As Christians, we love hearing testimonies of God’s faithfulness.  It encourages us when our own faith is failing.  We are reminded that God still works in peoples’ lives.  All this is good.

The tricky thing is the hearer must be careful to not become like Simon Magus.  You may recall how he wanted to do miracles just like Peter and John.  Simon erroneously thought he could pay for something like this.  We are not as crass, but we hear how God answered someone’s prayer and we look for the secret which made it all come about.  Let’s say the person communicates that God convicted her to fast one day a week.  Ah, that is the trick.  If I fast one day a week, I can also count on God answering some of my most cherished prayers.