It’s a Miracle!
by Nancy Hassett Dahm

Miracles happen every day to ordinary people living ordinary lives. So why don’t we hear more about these incredible events? Perhaps people want to keep secret what is most precious and private to them. Or perhaps there is a fear of being called a zealot, and therefore not to be taken seriously. Or maybe as a society, we have “outgrown” our sensitivity to things beyond our understanding and control. Whatever the reasons for not revealing what would be considered by many to be miracles—we should reconsider and tell all. Why? We should reveal miracles in order to keep hope alive, to keep faith alive, and to keep the belief in possibilities alive.

Just what exactly is a miracle? The Baker’s Dictionary of the Bible defines a miracle as “an event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God.” Webster’s Dictionary states that a miracle is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.”

Now that we know what a miracle is, how many people believe they occur? A 2003 Harris Poll survey of 2,201 adults found that 84 % of the public believes in miracles.  What is interesting is that many people believe in miracles without ever having experienced one. It is enough to know that it has happened to others for a belief system to manifest itself as a self-held truth.

It was long theorized that science and matters of divine supernatural nature do not mix well. Today, Medicine, natural healing, prayer and miracles are becoming less delineated and more incorporated into the culture of medicine and everyday life. Though there are skeptics in our midst, there are more and more professional caregivers who are willing to acknowledge that divine intervention is the reason for many unexplained medical recoveries.

Scientists have been studying the effects of prayer on the body for decades. Prayer and meditation can have an effect on the physiological function of the body by lowering stress, blood pressure, heart rate, and producing a sense of well being. People who pray and meditate improve their health because of the positive benefits of “tuning out” a stressed environment. But can prayer and meditation cure an affliction? Can prayer and meditation make miracles happen? This is definitely something that cannot be proven under any circumstances. The closest thing to an explanation is that something has occurred to interfere in the probable course of an event. The subject of the effects of prayer is gaining momentum in the halls of science where studies are being conducted in the power of prayer to heal. There have been studies conducted on the effects of remote prayer and healing. In these studies, people who are ill are unknowingly prayed for by others. There is enough evidence to support that prayer does make a difference. Prayer studies have doubled in recent years. Even the National Institutes of Health is conducting a prayer study.

When a “big” prayer is answered, can we prove it was a miracle? To those of us who have received one, we need no proof. We just know that it was. The experience is one of an internal recognition that is so indescribably profound as to alter your life forever. I revel in the belief that I was blessed with not one, but several miracles during the course of my life. When I was 22 years old, I resuscitated my father. After many failed attempts, I called out in desperation for Heaven’s help and immediately received it as my father gasped in air! Later, I learned he had suffered a brain hemorrhage and had stopped breathing. He recovered six weeks later without surgery. Another time I prayed for my mother’s life when much of her heart was damaged after suffering several heart attacks in a single day. I pleaded, bargained, begged, and offered myself in her stead—anything to get heard. They say prayers are always answered. Sometimes the answer is no. This day the answer was yes. She lived happily for another 22 years! Shortly after my mother passed, I was working as a nurse. I was alone in the operating room, preparing for the next patient when thoughts of my mother filled me (she too had been a nurse). I prayed to her for a sign that she is happy in Heaven and I asked her to close the hole in my heart as her sign. The hole was a defect that I had since birth, but this defect was a catalyzing factor that forged a strong mother-daughter love in my youth. Soon after my request for a sign, I discovered by chance that the hole in my heart had closed! I knew that was a miracle. Over the years, four physicians were of the opinion it was indeed a miracle! For me, the miracle was her sign that she was happy in Heaven.

Then there is Rosie from California who was diagnosed with uterine cancer that had metastasized to her liver and lung. She was given six months to live. One rainy day at a book-signing event, the artist Thomas Kinkade stopped everything to hold an impromptu prayer session after hearing about Rosie from her friend. She has been cancer free since that day, four years ago. You can read the entire Story of Rosie at www.cancerbook.com.

End-stage “dying” cancer patients (4.4 %) walk out of Calvary Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center each year—cancer free! Miracles happen every day- big and small, quiet and loud, known and unknown. We don’t need scientific studies to confirm the power of prayer or the power of the mind to heal the body. Prayer is powerful. Meditation is powerful. All we need is faith, courage and the belief that anything is possible!

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Nancy Hassett Dahm is the author of the internationally acclaimed book Mind, Body, and Soul; A Guide to Living with Cancer. Visit her website at www.cancerbook.com

Nancy Hassett Dahm is a registered nurse and author. Her articles "Walking the Road to Spirituality" and "How to Get What You Need for Free" were published in Coping Magazine 2003.