This post is about miracles today and a follow up to the November post which gave some information about miracles in bible times and on into the Middle Ages.
The basic question in this post is not so much about miracles, but rather about the question whether God exists and does he relate to us.
In the November post, Bernard of Clairvaux (1190-1153), was mentioned as being familiar with physical miracles of healing. However, as the Renaissance took effect the thinking of people changed in economics, politics, art and in religion. The church of that time had a host of problems which undoubtedly was not conducive to promoting and seeing miracles happen. History records that Martin Luther (1483- 1153) was familiar with the occurrence of physical healing. Now to fast forward to more recent times.
Following the Second World War there were numerous individuals, from differing church denominations or from no particular denomination, who emphasized prayer for the sick. Two of these were, Kathryn Kulman and Emily Gardner Neale.
In the mid 1970’s Dr. H Richard Casdorph M.D.,PhD interviewed 10 people who claimed to have been healed, following prayer, of serious medical conditions. This information is available in printed form in a book, ‘The Miracles, A Medical Doctor Says Yes To Miracles’. An overview of the contents can be seen on the internet by entering, “Is there a God? Ten healing miracles”.
As an individual who has taken an interest in this topic, I am able to relate some cases of healing that I am personally aware of.
When I was quite young, living in a rural setting, a middle aged man, a friend of the family, developed a severe case of arthritis and could only slowly move about with the help of a cane. He attended a service in a small country church where a visiting clergy said a prayer for him. After the service he could walk in a normal way without the use of a cane and was able to do so into his senior years.
I recently heard of a lady who had a serious problem in one of her eyes. After prayer in the church she attended, her eye was healed. She saw her doctor who said her eye was fine. I paid a visit to the minister of her church who verified the story. I asked if it was acceptable for anyone to call him to substantiate the above. His answer was in the affirmative.
A young mother had Crohn’s disease. She was prayed for in her church and felt that the disease was gone. She went to see her doctors to tell them that she thought the illness was nonextant. They at first didn’t agree but after further evaluation agreed that she was right. She related the above to a church audience.
This last narrative is about my own experience. Several years ago I felt tired and had difficulty getting from point A to point B. As time progressed I became short of breath and my legs started swelling. During all this time I frequently went to a large park adjacent to a large river and where there were relatively few people. Here I reviewed my relationship with God (Jesus was and is acceptable too!) but wasn’t experiencing any improvement. The swelling in my legs became more severe and very uncomfortable. One evening as I sat on the side of my bed and looked at my uncomfortable swollen legs I decided that the next morning I would arrange to see my physician. As I got into my bed, my legs, from my knees to my feet started tingling, but I didn’t pay a great deal of attention because I thought it was a part of my deteriorating condition. I quickly fell asleep and slept all night.
The next morning when I awoke I realized something had changed. I looked at my ankles and they were thin and I realized that God had intervened. I didn’t comment to anyone about what happened but decided to wait. A day or two later my wife observed that I had my “ankles back”. Also, I no longer had any difficulty breathing.
Someone may wonder why I didn’t go to a doctor when this problem first developed and that is a valid question. In this particular case there is an answer that is best dealt with in an other post. For the moment, to be clear, I have gone to doctors and still do.
One of the explanations given by doubters regarding physical healing is that there is no case of healing that can’t be explained by straight hysteria or psychological shock. When I was sitting on the side of my bed I was not hysterical and not experiencing some sort of psychological shock. In this case God responded to my request for help in a difficult situation, not because I deserved it, but because of his mercy.
I’m sure all of us see doctors for help, but on occasion our creator may step in to assist us.
As I stated before, God does exist and Jesus, as God, is alive. He resurrected. The tomb was empty.
Jesus can become part of your life. How? You can talk to him and ask him to do so. He can do that miracle for you today.
Alberta Atheism Theism Miracles and Deity 