06/17/2024
The proof of prayer is our study this morning. Although scientists have presented evidence in an attempt to destabilize our belief in its effectiveness, believers continue to experience the positive effects of prayer in their faith and lives. Proving prayer scientifically evades us because it is vaporous and spiritual in nature, but it also shows us hidden things that we could not know or experience otherwise.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
Jeremiah 33:3 ESV
Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote,
"Prayer is no untried theory. Prayer is a divine arrangement from God; designed for the benefit of mankind, intended as a means for furthering the interests of His cause on earth, and carrying out His gracious purposes in redemption and providence. Prayer proves itself."
But C.S. Lewis wrote something a bit a bit more scholarly:
“Some things are proved by the unbroken uniformity of our experiences. The law of gravitation is established by the fact that, in our experience, all bodies without exception obey it. Now even if all the things that people prayed for happened, which they do not, this would not prove what Christians mean by the efficacy of prayer. For prayer is request. The essence of request, as distinct from compulsion, is that it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant and some¬ times refuse them. Invariable “success” in prayer would not prove the Christian doctrine at all. It would prove something much more like magic —“
As Christians, we know the power that praying demonstrates in our lives, and in the lives of those who receive intercessory prayer as well. Yesterday I wrote about a tree being plucked from atop me with not a scratch to myself or my car. Science would say that there is no evidence of this being a manifestation of prayer, but having experienced it first hand, I can tell you that it was a miraculous answer to prayer. We are in disagreement, science and I, about how to view what occurred in the midst of that storm.
I also told you that during my encounter there was a car following a ways behind me, and that those in this car must have witnessed the event... But the car vanished and the people are not available for interview. Science would discount their existence due to my inability to present them... but of course if these witnesses had come forward there would have been every effort on the part of the unbelievers to disprove their testimony.
So what are we to do in regards to our belief in prayer? How can one prove to himself that prayer is what Christianity claims it to be? Well, Pastor Bounds says it is simple... "If any man wants to know the virtue of prayer, if he wants to know what it can achieve, let him pray. Let him put prayer to the test."
But there are certain ingredients to answered prayer that Bounds has left out of this statement... Faith, and God's will. For prayer to be effective there must be faith in its existence, and further, a prayer must be prayed that conforms itself to the will of God. Jesus says this to those who might question the authority of His teaching, and it is true of prayer as well...
“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.”
John 7:17-18 KJV
If you are doubtful of prayer, continue to pray anyway. In the continuous offering of prayers you will find yourself understanding that you are in the presence of God, and then with further words of prayer, you will begin to believe, and see Him move on your requests and behalf. God hears our prayers and He also hears the faith or doubt in us as we offer them. To the faithful He is inclined to grant their desires, but to those who doubt He is inclined to grant them first a measure of faith.
As different people read my account of the storm and the falling tree yesterday, there were those who believed this to be a miracle because their faith told them it was consistent with God's answer to prayer in their own lives... however, there were others who doubted what had occurred was of God because they (like Thomas) had to be there and witness firsthand the lifting of the tree by an unseen force... and then, there is a third group who doubted the storm was that severe or that a tree split in the first place. Scientific studies can be lumped into the third group. So we are left with a question of faith that requires us to believe based on our trust in the Word of God, and the emphasis on prayer that is overwhelming when we read the bible. Listen to what is said in just three passages…
“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
1 John 5:14-15 KJV
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”
James 1:6 KJV
So this morning let each of us pray with that measure of faith within us, or in our hope of acquiring some portion of faith on which to found the germination of our newly emerging ability to pray. Let's trust in God to provide and to deliver, but most of all let's pray that God increases His presence within us as He demonstrates His magnificence and mercy through our answered pleas.
Science will remain befuddled by prayer, and faith in general because they defy scientific proof, but in the hands of the Christian believer, prayer and faith are mighty tools by which we petition our all-powerful God. Prayer is the word of God brought to life within us.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for giving us prayer as way of speaking with you, and petitioning your goodness, mercy, and favor. Thank you Lord for this amazing and mysterious gift that allows us to bridge heaven and earth; joining the physical with the spiritual. In prayer our belief and trust in you manifests itself in worldly action, and the advancement of our faith in spiritual increase. Jesus told the Samarian woman that you were Spirit, and Father, we believe what He said to be true. Our faith in Him, your Son, demands that we accepted this revelation. Help those of us who believe to pray in confidence, and in conformance with your will. And Father, lead those who don’t believe to an acceptance of your Son as their savior, and through Him to you. Help all mankind to realize that you are God, that Jesus is you Son, and that prayer is a gift given us by you so that we can converse with you, and enter into a relationship with you, and Jesus Christ. Hear this our prayer for the unbeliever that they will come to believe, and hear our prayers for your messengers who bring your Word, and the gospel of Jesus, to them. Amen!
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:24
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
1 Peter 3:12
Rich Forbes