Properly Introduced

I'm not sure how I feel about the possibility of creation ex nihilo, but I am convinced that miracles happen when God has something to work with, whether it's a broken heart, or a set of lost keys.

The source of the manna and quail in the wilderness remains perhaps unspecified, but when the brother of Jared approached the Lord, he had stones he had taken from the mountain (still wondering what the verb "molten" means, although it's likely enough that it means the same thing as the adjective). Jesus turned water into wine, and multiplied the loaves and fishes, but someone had to donate the water and the original bread and fish. And the faith. When God wishes to send an angel, He draws from a pool of willing souls.

I bring the question, then, when we need a miracle what do we bring? It's not a simple question. I suspect that the Lord (remembering the advice of 2 Samuel, that "Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams"), in His wisdom and mercy, accepts what is brought before Him in the right spirit. I suspect the right spirit is some blend of humility and desperation. We bring all we have.

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