What does rhetorical question mean? The Internet has some good examples of the use of this. This came to my mind at 2:30 a.m. when I woke up for a necessary trip to the “throne.”
So before I went back to get in my recliner, I went to the Internet.
Now I know ya’ll are probably wondering why in the world I thought of this in the middle of the night. So here goes.
My friend, “the other Linda,” had just told me the day before about a conversation she had with another Christian.
“The other Linda” had told others in her Bible study that I had experienced a miracle because the blood clots are gone and all of that had taken place within two months.
One person told her that was “answered prayer, not a miracle.”
We both knew that would be another story in God’s timing. At first, it seemed I had run into writer’s block. I had even looked up “miracle” on the Internet just a few hours after she and I had talked.
Once again there were many examples of what the word “miracle” means.
That may be a rhetorical question since it doesn’t require a question mark.
But when the other Linda and I put our brain matter together and with God’s help, we often answer our own questions.
Sometimes we enjoy debating a word, the meaning of some particular Scripture, or the happening of a certain event. So here is an example: are all miracles answered prayer or is all answered prayer a miracle?
There is a lot said about this throughout history and if you are an Internet sleuth, you can spend quite a bit of time reading and forming your own opinion.
It is true that Linda and I think alike on biblical material more than we do with some other Christians.
So is the brief period of time involved with blood clots, another event in my life a miracle or is it the answered prayers of many people.
Well, Linda and I knew beyond a doubt that a lot of prayer had been lifted up for my condition to improve and we have no question about answered prayer. (After all, I am sitting here composing this story.)
I had already been told by three doctors that it was amazing that I had survived the blood clots passing through my heart and settling in my lungs. In the ER, I had been warned that the clots could take months to dissolve, more could form, and I possibly might not survive another episode.
So when severe pain returned the last week in March, the doctor ordered another scan. This one was done without the “yucky stuff” I had to take before.
When the results came back showing the clots were gone after only two months of treatment, I felt the presence of a miracle. When I called my friend “the other Linda, we rejoiced together!
After reviewing several opinions on the Internet, I realized that there are many definitions for what “miracle” means.
Some explanations are rather long and laborious and I can’t begin to share all the information that I read.
In the simplest words to understand the best definition of a miracle is that it is a highly unlikely extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment.
In our opinion, only God and His supernatural powers can perform miracles. He uses people (doctors), places (hospitals), and things (medicine and equipment) to produce a state of awe and wonder to those of us who have experienced His healing powers.
Perhaps Linda’s other Christian friend has never experienced the amount of pain or suffering that results in a miraculous healing for answered prayer.
Like so many words in our world today, the word “miracle” might be used too lightly or too often as is the word “love.”
For those of us who truly “love” God and have experienced His wondrous healing, we will continue to praise Him through prayer for the many miracles He has performed in today’s world.
Linda Beck is a writer who lives in Salisbury.