Faith Before Miracles
When the Lord made this statement, He was not condemning the desire to see miracles, as the purpose for miracles was (and still is) to bring people revelation of the love of God. Instead, He was stressing the truth that in order to see signs and wonders, you must first believe. The account in John 4 can be compared to the encounter with the centurion in Matthew 8. While the centurion demonstrated great faith in immediately believing the word of Jesus, the nobleman in John did not yet understand the authority and power of His word. Using the gift of word of knowledge, the Lord saw that this man needed to be convinced by actually "seeing" Jesus heal his son instead of exercising true faith in His word. In the next exchange when the Lord succinctly declared the man's son healed (notice that no elaborate prayer was given), the nobleman was given revelation of the Lord's power and then exercised the same great faith as the centurion. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him and went his way. [John 4:50]
This is the way faith is supposed to operate. First, faith must come (by hearing the word of God) and then exercised (faith without works is dead) in order for signs and wonders to be seen and prayers to be answered. Many people have difficulty putting this equation in its proper sequence, desiring to see the miracles as something like a catalyst to faith. But without faith (anyone's faith), signs and wonders will not follow. When I first became a Christian and desired to do the works of Christ, I struggled with this truth. I prayed to the Lord, "If you would just show me, I would believe." He quickly replied, "If you would believe, I will show you."
Granted, witnessing miracles and hearing testimony of them are catalysts to faith. But the truth is that faith had to have been in operation on the part of someone in order for any miracle to have taken place. Faith always comes before the miracle.
As faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence (or proof) of things not seen, we must understand that in order to see our prayers answered, we must believe them before we actually see them come to pass. The proof or evidence of our faith is the confession from our mouths and our actions that support our belief. Again, faith without works or action is dead. No one sitting by the wayside was ever healed by Jesus. They either came to Him or cried out to Him. The ones He approached were required to exercise their faith in some way in order for the healing to take place. Had the man at the troubled pool (John 5) not gotten to his feet, he never would have realized his healing. Had the woman with issue of blood not said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. [Mark 5: 28] And then, in Luke 8:47, had she not declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately, she would not have been healed. Jesus plainly said, Your faith has made you whole (v. 48). Jesus saw the faith of the men who lowered the palsied man through the roof and into the house where the Lord was teaching in Mark 2:1-12.
The Bible says: You shall also decree a thing and it shall be established unto you. [Job 22:28] And Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. [James 1:22] Faith is demonstrated by your words, and also by your actions that support your belief. If you have prayed for healing or blessing from God, declare it before others and act as if it has already come to pass. Go your way and it will be done as you have believed. Once you put faith before miracles, the signs and wonders will soon follow.
