At a retreat, I was sitting next to a physician who was the radiologist at the local community hospital. The speaker told about the miracle that happened when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Just before surgery, they took another X-ray. The cancer was gone.
I asked the radiologist, “Does that really happen?” “More often than you think,” he replied. This is the doctor who reads X-rays and diagnoses cancer. Usually, he is the one to read the pre-surgery X-ray, too. Spontaneous remission like this is not explainable by medical science.
Do miracles really happen today? In my heritage, we accepted that miracles did happen in Bible times. Influenced by John Calvin’s position that miracles ceased after the New Testament, we didn’t and still don’t officially accept that miracles happen today. Or do they?
For years my heart’s desire was to experience or witness an undeniable miracle. I came close. But my doubts have gone away. How the Holy Spirit influences the human spirit is explainable only as a supernatural intervention. Take away the possibility of miracles and the Spirit’s role in church life is considerably diminished. It is reduced to something confessed in the Third Article but no longer believed by “moderns.”
The close encounter with a miracle came on a Sunday morning. A mother requested prayer for her teenage daughter, who was in a coma at the hospital. Mother and daughter had been out shopping on a Saturday evening. Suddenly the daughter started talking gibberish. Mom knew something was seriously wrong and took her to the Emergency Unit of the local hospital. They diagnosed a brain aneurism. Doctors said that even if she survived the night she wouldn’t walk or talk. We gathered a large group of about fifty to pray after the service at about 11:00 am. That afternoon we got the report that at 11:00 she woke up, talked, and walked.
Was this a miracle? I think so. But it could be explained by a faulty diagnosis or just a coincidence. Anything can be explained away as a coincidence. But you keep track of enough “coincidences” and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that God can intervene in natural processes.
We live in a time with two competing explanations for where human life came from and how it can be lived well. One is the scientific approach that starts with evolution and accepts as truth only what can be seen and measured. The other, of course, is the biblical view that God created life and seeks a relationship with his people.
In terms of logic, proving a negative is very difficult (e.g. God does not exist). That God does not exist will never be proven; it can only be a belief. Proving a positive (God does exist and is at work today) is much easier. It starts by finding an event for which there is no natural explanation. It continues with the almost universal belief that a Supreme Being does exist. From experiences, we can gain more confidence to accept Scripture’s inspired description of God the Creator, his Son the Redeemer, and their Spirit as the Energizer of life in Christ.
A scientist cannot persuade me that God does not exist because I am moved to believe he does. Nor can I persuade a scientist of God’s existence if he or she has already chosen to not believe in supernatural life. Thank God there are many scientists who have retained the traditional belief. All I or any Christian can do is to keep pointing to evidence that the supernatural can intervene in the natural, that God can do miracles today. Why do some believe and others not? There is no satisfactory human explanation.
All we can do is to join Paul in his prayer that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18).
Meanwhile, I am still pondering the result of a survey I did about fifteen years ago on prayer practices of Lutheran pastors. About three out of four reported they had experienced or witnessed a miracle, defined as an event for which there is no natural explanation. Almost all of these also reported experiencing more than one such miracle.
Yet Lutheran pastors don’t talk about miracles. I am sure that is true with other mainline pastors. University educated, we don’t want to appear irrational. But ultimately the biblical God exceeds our expectations of what is humanly rational.
Let’s pray that we mainline pastors lose our fear of embarrassment and accept God for what he does.
Have you ever experienced or witnessed a miracle, an event for which there is not a natural explanation? Have you told anyone about this experience?
The miracle of birth ! As a nursing professor there have many times that I took my students into the back room of delivery and showed them he placenta ( afterbirth). If anyone can look at the intricacies of the connections, functions of this temporary organ to not only keep the baby safe, but fed and safe and say that is all developed by evolution, they are a fool. Psalm 14 “1 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
Miracles happen every day. I seek them. Do you?
Yes, birth is a miracle. But at least the process can be explained by medicine, so it seems under control. Proverbs distinguishes between the wise and the fool. Those trying to live without God are fools.
Miracles! A stranger repeating what I just was complaining to God about. I had been alone in a room speaking to God quietly so no one could hear. Yes, God did answer IN HIS TIME. Someone unknown to me kept me safe all night, told me things a stranger could not know. Alone in the car, I did not run into the bridge foundation I headed towards it; a hand turned the steering wheel. I WAS THERE!
I broke coccyx bone when giving birth–3 years later, I still could not more than 10 minutes without extreme pain. During a church service it was completely healed.
Many other times I can only say GOD intervened. Miracles…of course…why would a creator leave his own without hope. So many more times, food given when no one knew we were out. Safety, protection when I did not know it was needed. PEACE, unsought, unexpected but complete in the processing of cancer and surgery. I have Never had such complete and unbelievable peace in my life.
If I will go out of my way to get a cat, that I do not know, from a tree why shouldn’t I believe the creator of all, who knows the hairs on my head and knew me before I was born, would not come to my aid even before I ask.
Thanks for sharing. I join you in thanking God that he cared so much for you to do these supernatural interventions that pulled you closer to him. I envy your joy.
SUPRAnatural would be a better adjective. I have been the recipient of such miraculous healings as well as the bringer of such gifts. The “gifts” of the Spirit are very much a part of this Christian experience. (you may remember Bob Heil and Lynn Heitz,)
Yes, supranatural is a good adjective. I enyoy watching people recognize their spiritual giftedness and finding joy in serving others in their special way.
It’s quite the “coincidence” you posted this on this site, as I’m working on a 50 page memoir of sorts chronicling my lifelong experiences with the miraculous anchored in my Christian faith. In the writing I deal with the issue of semantic games around the words coincidence and spontaneous remissions in terms of the miraculous. One thing I know, many people who have experienced such things do not talk about them for fear of ridicule or shaming.
Not talking about it is a wise response. But consider sharing under special circumstances. Your experiences offer encouragement to others. Having been very active at a secular university, I know the fear of being shamed.
I did a survey of Lutheran pastors and found that about 70% had or saw a miracle. Yet we never talk about it, for fear of being ridiculed. As more do that share, I pray that fear gets lessened.
I experienced a miraculous and instantaneous healing of my back after receiving communion on a renewal weekend in 1998. My wife and I have prayed for someone who received a miraculous, overnight healing of her knee. I was involved with the Order of St. Luke the Physician for many years and many miraculous healings, including healing of cancer, happened at our healing missions. G. K. Chesterton said it best:
“Somehow or other an extraordinary idea has arisen that disbelievers in miracles consider them coldly and fairly, while believers in miracles accept them only in connection with some dogma. The fact is quite the other way. The believers in miracles accept them because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers in miracles deny them because they have a doctrine against them. It is we Christians who accept all actual evidence – it is you rationalists who refuse actual evidence being constrained to do so by your creed.”
Good quote from Chesterton. Your brain must be well organized to remember and quote this.
Of course it depends on what you define as a miracle. As an Evangelist who has utilized the PACK (Planned Acts of Christian Kindness) Outreach approach for over 25 years I can tell you that I have witnessed the hands & heart of God at work through the Holy Spirit countless times and these moments were so powerful I can never forget them. This is what fuels me to keep doing monthly events for as long as God allows me to.
The big secret is that PACK is mainly used to love on the everyday folk as they are going about their daily activities. No matter who they might be or what they might look like we unselfishly love on everyone that the Spirit sends our way. Whether a free practical gift or the lending of a helping hand we do it for all and through the Connect Card that is shared Jesus gets all the credit and the glory. Sure we offer up an invite on the back of the card so the recipients know where they can come to learn more, but the laser focus must always be on the Lord.
Besides teaching us some very valuable lessons PACK creates “God moments” that serve to boost & seal one’s faith. Maybe we just arrived at the event site, maybe something will happen that causes us to change direction, maybe it is something that the recipient just did, no matter what it is you realize the impossible timing it took for these “God moments” to even have taken place. Then on top of that from the people that you would least expect, based on their outward appearance and demeanor, will come a transformation like no other. Smiles will go to tears in a heartbeat and from them will come a testimony of a crisis they are right in the midst of. These are such amazing moments that we are absolutely convinced of His divine presence! These have happened numerous times over. Some are revealed immediately and some have taken over 7 years to come back around for us to hear of the miracle that took place that day. I am sure there will be some that we will not hear about until that day when we stand in the presence of Jesus. This is where my passion comes from to keep doing and promoting the free PACK program to believers around the world, now in 114 countries. God bless.
I am all for God moments. I did not realize PAKT was designed to bring them about. I will have to Google it. I am 99% done with my website Virtual Church Fellowship designed to move social small talk to faith-building God talk.