{"id":5929,"date":"2017-02-22T23:49:27","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T23:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/?p=5929"},"modified":"2017-02-23T14:14:09","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T14:14:09","slug":"the-power-of-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/the-power-of-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power Of Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE POWER OF PRAYER<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

by: Mike Dial<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

IN TIMES OF DISTRESS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It was one of those bright spring morning in Korea, the place of my temporary assignment. I was<\/span><\/p>\n

dressed in my Air Force uniform,\u00a0 walking past budding cherry blossom trees,\u00a0 beside a strip mall. There<\/span><\/p>\n

were a number of people going about their business and I noticed somebody cleaning the yard heading<\/span><\/p>\n

in my direction with his noisy mower.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Suddenly, I heard the mower stopped and the man scampered away. The people too, quickly<\/span><\/p>\n

dispersed and stood near the shops, as if holding their breath in suspense.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was complete silence\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

But why are they staring at me?<\/span><\/p>\n

What did I do, and what could it be?<\/span><\/p>\n

I surveyed my surroundings and<\/span><\/p>\n

there it was on the ground \u2013 a snake!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My mind worked in hyper speed mode to consider the few alternatives I had. I knew I could not outrun<\/span><\/p>\n

the snake and saying my rosary was not an option, so I chose the only recourse I have left and that is<\/span><\/p>\n

to confront my adversary.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The snake seemed to be momentarily frozen on its tracks as I marched towards it praying silently with<\/span><\/p>\n

trembling determination, \u201cO God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help\u2026help\u2026help me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I bent down and quickly grabbed the snake by the head as I heard gasps from the onlookers. I then<\/span><\/p>\n

placed the snake in a plastic bag that I had with me and went about my way\u2026praising God.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m a believer!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prayer works!<\/span><\/p>\n

IN UNEXPECTED PLACES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I can remember about forty years ago when I was just learning how to pray. I was reading a book<\/span><\/p>\n

about an agnostic fellow, a scientist by trade. He went about to prove his hypothesis that prayer does<\/span><\/p>\n

not work. He experimented in his laboratory by praying to plants and animals, and measuring the<\/span><\/p>\n

effects. At the end of his experiment, he was astounded to know that the plants and animals that were<\/span><\/p>\n

prayed for exhibited healthy growth that surpassed the others in quality.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The unbelieving scientist converted and became a minister.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was sharing his conversion story one morning to his congregation and said that if they doubt his<\/span><\/p>\n

story, they should buy their seeds, and pray.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it worked on plants and animals, what more on people,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That\u2019s just what I did after reading the book. I called my five year<\/span><\/p>\n

old daughter, Myra, and explained to her the experiment we<\/span><\/p>\n

were about to perform.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We placed one seed inside each of several film canisters, filled<\/span><\/p>\n

them with soil, and labeled\u00a0 each canister with a number.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I instructed my daughter that we would provide the same<\/span><\/p>\n

drops of water for each canister, place them on top of our<\/span><\/p>\n

washroom window for sunlight, and briefly separate a controlled<\/span><\/p>\n

canister so we could pray for it. She agreed.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After a few days none of the seeds showed any activity except for the<\/span><\/p>\n

seed inside the canister that we prayed for. There was a visible sprout. We got excited and started to<\/span><\/p>\n

measure its daily growth. I placed a ruler beside the growing plant, took pictures to document the<\/span><\/p>\n

experiment, and collected pertinent data.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the second week, the plant growth from the seed inside the canister that was prayed for had<\/span><\/p>\n

grown considerably compared to the others that were just beginning to shoot forth. Some seeds did not<\/span><\/p>\n

show any activity at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The experiment must have created a big impression on my daughter especially at her kindergarten<\/span><\/p>\n

class in a military base where I was stationed. Her teacher told us that one day, she asked my daughter<\/span><\/p>\n

to watch the class while she went to the office to get something. When she returned, she found the<\/span><\/p>\n

whole class kneeling down while my daughter was teaching them how to pray.<\/span><\/p>\n

IN UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My wife the other day tripped and broke a glass of water she was holding. She got upset with me and<\/span><\/p>\n

said that I must have been thinking something bad about her, that\u2019s why the accident happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not true, but the incident made me wonder. Can negative thoughts and negative words have negative<\/span><\/p>\n

effects on people? Can the opposite be true? The Bible says, \u201cBe careful how you think; your life is<\/span><\/p>\n

shaped by your thoughts,\u201d Proverbs 4:23.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I remember reading an article of a scientist from Japan named Dr. Masaru Emoto. His research<\/span><\/p>\n

involved exposing water to different words, music, prayer and thoughts. Then he froze the water and<\/span><\/p>\n

applied microscopic photography to reveal the cellular pattern of the water.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The water that was subjected to loving words or positive thoughts resulted in beautiful crystal<\/span><\/p>\n

formation. The opposite is true for the water that was scolded or subjected to bad thoughts; the<\/span><\/p>\n

crystal formation there were jagged and lacked symmetry. He later extended his experiment to rice<\/span><\/p>\n

placed in a jar with different words written and taped outside. The results confirmed his water test.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My family eat rice everyday so it was easy for me to try the rice experiment. I placed rice in three<\/span><\/p>\n

different jars and wrote \u201cI Love You, Thank You\u201d in one jar, then \u201cI Hate You, Stupid Fool\u201d in the other,<\/span><\/p>\n

and \u201cIgnore\u201d for my control jar which I intended to do just what the word indicated.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After a few days we had some unexpected visitors<\/span><\/p>\n

and I have completely forgotten my experiment. I<\/span><\/p>\n

found them by chance about a month later, and<\/span><\/p>\n

the jar with the \u201cI love you\u201d was still white rice,<\/span><\/p>\n

with a pleasant aroma, in contrast to the other<\/span><\/p>\n

two that rotted with mold.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inspired by the results of my rice experiment, I now decided to see the effect of a prayer card with a<\/span><\/p>\n

dead plant. This particular prayer card contained some gold flakes they call \u201cAngel Dust.\u201d It was<\/span><\/p>\n

collected before mass which materialized due to\u00a0 the\u00a0 presence of Emma De Guzman, the Filipino mystic<\/span><\/p>\n

and counterpart of Maria Esperanza of Venezuela.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u00a0 placed the prayer card beside the dead plant overnight. The next day, I was surprised to see<\/span><\/p>\n

the plant fully revived. Was it the printed prayer itself, the gold dust taped to it, or the Holy Picture?<\/span><\/p>\n

I would never know, but my five year old daughter, Myra, whom I performed my initial plant experiment<\/span><\/p>\n

forty years ago would try to answer that question.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The miraculous occurrence happened this way: My wife and I were enjoying our vacation overseas<\/span><\/p>\n

two years ago when we received an emergency phone call from our daughter, Myra. She was seen by a<\/span><\/p>\n

doctor in California for an epileptic seizure and was diagnosed with a very active form of brain tumor.<\/span><\/p>\n

She could not work or drive anymore. She was given two months to live because her cancer was already<\/span><\/p>\n

stage 4. We came home right away.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We called our friends and different prayer groups to pray for her. Some came to her house bringing their<\/span><\/p>\n

favorite statues, rosaries, medals, and other sacramental. I brought my \u201cspecial\u201d prayer card, of course,<\/span><\/p>\n

and laid it over her head. A priest later came and performed the Last Rites.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That was over two years ago, and tomorrow she is dropping off her two boys for us to babysit.<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s fine.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, what was it that affected her miraculous healing?<\/span><\/p>\n

Without a doubt, it was the power of prayer coupled<\/span><\/p>\n

with sacrifices made by meaningful friends and relatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew 17:21.<\/span><\/p>\n

[March retreat in Atlanta<\/a><\/span>]<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[Michael Brown Special Reports<\/a><\/span>]<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

[Books written by Michael Brown<\/a><\/span>]<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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