I LOVE the implication in Good Omens that miracles, magic, what-have-you are a resource that is clocked by Heaven and Hell (more so Heaven, since Hell apparently doesn’t followup paperwork very well), and which seems to work in degrees–the bigger the miracle, the greater the “expense.” I imagine this could be what the Master-at-Arms meant when he referred to Azariphale’s missing sword being taken out of his “Heavenly wages.” It’s hard to imagine Heaven would be giving their angels MONEY. 

I love this because it means Crowley, Azariphale, and everyone else can’t just snap their fingers to solve every problem quickly. That would have taken a lot away from the plot, kind of like the way super-hero movies paint themselves into corners having to create more and more powerful villains (until it gets to the point of making no sense, quite frankly). 

It’s also great for fanfic writing because it suggests that big miracles–big expenses–might necessitate frugality afterward, or resting. After all the hardcore miracleing Azariphale and Crowley do at the end–Azariphale flying a vespa to Tadfield and Crowley stopping time–they end up waiting for the bus. No snapping their fingers to just appear back in London, or materialize a car. Nope, they are temporarily, supernaturally tapped out…and of course Crowley uses his last few pennies of magic to redirect the bus driver.