God, I need a miracle, but perhaps I need something more, and that is what God offers me and you. Something of depth and hope.
Quick answer: When life falls apart, it is natural to cry out, “God, I need a miracle.” God does still do miracles, but in mental health recovery they rarely look like a magic wand. More often the miracle arrives through partnership: a doctor, a counsellor, the right medication, a friend who listens, a good night’s sleep, a tiny new habit in the brain. Like the man in the flood waiting for God while ignoring the boats and the helicopter, we can miss the help God is already sending because it doesn’t look supernatural enough. The deeper miracle is knowing God in the middle of the struggle, not only being rescued from it.
In this article:
- God flies a helicopter
- Elijah’s miracle: a nap and a meal
- The miracles of partnership
- When the miracle doesn’t come
- How to notice the small miracles
There are times in life when there is a cry from the heart for a miracle. It’s that diagnosis, the loss of a job, a relationship breakdown, a financial loss. It’s the depression that won’t lift, the anxiety that grips your chest at 3am, the addiction you swore you’d beat last year.
Search your heart, and you will know the times when you have cried out, ‘God, I need a miracle.’
I have prayed that prayer. I have sat with many people over the years who have prayed it too, sometimes through tears, sometimes through clenched teeth.
What Is a Miracle?
One definition describes a miracle as ‘an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs’, for example, the healing miracles described in the Gospels.
The word miracle comes from the Latin mīror (“to wonder at”) and mīrus (“wonderful”), which in turn go back to an ancient root meaning “to smile, to be astonished.”
A miracle should cause you to be astonished, to smile and to wonder. It should cause you to think about something beyond yourself.
Take note that in these definitions, there is no sense of a time frame. We add the time frame, which is usually in the impatient NOW!
We Want It All, and We Want It Now
We, like impatient, demanding toddlers, want it all, and we want it now.
We look at the stories of Jesus and see the immediacy of people being healed, bread and fishes being multiplied, people being raised from the dead. We see the outcome, the cessation of struggle, and we want it now, now, now.
Yet in God’s poetic economy of time, ‘a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day’ (2 Peter 3:8).
I’ve written before about why mental health recovery takes time and has no shortcuts, and why we often need to grant ourselves space and time to heal. The word patience comes from the Latin patior, to suffer. Waiting hurts. But as I explored in why waiting patiently is good for you, something grows in the waiting that can’t grow anywhere else.
Dancing Harder Around the Altar
Still, we pray and beg and plead for miracles. We sing, fast, give, and stand on our heads. We are much like those prophets of Baal dancing around the sacrifice, thinking that if they dance more, their god will do the miracle (1 Kings 18:26-29).
Maybe you’ve been told that if you just had more faith, prayed more, or claimed it louder, the miracle would come. That message can leave people feeling like failures on top of being unwell. If that’s you, please read Does Having Depression Mean I Lack Faith? and Do You Feel You Have to Try Harder? The short answer is no. Spiritual hype can be dangerous, which is why I once wrote a church warning label about hype.
The Magic-Wand God Needs to Leave the Building
Perhaps that version of God has to die, or at least be told to leave the building.
Something sad within me gets touched when I sense people are waiting for the miracle to happen. They use language that speaks to some sort of magic God. They are waiting for God’s magic wand to be swept over their problem so that, with an ‘Abracadabra’, the problem disappears.
I want a miracle, but actually, I want to know God more than I want relief from earthly struggle, and that is where the tension is. Better life, or deeper knowing?
The miracle may not happen according to my terms of reference. The cancer may not go away, the marriage may continue to crumble, and a hard heart may refuse to soften to grace. As I wrote in The Plans God Has For You, God’s plans are far deeper than a prosperity promise.
I Do Believe in Miracles
I believe in miracles, but they may come in the small, unobserved experiences we have every day. They may not be in the time frame I demand, but they will always be in God’s time frame.
I mostly see the miracles in mental health recovery when the movement is small. Microscopically small. As small as a brain neuron being grown in a new direction. A new thinking habit is born in all its vulnerability, and then it is nurtured and cared for until it grows into a deep, abiding change. (If you want to work with this, try 7 Steps to Change and Regroove Your Thinking Patterns.)
Is that a miracle?
I have seen people change from deep despair and loss to being confident in God and having incredible hope. Did the miracle happen overnight? No. But the Spirit (Holy) was on the move through the brain’s grey matter.
The addict, once entrenched in the addiction, has a brain change and walks free. In my mind, that’s a miracle.
I call these millimetre steps. A millimetre doesn’t look like much, but a thousand of them is a metre, and a lifetime of them is a transformed life. If you feel stuck at the bottom, read When You Find Yourself in a Dark Hole, Start Digging. Recovery often feels like going down before going up, and that’s normal.
God Flies a Helicopter
You may have heard the story of the drowning man and how God sends many helpers to him. Here is one version.
A storm descends on a small town, and the downpour soon turns into a flood. As the waters rise, the local preacher kneels in prayer on the church porch, surrounded by water. By and by, one of the townsfolk comes up the street in a canoe.
“Better get in, Preacher. The waters are rising fast.”
“No,” says the preacher. “I have faith in the Lord. He will save me.”
Still, the waters rise. Now the preacher is up on the balcony, wringing his hands in supplication, when another fellow zips up in a motorboat.
“Come on, Preacher. We need to get you out of here. The levee’s gonna break any minute.”
Once again, the preacher is unmoved. “I shall remain. The Lord will see me through.”
After a while, the levee breaks, and the flood rushes over the church until only the steeple remains above water. The preacher is up there, clinging to the cross, when a helicopter descends out of the clouds, and a rescuer calls down to him through a megaphone.
“Grab the ladder, Preacher. This is your last chance.”
Once again, the preacher insists the Lord will deliver him. And, predictably, he drowns.
A pious man, the preacher goes to heaven. After a while, he gets an interview with God, and he asks the Almighty, “Lord, I had unwavering faith in you. Why didn’t you deliver me from that flood?”
God shakes his head. “What did you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter.” (Source: the parable of the drowning man)
The boats and the helicopter may well be some medication, budgeting advice, counselling, and wisdom from seasoned travellers. I first used this story when writing about how prayer and medication work together. If you’re feeling flooded right now, Feeling Overwhelmed? is for you.
What Boats and Helicopters Look Like
Here are some of the ‘rescue craft’ I have seen God send:
- A GP who takes the time to listen and asks the right questions
- Medication that settles the storm enough for you to think, pray and work on things (see Medication, God and Christians, Part 1)
- A counsellor or psychologist who helps you untangle what you can’t untangle alone
- A pastor, spiritual director or soul friend who meets you at the coal face rather than handing you a formula
- A budget advisor when the crisis is financial
- A support group of people who have walked this road before you
- Sleep, food, a walk, sunlight: the ordinary things our bodies need
- One honest conversation where you finally say out loud what’s really going on
None of these is less ‘from God’ because it is ordinary.
Elijah’s Miracle: A Nap and a Meal
Elijah had seen fire fall from heaven. He knew big, dramatic miracles. Yet only a chapter later he is lying under a broom tree in the desert, so depleted that he asks God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4).
What does God do? No fire. No lecture. An angel touches him and says, in effect, get up and eat. There is bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water. Elijah eats, sleeps, and then the angel comes back and does it again (1 Kings 19:5-8).
The miracle Elijah needed first was rest and a meal. I’ve written more about this in Two Things Needed after a Mental Health Breakdown. If you are in that broom-tree place, wanting to die, please read God, I Want to Die and reach out for support today (see the crisis contacts below).
Then, when Elijah had been fed and rested, he found that God was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire, but in the whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13). God often speaks in a still small voice, and mental health is often a matter of learning to listen for the whispers.
The Miracles of Partnership
It seems that many people want the miracle but without the effort and trust of a partnership. ‘Fix my problem, God, but on my terms.’
And God says, ‘Fine, but I work through faith and my people. Are you willing to trust me in this?’
It could be the partnership of a doctor, counsellor, pastor, spiritual director, budget advisor, pharmacist and so on.
There is no shame in asking for help. Even Jesus needed others. Jesus asked a woman at a well to draw him water (John 4:7). Why didn’t he cause it to spring up and flood him? He had all the power to do this, but he didn’t. He needed her to give what she could provide. He still does.
Look at how many of the Bible’s healing stories involve a partnership.
Naaman and the Ordinary River
Naaman, a proud army commander, wanted the prophet to come out and wave his hand over the leprosy. Instead, he was told to go and wash seven times in the very ordinary Jordan River. He almost walked away in disgust. It took his servants to persuade him to do the small, humble thing, and he was healed (2 Kings 5:9-14).
The Man Born Blind and the Walk to Siloam
The man born blind had mud put on his eyes by Jesus and was then told to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. He had to walk there himself, still blind, trusting (John 9:6-7).
The Paralysed Man and Four Friends
The paralysed man was carried by four friends who dug through a roof to get him to Jesus (Mark 2:1-12). His miracle needed their hands.
The miracle and the partnership go together.
Stones Into Bread
Sometimes a supernatural ‘miracle’ is offered as more important than a deep knowing of God.
Jesus, extremely hungry after forty days in the wilderness, was taunted by the satan to turn stones into bread.
Jesus could have made his life easier and performed the miracle of turning stones into bread, but knowing God’s spiritual sustenance was of more importance.
When the Miracle Doesn’t Come
Sometimes we pray, we accept the helicopter, we do the work, and the thing still doesn’t change. The illness lingers. The person doesn’t come back.
Paul prayed three times for his ‘thorn in the flesh’ to be removed. It wasn’t. What he received instead was grace that was enough and strength made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
That is not a neat answer, and I won’t pretend it is. There is a groan in all of creation, a longing for what is not yet (Romans 8:22-26). I’ve written about that in The Inner Groan: Why Do I Feel So Broken Inside? We are allowed to lament, to be angry, to wait with tears. And we are held in that waiting.
God answers prayer, but not always in the way we expect. I’ve unpacked that in Three Ways God Answers Prayer.
What Is the ‘Helicopter’ Being Offered to You?
I’ve seen people drown in mental unwellness because they kept waiting for God to do the ‘miracle.’
Help has been offered, advice suggested, but they kept on demanding and pleading with God to do something God wasn’t willing to do.
The miracle might be seen in some medication, some support, mentoring, and advice. It doesn’t have to be grand and over the top to be from God.
What is the small that is being offered to you?
How to Notice the Small Miracles
Here are a few millimetre steps you could take this week:
- Name your ‘flood’. Write down, in one sentence, the miracle you are asking for.
- List the boats. Under it, write every form of help that has been offered or is available, even the ones you’ve dismissed.
- Climb into one. Choose one. Book the GP appointment. Reply to the friend. Ring the helpline. Take the medication as prescribed.
- Keep a ‘small miracles’ journal. Each evening, note one small good thing: a moment of peace, a kind word, a thought that didn’t spiral. Over weeks you’ll see the pattern.
- Pray simply. Rather than performing, pray more and do less. For guidance on what to ask for, see six keys on how to pray for the healing of a mental illness. If you can’t find the words, ask someone, “Can you pray for me?”
Quotes to Consider
Questions to Consider
- Why are ‘miracles’ so emotionally seductive?
- What miracles have happened in your life that you may have overlooked as miracles?
- What ‘helicopters’ and ‘lifeboats’ do you not notice because you are waiting for the supernatural?
- Like Naaman, is there a small, ordinary step you’ve refused because it seemed beneath you?
- If the miracle you want never comes, what would it look like to know God more deeply anyway?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does God still do miracles today?
Yes, I believe so. But in mental health, miracles more often look like slow, steady change than sudden cures: a brain forming new pathways, a heart softening, a person reaching out for help for the first time.
Is taking medication or seeing a counsellor a lack of faith?
No. Medication, counselling and medical care can be the ‘boats and helicopter’ God sends. Using them is an act of partnership with God, not a betrayal of faith. Read more in Your Faith Has Made You Unwell.
What if I’ve prayed for years and nothing has changed?
You are not alone, and it is not because you didn’t pray hard enough. Keep bringing your honest feelings to God, keep accepting the help that’s available, and look for small changes you might be overlooking. Sometimes the change is happening in you before it happens in your circumstances.
How do I know whether to wait or to act?
Usually it’s both. Pray and wait on God, and at the same time climb into the boat that is in front of you. Waiting on God rarely means refusing all help.
Need Support Now?
If you are in Aotearoa New Zealand and struggling, free call or text 1737 any time to talk with a trained counsellor, or call Lifeline on 0800 543 354. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111. In the US and Canada, call or text 988. In the UK, call Samaritans on 116 123. Elsewhere, please contact your local emergency number or crisis line.
Further Reading
- Medication, God and Christians. What Is Helpful? Part 2 — Discover how prayer and medication work together in the healing journey. Explore the biblical perspective on using every tool God provides.
- Three Ways God Answers Prayer — Frustrated by unanswered prayer? Discover how God’s “No” or “Wait” might be the stretching and folding needed to develop a stronger faith.
- Six Keys on How to Pray for the Healing of a Mental Illness — Join God’s story of healing. Move beyond quick fixes to pray for vision, brain health, and the “narrow path” in the face of mental illness.
- No Shortcuts: Why Mental Health Recovery Takes Time — Real mental health recovery takes time. Discover why there are no shortcuts, and how patience helps the brain heal.
- When You Find Yourself in a Dark Hole, Start Digging — Stuck in a dark hole of depression? Discover the power of millimeter steps and daily habits to dig your way back to mental health.
- God, I Want to Die — Feeling overwhelmed and praying God I want to die? You are not alone. Discover hope, biblical comfort, and practical steps to find a way out.
About the Author
Since 1995, Barry Pearman has worked as a mental health support worker, community chaplain, and pastor, and has walked through depression himself. His training includes SoulCare Foundations under Dr Larry Crabb, a Bachelor of Applied Theology, spiritual direction training, and certificates in CBT interventions, pastoral therapy, and integrated mental health care. Turning the Page offers a grace-filled path to mental wholeness through faith and hope.
Photo by Neil Mark Thomas on Unsplash
