The other night at dinner, I read to the kids the story of Jesus calling his disciples. After a miserable night without catching a single fish, Jesus instructed the fishermen to cast out the net one more time. Exhausted and skeptical, Peter relented, and to their great surprise they caught “a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking” (Luke 5:6). A short time later, Jesus commissioned them, “From now on you will be catching men” (5:10).

I then asked my kids if they thought this was a miracle. After all, there was no healing or resurrection or magical pixie dust. All of us agreed this was no coincidence, but qualified as a genuine miracle from God. Peter’s response proves it. “ He fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord’” (Lk. 5:8).

One of my kids then asked if God still does miracles today. (Side note: I absolutely LOVE discussing the Bible with kids in the 5-12 age range. They ask so many good questions like this! Often, the most fruitful discussions are rabbit trails that flow out of the Bible passage. When a parent or teacher asks a few simple observation questions, they get the kids minds working and you can almost hear the gears turning in their head. They are so inquisitive at this age!).

But back to the question. Does God still do miracles today? In short, yes. But the long answer is a bit more complicated. You see, a miracle, by definition, is something supernatural, spectacular, and outside the physical laws of nature.

Even in Bible times, miracles were less common than you might think. The Bible was written over the course of 2,000 years, and yet probably only 200 of those years saw a high concentration of miracles. These were focused around prophetic activity and the giving of new revelation, particularly during the eras of Moses/Joshua, later Elijah/Elisha, and finally Jesus/the Apostles. Outside of that, miracles were few and far between.

Most often, God works through providence. This is his sovereign hand working through the billions of contingencies in our world to make sure his will is done in exactly the right way (Prov. 16:33; Ac. 17:26; Col. 1:17). The providence of God itself is truly remarkable and worthy of our awe and trust.

But occasionally, God will intervene in a special way and perform a miracle. We should not expect to see miracles, nor should we be discouraged if we do not see them in the present age. But occasionally, God just might perform a miracle, perhaps in response to a special season of prayer.

Does God still do miracles? Yes. How often? We are not told. We should not expect to see them, but we know he is a powerful God, and whether he works through providence or miraculous means, we can always trust he’ll do what is best.