(Blog 69) The following information is from memory. I was listening to two scientists discussing the affect humans have on the earth. They were talking about Polar measurement of the metamagnetic system. They said that after 9/11 the measurement system reached its maximum. The Richter scale measures earthquakes and we have numerous measuring devices but one that measures the earth’s magnetic system.

Radio talk-show-host Art Bell in years past had people pray or mediate and saw how it affected people and weather to everyone’s amazement. At a point he became afraid of pursuing requests in fear of what might occur. He was concerned that if they prayed for rain, it might end up flooding.

When we were purchasing the property for Central Christian Church and erecting the building there were times we would hit a crisis. We would call our prayer team and ask that they pray. Miraculously the crisis would be solved. There were times when we had 24 hour prayer segments. The congregation was asked to pray about a certain problem or a real need. Again, the problem or need would be met. It was awesome how prayers were answered.

I was wondering, can people affect things when they focus on a particular object? Is nature or the earth programmed by God to react to people’s prayers? Scripture says: Joshua 6:2 – 5 – “Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.’”

Another Scripture says we can move mountains. Matthew 17:20 – “He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’”

How much faith and how many people praying would it take to move a mountain? If a million people went to Washington D.C. and marched around the capital for six days and on the seventh day, seven religious leaders carrying trumpets followed by the million people and when they blew their horns and the people shouted would the capital building fall down? It might produce more response from congress than town meetings or tea parties. (Please, do not take this particular illustration as something I am recommending.) However, I wonder if the world is created so prayer could change natural conditions and for walls to react to prayer. Quite a reach!

The more I learn about the power of prayer the more I am convinced that some of the things found in Scripture may be taken literally. Collectively, as a body, nothing may be impossible.

When a church is having a problem they often try to fix it themselves. A number of churches are having serious problems; apparently, they do not really believe in the power of prayer for their situation. Don’t we believe the best thing to do when a significant problem arises would be to ask the church’s membership to have organized prayer? We have personally been witnesses to what corporate prayer can do. So when all else fails and we can’t fix the problem, we know corporate prayer works!

Acts 5:14 – 16 – “Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women. As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.” NLT

It does not say some were healed but all. Scripture says that the sick and those possessed by evil spirits from the cities surrounding Jerusalem were brought into the streets to be healed. What the apostles were doing was exactly the same thing that Jesus had been doing. God was giving a sign to all who would believe that Christ was the Son of God. His followers were there to carry on with His ministry and had been given many of the same supernatural powers.

The apostolic gift of healing, meaning everyone was healed that they touched without exception, is no longer available in the church today. We know of no one who has the gift of healing as described in Acts. We know some have a gift of healing but their gift is limited. Otherwise, they could go into every hospital world-wide and heal the sick and demon-possessed.

James 5:14 – 16 – “Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” NLT

Why do you think the Bible says to call for the elders of the church to pray over the sick? Do they have a special gift for healing? Maybe it is to emphasize that the sick person must have the faith and believe that they can be healed.

Scripture said that people would come to Jesus or to the apostles to be healed. Should we believe what James is telling us? What are we to do when we are sick? Maybe James meant it was only for those in the early church when he said their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick and the Lord will make you well. We then must ask how important is confessing your sins to each other so that you might be healed? He finishes with: “the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results”.

Many believe that God has given the ministry of healing to church elders. The elders are told to anoint with oil. Oil in Scripture was often symbolic or sacramental. Kings were anointed with oil as were prophets & judges. Jesus also was anointed with oil. (Luke 7:46) Oil has a purpose and may be more than symbolic. Oil in the Old Testament was also symbolic with the Holy Spirit.

Does everyone who is prayed for get healed? Yes but often times in different ways. I have been told by some that the Holy Spirit took away all fear when they went into surgery. They were healed through surgery as most are and we shouldn’t believe prayer always takes the place of surgeries and doctors. Others have said God gave them courage to battle through some tough times and they came out healed. Others have had life changing, miraculous healing experiences. Some were taken to heaven where there will no longer be any tears or pain. Once we have done what Scripture tells us to do, we must expect God to answer prayer and we are to accept His will; whatever it may be.

I had an aunt who was completely committed to the Lord. She was in a car accident and was in critical condition. Her son said: “Mom, don’t worry. Hundreds of people are praying that God will heal you.” She replied, “Tell them to stop praying, I am praying that God takes me.” He did!

I personally have been healed from a heart attack a number of years ago. After by-pass surgery you will never convince my family or me that it was not divine intervention and God’s healing. My attending physician when he was going to be operated on for a hip replacement asked that I pray for him. He must believe in prayer after what he saw God do for me.

If we accept what Scripture is saying we must either come for prayer or we are to call an Elder if we are unable to attend a service. It is my belief that elders may be classified as church leaders. However, many do not agree that it would include those who are licensed ministers as well as church board members.

Medical statistics prove that those who are committed believers in Christ and believe that prayers heal and have Christians praying for them have a greater chance of being healed and recovering faster. Statistics also show that those who do not believe in prayer have poorer results.

Don’t let pride stop you from asking to be anointed with oil and prayed to be healed. The sick person or family it seems is obligated to make the effort. (“Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.”)

Do you know someone who God just seems to answer their every prayer? I have known two friends and especially my grandfather and my aunt Lydia who when they prayed it seemed like the Lord was in the same room. Both my aunt and grandfather have passed away but I will always remember their relationship with God through prayer.

Naturally I would like to have the same power in prayer that they have. My problem is that my prayers turn into meditation. Each day as I pray it is difficult to focus. My mind drifts to Scripture or spiritual things. For 40 years I have taught Bible classes. It takes a few hours each week to do research and write an outline for my class. During my prayer and meditation time the Holy Spirit gives me guidance to how I should develop my message. But I am far from being a prayer warrior.

Let me give some illustrations to encourage each of us to pray more and develop a closer relationship with God. My grandfather on my mother’s side was a part-time preacher and a farmer. This wasn’t unusual for in most every generation there were farmer/preachers. The family tree goes back to 1709 when the family came to Pennsylvania to a Quaker settlement. They moved to North Carolina and part of their farm is now a small portion of Duke University. Pickett Road in Durham was named after them.

In the early part of World War II my grandfather prayed especially for my nine cousins who had enlisted in the armed forces. He assured the family that God had promised him that all would return after the war. He was so certain that he told everyone not to worry.

One of my cousins was a Navy pilot and had flown 112 missions in the south pacific. On one of his return flights his engine quit and he crashed on the shore of a small island. He was knocked unconscious and the plane was on fire. A member of his squadron saw what had happened and landed his plane on the beach. He ran over and pulled him out saving his life. A short time later a PBY seaplane landed. He was brought to the aircraft on a rubber raft. He became a minister until his retirement.

My cousin Jim had two liberty ships sunk and had to swim until help arrived. My cousin Lee was a corpsman. He was involved in the invasion of Iwo Jima. The doctor and crew Jim was with returned to the ship. Jim had to take another boat back to the ship. His crew’s boat was blown up and all were killed. Normally he would have been in the same boat.

My cousin Floyd belonged to General Patton’s tank division. He was a point man directing the tanks against the enemy. They would drive a jeep to the enemy lines. They then would go on foot, scout out the enemy and advise the tanks which direction to go. The life expectancy for these men was very slim. Some lasted only a few days. He went with Patton through Africa, Italy and into Germany.

Each cousin told how they believe they were alive only because of answers to prayer. There were times when members of the family felt led to pray for a particular cousin only to later find that was the exact time a cousin was in jeopardy.

I know many of you know of similar answers to prayer. Then why don’t we spend time praying continually as the Bible suggests? It is like starving and unwilling to go to the bank and draw on one’s savings. God tells us He will answer our prayers. Do we have enough trust to believe He means it? So how do we get prayers answered?

We pray!