Unspoken returned last year with Follow Through, following up on the success of their debut eponymous album Unspoken, which featured the hit songs "Who You Are," "Lift My Life Up," "Start a Fire," "Good Fight" and "Call it Grace." The debut was one of my Top 5 Albums of 2014, and Follow Through is a worthy follow-up, one of my Top 5 Albums of 2016.

It is refreshing how in this age of lyrical ambiguity, there is no question that this band is sold-out for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With this excellent album, Unspoken is offering a great example of how you can write and sing lyrics that are unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and reach the lost with transparent confessions of faith. Every thought and lyric in this song and this album is rooted in Scripture, which I admire. I had the chance to speak with Chad Mattson about "Miracle."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

"The Cure" and "Miracle" were two of the songs we had the most trouble with for this album. There are a lot of songs about miracles, so we wanted to figure out the angle we would take for this song. This is God's providence, because I had no idea how much God was going to use this song in my own life right now, before I even wrote it. 

When I was writing the song, I wanted to make sure it was something people could relate to and I could relate to. Someone had just given us a $200,000 bus right before we were writing this song, and it is a song that connects with the Bible verse in Matthew where Jesus asks "what man is there among you who if his son asks for break will give him a stone?" We need to learn to be okay with whatever we've been given. Most of us feel bad about asking for anything because God's already given us everything by giving us eternal life. I wanted to start looking at being a parent and looking at my kids the way that God looks at me. My kids ask me for whatever they want. They have no clue if it costs $5,000 or $10,000, they will just ask me, "Dad, can you get me a four wheeler?" 

Part of this record was trying to get back to that place in our own spiritual lives of when we've seen God do big things, and it reminded us that God is good and He does give us our heart's desires, and He blesses us just because He's God. Those thoughts inspired this song. Even though it takes years to see the hand of God move in these areas, don't give up on the prayers and dreams and amazing things that you want God to do for you. That verse about the bread and the stone was a huge part of the heart behind this song.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Matthew 17:20-21 (NIV): He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Matthew 7:9 (NKJV): "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?"

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT): "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV): "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV): "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Psalm 90:12-17 (MSG): "Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well! Come back, God--how long do we have to wait?--and treat Your servants with kindness for a change. Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we'll skip and dance all the day long. Make up for the bad times with some good times; we've seen enough evil to last a lifetime. Let Your servants see what You're best at--the ways You rule and bless Your children. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!"

What is the takeaway message?

For me right now, going through personal stuff, I feel like we are plugging away, taking the next step and doing all of that stuff, but if God doesn't show up and do a miracle, we are sunk. When we decided to release this song, I knew I needed it so much in my own life. Perseverance is a big part of the song: "pray till you break through, breaks through the ceiling, keep on believing." The way the verses are crafted is all about prayer: "have you forgotten you have a Father listening?" 

The song is from a prayer perspective. Rather than talking to someone else, we are really talking to ourselves with this song. One of the big things for this song for me in my own life is remembering the things that God has done in the past. The bridge goes there. Have confidence that God is good, and He's going to work out His good and pleasing plan in and through us. 

Looking back over time and seeing the hand of God providing for us and answering prayers that took so long to come to fruition that we forgot we prayed them--I think we need that in our spiritual lives. That's why the Israelites put so much importance on remembering the past and passing down stories to inspire us and give us hope in the future. We can feel hopeless, and that's a hard place to be. We should be confident and put all of our trust in faith, hope and love. Faith to believe, hope that's He's going to do it and knowledge that He is love.

Lyrics:
Have you stopped reaching?
No longer seeking greater things
Have you forgotten you have a Father listening?
He tells the sun when to rise
Gives the wind it's breath
Swings a door wide open and moves in a moment you least expect

Don't you give up on a miracle
You've got to speak the impossible 
You've got to pray till you break through breaks through the ceiling keep on believing 
Don't you give up 
Don't you give up on a miracle

How many chances?
How many answers pass us by?
You know it takes faith to step on the waves when you're terrified 
So when you're packed in a corner
And can't wait any longer

Don't you give up on a miracle
You've got to speak the impossible 
You've got to pray till you break through breaks through the ceiling keep on believing 
Don't you give up 
Don't you give up on a miracle

Feels like the presents the words you've spoken
They go unnoticed like drops in the ocean 
Just beyond the veil of your vision 
Your mountains are moving, moving on 
Remember the works His hand has done 
Where you once were and how far you've come

Don't you give up on a miracle
You've got to speak the impossible 
You've got to pray till you break through breaks through the ceiling keep on believing 
Don't you give up 
Don't you give up on a miracle

You've got to speak the impossible 
Pray till you break through breaks through the ceiling keep on believing 
Don't you give up 
Don't you give up on a miracle
Pray till you break through breaks through the ceiling keep on believing

Jesus is the Good News, the miracle that can hold us together when we have struggles. It seems harder than ever with so many distractions and temptations around us. This song is an offering and submission to God's supernatural ability to keep together what would otherwise fall apart. "Miracle" is a very convicting and sobering reminder that God brings trials to remind us how much we need Him. This song and album also gives many glimpses of the authentic reality of life and our experiences, good and bad. Things don't go as we want or even how we pray for God to work in our lives. 

For me, I like to listen to this song in the context of the order of the songs on the album. The first three songs on Follow Through before "Miracle" celebrate God's sovereignty, especially "Higher," which professes that God is the ultimate Ruler over our lives. I love how this song expresses the truth of our earthly challenges. This song has really been resonating with me as I realize that Jesus commands us to trust God completely no matter our circumstances or personal distractions or concerns. The song is about faith and letting God's plans be revealed in your life.

This song and Psalm 90 are great examples of how to express your faith and not lose heart. Pray for God's mercy, and as Moses prayed, "Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us." We are all united in our struggles and spiritual warfare, and in our desire for Truth and relationship. The Lord wants us to spend time with Him every day. This song is a great reminder to spend time reading His Word, The Holy Bible, and to have a relationship with Him in prayer. As the song proclaims, no matter your circumstances, you need to remember "Don't you give up on a miracle." Believe and pray along: "you've got to speak the impossible, pray till you break through breaks through the ceiling, keep on believing." Amen to that!

Watch the band sing the song below.