Luke 8:49-55
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
In this part of Luke, Jesus had just talked to the woman who had touched His cloak and was healed, and Jairus had already talked to Jesus about his daughter. Suddenly, a random guy comes back from Jairus’ house and tells him that his daughter is dead. But Jesus is unruffled, even though Jairus is probably shocked and overwhelmed with this news. Jesus already knows that Jairus’ daughter can be healed.
When Jesus gets to Jairus’ house, people are already mourning in the streets (likely the girl’s family members). He even tells the mourners that the girl is not dead, but they don’t listen–their eyes, and their human knowledge, tell them otherwise. So Jesus goes into the house, bringing with Him only His closest disciples, and in only a few moments, the girl is up walking around! A miracle has truly been wrought!
We, too, have a hard time believing Jesus can come through for us when the worst happens. When our senses and our human wisdom tell us that something is impossible or irreparable, we tend to believe that rather than trusting in God. The mourners certainly didn’t trust Jesus’ judgment, and already one visitor to Jairus’ house believes the girl is already lost to them. But Jairus, while probably shaken, still trusts in Jesus enough to bring Him physically into his house, and for that act of faith and trust, his daughter is brought back from the dead.
When we trust in God, giving the entire situation over to Him, amazing things happen. Illness is healed (we’ve seen three incidents of inexplicable healing in our church alone); relationships are saved; troubles unravel and vanish. For that matter, I’ve experienced it in my own life, feeling depression unwrap its dark tendrils from my mind as I grow stronger in my faith, so it’s not a delusion. I’ve lived as a skeptic of prayer and lived as a believer in prayer, and I know which lifestyle I much prefer, for the sheer number of prayers I’ve seen answered right in front of me.
“Believing” is not simply a matter of praying once about it, kinda hoping God will come through for you, and then going back to trying to fix the problem yourself. You must pray consistently about it, believe that God is who He says He is, and believe that He has the power to fulfill your need. Believing, just simple, childlike believing, has wrought even modern-day miracles.