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contents
Introduction: A Miracle at Any Moment 9
1. Do Miracles Still Happen? 13
The Vast Majority Believe
2. God Moves in Many Mysterious Ways 27
Exploring the Levels o Divine Intervention
3. The Real Deal 41
What Constitutes an Actual Miracle?
4. The Meaning o Miracles 55Why Does God Choose to Intervene?
5. What Skeptics Say 69
Is It Possible to Prove Miracles?
6. God, Are You Listening? 87
Thoughts About Earning a Miracle
7. Wonder-Workers and Miracle Makers 99
Are Some Especially Gited to Serve As Conduits o Divine
Intervention?
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Contents
8. Gods Favor or Good Fortune? 115
Coincidences Do Happen. So Does Divine Involvement
9. Powerul Promptings 127
When God Speaks to Us in a Still, Small Voice
10. The Dancing Hand o God 141
Can Prayer Produce a Miracle?
11. Back From the Dead 155
The Penultimate Miracle: Dying and Returning to Lie
12. Heavens Special Forces 169
When God Sends His Angels to Intervene
13. Miracle Mongers: Phonies and Frauds 181
Beware o Scams and Schemes in Gods Name
14. Whats Old Is New 197
Miracles From Eras Past Give Us Hope or the Present
15. In the Nick o Time 209
Does God Oten Show Up at the Very Last Moment?
16. Are Some People Miracle Magnets? 223
Certain Folks Seem to Attract Supernatural Encounters
17. Beware o Being a Miracle Chaser 237Developing Character Trumps Flashy Spiritual Encounters
Epilogue: When Miracles Dont Happen 243
You Hoped and Prayed and Waited . . . What Now?
Notes 253
Acknowledgments 259About the Authors 265
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introduction
a Mir acle at an y MoMent
When was the last time you hoped or and prayed
or a miracle?
A better question: When was the last timeyou witnessed or even received a miracle in your lie?
Frequently we hear the words What we need is a miracle!
They come rom:
friendsandfamilyatthebedsideofasicklovedone
coupleshuddledoverthestackofmonthlybillsatthe
kitchen table
farmersinthegripofacripplingdrought
parentsheartsickovertheirwaywardchild
peopleunemployedanddesperateforapaycheck
spousesclingingtoahopetheycankeeptheirmarriage
together
In act, we hear pleas or a miracle any time we hope or
something marvelous, wondrous, extraordinary, and amazing
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to happensomething that will meet our deepest needs and
desires in an instant o supernatural intervention.
Many are inatuated with the notion that miracles happen,
but do most people really believe they do? Or is the idea pri-
marily a relic o a primitive, superstitious past? Do apparent
miracles point to a deeper spiritual reality, or are they merely
evidence o the human capacity or wishul thinking and
sel-delusion?
Ater all, we pride ourselves on being rational people,swayed only by hard evidence and measurable results. By
denition, miracles boggle the mind, astound the senses,
stagger the imagination, and, yes, dey reason. What place
can they possibly have in a society populated by seasoned
skeptics and doubters o all things paranormal?
In short, are miracles real? I the answer is yes, then what
do we make o them in todays world?
These are among the questions well address as we explore
Gods powerul and miraculous presence, even in spiritually
malnourished times. Along the way, well present true-lie
storiestold accurately and authenticallyabout people
who have experienced miracles.
In Jesus day, people turned out by the thousands to seeand receive miracles o every kind. He healed their diseases,
turned water to wine, walked on stormy seas, ed a multi-
tude with little more than a sack luncheven gave lie back
to dead people. Who wouldnt drop everything and rush to
the countryside to see such things? Who wouldnt believe in
miracles aterward? I only wed been there too!
Well, or anyone yearning to know the truth about miracles,
theres good news: Time travel isnt necessary. Ater exam-
ining hundreds o real-lie stories told by ordinary people,
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weve conrmed what we all secretly hopethat lie-changing
miracles do still occur, and with surprising requency. Inex-
plicable events that conound logic, and oten the very laws
o science as we currently understand them, still oer un-
mistakable evidence o Gods daily involvement in our lives.
We have come to believe, and hope you will, too, that
miracles are not the ew and ar between phenomena weve
taken them to be, reserved or supposed saints and on ex-
traordinary occasions. Miracles just might be more tightlywoven into the abric o our reality than we recognize. C. S.
Lewis once said: Miracles are a retelling in small letters o
the very same story written across the whole world in letters
too large or some o us to see.1
As you read on, we think youll come to agree with his
assessment. Each o the ollowing chapters eatures a true
story o someone who experienced a miracle. In many cases,
one o us personally knows the individual being proled. In
other instances, the people were reerred to us by someone
whose credibility and integrity we trust.
Also included in each chapter is a closer look at some aspect
o miracles that sparks interest within nearly everyones heart,
dealing with issues such as whether or not we can persuadeGod to act, how angels carry out heavenly missions, and why
some people experience one miracle or many miracles and
others none at all.
Our purposes are simple and straightorward. We want
to show that:
God is alive, well, and intensely interested in your life.
Some people, especially in times o hardship and heartache,
eel that God is a distant observer, nonchalant about the
details o our personal daily existence. A close examination
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o modern-day miracles will prove resoundingly otherwise.
Whether youre in need o minor or major intervention, God
cares deeply about your needs and circumstances. To put it
more directly, God cares deeply about you.
Not only do miracles happen, but they still happen today.
Throughout recorded history, miracles have taken a place
among the most revered accounts and narratives. Some people
call these myths, olklore, or legends. To others, miracle sto-
ries represent Gods mighty handiwork among his creation.We believe the Bible is our true guide or every aspect o lie;
its Gods message to humankind, and its our reliable source
or wisdom and guidance regarding miracles.
Regarding the supernatural, the best way to livethe only
way to liveis to believe that a miracle could happen at any
moment. The clich says, Hope springs eternal. But this
isnt always true. In our most trying times, its easy to lose
hope and give in to despair. The stories and subject matter o
this book are intended to show that God is ully capable o
doing a great work in your lie or the lie o someone you love.
Every word in the pages to ollow arms and validates what
the apostle Paul said: God is able to do immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is atwork within us.2 To anyone who has a dreamed-or desire,
a desperate plea, or a dire need, these are words to live by.
I its a miracle you need, and you wonder whether God
could do something phenomenal in your lie, keep reading,
and hold on to those words: immeasurably more than all we
ask or imagine.
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1
doMiracles stillhappen?
the vast M ajor ity Believe
On a cold and snowy Sunday evening in March 1990,
Curt Jensens nerves were rayed beore the youth
choir road trip he was in charge o even let the
parking lot.
Eighty-plus junior high teens rom Denvers Rocky Moun-
tain Community Church were nally corralled and loaded
into a tour bus and passenger van. It seemed enough luggageto last a year had been stowed. Curt, the youth pastor, made
one last head count and one last check to ensure he had
everything needed to play ringmaster to this traveling circus
over the coming eight days. Ater months o planning, their
concert tour o Idaho at last was set or takeo.
Curt was accompanied by his pregnant wie, Lori, and a
handul o adult chaperones. Among them was Karen Wilson,
owner and operator o the sound equipment packed into
the caravans third vehicle, a Chevy Blazer on loan rom a
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It was windswept country at the best o times, but past mid-
night, with the storm gaining strength, it seemed a deso-
late and empty wilderness. Snowall increased steadily, and
patches o black iceinvisible and treacherousbegan to
make themselves known without warning on the highway.
Driving in the lead, Curt slowed to around orty.
Wed passed through Laramie and Rawlins with no prob-
lems, he said. Then, about twenty-ve miles east o Rock
Springs, we came up to a spot where the interstate curved tothe right. I turned the wheel and touched the brakes, but the
Blazer just kept going straight. We were on black ice, and
there was nothing I could do.
As the ront drivers-side tire let the pavement, it hit sot
snow and dug in, coming to a sudden stop. The Blazer in-
stantly started to roll, carried orward by its momentum. Curt
braced against the steering wheel, helpless to do anything
but ride it out.
The vehicle fipped three times in a sickening thunder o
buckling metal, breaking glass, and the whump o equip-
ment crashing around. The Blazer came to rest on its roo.
Curt was rattled yet not injured, hanging head-down in his
seat belt.Dennis, momentarily knocked unconscious, quickly came
to when Curt called his name. Hed bumped his head and
suered just a bruised shoulder. They could hear Johnny
crying in the backseat.
Ater seeing we were both okay, I told Dennis we had to
get the kids out, Curt recalled. We opened the doors and
got ourselves ree. It was pitch black, except or the headlights
and the dome light, which struck me as a strange sight, shin-
ing up rom the ground like that.
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They reed Johnny rom his seat belt and rapidly checked
him over or injuries. Aside rom a small orehead cut, he
appeared to be unharmed. By this time, the van had come
to a sae stop ahead o the scene. Curt passed Johnny to its
driver to get him out o the reezing cold.
But it took no time to determine that Jackie was not in
her seat. They searched in the back where the speakers and
ampliers lay in a jumble. She wasnt there either. The glass
was gone rom the window where shed been resting her head.I knew then she must have been thrown rom the vehicle,
and we started hunting all around in the snow, Curt said.
We couldnt see anything. I couldnt even tell which direc-
tion wed come rom. We searched and called her name but
ound nothing. I was close to losing it, thinking over and over,
What have I done?
By then, several passing truck drivers had stopped to help.
They brought fashlights and pitched in to comb the ground
in every direction. Still, they ound no trace o the girl.
Finally, someone suggested the unthinkablethat Jackie
might be underthe Blazer. Curt, Dennis, and six or eight truck-
ers managed to turn it onto its side. Flashlights converged on
the sight they dreaded above any other: Jackie lay in the snow,horribly injured. Cuts covered her ace and arms, and blood
ran rom her nose. Her skin was blue, and her head appeared
to be crushed. Her disgured arm obviously was broken.
She looked dead, Curt remembered. She wasnt moving
or breathing. Id had CPR training, so without even think-
ing I dropped beside her to see i I could nd a heartbeat. I
put my ear to her ace and couldnt hear a breath, but I did
detect a very aint pulse. I thanked God that at least there
was still a chance.
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He immediately began administering cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, enlisting others to compress Jackies chest at
the appropriate times while he concentrated on breathing
or her. Ater two or three minutes, she coughed, and Curt
heard a gurgling sound in her chest when he blew air into
her lungs. A trucker produced a piece o heavy cardboard,
and they slid her onto it. Another brought blankets to wrap
her broken body.
Back at the van, three adults and ourteen teenagers caredor Johnnyand prayed with all their might.
The clock itsel seemed to reeze or the next eighty min-
utes, the time it took or an ambulance to come rom Rock
Springs. Icy conditions made speed impossible. Curt never
let Jackies side, giving her continuous CPR. Her pulse re-
mained aint, yet she was never able to breathe independently.
When the ambulance nally arrived, there was a tense
moment because it nearly slid o the road itsel, Curt re-
called. The crew took over and conrmed she had a slight
pulse, but they said it was likely her lungs were collapsed.
They checked the rest o us as well; we were ne. They moved
her to the ambulance, and I rode with them to the hospital
in Rock Springs.State police gave them an escort; they also issued an alert
or ocers to locate the bus on the road ahead and inorm
Lori and Karen about what had happened.
R
Emergency room doctors conrmed what Curt intuitively
had known: Jackie was bleeding internally, her lungs had
collapsed, her skull was badly ractured, and her brain was
hemorrhaging. She had a broken let arm and multiple cuts
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and contusions, several o which had required stitches. She
still could not breathe on her own.
It seemed like every teen minutes or so they came out
and told me more bad news, Curt recalled. In essence they
said she probably wouldnt live. I elt lost, but by this time
the van had gotten there, and I remember the waiting room
was ull o teenagers, all on their knees praying.
Three hours later, the decision was made to airlit Jackie to
a childrens hospital in Salt Lake Citybut the winter stormhad grounded all fights or the time being. It took another
three hours beore they had clearance to go. In the meantime,
the authorities had caught up with the tour bus. Ocers drove
Karen and Lori all the way rom Evanston, arriving beore
the helicopter touched down on the hospital roo.
Ater the fight let or Salt Lake, I literally almost gave up,
Curt said. I could barely even pray anymore. I was physically
and emotionally exhausted, but there was a totaled vehicle to
deal with, and I had to think about what to do with the sound
equipment, how to care or the kids rom the van, whether to
continue on with the trip. To be honest, I wasnt doing well.
He went through the motions; he took the group to break-
ast and did his best to comort and reassure them. Inside,though, he was a tangle o guilt and doubt. How could he
have missed the ice on the road? What could he have done
dierently to keep Jackie sae? Now shed likely die or, i she
survived, shed be severely challenged or the rest o her lie.
Please, God, have mercy was the only prayer he could utter.
Around one p.m., Curt called Lori rom a pay phone, his
hands shaking as he dialed the hospital. He was terried o
the news he might hear when his wie nally came to the
phone. She answered at last.
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Yes, she said, the helicopter had arrived. Yes, she and
Karen met the gurney as nurses wheeled it in. No, Jackie
actually looked pretty goodshed opened her eyes and
said Mommy when Karen came to her side. Right, the
doctors were shocked, since thats not what they were told
to expect, but ater re-running all the tests, they couldnt nd
anything wrong with her.
What? That cant be, Curt stammered. Hed seen Jack-
ies crushed body with his own eyes, had lited her rom the
snow, had kept her alive or more than an hour when she
couldnt breathe by hersel. Hed seen the looks on the doc-
tors aces in Rock Springs when theyd told him not to hold
out hope. What do you mean, shes fne?
I literally argued with my wie on the phone, he said. It
was very dicult or me to accept. I couldnt be overjoyed atthe news. Id allen so low I couldnt get back to that place
quickly. I just kept thinking, How? O course, I knew there
could only be one answer: God had healed her. But Id seen
too much that night to believe it right away.
Five hours later, the crowded van arrived in Salt Lake
City. When Curt walked into Jackies room, she sat up inbed, smiled, and said, Hi. The disguring injuries that
had haunted his imagination were gone. Even her cuts and
bruises looked minor and well on the way to healing.
I didnt know what to say, he remembered. Everyone
was acting like it was no big deal, but I said, You dont un-
derstand! I just cried. I touched her head and her arm. I asked
about her lungs and the bleeding. Absolutely no problems,
they said. I got the eeling they thought Id been exaggerating
and that shed never been as bad o as I said.
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What about the X-rays taken in the ER? In act, doctors in
Salt Lake initially were upset with doctors in Rock Springs
or sending the wrong results. Or perhaps theyd sent the
wrong girl? All were eventually compelled to admit that some-
where, in the air over southwestern Wyoming, something
miraculous had happened.
R
Jackie was released ater two days o observation. Karentook her kids home. The concerts proceeded as planned,
and the choir perormed or packed auditoriums all along
the way. Word had spread o Jackies healing, and everyone
wanted to hear the story.
Many people came to the Lord or the rst time that
week, Curt said. But hearing what God had done or Jackie
was just as meaningul or those who had been Christians
or years. Theyd never seen Gods power at work so up close
and personal.
As the tour caravan passed through Rock Springs on their
way back to Colorado the ollowing Saturday, they stopped
at a Burger King. Halway through his meal, Curt noticed an
ambulance pull into the parking lot. Several EMTs hurried inand made a beeline or his table. He recognized some rom
the crew that responded the night o the accident. Theyd
learned o Jackies healing and wanted to hear more directly
rom Curt.
Tell us everything, they said excitedly.
They listened to his account. They peppered him with
questions.
Do you believe in miracles? one o the young men asked
at last. Because we sure do now.
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A Closer Look
How would youanswer? I youre like most people, youd likely
say yes, given that 80 percent o Americans believe in miracles.
In act, more people think miracles happen than believe the
Bible is Gods Word (40 percent) or pray daily (50 percent).1
I you dont believe in miracles, perhaps you wish you
could. Ater all, its a reasonable guess that an interest in
miracles is the reason you picked up this book.But wanting to believe (or even believing) that miracles
are possible doesnt mean we dont wrestle with stubborn
questions like these . . .
Miracles might be possible, but do they actually still
happen?
Is there a God whos involved in the aspectsbig and
littleo our lives?
Does prayer work?
Can God do a miracle or me?
If I pray for a miracle and it doesnt happen, what does
that mean? Does God still love me?
Most people have pondered similar questions at some
point. Perhaps youve considered them many timesespe-cially during tough seasons, when you or someone you loved
was hurting and needed a change o ortune, i not ull-
fedged divine intervention.
We want to believe in miracles.
More important, we want to believe they can happen to
us and the people we love.
Even so, situations can be hard, circumstances can be pain-
ul, and disillusionment is common. Hanging on to what we
desire to believe oten isnt easy at all.
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Why We Doubt, Why We Believe
Most o us, at least in some way, at some time, have strug-gled with believing theres a loving God whos ready and
willing to intervene on our behal. Why do we struggle so?
What gets in our way?
Lie.
Every day, our aith (in God, miracles, love, hope, you
name it) is challenged by things we experience and events wewitness. When theres pain or suering, in our own lives or
in the lives o those around us, we may nd ourselves ques-
tioning and wondering. When theres pain or suering on a
global scale, were disturbed. When we dont see what we
interpret as divine intervention, we doubt.
Added to our personal questions are the negative messages
we requently hear rom the relative ew who decry belie in
miracles as something to be dismissed or even scorned. It
didnt used to be this way. For centuries, belie in the super-
natural wasnt ridiculed but respected. In a dierent time,
many o the greatest scholars also were people o aith who
armed the miraculous.
Even ater this began gradually to change, aith was wellrepresented among those trained and renowned in the sci-
ences. Just three examples:
During the Age o Reason, Blaise Pascal was known or
brilliant advancements in math and physics as well as or
passionate deense o the Christian aith.
Isaac Newton ervently studied the Bible and described
God as the rst cause that explains how the universe came
about.
Juan Lobkowitz, who initially published astronomy tables
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when he was ten, became a Cistercian monk and wrote ser-
mons and works o theology.
Not until the late 1800s did a small but vocal minority
cast widespread doubt on belie in the Bible and in miracles
generally. Some o those who contributed to the attack were
biologist Charles Darwin (who recast the creation story to
eliminate God, mystery, and miracle); philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche (who declared God to be dead); and theologians
Julius Wellhausen and Rudol Bultmann (who labeled Scrip-ture a myth).
The long shadow o skepticism was cast.
And yet . . .
And yet people still believe. Despite what many scientists
and academicians would tell us, despite constant pain and
suering all around us, despite our own struggles through
personal wildernesses o doubt and aith, most o us still
believe. In God. In prayer. In heaven touching earth.
Yes, we still believe that God intervenes in our lives in
desperate moments when it seems to matter most. We believe
miracles are or real.
Theres no question about it: Jackies healing was a miracle.
Theres also no question that our minds struggle to grasp theimpossibility o her almost-immediate restoration to health
even as our spirits soar at the thought.
Obviously, a crushed body made inexplicably whole dur-
ing a brie fight or lie is supernatural. Are there also
other kinds o divine intervention? Can a coincidence be a
miracle? Is ortuitous timing a miracle? What about a much-
needed change, preceded by great eort and hard workcant
that be a miracle too?
Jackies story is truly amazing, and in the coming pages
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well share more that will leave you encouraged and in awe.
But rst, a ew things to know about miracles.
What Kind of Miracle Are You Seeking?
Jesus perormed miracles in ve dierent arenas common
to humanity.
He intervened in the human heart,which we call salvation.
He intervened in the human body, which we call healing.He intervened in humanemotions,which we call deliverance.
He intervened in nature, such as when he calmed the storm.
He intervened in death by raising people rom the dead.
I youre in need o a touch rom heaven, what are you
longing or? Do you or someone you love need a miracle o
the heart? The body? The emotions? Do you need something
in your world to change? Do you need victory in some area?
Finally, are you longing or a work o creation or o
providence?
Miracles o creation supersede natures basic known
laws. We see creative miracles throughout the Bible, such
as when Jesus multiplied ve sh and two loaves o bread
into enough ood to eed ve thousand men plus womenand children. Or when God created the energy to divide
the Red Sea. Or when Jesus made blind eyes see, or turned
water into wine.
As or miracles o provision, providence reers to Gods
intervention at a critical moment. That is, these are miracles
o timing, also ound throughout Scripture.
Sometimes Jesus accelerated an event so that it happened
sooner or delayed an event so that it took place later than
it normally would have. Sometimes he made things happen
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precisely when he dictated rather than letting them take their
natural course.
The g tree withering and dying beore its time was a provi-
dential miracle. Jerichos walls collapsing exactly when the
Israelites blew their trumpets was providential. Demons being
cast out o people ahead o schedulealso providential.2
R
Youve picked up this book or a reason. Whatever it is,we invite you to open your heart and mind to the people and
stories in its pages. I you have personal doubts or unanswered
questions, read on. Inspiration and answers lie just ahead.
Despite tough times, despite pain and sueringeven
despite our seasons o disillusionment or doubtmiracles
really do happen. Can they happen in your lie?
Lets nd out.