The Power of Prayer ?

Major promises / prophecies made by Jesus about "the power of prayer":         According to the four Gospels Jesus made all of the following promises: John 14:13-14      " I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.  John 15:7      "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."  John 16:23-24       "On that day you will not question me about anything.  Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete." John 9:31       "We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will." Matt. 18:19       "Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. Matt. 7:7-11       "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?  Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake?   If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! " Luke 11:9-13       And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.'  And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'  I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.  "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."    Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?  Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"   Matt. 21:21-22       And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain,  `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen.  "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Mark 11:24-25       "So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." {Luke 18: 1-8}       Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.  In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.' And the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them."

How accurate have the promises of Jesus proven to be over time? Can you imagine the number of prayers that must have been directed to heaven from the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, not just from the 6 million Jews who suffered horribly before eventually dying there, but from the 4 million Christians and others who died in those camps as well?  We don't know of many of those prayers being answered.  But we know of millions of cases in which  "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive," does not reflect what happened.  In July, 1966, a mass-murderer, named Richard Speck, stabbed, strangled and raped eight student nurses in their Chicago dormitory. One nurse survived the attack by rolling under a bed and squeezing herself between the bed and the wall. From her hiding place, she could hear her fellow students begging for their lives and praying to God. Despite their prayers, the killer dispatched them all one by one. Afterwards she thanked God for her survival. It didn't occur to her that unlike the others, who had all prayed in vain to the same God for deliverance, she alone survived due to her quick-witted decision to roll under the bed. The same might be said of the more recent hurricane Katrina, when thousands of good Christians were stranded under horrible conditions on roof tops surrounded by filthy flood waters for days. Thousands prayed constantly for relief. But the result was another hurricane (Rita) and a terribly inadequate response on the part of both the state and federal authorities! Power of prayer found wanting in hospital trial by Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent Oct. 15, 2003         The biggest scientific experiment on prayer has failed to find any evidence that it helps to heal the sick. Doctors in the United States will today disclose that heart patients who were prayed for by groups of strangers recovered from surgery at the same rate as those who were not. The three-year study, led by cardiologists from Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina, involved 750 patients in nine hospitals and 12 prayer groups around the world, from Christians in Manchester to Buddhists in Nepal. [ from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/15/npray15.xml &sSheet=/news/2003/10/15/ixhome.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=215019] While "people of faith" are convinced that all kinds of happy events and cures that are hard to explain by normal causes must be attributed to God answering prayers, an entire web site is devoted to the matter of amputees. If God is all powerful and answers prayers, then why is it that God appears to be either unwilling or unable to replace lost limbs. Why is it that God's power to heal seems to be limited to situations where cures by natural or scientific causes are very unusual, but not impossible? See http://whywontgodhealamputees.com.       What can we conclude from the fact that the vast number of prayers are not answered, as opposed to the infinitesmal number that are? The only reasonable answers from which we can choose are either Jesus was mistaken, those who reported his words were mistaken. or in 2000 years there has yet to be a true believer with faith enough to move a mountain, (or even a molehill for that matter) .

The Wise Old Jewish Man     In Jerusalem, a CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Wailing Wall to pray, twice a day, everyday, for a long, long time. So she went to check it out. She went to the Wailing Wall and there he was!     She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, she approached him for an interview. "I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. Sir, how long have you been coming to the Wall and praying?" "For about 60 years." "60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?" "I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims.   I pray for all the hatred to stop and I pray for all our children to grow up in safety and friendship." "How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?" "Like I'm talking to a wall."         In a small Texas town, ( Mt. Vernon ) Drummond’s bar began construction on a new building to increase their business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers. Work progressed right up till the week before opening when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground.         The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building’s demise in its reply to the court.         As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing he commented, “I don’t know how I’m going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not."

Although Jesus of Nazareth is and ought to be one of our greatest heroes, only dishonesty can blind us to his failings, one of which has to do with his many promises regarding the power of prayer. One of the inevitable consequences of hanging on to the weakest aspects of the bible is to drag down trust and appreciation for the best parts of the bible, which we stress in other parts of our website, such as http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/Christlike.html http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/Godvsgreed.html http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/challenge.html http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/salvation.html http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/women&jesus.html     Here is what one perceptive person writes about the many explicit promises made by Jesus, and just because he is an atheist doesn't detract in the least from the truth of his words:         "Jesus is quoted many times in the Bible saying that a believer can ask for anything through prayer and receive it.  He even goes so far as to say that mountains and trees can be thrown into the sea simply by praying for it.  This is clearly a lie, and can be proven to be a lie by any believer  Simply pray for me to be converted to Christianity right away  Or better yet ask God to move the mountains behind my house  He could make a lot of converts that way  If I’m converted today, I’ll post a public apology on my web site and devote my life to kissing God’s ass  If I’m not converted it would only be fair for you to apologize and devote your life to kissing my butt."  ( from the web page called : www.evilbible.com/Jesus_Lied.htm ).         If truth is words that accurately reflect reality, then which words are more truthful, those of Jesus, or those of this atheist?         If you really believe in the power of prayer, and you are badly hurt in a serious accident some day in some out of the way place, and one lonely car comes your way, which would make you happier?  A busload of church people who can pray up a storm for you?  or an ambulance with a good medical technician or doctor on board?         "I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs". - Frederick Douglass         "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei         "Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." - Thomas Jefferson         The "power of prayer" is an interesting expression.  What is the appeal of prayer to so many people?  Doesn't it seem that people believe in the power of prayer in inverse proportion to the power they enjoy in life?  The more powerless you feel in life, the more you want to believe that you have a special relationship to an almighty God which makes you powerful despite all the evidence to the contrary.         The Pew Research Center has studied the views of many religious groups regarding answers to prayers and reported their finding at http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#

Miracles         In the verses immediately preceeding the verses we quoted at the top of this page, Jesus said not only that we should believe him on the basis of the "works", i.e. miracles, that he had performed, but that future generations should believe the apostles and their successors on the basis of "even greater works" that they would be empowered to perform: John 14:11-12       "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.  Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." If this isn't faith, what is ? 30 August 2006 [ from http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17646670&method=full &siteid=66633&headline=miracle-is-sunk--name_page.html ]         "Evangelist preacher Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle.  But he drowned after walking out to sea from a beach in the capital Libreville in Gabon, west Africa         One eyewitness said: "He told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus.  'He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat.  He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back.' "         Now, if this guy didn't have "enough faith", how much more did he need?!?        A generation ago, Europe was still "the craddle of Christianity". Today, it is more like its mausoleum, with the vast majority of the population using the church only as a backdrop to celebrate the important life events of birth, marriage and death.         I strongly believe the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth is worth saving, But so long as "Christians" insist on keeping Jesus tied to Paul of Tarsus, and to "inerrant scriptures", with all that entails, I fear that Jesus great teaching and example won't survive as a truly meaningful force much longer in the U.S. than it has in Europe.That is why several of the pages that I have published on my web sites deal with the issues brought up very effectively - in my view - by this video, i.e. : http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/Paulvsall.html and http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/salvation.html to show how very different the teaching of Paul of Tarsus is from that of Jesus of Nazareth http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/inerrancy.html to show how untenable the idea of "the inerrancy of the bible" http://www.whatkindofgod.org/ to show that the bible contains a great deal of terrible teaching about God http://www.whatkindofgod.org/powerofprayer.html which I created about a year before this video came on board to make a similar point where prayer is concerned.         The following is a video designed by non-believers to challenge "thinking Christians" regarding some of the problems I address on these page. I think they do a good job of raising questions to which Christians must give better answers than they have thus far. http://youtube.com/watch?v=zDHJ4ztnldQ&feature=related         Here are those questions: 1 If God is almighty and performs some miracles and hears some prayers, Why does God never heal amputees? 2. If you believe that God cares about you and answers your prayers, why does God allow so many millions of innocent children to suffer unnecessarily and die? 3. Why would a loving God require the killing of so many innocent people in the bible? 4. Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific non-sense? 5. Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the bible? 6. Why do bad things happen to so many good people? 7. Why didn't any of Jesus' miracles leave behind any evidence? 8. How do you explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you? 9. Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood? 10. Why do Christians (who considered themselves brought together by God) get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?

The Prayer of Jabez vs. Jesus' of Nazareth's "Good News to the Poor"         During an uneventful time in Israel's history, a faithful man named Jabez prayed a simple, straightforward prayer and gained the favor and blessings of God.  Now, a small book has prompted millions of saints and seekers to memorize and repeat the same prayer daily.  After three thousand years of obscurity, Jabez has found surprising favor with the world of "Christian Conservatives". According to 1 Chron 4:10 : "Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that Thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast [territory], and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!' And God granted him that which he requested."         This book – not Jabez' prayer, or the Bible – promises rewards from God.  In the book's opening words, the author, Bruce Wilkinson offers to teach you "how to pray a daring prayer that god always answers," and later makes the following claims and promises :           "Thousands of believers who are applying its truths are seeing miracles happen on a regular basis.  Will you join me for a personal exploration of Jabez? I hope you will!"         "Make the Jabez prayer for blessing part of the daily fabric of your life.  To do that, I encourage you to follow unwaveringly the plan outlined here for the next thirty days.  By the end of that time, you'll be noticing significant changes in your life. . .  Read the Jabez prayer every morning. . .  Reread this little book once each week during the next month. . ." The Prayer of Jabez, page 86.         What would Christian Fundamentalists do, if they couldn't find and use obscure little passages like these in "God's Word" to neutralize and negate the teaching of Jesus to his followers to rid themselves of excessive earthly possessions?  This is why it is so crucial for all good "fundamentalists" to insist on the inspiration of every verse of Scripture, and to consider the most obscure verses all "God's Word", and therefore the equal of anything spoken by Jesus, the Son of God.         The http://www.christianbook.com/html/static/PrayerofJabez.html page is full of commercial products relating to this book which some organization has awarded the "Gold Medallion for 2002".         Apparently, Dr. James Dobson, the very influential head of "Focus on the Family" gave the book his blessing in spades when referred to a letter about Bruce Wilkinson's book and the effect it has had on future plans of F.O.T.F. as the "most important letter he ever wrote."         For those who might be interested in following Jesus Christ, rather than Bruce Wilkinson, see what Jesus himself identified as his most important teaching.         If we are to believe Matthew, Jesus didn' t have much use for repetitive prayers, and if there was a prayer that he had to recommend, it wasn't the "prayer of Jabez" – which he really should have recommended to his followers, if he was as smart as Bruce WIlkinson – , but it was the prayer below : Matthew 6:7 – 15          "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you ; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' "         It's amazing how Conservative Protestants who think ill of Roman Catholics for praying the "Our Father" repeatedly as part of "the rosary", are now embracing the "Prayer of Jabez" fad!         If you find MY view of prayer sceptical, see Betty Bowers' view of prayer.         I'm no advocate of paganism or wiccan, but here's an example of "the power of prayer": http://www.somareview.com/index.cfm, September 3, 2007 "Gods and Goddesses Be Praised"         "Christians who pray for lucky lottery tickets but never win might consider switching over to Wicca. New Age devotee Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett says he made a deal with Wiccan gods before purchasing tickets in Friday's Mega Millions drawing: "You let me win the lottery," he vowed, "and I'll teach" Wiccan beliefs. Apparently, the gods were listening. He bought two $5 tickets at a liquor store, and on Sunday he announced he was one of four winners of a $330 million jackpot."

Words of Comfort for those facing great pain or sadness:

I wish I had something truly inspiring to say, but it seems a little unfair that when Jesus was confronted with such issues, he could invoke divine powers and cure people. According to John, 14:12 – 14 Jesus promised that his followers would be able to perform miracles, too: "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it." But most of the "followers" who appear to have such powers have proven to be charlatans. So that leaves people like me with no such powers and nothing better to say than, "Short of a miracle, if nature takes its course, we can hope for a better life beyond this one.

"People of Faith" vs. "Agnostics"         Why do people who don't believe what so many others believe want to be considered "people of faith" ?   Are you a "believer" or a "sceptic" if you refuse to believe in the entire New Testament (as most non-Christians do) Gospel of Thomas (as many Christians do) Qu'ran (as all but the Muslims do) much Roman Catholic dogma (as most non-Catholics do) Mormon – (as all but the Mormons do) Urantia – Qu'ran (as all but the a few believers in Urantia do)