Is it possible to talk about preparing to experience a miracle? If we examine the attitude of those who were healed during Jesus' ministry, the answer is definitely: Yes! Sometimes Jesus checked the faith of the sick before he healed them.

As an intercessor and evangelist, I have learned the following: By looking at how Jesus met people in need, we can learn a lot. He was very open to all people (except those with closed hearts, like the Pharisees). He was a 'friend of tax collectors and sinners.' He was not a 'distant preacher,' but allowed people to come close to him. They were allowed to touch his clothes – and all who did were healed (Mark 6:56). 

Jesus allowed people to release their faith by seeking him eagerly. To help them get into the right 'healing position,' he tested their faith. Blind Bartimaeus had to cry out to him several times before Jesus stopped and called him over. He said: 'Call him here.' (Mark 10:49) Jesus tested his faith: Was it theoretical or living? Even though Jesus saw that Bartimaeus was blind, he wanted him to come to him with his problem and tell about his suffering. This helped to release the faith in his heart:

'What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him: Rabbuni, that I may receive my sight.'

Mark 10:51

This showed Jesus that his faith was genuine and alive. His zeal and his confession helped to open the door of faith. This door had two hinges: He came to Jesus with his problem and hetold about his suffering. These two steps of faith released healing.

Those who came for others

Those who came to seek prayer for others also needed to have an open and expectant heart. The centurion had a suffering servant. He told Jesus: 

'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in great pain.'

Matt 8:6

The centurion opened his heart by speaking about his own authority over his soldiers. They obeyed when he said 'go' and 'come.' He applied this authority to Jesus' power over sufferings and diseases. He did not even need Jesus to come to his home to lay hands on his sick servant. Jesus could simply speak to the illness, and it would go.

Jesus was impressed by his faith: 

'I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel. … Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.'

Matt 8:10, 13 

Waiting for their turn to be healed also helped open hearts. Once, Jesus was on a mission trip in the wilderness for three days and three nights, where he was to heal many thousands of the sick (Matt 15:29–30). This helped to separate superficial faith from the pure, conscious faith given by the Holy Spirit. Those who waited for their healing demonstrated that they had open hearts. Faith got a 'kick.' It went from being theoretical to becoming alive. The result was evident:

'The multitudes marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.'

Matt 15:31

There is no power in a theoretical belief that God CAN heal. We must believe that God WILL do it and expectantly seek God for healing. It's when the 'PRAYER OF FAITH' is offered from a desperate situation that the cry reaches Jesus' heart – which is always open.

'With the HEART one believes,' Paul says (Rom 10:10). One of the keys to healing is to have an OPEN and EXPECTANT heart when seeking healing. It's open hearts that Jesus looks for.

The Syrophoenician woman did not get her prayer answered until she reasoned her way to an answer (Matt 15:21–28). She cried out to Jesus: 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.' (Matt 15:22) But Jesus did not answer her a word. The woman did not give up but went a step further. She fell at his feet and said: 'Lord, help me!' Even though Jesus called her a dog (as the Jews called Gentiles), she was not offended but reasoned: Even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from their master's table. The woman got her prayer answered, and her daughter was healed. Jesus said:

'Woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour.'

Matt 15:28

If our heart is not open and therefore not ready for a miracle, God may wait until the desperation becomes so great that the heart's door is open so that Jesus can say: 

'Let it be to you as you have believed.'

Matt 8:13

As Jacob said to God: 

'I will not let you go unless you bless me!'

Gen 32:26

Where do we stand on the 'ladder of faith' – top or bottom? Sleeping and theoretical – or seeking and active?