Prayer Puzzles Scientists

Ephesians 6:18
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…”

Several years ago, the Southern Medical Journal reported that prayers can help sick hospital patients, even if they don’t know they are being prayed for. However, some of the scientists involved said they would not accept the findings unless there was a certifiable miracle.

Most, but not all, scientists are evolutionists. As evolutionists, they can only accept that which is capable of being observed and measured. Of course, this rejects the existence of God, man’s soul or man’s relationship to God. Yet a number of studies on Christian prayer have been done, and they all seem to show that prayer works. In this latest study, 12 percent of those prayed for were better off than those who were not prayed for.

As Christians, we need to be careful in thinking about scientific studies on prayer. We pray because our loving heavenly Father has commanded us to pray and because He has promised to hear us. Each one of us is an individual, and God treats us as individuals, not like statistics in an experiment. Finally, we shouldn’t think of prayer as something that forces God to do anything – what is done is always His will, not ours. But the fact that we can verify that prayer works gives us encouragement and helps to convince others that God truly desires a relationship with each one of us.

Prayer:
Dear Father, I thank You that You hear and answer my prayer as if I were the only one praying, even though millions may be praying at the same time. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:

“Study indicates power of strangers’ prayer may help heal sick people,” Star Tribune, Sunday/Jan.29/1989/ 5B. Photo: Courtesy of Sergei Frolov. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.