When one serves Hashem according to the rules of nature, Hashem will act with him within the laws of nature. But when one serves Hashem beyond the rules of nature, Hashem will perform miracles for him beyond nature.
The Bnei Yissachar (Igra d'Pirka 24) teaches, "Rebbe Yechiel Michel of Zlotchev zt'l said that when a person wants to accomplish something that is beyond nature, for example, if by nature he isn't able to bear children, he should do a great mitzvah beyond nature, and then he will be able to do things that are beyond nature."
Another way to merit miracles beyond nature is to do mitzvos l'shem shamayim. The Gemara Pesachim (50:) discusses the immense reward for keeping the mitzvos. One pasuk (Tehillim 108:5) states חסדך שמים מעל גדול כי, "For Your kindness is great above the heavens," and another pasuk states (Tehillim 57:11) חסדך שמים עד גדול כי, "For Your kindness is great up to the heavens." So, is Hashem's kindness up to heaven or beyond it? The Gemara responds, "One pasuk refers to those who serve Hashem l'shmah, and the other pasuk refers to those who serve Hashem shelo l'shmah. So, the reward for serving Hashem l'shmah is 'above heaven' (חסדך שמים מעל). The Ran (on the Rif, p.17.) explains, 'This means Hashem changes the rules of heaven for him.' That is the reward for those who serve Hashem l’shmah."
Moshe said (6:12) ואיך אלי שמעו לא ישראל בני הן פרעה ישמעני, "Behold, Bnei Yisrael did not hearken to me. How then will Pharaoh listen to me?" The truth is, Bnei Yisrael had a reason why they didn't listen to Moshe when he told them he would take them out of Mitzrayim. It states (6:9) ישראל בני אל כן משה וידבר קשה ומעבדה רוח מקצר משה אל שמעו ולא, "Moshe spoke thus to Bnei Yisrael, but they did not hearken to Moshe because of their shortness of breath and because of their hard labor." Rashi writes that it is a kal v'chomer. If Bnei Yisrael didn't believe that Hashem would redeem them from Mitzrayim, how would Pharaoh believe it?
The meforshim ask that the pasuk says that the Jewish nation wasn’t able to believe קשה ומעבדה רוח מקצר, "shortness of breath and hard labor." Pharaoh didn't have shortness of breath and hard work like the Jewish nation had, so why is there a kal v'chomer that Pharaoh won't believe?
The Beer Mayim Chaim zt'l (Noach) answers that Moshe was saying that the Jewish nation didn't go beyond their nature to believe in Hashem. Moshe said to Hashem if they aren't going beyond their limits, then miracles beyond limits won't happen to them. How can we expect a miracle to occur and Pharaoh will listen to me and send the Jewish nation out of Mitzrayim?
A simchah hall in Bnei Brak was accidentally rented out to two unrelated families. Both were celebrating a sheva brachos, and when they met at the hall, they realized that the hall's secretary had made a mistake, double booking it for the same night. One of the parties was incensed, and he was shouting at everyone. He even yelled at the other couple for renting the hall, although they had rented it before him! Then he went to the manager to shout at him. "I will bring you to court. You will pay for this." He said many unpleasant words and threatened to cause the manager to lose his business.
Worried, the manager called the secretary and shouted at her for renting the hall to two families on the same night. "You are fired!" he said in uncontrolled anger and anguish.
The manager then took hold of himself and calmed down. He realized there was no purpose in speaking to the furious client, who threatened to drive him out of business, so instead, he talked to the other couple. They were also quite upset (especially since the other party had shouted at and upset them), but at least they were rational.
"I will upgrade your simchah if you use the smaller hall," the manager said. "I will put out more expensive utensils and decorations and serve better foods." But the mechutan replied, "I'm sorry. We want the larger hall, and we should get it because we rented this hall first. He should take the smaller hall!"
"Do me a favor," the manager said. "I am stuck. I need your help." The mechutan had compassion and said, "For my part, I agree to be mevater and move our simchah to the smaller hall. But my wife won't agree to it."
"Can I speak to your wife about it?" the manager asked. "Of course," he replied, "but it won't help." The manager explained to the wife that he will upgrade the simchah, and he explained to her his predicament, but she refused to be mevater. "We ordered the hall first. It is his problem, not ours."
The manager had one more tactic up his sleeves. He asked her, "Is there any particular yeshuah you need?" She immediately cried. She said that her father, who lives in Belgium, was recently diagnosed with cancer r”l.
The manager said, "I advise you to be mevater. The merit of your vitur will go to your father so that he can have a refuah sheleimah." She said that she needed to think it over. It didn't take long, and she agreed to move her simchah to the smaller hall. Additionally, she requested that the secretary not be fired, and in the merit that she is helping the secretary, this should also be a zechus towards her father's refuah sheleimah. The manager promised that he would call up the secretary right away to apologize and to rehire her.
A couple of days afterward, her father went to the hospital for his first round of chemotherapy. The doctors performed one more routine test before beginning the treatment and discovered that there wasn't any cancer. The doctors were shocked. They looked at the pictures of the first test, and there was no doubt that there was cancer seen then. How did the disease disappear?
The explanation is that his daughter was mevater, although it was hard for her. She went beyond her nature for the sake of helping others and for the sake of peace. And when one serves Hashem beyond nature, Hashem performs miracles for us beyond nature.
Here's another beautiful story. A doctor came to a shivah and said, "I don't ever come to be menachem avel, but this time, I made an exception because I have hakaras hatov for the deceased person. The nifteres, Mrs. Moskovitz, taught me to believe in Hashem, so I figured I should come to her shivah."
This is what happened. She came to the doctor four years earlier, and the doctor told her that she had four weeks to live. She replied, "That isn't correct. I will live longer. I have life insurance." The doctor was confused. What life insurance can guarantee a person to live long? She explained that she takes care of her elderly mother. Her mother can't manage without her. "I will live to take care of my mother." Her mother was niftar four years later, and soon afterward, Mrs. Moskowitz was niftarah.
The doctor said, "I never come to the shivah of my patients, but this woman taught me to believe in Hashem, so I felt obliged to make an exception and come." She served Hashem beyond nature, and a miracle beyond nature occurred to her.
The Shinover Rav zt'l established a beis medresh in Tzefas and built a mikvah in the basement. Each morning, he was the first person to use the mikvah. One morning, he sensed that someone had used the mikvah before him and demanded to know who it was. The person who used the mikvah before him was a man who didn't have children, although he was married for several years. He needed a salvation, and had hoped that the Shinover Rav would bless him, and now, it seemed, the Shinover Rav was upset with him. Timidly, he admitted that he was the one to use the mikvah.
The Shinover Rav said, "You did? You shall have a son this year!" The Shinover Rav overcame his anger and blessed this person who went against his wishes. In this merit, the man had his yeshuah. The Shinover Rav explained, "I had a great nisayon of anger, but I held back, and I gave this merit to the person who went to the mikvah before me, and that is what saved him."
The Imrei Chaim zt'l repeated this story. He heard it from the child who was born from this blessing. The Imrei Chaim said, "This story makes a stronger impact on me than all the stories of mofsim I've heard," because this is a story that we can potentially also do. When we go beyond our limits to do Hashem's will, miracles beyond nature can occur.
