Divine intervention in the context of "Virgin mother of Jesus"

Invocation is the act of calling upon a deity, spirit, or supernatural force, typically through prayer, ritual, or spoken formula, to seek guidance, assistance, or presence. It is a practice found in numerous religious, spiritual, and esoteric traditions, where it serves to establish a connection between the human and the divine or metaphysical realms. Invocation can be directed toward a singular deity, multiple deities, spirits, or abstract forces, and may involve formal liturgies, spontaneous prayers, chants, or symbolic actions. Unlike evocation, which is generally understood as calling a spirit to appear outside the practitioner, invocation often implies inviting the entity to be present within or to closely align with the practitioner.

The purpose of invocation varies across cultural and religious contexts. In many traditions, it is used to request divine intervention, protection, wisdom, or blessings in personal or communal matters. Invocation may also serve to consecrate a space, mark the beginning of a sacred ritual, or facilitate a deeper spiritual experience. In mystical or esoteric practices, invocation can be a means of aligning oneself with a higher spiritual principle or archetype, fostering personal transformation or enlightenment. In some traditions, the practitioner ritually identifies with the deity or spiritual figure. This is distinct from possession, where the invoked being is believed to inhabit or act through the practitioner directly and autonomously.

Natural theology is a type of theology that seeks to provide arguments for theological topics, such as the existence of a deity, based on human reason. It is distinguished from revealed theology, which is based on supernatural sources such as scripture or religious experiences. It is thus a form of theology open to critical examination, aimed at understanding the divine.

Natural theology does not preclude the concept of divine intervention nor presuppose a clockwork universe; however, it demands that any position be supported through reasoned arguments based on natural reason.

In Christianity and Islam, it is asserted that Jesus of Nazareth was conceived by his mother Mary solely through divine intervention and without sexual intercourse, thus resulting in his virgin birth. In accordance with these beliefs, Jesus had just one biological parent instead of the necessary two; Mary's husband Joseph was his father only in the legal sense. Most Christians hold that Mary's virginity was perpetual. Though not biologically related, Jesus being Joseph's adoptive son is cited as linking him to the Davidic line.

The Christian understanding is that the birth of Jesus by a virgin woman was made possible by the Holy Spirit of the Trinity. Christians regard the doctrine as an explanation of the combination of the human and divine natures emanating from Jesus Christ. The Eastern Orthodox Churches accept the doctrine as authoritative by reason of its inclusion in the Nicene Creed, and the Catholic Church holds it authoritative for faith through the Apostles' Creed as well as the Nicene. Nevertheless, there are many contemporary churches in which it is considered orthodox to accept the virgin birth, but not heretical to deny it.

The Battle of Lyndanisse or Lindanise was fought on 15 June 1219 during the Northern Crusades, between the forces of the invading Kingdom of Denmark and the local non-Christian Estonians. The Danish victory in the battle, at the site of the later Hanseatic city of Reval (now Tallinn, Estonia) helped King Valdemar II of Denmark to subsequently claim the territory of northern Estonia as his participation in the crusade into Estonia had been undertaken in response to calls from the Pope.

The 1219 Battle of Lyndanisse is still well known to this day, especially amongst Danes and Estonians, because of a popular legend about the first ever Danish flag, the Dannebrog, which allegedly fell from the sky, as an apparently helpful divine intervention, just when the Danish Crusaders were about to lose the battle to the local pagans.

Meera, better known as Mirabai, and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. She is mentioned in Bhaktamal, confirming that she was widely known and a cherished figure in the Bhakti movement by about 1600. In her poems, she expressed the madhurya bhava towards Krishna.

Most legends about Mirabai mention her fearless disregard for social and family conventions, her devotion to Krishna, and her persecution by her in-laws for her religious devotion. Her in-laws never liked her passion for music, through which she expressed her devotion, and they considered it an insult to the upper caste people. It is said that amongst her in-laws, her husband was the only one to love and support her in her Bhakti, while some believed him to have opposed it. She has been the subject of numerous folk tales and hagiographic legends, which are inconsistent or widely different in details. According to legend, when her in-laws attempted to murder her with poison, Mirabai tied a sacred thread on a murti of Krishna, trusting in His divine protection, through which she was saved by divine intervention. This legend is sometimes cited as the origin of the ritual of tying rakhi on Krishna's murti.