By Michael H. Brown

Any time we have faith we get blessed and anytime we plant there will be a harvest, somehow, in some way. The better we become at it, the larger the harvest will grow. Even if some things don't pan out -- even if certain prayers aren't "answered" -- we still receive benefits. The Lord may not answer precisely the way we designed, nor right away, but if so, it's because it is not what is best for us at that particular moment. Still, it goes into a spiritual "bank account."

God keeps track of our faithfulness and adds "interest" each time we exercise it. Satan tries to rub our noses in the negative. We have to always reject his "evil reports." Don’t listen to him. Don’t listen to the store clerk who makes a comment that causes an unintentional sting, that mentions something that bothers you, that brings something to mind that you are trying to forget.

When we practice faith in both large and small things, when we are constant, and when we never allow discouragement, we can expect a harvest or series of harvests. Sometimes, it comes gradually; sometimes, it takes a while. But it comes because it’s inevitable. No exercise of faith is wasted. If we maintain trust in all things -- if we keep exercising it, if we keep tossing those seeds, relentlessly -- it's only a matter of time before a big prayer is answered by signs.

It seems to be the case that we can ask for signs as long as we are not testing God. Some call it "confirmations." There are examples in Scripture.

But in due course, God sends them anyway, and to everyone. Even those who profess no religion are often swayed by what might be called "meaningful coincidences." God has an old friend call just as you’re thinking of that old buddy or places someone in your path who says what you needed to know at that moment. Or He leads you to an article or scripture with an especially pertinent verse.

These are signs, but we are not to treat them as augurs – as a method of fortunetelling -- and we should never become obsessed with them. The authentic ones occur spontaneously; we cannot call up such signs at will.

In the Old Testament, most of the omens were large events like those brought against the pharaoh or attendant to Moses while in the New Testament the "signs" usually refer to the charisms of the disciples: healing, casting out demons, speaking in tongues.

When we pursue these, we are in the flow of the Holy Spirit, and when we are in the flow of the Holy Spirit, God sends His indications much more readily.

While not seeking the fantastic, we must listen during prayer. Here we receive our intuition, and the clarity increases in proportion to how clear our spirits are. As John Paul II said, "the illuminative stage of the interior life emerges gradually from the purgative stage." During Lent, that is worth reading a second time.

The greatest signs are always how we feel internally.

Do you know what is at least a bigger marker even than a sense of "peace"?

Joy.

Here is your greatest indication: even in struggles whether (if only for moments!) there is joy in your life.

[adapted from The God of Miracles]

[Michael Brown pilgrimage: Medjugorje]

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