Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa was one of the most miracle-working sages in all of Jewish history. He lived in grinding poverty — the Talmud says that each week he survived on a single measure of carobs — but his prayers could heal the sick, summon rain, and bend the laws of nature.
One day, word reached Rabbi Hanina that his daughter had fallen into a deep pit. The neighbors were frantic. They ran to his house, pounding on the door. "Rabbi! Your daughter has fallen into the cistern! She will drown!"
Rabbi Hanina did not move from his seat. "She is well," he said calmly. The neighbors were bewildered. They left, and time passed. More people came with the same urgent news. "Rabbi, your daughter is still in the pit! No one can reach her!" Again, Rabbi Hanina replied: "She is well."
A third time they came. By now, hours had passed. The entire town was gathered around the pit, certain the girl was dead. But Rabbi Hanina finally said something different. "She has come out." The messengers rushed back to the pit and found the girl standing at the edge, alive and dry, as though she had simply climbed out on her own.
When they asked her what happened, she said that a miraculous thing had occurred — some say an old man appeared with a ram and lowered a rope; others say the water itself rose and carried her to the surface. The sages asked Rabbi Hanina how he had known. "Because," he said, "my daughter is the daughter of a man who trusts in God. And God does not abandon the children of those who trust in Him."