“And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.” (Mark 16:20 NASV)
Throughout the New Testament, God often used signs, such as miracles and healing, to confirm His word.
At times, the disciples even boldly asked for miracles to give them the courage to continue preaching when they faced persecution.
We see this in the prayer they uttered after the arrest of Peter and John in Acts 4 when the disciples asked God to enable “Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence” by releasing “signs and wonders” (Acts 4:29-30).
Luke writes that after they prayed, the room they were in “was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (verse 31) giving them the confidence to continue preaching the Gospel.
Just as He did 2,000 years ago, God is still concerned today that we do His will, and at times will provide a miraculous sign confirming we are on the right track when we struggle.
Dr. Adam Dell is a clinical psychologist in Indiana. In a recent Instagram Post, he shared how at the age of 21, he prayed for confirmation that he was supposed to continue his classes and work at the university.
He asked that God confirm this by sending him someone wanting to know more about Jesus, without Dell initiating the contact.
It had to be spontaneous.
It was freshmen weekend and families were dropping off their children at the school. Throughout the remainder of the day, Dell spent hours helping freshmen find their dorm and move in.
He talked to hundreds of students and their family members, but not one asked him about the gospel.
Discouraged, his unanswered prayer left him wondering if God had even heard his petition.
Later that night, around 11:30 pm, he decided to go for a walk around the small lake that was part of the university campus.
By this point, he was questioning whether he was supposed to continue at the school.
He laid down on a park bench, closed his eyes, and began singing Have You Ever, a Christian song written by Shawn Macdonald.
“And I’ve tasted of love so deep. That it blows your mind,” Dell sang. “He’s what you’re looking for. He’s my sweet, sweet Jesus.”
It was around 11:55 when he opened his eyes and was startled to see a man standing at the foot of the bench, staring at him.
Having just broken up with a woman he loved, the forlorn man had been walking through the park seeking his own answers when he heard the words that Dell was singing.
The man wanted to know more about the person whose love was so high, it would blow his mind.
In what he described as an eleventh-hour answer to prayer, Dell knew that God heard him and that he mattered to God.
“Take comfort—yes, take comfort—that you are so known by God … He cares about your life and whether you are feeling empty and desperate, and because He cares, He is willing to move on your behalf. Take comfort. He is for you,” Dell says.
OpentheWord.org 
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