Chapter 71 The Power of Prayer.
In countless incidents around the world, people received intelligent and powerful directions that led to success, as a result of their prayer. Over the years, people have prayed in moments of great emergencies, conflicts, danger and lifethreatening illness and have been answered. Take for instance the experience of Mrs Liz Thomas, as told by C. Hyatt and L. Gottlieb in their book Why Smart People Fail. After her husbands business failures, she resorted to praying every morning. She kept hearing the 3 words: "Make the mustard. Shortly, the couple embarked on their mustard-making business, based on their Russian recipe, and soon their business flourished! C. B. DeMille, the American movie director admitted, "I have found the greatest power in the world in the power of prayer. There is no shadow of doubt of that. I speak from my own experience. Our celebrity lady Oprah confessed, "Not a day goes by that I dont say, thank you. I am truly blessed.
A study on dozens of leukaemia children at McGill University, Canada, for example, revealed that 90% of those who prayed lived longer than usual, but only 37% of those who did not pray did! At various medical schools and hospitals around the world, tests showed that those who prayed, or were prayed for, had fewer symptoms and better recovery rates.
In 1986 Dr Randy Byrd reported an interesting American experiment in The Medical Tribune. Hospital patients of similar ages and conditions were split into 2 groups. The first group was prayed for by various prayer-groups; the second group was not. The result showed that the 1st group suffered less: Only 3 needed antibiotics as against 16; only 6 suffered pulmonary edema, compared to 18; and none needed intubation treatment, as against 12 in the 2nd group! Alexis Carrel, the Nobel Prizewinning surgeon, noted that by praying, "We link ourselves with the inexhaustible power that spins the universe.
The Reverend Father Emiliano Tardif is a Catholic priest who has worked in the Dominican Republic for over 30 years. In his book Jesus Lives Today! - sold half a million copies in 14 languages - he admitted his scepticism in miraculous healing, until a prayer group cured him of acute pulmonary tuberculosis. From thereon he became involved dynamically in prayer and healing groups across the Republic and overseas. His book gave numerous vivid accounts of conversion, deliverance and incredible healing.
Then there is St. Stephens Church in downtown Philadelphia, USA, featured in Stanley Highs The Healing Power of Prayer. The church held almost weekly healing-by-prayer sessions for 22 years, which benefited thousands of people physically, mentally and spiritually. Endless strings of letters were received, conveying gratitude; but none expressed any disappointment! One doctor commented: "I have seen too much of the power of prayer in healing to doubt what are sometimes called "miracles do happen. Mr Herbert Herbert oover, 31st President of USA, echoed this: "The force of prayer is greater than any possible combination of mancontrolled powers, because prayer is mans greatest means of trapping the infinite resources of God.
It is now clear that prayer earns one or more of the following: 1. Favour, help and blessing from God. 2. Faith, belief, confidence and desire that resonate, expand and propagate special healing powers and progress. 3. The development of a powerful form of auto-suggestion, affirmation, conditioning and positive thinking. Here, an idea develops a stimulating internal force, and is coddled and crystallised towards an objective.
The more fervently and frequently you pray, the more powerful the words become because when confidence and beliefs are compounded, they make an even mightier swaying power. In many cases prayers alone do not change things, but they can change people, and consequently people change things!
Praying is our only channel of communication with our Creator, the path to sources of infinite power and grace. It brings us in touch with something larger than ourselves, something that makes the universe divine and endless. It remains the greatest agent for rebirth and renewal. Successes in many areas of human pursuits have materialised through prayer, which unfailingly provides poise, purpose, patience, peace and power. Alexis Carrel, French biologist and Nobel Prize winner declared: "Prayer is the most powerful form of energy one can generate...a force as real as terrestrial gravity. It supplies us with a flow of sustaining power in our daily lives.
Even Jesus prayed. He pleaded before his crucifixion: "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me...Not as I will, but as You will. George Santayana noted, "It is not the lazy who are most inclined to prayer; those who pray most who care most... So reach out to God often and relate to Him in your own way. Use your own words, as long as they express love and respect. Give thanks when you rise, and before every meal. Listen for guidance, ask for blessings and receive love, inspiration, courage, strength and bliss. Do not just ask for more, ask for wisdom to make better use of your resources, and ask for the opportunities to serve your loved ones and your fellowmen. Ask to be His instruments to bring love, and well-being to the world. Apart from the famous and universal The Lord"s Prayer, the Our Father, I have made up an example for you, here it is: "Almighty God, Heavenly Father, I thank You deeply for everything youve given me. Please forgive me for my sins and grant me continuous protection and good health, so I can do good work on earth. Please bless me emotionally, mentally and spiritually, and fill me with your light, love, truth, wisdom, joy, grace and peace, so that I can impart the same to my fellowmen...
"I sought the lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." - Psalm 34:4.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." - One of the 8 Beatitudes, the New Testament.
"So long as you can pray when all the world has gone awry, ...So long as you can cling to hope when luck has passed you by, ...You will come out smiling in the end." - Patience Strong.
"During our short span of life we must find our own insights into our relationship with the existence in which we participate so briefly. It means a reawakening of the spiritual world, of our inner life, of religion. I don"t mean religion as a dogma or as a church, but as a vital feeling." - Boris Pasternak.
"Pray as if everything depended on God, and work as if everything depended upon man." - Archbishop Francis J. Spellman.