This past Thursday was the National Day of Prayer. It is a day where Christians pray for our nation. I don't know if modern high school students still do this, but it also was a "meet at the flagpole". Maybe this is an American thing so if you are one of my international readers, does your country have a national day of prayer? Here, it's always the first Thursday of May.
For my US audience, did you pray? Various churches might post on their website or on social media specific prayer items. The local Christian radio station also posted and redirected visitors to the local churches.
I don't know how much your church teaches about the power of intercessory prayer. We do know that God expects it. God is looking for men and women who will "stand in the gap", to rise up and pray. And there is power in prayer. It's not just a vague appeal to a nebulous "higher power" or positive thinking. No, prayers are meant to be said to a specific Person.
Even non-Christians see the value of prayer. Flashback to Israel 2018.
Israel and the rest of the Middle East are experiencing the worst drought in 7 years. Rainfall is well below average even in that climate. In response, the rabbis call for the nation to pray for rain. Whatever you call it, it worked. Rain came down and the crops were saved. Call it a miracle or coincidence, this rated a segment on the History Channel's The UnXplained - hosted by our favorite Star Trek captain William Shatner.
In that segment, Shatner and his interviewees talked about the power of prayer. One of the experts or fringe theorists - take your pick - said that when humans pray, we tap into the psychic supernatural world. For the secular materialist naturalist, prayers are treated like the vestiges of a bygone superstitious age but science will now explain everything.
The problem with a secular materialist worldview is that it ignores some of the more documented and peer reviewed research on prayers. In his book The Case for Miracles, Christian author and apologist Lee Strobel relays hundreds if not thousands of modern day miracles. We're not talking about 100 or 1000 years ago. These were within the last twenty five years and according to Strobel some actual miracles might not have reported.
In his chapter on prayer, Strobel discusses actual scholarly research on prayer. The initial research focus group were mainly agnostics and did not contain many Christians if at all or any adherents to the other major religions! As a result, positive thoughts and vague desires for healing are no better than if the patient never prayed. Considering how central prayers are in any religion, be it Wicca, Mongolian shamans, Jews, Muslims, and Christians, these researchers have done the equivalent of asking a person born blind what color he wants his room painted.
But when they studied Christians and all those who do pray and have faith that the prayers are heard and answered, the results were strongly in the opposite. The prayers are answered in the affirmative. Strobel noted the research methods were sound and not just self-interested. As the late Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias was found of saying, scientists are climbing the mountain of knowledge only to find that theologians have already climbed it and have been there for some time.
Why then do Christians doubt the power of prayer? They say something aloud or in a low voice prayers for help, for comfort, but there is no audible response the way people talk to each other. In fact, for most Christians, God rarely speaks that way. Instead, we gave impressions, dreams, and stirrings in our hearts. When we do pray for material help, we might get a strange check in the mail with the exact amount that covers our need.
Is the power of prayer dependent on how much faith we have?
Is it dependent on God being in a good mood?
Is it dependent on how good we have been lately? We didn't curse, we pay our taxes, and obey the speed limit.
Is it dependent on how many are asking for the same thing?
I will be the first to confess that I don't pray enough or have doubts whether God is even listening. The Bible has a lot to say for when God won't hear my prayers. On the other hand, the Bible tells of a good and gracious God who blesses us despite our sin. In fact, we are blessed more than we know. The Bible also tells us to have faith and not be "double minded" - someone who hedges his bets.
Lastly, we are commanded to pray and keep praying and not lose hope. It is the persistence that sustains our prayers. The question is: how persistent are you?
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