The Most Amazing Power – Prayer
A poorly dressed woman with a look of defeat on her face walked into a store. She approached the owner of the store in a very humble manner and asked if he would let her take some food on credit. The owner refused her request and asked her to leave. A customer standing by the counter overheard the conversation and told the owner he would be willing to pay the amount the woman owed.
The owner reluctantly said to the woman, “Just put your order list on the scale, and whatever it weighs, I will give you that amount of food.” The woman bowed her head and hesitantly reached into her purse to take out a small piece of paper with some written words on it. Looking more disheartened this time, she placed the piece of paper on one of the pans of the weighing scale.
To the amazement of the owner and the customer, the scale dropped and stayed down on the side where the piece of paper was placed. Without taking his eyes off the scale, the owner exclaimed, “I cannot believe this.” The customer smiled while the owner started putting food on the other side of the scale until the pan could no longer contain it. The owner was utterly surprised.
Finally, the owner took the piece of paper from the scale and was even more amazed when he read what was written on it. It was not an order slip but a prayer which said, “Dear Lord, You know my needs and I am leaving them in Your hands.” The owner handed the food from the scale to the woman and stood in silence.
The woman thanked him and left the store. The customer handed a $50 bill to the owner and said, “It is worth every penny. Now we know how much a prayer weighs.”
Researchers from the United States and Dutch universities have conducted a number of experiments and found out that when ordinary people encounter anger or are misunderstood, if they choose to spend time to pray for the other person, their anger can disappear.
A similar experiment conducted among Christians by the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands obtained the same result. Studies showed that following an undesirable incident, such as a missed flight, when people pray, a higher percentage of the time they attribute the cause to factors beyond man’s control rather than assigning the blame to someone’s shortcoming. A Dutch researcher, said, “Prayer can indeed dissipate anger and change one’s perspective towards a certain matter.”
The power of prayer is amazing. Sinners can be saved by praying; the weak can be strengthened by praying; the poor can be supplied by praying; the irate can be calmed by praying; the ones in pain can rejoice by praying; the dying can obtain eternal life by praying; the irreconcilable can be reconciled by prayer. The power of prayer is truly amazing.