I will define a miracle as an event that cannot be explained by natural laws or behaviors. Bible examples include: the sea parting for Moses and his people, a lost borrowed axe head floating to the top of the water, Jesus healing a man’s withered hand, and Peter finding a coin in a fish’s mouth for his and Jesus’ tax payment. Three common objections to the possibility of miracles are:
1. Science laws are predictable and consistent. Miracles are rare deviations. Rarity equals impossibility.
2. Science laws cannot be broken.
3. I have never seen any miracles.
1. Rarity does not automatically equal impossibility. For example, according to the Big Bang Theory, this universe was created only once. Also, extremely rare genetic traits can occur. And, only one person exactly like you has ever been born.
2. Science laws don’t have to be broken to have a miracle. Even non-miraculous events can get around science laws. Is a science law broken when someone rides in an airplane? Is such flight impossible because it breaks the law of gravity? No, the law of gravity is not broken. Instead, the law of gravity is temporarily overwhelmed by the airplane. If natural people can devise a way to temporarily overwhelm a natural law, a supernatural being can do the same.
3. Should we all expect to see miracles for them to be possible? First off, the amount of miracles reported in the Bible varies from book to book and even within certain books (ie. there are more miracles in the early parts of Joshua and Acts than later on). Thus, even in the Bible times, miracles may not have happened with equal frequently at all points of history. Thus, I feel comfortable in saying nobody should expect to see miracles every day. But should anyone today ever expect to ever see a miracle? To address that question, the purpose of miracles in the Bible should be examined. From what I can see, Bible miracles served one or more of these purposes:
- Authenticate someone or a group as having a special calling (confirm to God’s people that the claims the person or people are making are true);
- Provide a glimpse of heaven;
- Show compassion;
- Accomplish a task that was best accomplished with a miracle;
- Encourage and/or protect a person or a group.
A & B. The most important example of authentication is Jesus’ miracles attesting to him actually being the promised messiah. His greatest miracle was his resurrection from the dead, but the Gospels also record other miracles of Jesus. Other Bible people also had miracles to authenticate their roles. These include Moses, Joshua, the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and the apostles. In Bible sections where authentications were not occurring, fewer miracles were recorded.
In the authentication sections of the Bible, the primary audience needing validation were people that already believed in the right God or were seeking that God. The miracles were generally not for winning over cynics. I talk about this more in a future writing on this site (about the hiddenness of God).
Despite what I just said, Bible miracles were sometimes witnessed by people who were not in a good spiritual place. For example, Jesus did certain miracles in front of some not-so-good religious leaders. These leaders claimed to follow the “right” God, but really opposed that God. For the most part, the miracles did not convert these individuals and weren’t intended to. In fact, Jesus wouldn’t do miracles to put on a show (discussed more in this site’s future hiddenness writing). Instead, the miracles mostly verified to believers or seekers that Jesus was who he claimed to be.
To examine another example, Moses was in charge of a transition of slave people into a nation. His initial miracles were intended to rally people behind him and to get Pharaoh to let his people go. These miracles were not an effort to convert hard hearted Pharaoh into following Moses’ God. Why Pharaoh had that hard heart has sparked theological debates, but that’s not for this writing.
In contrast to what I just emphasized, God could use a miracle to draw in a skeptic. However, this doesn’t seem to be standard operating procedure (see more in the future hiddenness writing). On the other hand, a person seeking God can look at the historical miracles as part of a faith building process. In other site writings, I will talk about the reliability of the Bible accounts of Jesus’ resurrection and his other miracles.
Besides authentication purposes, Biblical miracles also gave a taste of the eternal world to come. For instance, when Jesus healed someone, a glimpse was given into what heaven is like. In that world, God: “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Some people will argue that A and B have now been accomplished. The Bible never directly says that (especially for parts of the world that have had limited exposure to Jesus’ teachings). Nonetheless, it would seem that miracles for authentication reasons would now be rare if at all. Thus, a person may be less likely to see a miracle now than in Moses or Jesus’ public ministry days.
C. Matthew 14:14 says the following: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” In another place in Matthew (15:32), it says: “Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” Jesus then proceeds to feed the group through a miracle. We also see compassion motivated Bible miracles in other places such Kings 6:1-6. A person was distraught because a borrowed axe head was lost in a body of water. However, a “man of God” is able to make the axe head floats to the top.
This reason for God doing miracles was given no expiration date in the Bible. Yet, as much as I hate to say this, God’s ultimate compassion does not play out fully until the future world noted in the Revelation verse cited above. The Bible says that in this world, we have tribulation and suffering. This includes prayers for healing that don’t turn out the way we want. I know this firsthand. I saw my son die indirectly due to a rare form of cancer. I will say more about this topic in another writing on this site. Thus, wishing for a miracle that doesn’t happen doesn’t prove that miracles can’t occur.
D. Bible examples of miracles done to encourage and/or protect people involved Gideon, the people of Judea under King Jehosophat, Elisha and his servant, King Hezekiah, and a group of persecuted believers who had a house shake while they were praying. These occurrences in the Bible do not seem to happen to most people and do not follow a formula. In regard to not having a formula, we have two opposite narratives with Doubting Thomas (John 20:24-29) and King Ahaz (Isaiah 7:10-11). Thomas refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection without physically participating in a miracle. Jesus gave him the miracle but said Thomas would have been more blessed if he had believed without the miracle. In another Biblical example, Queen Esther risks her life with no miracles or revelations. On the other hand, a prophet told King Ahaz: “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” The king refused to ask for such a miracle. In fact, he seemed humble and godly, though several Biblical comments about him were not complimentary. The prophet said that the King answered all wrong. In response, God orchestrated some natural events, the last of which was a disaster for the kingdom.
In summary, I see no reason God can’t still do a miracle to encourage and/or protect, but the Bible doesn’t guarantee great frequency. In fact, it’s often better for a person to act well without a miracle. So again, people not seeing a miracle doesn’t prove they don’t occur.
D. God did some miracles in the Bible just to get a job done (like giving people water from a rock in the desert or sending ravens to feed a prophet). However, most of the time, in the Bible and today, God’s will can be accomplished without miracles. That doesn’t mean God is not at work in these times. We just don’t notice scientific laws and patterns being overwhelmed in these times.
Can we do anything to make a miracle more likely?
Some Biblical miracles seem to happen with people who were not acting overly pious. As already noted, King Ahaz was offered a miracle despite not following God very well. Similarly, one man whom Jesus healed wasn’t especially holy nor was he praying to God for a miracle (John 5).
Despite these exceptions, many people may never see a miracle due to not being in the ideal position. Most Bible miracles happened to or around people who were praying regularly and carrying out God’s purposes. Having expectancy might have also helped at least some of the time. Jesus communicated expectancy in John 14:11-12 when Jesus said that his followers could do miracles.
Sometimes, Bible miracles happened to people who prayed for them specifically. At some times, group commitment to God, each other, and to prayer for miracles may have been especially effective (ie. Acts 4:30). A person could even have a type of faith that knows a prayer request, including a prayer for a miracle, will happen exactly as being requested. For instance, a Bible passage says: “Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:22-24). As I discuss in my book God Leads Personally, this type of faith has to be imparted by God. One can’t work it up by mental gymnastics. Also, certain individuals may have a special gifting to pray for miracles (1 Corinthians 12:10). Some Christians argue that these gifts ceased. I disagree, but that’s beyond the scope of the current writing.
It also seems reasonable that Christians should regularly pray with faith that God will just do whatever works best (without always asking for a miracle per se). God might respond by sending a miracle. One of the great miracles of the Bible happened after three men said they didn’t know if God would do a miracle or not (Daniel 3:16-30).
Other factors may also come into play including some only known to God. My main point of this section is this: it is possible that not seeing miracles may sometimes be caused by not being in the right position.
If you want to read about modern miracle claims, read a book by investigative reporter Lee Stroebel.
Conclusions. No scientific reason says miracles cannot occur if a supernatural God exists. The fact that most people have not seen miracles doesn’t mean they can’t happen. Two of the reasons for miracles in the Bible may now be either completely or mostly gone. Therefore, the number of miracles may have declined since the Bible writing period ended. Other Biblical reasons for miracles still exist, but the Bible doesn’t spell out expectations about frequency. A person’s spiritual position and expectancy may make seeing a miracle more likely. However, the Bible doesn’t give any formulas for this.