“Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?” -John 9:26.
If the Bible tells us to cast ALL our cares upon God, it stands to reason that some of His answers will be less notable than others; we want the BIG, the flashy & inexplicable, like when Jesus healed the man blind from birth in John chapter 9; yet the Pharisees would not admit even this!
Yet I hope that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to workings of God that may seem small, though not greatly miraculous, as so many look for. There are 3 types of overlooked miracles I list here, things that the faithless might call “coincidence;” 1) Times when God teaches us how to overcome. 2) Other times when we're led into steps of faith, before our miracle occurs. 3) Small things we've prayed about and see answers to privately or unexpectedly.
First, God's teaching may come either in a “how to” manner, or He reveals a resource for the task that we already have; we either weren't aware of what we have, or hadn't used it in the way we need. You might call it being creative with resources when we don't have the specific tool we want.
My “how to” example is when we tried praying ants out of our home! For several days we saw a great diminishing of their numbers (God heard), but they came back; and so we then learned how to make our own Terro repellant, which worked great! And we could even then help others with their ant problems! Scripture tells us;
“through knowledge shall the just be delivered.” -from Proverbs 11:9.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” -from James 1:17.
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” -2 Corinthians 1:3,4.
The “unaware” account came when I lost my coin purse in Africa, and had no idea where to find another. I prayed & prayed, but the Lord showed me we already had something else that would work! We hadn't known what to do with the small, 3” deposit bag, but it was a terrific substitute.
Secondly, there may be steps of faith God directs you in on His way to answering prayer. Such steps show that we trust Him, and want to do things His way. We can see this Biblically in numerous places, but I mention that Isaac was spared from sacrifice only after Abraham had prepared it, and traveled 3 days to the place appointed (Genesis 22:1-14); Naaman, the leperous Syrian, needed to wash in the Jordan 7 times before his healing (2 Kings 5:8-14); and the 10 lepers that Jesus cleansed received their healing only as they obeyed the Lord (Luke 17:12-14).
One time an antagonistic neighbor raked a big pile of leaves (not his leaves, 100'+ from his home) so kids could jump in them, very close to our bedroom! The next day was Saturday, when the expected ruckus would come. I wanted to go pick up the leaves after supper, but the Lord led me not to; showing that it would only stir up more strife with the neighbor.
And so I committed it to God, that He would handle it according to His will: can you guess what happened? That night I was awakened by an unforecast rain about 2 a.m! Those wet leaves were no fun to jump in, and the kids let them be. 2 weeks later I picked up those leaves after supper. PTL! So I received my “miracle” by following God's direction in faith, and not doing it myself.
Thirdly, I've known God to intervene in small things we hadn't directly asked for, but had given the need to Him in prayer. These are a kind of personal miracle few (if any) others will witness, and they are very encouraging.
One time money was tight, we hadn't had any meat for a few weeks. During early devotions one morning, I was bringing our food needs before the Lord; and while I thanked Him for giving enough, at one point I briefly lamented over the meat, and blurted out, “How good it would be just to have a simple hamburger!” -yet I never actually asked for meat, or a hamburger...
Later that day, as I returned from praying at a nearby park, I spied a white bag on the road ahead; directly in my path. The sides of the bag were up, and when I looked in it, I found a hamburger fully wrapped from a restaurant on the other side of town! I never asked God for it, but I remembered;
“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”-Psalm 34:15.
Bold type was added to emphasize; 1 Peter also contains these emphasized words.
Brethren, this was a miracle! We may not know all the particulars of how the burger was left there, but what are the odds? Exactly what I cried out about (and envisioned), the same day, directly in my walking path, the sides up, fully wrapped, with the restaurant across town. And to top it off, it was a cold winter day (upper 30s), thereby preserving it! Think about these verses, as well;
“For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.” -Psalm 22:24.
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,...” -Ephesians 3:20A.
And then there was a time my daughter & family faced their last money, but had a NEED for a number of things with what they had left-among them was toilet paper, for which was only enough for a very small amount. When she arrived at the store, she muttered, “God, please don't let us use a lot of toilet paper.”; they were a family of 4, with 2 girls in potty training! Wouldn't you know it? She found a large 18 count pack of t.p. in the parking lot, directly in her driving path; and there wasn't a sign of anyone around who might have dropped it. Brethren, we need to bring everything to the Lord!
I've known or heard of many such accounts (in addition to more of my own), but the shame of it all is that for many, their crying out to God this way is only very occasional, and they seldom share what He's already done in response to their cries.
We really must seek to make Jesus the LORD of every part of our lives. We need to accept our utter dependence on Him, and demonstrate it by practice; our faith will grow greatly, and we'll come to know the tremendous joy & privilege of a genuine, close walk with our God and Savior.
“6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:6,7.
“6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” -1 Peter 5:6,7.
“4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth
forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” -John 15:4,5.
I also have two YouTube videos on this subject A Pathway to Miracles and God's Unsung Miracles.
