How often does something unusual happen and we say, “It’s a miracle”? Do miracles really happen today? How can we know if there are miracles today?

The only way we can know the answer to these questions is to examine them based on the inspired Word of God. Just as with any study, we need to put aside our own ideas about what we think and concentrate on finding the answer based on the truth of the scriptures.

Let’s study together what the scriptures say about a fascinating subject. It will take us through the lives of some interesting Bible characters and also give us the answer to our question, are there miracles today?

The Bible begins with the miracle of creation. We can walk through the Old Testament and read about the gift of a child for Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah. We read about the miracles surrounding the Children of Israel leaving Egypt: the bush that burned but was not consumed by fire, Moses’ hand made leprous and healed, Moses’ rod changed to a serpent, the ten plagues, the pillar of cloud and fire, and the parting of the Red Sea.

There were many miracles performed in the wilderness as the Children of Israel made their way to the Promised Land. The prophets provide us with a variety of miracles performed for a variety of reasons. Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire and a whirlwind. Elisha healed the water in Damascus so that it was drinkable. Elijah and Elisha both parted the Jordan River by striking it with Elijah’s mantle. Elisha healed Naaman of his leprosy. Elisha struck Gehazi with leprosy for lying and taking gifts from Naaman.

The New Testament provides us with healings of the lame, the deaf, the blind, the demon possessed, and lepers. The dead were made alive, and thousands were fed from a boy’s lunch. There were the “water” miracles. A storm was calmed; men walked on water. A tree withered; a man’s ear was replaced; and fishermen caught more fish than they could ever have expected to catch.

Miracles continued into the book of Acts as the apostles traveled throughout the world preaching the gospel to every creature. They too healed the sick and raised the dead, and they did it all in the name of the Lord.

Man did not do these miracles. God used man as a means to perform all the miracles we read about in the Bible.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a miracle as “An event that appears unexplainable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God”.

What was the purpose of the miracles? John 2:11 tells us. Jesus had just performed His first miracle, turning water into wine. John then tells us, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him” (KJV). This was Jesus’ first supernatural act, and it was proof of His divine power.

Paul performed miracles to prove his authenticity as an apostle. He said in Romans 15:18-19, “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient. In mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (NKJV).

Paul also said in II Corinthians 12:12, “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” The signs and wonders he performed were demonstrations of his apostleship.

Remember that Paul, formally known as Saul of Tarsus, had persecuted the Christians. Now he is a Christian, and his preaching and teaching needed authentication. The signs and wonders he performed did just that. From Paul escaping from prison in Acts 16 to his being bitten by a viper and suffering no harm in Acts 28, Paul proved that he had a supernatural power.

Agents of God performed the miracles mentioned above. Without God’s help, none of them would have been possible. There are those that claim to be agents of God today. They insist that they can perform miracles, especially the miracle of healing. What I want us to do is to look at the scriptures and see if that is possible. We will begin to do that in our next study.

Sandra Oliver