Thirty-three trapped Chilean miners were rescued from the bowels of the earth this week as the world looked on: a triumph over what seemed like very perilous circumstances.In an interview on BBC Radio Five Live, Rev Alfredo Cooper, a chaplain to the Chilean president, told what happened from the time news of the trapped miners broke:
I am a chaplain in the presidential palace, and so we had to quickly put together an emergency prayer meeting. And it was with all our hearts, because to imagine these 33 men a kilometre under the earth, not knowing whether they were alive or what was going through their minds.
Seventeen days we prayed, and then the miracle came, when the boring machine glanced off a rock and hit them - hit the cavern they were in - and of course we just erupted in praise. The second service the president asked for: a praise meeting. So we had a thanksgiving service, and of course we've had constant prayer.
And this has been one of the interesting factors for folk like us to notice. Many of the miners went down as atheists, or unbelievers, or semi-believers, and they have come up to a man testifying that there were not 33 but that there were 34 down there - that Jesus was there with them, that they had a constant sense of His presence and guidance.
The interviewer suggested that if God was responsible for getting them out, then God must have been responsible for their being down there in the first place. But the chaplain was having none of it:
Well, the thing is that in this fallen world this is exactly what does occur. Man is subject to accident and all sorts of problems, thanks often to wilful negligence, as was the case in this mine. There are consequences when you don't care enough for people.
And of course in those situations we might compare Jonah in the whale - you know people tend to cry out to God, and this is what's happened. And God has answered.
So the men, said the interviewer, were rescued by divine intervention really?
Well, we of course see the hands of all these magnificent experts all around; the goodwill of so many people internationally; the brilliant coverage of the press; and we would suggest that all this works together for good; that certainly as we prayed God has guided in remarkable ways.
Even the scientists. I was with the NASA people who came the other day. And to my surprise - to a man they were believing scientists in their case - and they all said "This is a miracle. There is no other word for what happened here."
So, I mean, scientists, politicians, presidents, we seem to have all come together in one happy moment saying "Goodness! God is there, and He answers prayer." That's how we feel. And certainly the miners are testifying to the world of this. Not just about that, but certainly it seems to be a central factor.
You can hear the interview by clicking here. I am grateful to Peter Saunders' blog for pointing out the interview.
