Seeking after signs and wonders is a phenomenon that has been prevalent since ancient times. Even in the Bible, we see examples of people asking for signs from God or being drawn to supernatural displays of power. There are several potential reasons why this tendency persists today:
1. Human nature is attracted to the mystical and miraculous
As human beings, we tend to be fascinated by things that seem to defy or go beyond the natural order and physical laws that govern our universe. Mysteries intrigue our minds, and displays of supernatural power speak to our sense of awe and wonder. When someone claims to have spiritual gifts of healing, prophecy, or other miraculous abilities, it taps into this innate curiosity and attraction to the extraordinary.
2. People want direct experiences of the divine
Many individuals seek tangible, personal encounters with God or supernatural phenomena as proof of the spiritual realm. Seeing a miraculous sign or wonder can provide what seems like indisputable confirmation that spiritual forces are real and active in the world. For those with doubts or weak faith, signs provide a way to bolster belief by offering direct physical evidence of divine power.
3. Signs and wonders are associated with the power of God
In the Bible, miracles and supernatural feats were often viewed as demonstrations of God’s power and favor, from the 10 plagues against Egypt to Jesus’ many healings and miracles. Even in the Old Testament, prophets like Elijah and Elisha performed wondrous signs. As a result, many people expect to see similar displays of God’s power in their midst and seek these signs of divine activity. They represent God actively intervening in the world.
4. People hope signs and wonders will increase faith
Related to the previous points, some pursue miraculous signs because they believe it will strengthen their own faith or the faith of others. By seeing God directly at work in spectacular, supernatural ways, they hope to have any doubts erased and their belief placed on firm footing. Jesus rebuked those who needed signs to believe, but some still feel a display of power is needed to truly trust God.
5. Signs are expected to accompany the gospel message
Based on patterns in the book of Acts and other biblical texts, many Christians believe that signs and wonders should accompany the preaching of the gospel. Healings, prophetic revelations, miracles – these works are expected to follow evangelism and confirm that the message is from God. Seeking these signs can become a form of validation.
6. People think signs indicate coming judgment or blessing
In the Bible, signs and wonders like prophecies or natural disasters were often interpreted as omens of coming judgment, tribulation, or blessing. Seeking similar signs today is a way for some people to discern or even hasten God’s plans. Unusual phenomena like “signs in the heavens” are watched closely for what they might signify about end times events.
7. Curiosity about supernatural power and abilities
Miraculous abilities like healing or prophecy fascinate people in their own right. Some seek out and follow purported faith healers, psychics, or prophets simply out of curiosity and a desire to witness supernatural power in action. The abilities themselves capture attention and interest, regardless of the source or purpose behind them.
8. Hope for supernatural solutions to problems
On a practical level, displays of miraculous power give hope for supernatural solutions to otherwise insoluble problems. Everything from poverty to cancer has prompted people to seek out faith healers, signs and wonders that seem to offer divine intervention and resolution. Though not necessarily a prime motivation, this hope fuels interest in the miraculous.
9. People are drawn by charismatic speakers and personalities
Certain individuals seem to have a special gift for working miracles or envisioning signs and supernatural occurrences. They draw people by the force of their personalities as much as by the power of their spiritual gifts. Crowds throng to their events, seeking a personal experience of the wondrous through their gifts. The promise of spectacle and experience attracts as much as the miracles themselves.
10. Miraculous signs can validate new movements
New spiritual leaders and movements often promote miracles and supernatural signs as a way of validating their message or practices. People are encouraged to seek and expect signs that confirm the group’s legitimacy and divine favor. Validation draws followers, even when doctrine is unorthodox. The signs lend credibility.
11. People want to participate in the supernatural
Many are not merely satisfied witnessing miracles, they want to be personally involved in the supernatural. They desire spiritual gifts like prophecy, miracles, or healing for themselves and actively pursue them. Participating makes the experience more meaningful and intimate than simply observing signs and wonders done by others.
12. Signs offer hope of transcending natural existence
At a deeper level, some pursue signs and wonders because they represent hoped-for transcendence of mortal limits and mundane earthly existence. Miracles hint at realms beyond the physical that can inspire hope and meaning. This taps into a deep-seated human longing for the supernatural and mystical. Signs point toward meanings beyond normal perception.
13. Discontent with dry intellectual faith
An intellectual, rational faith seems lifeless and flat to some without outward evidences of the divine. An experiential faith fueled by supernatural encounters and mystical signs may seem more vibrant and personally meaningful by contrast. Others feel distant from a God they cannot directly witness working in power.
14. Peer pressure and cultural expectations
In some Christian circles, cultures, or demographics, pursuing signs and wonders is simply an expected part of faith. The prevailing cultural ethos pressures people to experience the miraculous. Those who do not can feel excluded or spiritually inadequate. Fitting social norms sustains the quest for signs.
15. Signs can be exploited by frauds
Sadly, people’s eagerness for tangible spiritual experiences leaves them vulnerable to deception. Charlatans mimic and exploit miracles to obtain followers or money. Though not all are fraudulent, healthy skepticism of claims is wise. Discernment is needed to distinguish God’s authentic power from fraudulent signs.
16. Lack of spiritual maturity or biblical depth
Immature faith seeks frequent miraculous experiences to sustain belief. Likewise, biblical shallowness contributes to reliance on sign-seeking. Sincere growth in understanding God’s word and Christian maturity can temper such excessive preoccupation with supernatural proofs. Signs are not needed to walk by biblical faith rather than sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Overall, seeking signs and wonders stems from a variety of factors – human nature’s attraction to the mystical, a longing for experiential faith, miracles associated with divine power, hope for supernatural solutions to problems, and more. Caution and discernment are needed, but so is grace for those sincerely seeking to witness God’s presence and activity in their midst.