What do miracles serve in spiritual life?

Prophet Amos Kambale of Life International Church in Lilongwe claims he healed a child who had, for two years, been using a wheelchair to move from one place to another.

Kambale, founder and overseer of the church, says this happened when he conducted a mid-week crusade at Unicef ground in Lilongwe’s Chinsapo Township.

He also held crusades at Nkhadze ground in Mchesi, where scores of people with various sicknesses are reported to have received miracles.

Nation on Sunday could not independently verify this, but some of the people who patronised the crusades, including the mother to the now-healed paralytic child, Blessings Mizere, attest to this.

“It really happened. And I am so happy that my son is one of the people who benefitted from the prayer of the man of God. I never thought my son would walk again.

“I will praise God the rest of my life,” Blessings’ mother said.

According to the mother, Blessings had been suffering from paralysis, which was as a result of epilepsy. He had not been able to stand for two years let alone walk without the support of a wheelchair.

“But immediately after a prayer from the prophet, the child stood up and began to walk to the awe and jubilation of the parents and all that patronised the crusade,” says Joseph Banda, who says was present when this happened.

Banda adds that at the same crusade, three other people who used clutches and walking sticks were also healed and could be seen walking and rejoicing all over.

To those who believe in the supernatural being, God, miracles are a way through which people see God touching the world and their lives.

Lately, there have been adverts in the media proclaiming miracles by modern prophets, pastors and spiritual ministers.

The prophets, pastors and spiritual ministers invest huge sums of money to advertise in the media or print various forms of copies inviting people to attend their crusades.

And miracles have proven the strongest bait to lure the unwilling believers to attend such gatherings.

This has, however, left some people wondering whether whatever miracles such prophets, pastors and spiritual ministers perform are anything to be believed.

In the Catholic Church, the Vatican has appointed a Miracle Commission, which sifts through hundreds or even thousands of miraculous claims.

Typically, such commissions are composed of theologians and scientific experts.

And according to Michael O’Neill, who runs the website MiracleHunter.com, “nearly all or 99.9 percent of these are medical miracles.”

O’Neill says genuine miracles need to be spontaneous, instantaneous and complete healing.

“Doctors have to say: ‘We don’t have any natural explanation of what happened,’” he states.

Reverend Stephan Bevans, a theology professor at the Catholic Theological Union, adds that a woman whose breast cancer was cured wouldn’t qualify, for instance, if she was given a 10 percent chance of survival — she would need to be told there was no chance of survival before any divine intervention.

Writer Wayne Jackson says in discussing the theme of biblical miracles, several important areas of consideration must be surveyed.

Jackson, among others, says believers need to probe on whether the Bible itself contains any information as to whether miraculous displays would be perpetual, that is until the end of time, or whether they were to be confined to a relatively brief span of history.

Secretary general of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) of the Roman Catholic Church, Father Henry Saindi, says there are certain characteristics of a genuine miracle, which local Christians need to pay attention to.

Saindi emphasises that a supernatural display of divine power is not an arguable proposition; it is a dramatic, demonstrable fact.

“Nowhere in the New Testament is there a record of a divine spokesperson arguing for the validity of miracles. No logical scheme is needed to establish such a case. Miracles either happen, or they don’t,” he explains.

Saindi states that when Jesus performed signs, even his enemies did not deny the effect of such; they merely attempted to attribute his power to some other source (for example, Satan; cf. Matthew 12:24).

“The leaders of the Jewish community did not doubt that Peter and John had performed a notable miracle when they healed the lame man at the temple; rather, they sought to mute the sign’s impact by threats of violence [cf. Acts 4:14ff],” he narrates.

Lontia Mphande, a professing Zion Christian Church (ZCC) believer based at Jenda Rural Growth Centre in Mzimba, says it is also important that Christians understand what these miracles serve to achieve in one’s spiritual life.

Mphande says although they may seem strange to outsiders, verifying that miracles have occurred can strengthen people’s beliefs. n