The Miraculous Part 1
July 6, 2025
The Miraculous Part 1
Welcome to this week’s Daily Reflections on the subject of the miraculous.
Though reality is that our prayer may or may not be answered, and though it may not be answered in the form or substance we wish, why do we continue to pray? Why does every religion include the act of praying to the Divine?
As discussed earlier, one of the universal attributes of prayer is that it does change things, even if it is the mental perception and emotions of the one who prays.
Yes, transforming how we see the situation can reveal the answer we need. For example, there is something we need but cannot find. We know it must be there, but regardless of where we look, we cannot find it. The tension builds, depending on how much we value this thing, and the desperation mounts. These negative emotions block our vision and thinking processes so much that we “cannot see the forest for the trees.”
But when this happens at our house, and if we are conscious, we pray a miraculous but straightforward prayer — a Prayer to St. Anthony — its words are: “Oh Saint Anthony, please come around, something is lost that must be found.” This simple prayer has worked countless times, so we continue to pray it. The prayer lifts our anxiety— it is like part of heaven is now involved in the search. The relief allows us to perceive what our anxiety hid from us. We now see what may have been there all along and think of ideas we would never have thought of when we were anxious. Then the object appears, or we remember where we left it.
On a larger scale, any problem can be helped because anxiety is significantly reduced when we turn it over to a higher power. When our minds are on the activity of healing and wholeness instead of fear and dread, we are comforted, we are relieved, and we can see what we have not been able to see.
This idea is in all the Abrahamic religions and is found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah 26:3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” The peace received is a gift unto itself, whether or not the prayer is answered in the way we hoped.
And sometimes the answer to our prayer surpasses our wildest expectations. Yes, the exact thing we prayed for comes about in miraculous ways. As a young couple, Lark and I suffered from a miscarriage and years of infertility. Even though we entered an IVF program, our hearts’ deep desire to be parents went unmet. We felt discouraged and hopeless. We finally gave up on solving the problem by our own efforts and sought hope in the idea in 1 Peter 5:7 — “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Our prayer was no longer to be parents but, “Dear God, if you want us to be parents, please let it happen, and if you don’t, please take the desire away from us.” It was not too long before a beautiful baby boy was delivered into our arms. Our hearts were overwhelmed with joy.
Not all discouragement and hopelessness are answered the way we desire. There have been many other times our prayers yielded nothing. Only years later did we see any divine order in things not having unfolded as we prayed for.
Spiritual practice: Write down what your theology of prayer may be. Consider the issues of unanswered prayer, answered prayer, despair, hope, trust, and faith.
Self reflection: Why would you mistrust prayer?
Dear God,
I give you thanks and praise for the inestimable comfort and hope received in prayer. Grant that I trust even the “unanswered” prayer. Amen
