Defining Miracles

What, exactly, is a miracle? How can it be defined? How can it be identified? To agree upon the existence and activity of miracles, we must first have agreed-upon terminology. Only then can miracles be argued for or argued against.
Different people from different views, different places, and different eras have different definitions for the word “"miracle.”" A rudimentary example is that a miracle is an “extraordinary event that "creates or confirms faith."” But this is easily shot down, because there can be extraordinary events that edify faith that have no direct intervention from God.
This definition is not complete. To actually be a miracle, an event must have several distinct characteristics. The miracle must involve God’'s handiwork. Without God in the equation, the event cannot be a miracle, but a natural occurrence. The miracle must also be a temporary exception to the natural order of the universe. Without the exception the event would be normal, and God would not have to bend the rules for that short period of time.
A miracle must also be caused by God’s power. Without His power present in the event, that event could not be considered a miracle, since He played no part, even though He may have been present. Lastly, a miracle must proclaim God’'s direct action in the present day. This is the one characteristic contained in the earlier definition where a miracle is an event that “"creates or confirms faith."”
Therefore, a miracle, in the eyes of Richard L. Purtill, is “"an event in which God temporarily makes an exception to the natural order of things, to show that He is acting."” With this complete definition of the word “"miracle,"” events can either be identified or not identified as miracles, and the existence of miracles can be argued over and determined.