With all of our vast knowledge of the order of our universe and how it works, can we still believe in prayer and miracles? Men have long prayed for rain, but can an honest man who knows anything about meteorology continue to do so? Men have long prayed for the restoration of the health of loved ones, but how can this be done by honest men who know something about modern medicine?
Science is built upon the presupposition that we live in an orderly and dependable universe. This is a supposition that has not been proven. These scientific laws are simply descriptions of how we think nature acts or how it has acted in the past, and they are not rigid rules by which nature must act. The fact that it has been dependable in the past does not prove that it will be dependable tomorrow. The fact that it appears dependable in the little areas we have observed does not mean that it is dependable in the vast areas we have not yet observed.
But granted a world of dependable pattern, is such a world one where Christian faith is possible? The question is not whether we live in an orderly universe. The question is, what kind of order is it? Is it mechanical order or is it purposeful order? If it is a giant self-running machine of perpetual motion, then there is no place for prayer and miracles. But if, on the other hand, God is behind it, then prayer and miracles are both possible.
The Bible assures us that behind our world is an all-powerful, loving God. He created the world and is still in it. He has not abandoned it. He is working in it with a purpose. That purpose gives dependability to the world yet allows for the fact that he can intervene to answer prayer and work miracles if he will.
Do you wonder about prayer? Try it. Others have with miraculous results.