DOES PRAYER REALLY WORK?

For one reason or other there are many people who do not believe that prayer works, at least for them. Perhaps it is because they have prayed to God and felt God never answered them, perhaps never heard them in the first place. Others may feel unworthy to pray because of mistakes they have made in their lives. They feel guilty and alienated from God. To the first group I would like to say that just because you did not receive an immediate answer from God or the answer you were looking for that you should give up praying. There are many prayers that I have prayed which remain unanswered to this day. Prayers that I have prayed for friends and loved ones to be converted to Christ. Prayers for a friendship to be restored that were never restored. Prayers for marriages that ended in divorce anyway. Prayers for people who were sick and dying, who died anyway in spite of all of the prayers. We cannot demand or force God to answer our prayers. Even Jesus prayed that the cup would pass from Him. "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done." Luke 22:42. Now, we need to understand the intensity and pathos of this scenario. Here is Matthew's version of it. "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matt. 26:37-39. KJV. "Father, if you are willing, please take away this cup of horror from me. But I want your will, not mine." LB Luke 22:39, L.B.

Then, of course, we have the classic case of the Apostle Paul's unanswered prayer. He tells us in 2 Cor. 12:7-10 about a "thorn in the flesh" God permitted him to have to keep him humble because of the tremendous revelations/visions of glorious truth the Lord had shared with Him. He says that he "besought" God on three different occasions to remove this thorn from his life. Besought is an old english word meaning to entreat or plead earnestly. The Living Bible paraphrases it as "begged." So, we know this was something that bothered Saul a lot from time to time by causing him suffer in his physical body. He referred to it as "a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."

So, my friend, the point is simply this: Just because you pray a prayer and do not receive an immediate answer or the specific answer you want does not mean prayer does not work. In fact, it is proof that it does. Why? Because you did receive an answer. And that answer was "no." It also could mean, wait awhile, I have something better for you. This builds and develops patience, faith and trust in our relationship with God. Remember when you were a child your father or mother often told you "no." But probably also said, Not now. We will do that later on.

A few weeks ago I bought a little pamphlet at a grocery check out counter entitled, "The Power of Prayer." According to studies and polls done by Princeton Religious Research center nine out of 10 Americans say they pray occasionally. A Gallup Poll found that 95 percent of their respondents replied "yes" when asked if their prayers had ever been answered. So, the Psalmist knew what he was talking about when he wrote: "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." Psalm 65:2. Someone has stated that every thought of the heart is a prayer. Only God knows all of our thoughts and the motivation behind them. So, each of his creatures are talking to him in one way or another whether they realize it or not. The story is told of a man stranded out in the ocean on a raft after his boat sank in a storm. He wanted to pray to God for help but didn't because he had not been accustomed to doing so in the past and felt that it would not only be unfair but hypocritical to begin praying just because he was in a crisis situation. Of course, God heard the thoughts of his heart and accepted this as a plea in and of itself, and sent help, because our Heavenly Father is a great God of love and compassion. Furthermore, Psalm 139 tells us that God's Spirit goes everywhere we go, therefore, we cannot escape our Creator. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" The LB says, "I can never get away from God." The Bible pictures Jesus as standing at the door of our hearts, knocking...asking us to open the door so He can come inside. "Behold, (look) I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20.

One day the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them to pray as John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. Luke 11:1. "Christ's disciples were much impressed by His prayers and by His habit of communion with God. One day after a short absence from their Lord, they found Him absorbed in supplication. Seeming unconscious of their presence, He continued praying aloud. The hearts of the disciples were deeply moved. As He ceased praying, they exclaimed, 'Lord, teach us to pray." COL 140.

Furthermore, we are told that while He was praying, "The Saviour's face was irradiated with a celestial brightness. He seemed to be in the very presence of the Unseen, and there was a living power in His words as of one who spoke with God. The hearts of the listening disciples were deeply moved. They had marked how often He spent long hours in solitude in communion with His Father. His days were passed in ministry to the crowds that pressed upon Him, and in unveiling the treacherous sophistry of the rabbis, and this incessant labor often left Him so utterly wearied that His mother and brothers, and even His disciples, had feared that His life would be sacrificed. But as He returned from the hours of prayer that closed the toilsome day, they marked the look of peace upon His face, the sense of refreshment that seemed to pervade His presence. It was from hours spent with God that He came forth, morning by morning, to bring the light of heaven to men. The disciples had come to connect His hours of prayer with the power of His words and works. Now, as they listened to His supplication, their hearts were awed and humbled. As He ceased praying, it was with a conviction of their own deep need that they exclaimed, 'Lord, teach us to pray.'" "Love Unlimited." Page 232.

In answer to this request Jesus begins to repeat the same prayer He had given to the multitudes which has been memorized and repeated for nearly 2,000 years all down through the generations to our time. We are all very familiar with what has become known as "The Lord's Prayer." He seemed to be saying to them, "there is much in this prayer for you to understand. As you continue to repeat it privately and in groups you will learn the truth about your heavenly Father and His plan for your life." But this is only a starting place. We are not restricted to these exact words each time we pray as we grow older and understand more about God, His love and His plan for us.

Prayer is talking to our Heavenly Father as to a member of our own family because Jesus taught us to call His Father our Father. He is our elder brother. His Heavenly Father is our Heavenly Father. We are all part of the same family. Jesus is not ashamed of us even though we have fallen into sin. In fact, He eagerly awaits the opportunity to welcome us as members of His royal family. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." So, in reality, our prayer life should be focused on asking our Father to become like Him and His Son, Jesus, especially in these last days when prayer will be our only defence. QUOTE VOL T2.

Because of the various heartaches and tragedies that overtake the human family in this life many people become atheists, agnostics and cynics. One such man had a favourite saying to express how he felt about trying to be cheerful and happy in the face of such problems. Well, he said, they told me to cheer up because things could be worse. So, I cheered up, and you know, sure enough, things got worse. Such humor may serve to temporarily divert your mind from your problems but it's like telling someone who just broke their leg, Come on, buddy, you're not really hurt. Stand up like a man and step on it. Everything's going to be ok. That will only make things worse. The man needs to go to a hospital so a doctor can set his leg and put it in a cast. And when we have problems we need to know how to pray our way through to victory. But God knows the real language of our heart and looks past our words into the very depth of our being knowing what we really want and are asking him for.

How many times have we read of stories about some young mother of three or four children under the age of ten who has just found out her husband was having an affair with her best friend? As the story unfolds she immediately begins praying to God that her husband will come to his senses and return to her and the children. Instead, he files for divorce. In the following months things go from bad to worse...like her father dies and her mother has a terrible car accident, etc.

Well, if that weren't enough she loses her job, develops ulcers and ends up in the hospital with a nervous breakdown. In spite of all of these disasters she continued to pray even though God did not seem to be answering her prayers. In fact, at one point she told her pastor that it seemed like the more she prayed the worse things got. This lady and others like her are often compared to the story of Job. But the point is that a few years later these type of people begin to realize some of the positive things that had come out their experience. 1. Through constant prayer they developed a much closer relationship with Christ. 2. Besides memorizing many passages from the Bible they read their Bible through two or three times or more.. 3. The children were very close to the parent and each other and also had a close walk with God. 4. These modern Jobs also are able to share their faith with many others who were ready to give up their faith in God. 5. They also learned to forgive those who had betrayed her. 6. And, of course, they learned how to praise God for all things. Eph. 5:20, I Thess. 5:18.

Our Heavenly Father knows the real motives of our heart. He hears every prayer and answer us according to our needs, not according to our sometimes hasty prayers. For example, listen to Elijah in the wilderness complaining to God that all of the prophets were dead but him and there was no one left so God might as well go ahead and take his life too. The Lord knew that Elijah was tired and emotionally drained from his encounter with the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel. He was also hungry and needed some sleep. So, the Lord provided both food, rest and sleep for him.

I recently read about a 22 year old divorcee with two children who decided to kill herself just like her alcoholic mother had a few years earlier. The demon spirit of suicide goes from one generation to the next. At age 13 she left home. Four years later she found herself surviving by her wits and mixed up in the rackets of Skid Row. But God did not desert her. He never abandons any of us. A tall, handsome man with a good job fell in love with her and her kids and married her. She couldn't figure him out. Why was he so good to her? He was willing to stay home and baby-sit so she could go out drinking. She soon became convinced that he was the biggest sucker in the world. Why? Because he was kind and loving to her even though he found out about her background. In fact he worked 14-16 hours a day to provide a nice home, car and new furniture for their three children for they now had a new baby. Slowly, it began to dawn on her that all her family wanted from her was that little four letter word, love. But she didn't know how to give it. Her oldest boy was an "F" student, flunking out of all his classes in school mainly because he didn't even go half of the time. And when he was in school he was always in some kind of trouble with his teachers. Her girls had severe emotional problems and her husband had somehow found time from his frenetic schedule to attend a therapy, support group so he could survive emotionally.

So, finally, one day, this mixed up, ungrateful, young lady, not yet 30 years of age, came to the end of her rope the day before Christmas. She went into her bathroom, grabbed some sleeping pills and decided that she would exit this life the same way her mother did. Shaking the pills at what she considered a cruel, uncaring world she cried out, God, give me the courage to kill myself!

And that, my friend, is when the miracle happened. The same moment she spoke the word "God," something dark and mysterious seemed to fly out of her chest. She sensed its movement leaving her body and flying out of the bathroom window. Although she did not understand or believe in demonic possession she believes to this day that something very evil literally came out of her. Then she felt a physical emptiness inside of herself where that evil entity had been moments before leading her to try and take her own life. Then she sensed something coming into that vacant space filling her with a healing peace...something good and wonderful. At the same moment she began to sing, "I want to walk in the arms of the Lord." The next thought that entered her mind was, "I need to confess all my sins." Her husband wept with joy when she told him that she wanted to begin attending church. Through a friend she began attending some evangelistic meetings with her whole family.

Bible studies followed which answered a life time of questions. But her victory did not come easy. She still had a tremendous desire to go out and drink in spite of the fact she had been sober for six months. In desperation she cried out to God to forgive her of all of her sins and to cleanse her from all unrighteousness. An immediate calm came over her and she slep well that night. She began reading the Bible daily and praying fervently. She realized hatred was one of her problems as she read about the works of the flesh in Galatians. She begged God to take away her obsession to get even with the world. Gradually, she learned to truly love her family as they loved her. And it all began with a prayer of desperation to God who knew what she really needed. Don't you realize, my friend, that God can do the same for you? Yes, He certainly can and will. Won't you open up your heart and let Him in today?

Dr. Randolph Byrd, supervised a landmark scientific test of the power of prayer. About 400 heart patients were all receiving the same good care. But only 200 of them were prayed for. The patients were not aware of this test nor did the doctors know which patients were being prayed for. The result, published in 1988, revealed that the patients who were prayed for did so much better than the others that they needed far fewer drugs. None required emergency ventilator treatment but 12 of the other group had to be placed on ventilators. A later study by Dr. Dossey shows that prayer benefited patients with high blood pressure, heart attacks, wounds and anxiety. It also proved that prayer is effective from a distance. It doesn't matter how far away a person is from the person they are praying for. Additional studies and reports indicated that people who pray regularly, especially those who meditate while praying, enjoy a happier, more serene life.

Those of us who pray on a regular basis know that there is a supernatural power released inside of us when we pray. I know personally that when I pray I can sense and "feel" God's presence. It brings relief from stress and oppression and gives calmness and tranquility so I can think clearly. This takes place for me on a daily basis. Without this power I could not survive. My mother was a great woman of prayer and taught me how to pray just as her mother, Oolah Clemons, had taught her. Mother told me the story many times about how Grandma would go upstairs in her home in Frankton, Indiana, and pray for at least 30, sometimes 60 minutes almost every day of her life until she became so ill in her with cancer that she could no longer climb the stairs. This was her special time with God. Mother told me that when Grandma came back down stairs her countenance was changed. There was a light around her face and she could tell that she had been with God.

This strong relationship with the Lord helped her survive the pain and suffering in her final days when she underwent radium and cobalt treatments at Mercy Hospital in Indianapolis. "Daughter," she told my mother, "I have been through the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus." I just remember how much mother cried during those days up until Grandma died in April of 1944. Suffering is hard to understand, yet the Bible tells us that God allows suffering because it brings us even closer to God and His purposes and plans for the human race. It allows us to go into the Father's heart. Prayer sustained my Grandmother throughout her life and comforted her in her dying moments. She had five children, all who have passed away now except for my mother, who is 83 at this writing. As a direct result of Grandma's prayers all three of her boys survived World War II and the one who stayed home became a preacher. My cousin and I became preachers. I think Grandma will be surprised when she gets to heaven and meets all the souls that have been won both directly and indirectly as a result of her prayers.

Even though some people are not healed there are many who are, some very dramatically. For example, Galen Kelley of Modesto, Ca. suffered a massive stroke that paralyzed his vocal cords, impaired his hearing and eyesight, and weakened his heart. Unable to speak, Kelley could communicate only through grunts, whistles and hand gestures. In his silent, loneliness he withdrew from society and drowned his sorrow in alcohol. Finally, after ten years of torture and misery, in bitter desperation one day, he fashioned a prayer to God that went like this: "God please heal my body and let me be a whole man again or let me die." What happened next can only be called a miracle. Suddenly I felt a tingling, deep warmth and a wave of relaxation spread throughout my body. Amazingly, I heard my own voice say: 'Thank you Lord!' I was healed---the Lord had heard my prayers.

Prayer Answer:

About one week ago Dominga Gomez called me on the phone saying she was in a lot of pain. So, I prayed for her. She said when I had prayed for her six years before that she was healed and now she needed it again. I did not remember her calling six years previously but was happy for her. So, now I forgot it again and then she ordered the book, "Cure of All Diseases," and sent $25 with this note:

This is to thank you for your prayers. I am healed. The pain went away after six years of suffering. Thank God, and you for healing me of that stomach pain. Please send me the book "The Cure of All Disease". Dominga Gomez.