The Work of Prayer

I don't know why this is on my mind today, but it is; ever faithful to the itinerant winds of my mind, I'm going to talk about it with you. The topic is prayer, and an interesting question that comes up frequently concerning prayer: does it actually work? This is a question that prompted a "scientific" study of prayer a few years ago. I wish I had stopped for a few moments to think about what such a study might reveal, and predict it before my friend revealed the results. I probably could have come quite close.

For the study, they took several groups of sick people. One group was prayed for, but not told they were being prayed for; a second was not prayed for, but told they were; and a third was prayed for as well as being told they were prayed for. And they judged the results in healing times and frequencies. They were determined, by this test, to see if prayer actually worked or not.  Before I tell you what happened (if you haven't already heard of this study) let's pause to examine prayer from a Scriptural stand-point, instead of a (popular) cultural one.
First of all, when we ask "Does prayer work?" we often neglect to ask "What is prayer supposed to do?" Obviously, if a lawn mower is not supposed to cut grass to a certain height, we cannot say of a sloppily-mown field that the lawnmower must not work. So when healing does not occur, or our dream job does not materialize, we cannot say "Well I guess my prayers didn't work" unless prayer is supposed to cause healing and bring us our dream job.

Over time, this is what prayer has come to mean, which is why we have a study to see if prayer really brings about physical healing. But there's a few things to consider, first: in Matthew 6:8 Jesus tells us that God already knows what we want before we ask. Romans 8:26 reminds us that even if we don't know what to pray, the Holy Spirit is interceding on our behalf. From these two verses it would seem that what we pray is not strictly important.

There are other verses to consider, though: I Thessalonians 5:7 says to pray without ceasing; in Matthew 6 Jesus instructs his disciples how to pray; James 1:5 instructs us to ask God for wisdom; James 4:2 says we do not have because we do not ask God. So it is important that we do, actually, pray. In light of these verses, the first two take on a different shade: don't worry about what to pray, just pray.

So if God already knows what we want, and the Holy Spirit is going to intercede if we pray for the "wrong" thing, what does that tell us about prayer? It's not a new concept: prayer is for us, not for God. It is not to bend God's will to ours, but to bend our will to God's; to bring us into relationship with Him that we may see the world through His eyes instead of our own. Prayer, in another way of thinking about it, is to teach us something about God. Through His answer to our prayer, we learn more about His nature and His being. Which makes sense: John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."


The study of prayer found that the ones who believed they were being prayed for -- whether they actually were or not -- healed faster and more consistently than those who did not believe they were being prayed for. For scientists, this points to a placebo effect -- that healing is in the mind, not in supernatural forces. It is, of course, a perfectly humanist conclusion.


My take? God is not something you can test. Did prayer "work"? Yes, it did; it revealed something of the nature of God. That faith heals: Matthew 13:58 "And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." That God is not just supernatural medicine; He is a being that desires relationship with His creation. The entirety of Scripture is about bringing us back into relationship with Him, and once we are brought back, prayer is one way of actually carrying on that relationship.


So pray; pray continuously, with faith, with joy; talk to God; have a conversation; have a frivolous conversation, at least once; spend time with Him; act like a child of His, not an employee.


See you Wednesday.