Miracles may be defined as special divine actions—beyond the ordinary course of nature—that reveal God’s power and love for people. Most biblical and modern miracles involve healing from physical sickness, emotional suffering, and/or spiritual torment. By the most rigorous criteria, miraculous healing includes cure of an organic condition with an unquestionable diagnosis and incurable prognosis; a recovery that is instantaneous, complete, and permanent; with no possible natural or medical explanation (Keener 2011; Brown 2012; Healy 2015; Duffin 2009).

God performs miracles for many reasons. Jesus of Nazareth healed because he was moved by compassion (Matthew 9:36) and to fulfill prophecy—that the Messiah took up our infirmities and bore our diseases, and by his wounds we are healed (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4-5). Miracles also function as signs and wonders to reveal the power of the Spirit of God and to encourage acceptance of the good news that Jesus Christ came to save, heal, and deliver (Romans 15:19).

Miracles have been reported in many religions, but no historical figure has more miracles credited to him than Jesus of Nazareth (Twelftree 2011). Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity is the fasting growing religious movement in the modern world—with 635 million participants in 2020—largely because many people still experience Jesus as the most powerful healer (Brown 2011; Keener 2021). A miracle does not automatically validate a religion as true. God may act mercifully to heal inside or outside the visible boundaries of the Christian church. Miracle Series does not seek to invalidate miracle claims from religions other than Christianity but focuses on miracles performed in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We do not know. We do know that the devil came to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), but Jesus came to heal those under the power of the devil (Acts 10:38). Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of heaven coming near as he cured the sick (Matthew 4:23), healed the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18), and sent others to follow his example (Matthew 10:8). Jesus won the decisive battle against sin and sickness on the cross (Isaiah 53). But the war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan is unfinished (Revelation 12:7), and the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). Miracles offer hope as first fruits of God’s kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). When God makes all things new, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21: 4). 

Skeptics have argued that alleged miracles are invalidated by the known regularity of nature or, conversely, by the unknowability of nature; as scientific knowledge advances, we may discover natural explanations for healings that cannot currently be explained. These arguments do not account for a basic difference between “natural” laws and laws that people create. Natural laws describe how the natural world usually works, without prescribing how nature must always work. A God who is powerful enough to create the natural world is powerful enough to heal in usual or unusual ways. A healing may be miraculous—demonstrating God’s special action—without “violating” natural law. Most people—including those trained in science—believe in miracles. A 2004 survey reported that 73% of U.S. medical doctors believe in modern miracles; 59% of doctors pray for their patients, and 55% of doctors have seen miraculous outcomes. 

Some people interpret I Corinthians 13:8-10—when completeness comes, what is in part disappears—as teaching that spiritual gifts ceased after the completion of God’s revelation. In this view, we no longer need miracles, because we have the Bible as well as modern medicine. But 1 Corinthians 13:12 goes on to anticipate a future day when we will see God face to face. As long as sickness remains in this world, miracles will still be needed.

Jesus said: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” when the devil dared Jesus to jump off the temple to prove that God would rescue him (Matthew 4:7, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16). We shouldn’t intentionally put our health at risk. This is different from testifying to God’s power using the language and tools of medical science. Jesus told a leper to show himself to the priest as a testimony that God healed him (Matthew 8:4). Jesus also backed up his own claim to be the way to God by appealing to the evidence of his works of healing (John 14:11).

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) gives patients a right to request copies of their health information from providers for a reasonable fee. Patients may choose to share their medical records publicly.

If you or someone you know has experienced a miracle, we’d love to hear from you! We rejoice in every healing. Miracle Series focuses on healings with medical documentation—medical records reporting a diagnosis and an extraordinary cure unexplained by medical science. We may be able to help you request medical records from your health providers. Submit your testimony by clicking this link to our partners at the Global Medical Research Institute (GMRI).

Brown, Candy Gunther, ed. Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing. Oxford University Press, 2011.

Brown, Candy Gunther. Testing Prayer: Science and Healing. Harvard University Press, 2012.

Clark, Randy. Eyewitness to Miracles: Watching the Gospel Come to Life. Emanate, 2018.

Duffin, Jacalyn. Medical Miracles: Doctors, Saints, and Healing in the Modern World. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Frestadius, Simo and Claire Williams, eds. Signs, Wonder, and Miracles: Divine Action, Pentecostalism, and Science. CPT, 2025.

Healy, Mary. Healing: Bringing the Gift of God’s Mercy to the World. Our Sunday Visitor, 2015.

Keener, Craig S. Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. 2 vols. BakerAcademic, 2011.

Keener, Craig S. Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World. BakerAcademic, 2021. 

MacNutt, Francis. The Healing Reawakening: Reclaiming Our Lost Inheritance. Chosen, 2005.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for Miracles: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Supernatural. Zondervan, 2018.

Thelen, Mathias D. Biblical Foundations for the Role of Healing in Evangelization. Wipf & Stock, 2017.

Twelftree, Graham, H., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Miracles. Cambridge University Press, 2011.