Acts 9:36-42

This is quite a miracle. Just imagine for a moment that this is your mother, your sister, or your daughter. She is dead. You are in mourning, and Peter is brought in to pray for her. It doesn’t say what they were expecting Peter to do, but obviously they had faith that he could do something.

Similarly to when Jesus prayed for the little girl, Peter asked everyone to leave the room. In moments like this, you don’t want to be surrounded by unbelief. There is an account of Smith Wigglesworth saying just that before he raised a man from the dead.

Peter simply knelt down and prayed. What he prayed, we do not know, but afterward, he turned to the woman and told her to “Get up!” He used the authority given to him by the Lord to raise her from the dead.
I keep coming around to this point: we do not fully understand the authority Jesus has given us to do miracles in His name. Jesus gave us these instructions:

“Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The message of the Kingdom spreads quickly when signs and wonders accompany the preaching of the Word. In fact, Mark 16:20 tells us that:

“And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.”

Some would make the argument that this is only for the “apostles,” and yet we just read about Philip, who was simply a believer who took Jesus at His Word and performed many signs and wonders in Jesus’ name.
So much was accomplished for us at the Cross. We must learn to walk in the victory Jesus has given us and then teach others to do the same.

Consider the encouragement we find in James 5:

“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The prayer offered by a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results!

And let us not forget our part in telling the world.

“For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!””
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Let’s get busy and go tell the world!