One Before the Other

We've heard the famous quote Faith precedes the miracle. We must believe that God is all powerful and ABLE to provide the miracle in our lives, and we must believe that He WANTS to bless us with those righteous desires of our hearts. The scriptures say that miracles have ceased because the world in general lacks the faith necessary for miracles to happen. It is so true in this day and age. The world population can't be bothered to make the effort to establish a real relationship with God. If He really exists, He should show himself! The effort is too hard. It would require sacrifice and 'ain't nobody got time for dat!', right?  Who has time to read scriptures and keep the commandments and go to church? It's a YOLO mentality out there in which people don't want to be told what to do. No way!! What kind of holier-than-thou person do we think we are if we attempt to share (push) our beliefs with others. People are offended by the very word "religion". It equates to something like organized cult, bigotry, intolerance, and it's old fashioned.
In today's society, most tend to lean towards causes instead of churches, self instead of society. Unfortunately, the "I can do whatever I please" mentality is a dangerous one. It's dangerous because instead of bringing us together in unity, it separates us, from each other as well as from God.
Going back to the subject of faith preceding the miracle, What does that kind of faith look like? If you change the noun "faith" into "faithfulness", it actually deepens the meaning. It not only suggests a belief in something, but a behaviour that stems from your belief. Have you heard the saying "Love is a verb, not a noun"? Well, the same thing can be said of faith. If you have that seed of faith, you cultivate it by demonstrating that faith through compliance to that which is required of you. But why? Why should I show my faith in some unknown God that seems to have disappeared long ago, if He ever was around in the first place? The answer?
God will never push himself onto anyone. He will gently invite and He anxiously awaits to bless those that do come to Him.  Jesus Christ invited people saying, "Come follow me" and "Behold, I stand at the door and knock". It's up to you to make an effort to build that relationship with Him.
Have you ever needed to be blessed and cried out for help? I not only believe that faith precedes the miracle, but that gratitude precedes the blessing. We must be grateful for what he have, and that spirit of gratitude will, like a magnet, draw more blessings to us. It makes sense that grateful people would be rewarded more than ungrateful, selfish people.
The decline of society's morals and values seem to be parallel to the same level in which we have pushed God out of our lives and communities.
If you are now asking which decline I'm talking about, look at what was shocking 20, 30, 40 years ago compared to what shocks us today? I don't need to list all of them. Moral decline. Immorality. Indecency. Dishonesty. Vulgarity. Disrespect. Disregard. We have embraced the new societal norms. They have become the new standard. But just because something is popular, doesn't make it accurate.
I'm sure there are many that won't even read this entire article. They will think it's just more blah blah hoopla about miracles and God, spouted by some believer. Yes, I am a believer. I believe in a God that is surely grieved by some of the choices we make, but I'm also a believer in goodness and truth and miracles and a Higher Power who is aware of us, from whom we can have true joy, and have true hope, even in the midst of hard times. Miracles do happen in individuals' lives everyday. More can happen.
Life is a gift. Life is a journey. We're all on our own journey, traveling at different speeds and taking different roads. While on this journey, we can choose to make it on our own, or we can be directed by the Maker of the Map and He who waits for us at the end of this long crazy trip called mortality.