gives you an added advantage. But please remember that with this advantage comes the risk of pride, the risk of amassing wealth for yourself using people’s weaknesses, and the risk of making it all about you. You need to find your anchor to bring yourself back when you start going off. While your gifting can open certain doors for you, please remember you are gifted to serve. Please remember that other children of God are not meant to be belittled by your gifting but are meant to be encouraged, helped, shepherded, and led through this gifting. So please whenever your pride starts creeping in, find a way to get grounded. You are not the source of your gift. God is the source and He has placed that gift in you not just for yourself but for His people.

I pray that God helps all of us as we look to serve Him and do His work in a way that pleases Him. Amen!