The Power of Prayer
Leahcim Semaj, Ph.D. - Change Agent

"If Jah be standing by my side, why should I be afraid?" (Tony Rebel)

I most homes we are exposed to the concept of prayer very early in life. Some of us are fortunate to have been the result of an answered prayer from our heavenly father to our earthly parents. Our parents usually insist that we say a prayer on waking up and also at the end of the day (after they read us the story). Once we get to school the ritual is also enforced at devotion in the morning, before we break for lunch and again at the end of the school day. With time many drift away from this early socialization only remembering to draw on it in times of trouble.

Conception and Prayer

Some recent studies discussed in the current issue of Psychology Today have been attracting the attention of event the most devout sceptics. The first was published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine reported on a surprising correlation between prayer and conception. A team from Columbia University found that prayer appeared to double the chance of pregnancy in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization treatment. The women who had someone praying for them had a 50% pregnancy rate compared to a 26% for those who had no one praying for them. What makes these results even more impressive was the fact that neither the doctors nor the 199 women in the Cha General Hospital in Seoul, Korea knew that prayers were being offered on their behalf by persons in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Longevity and Prayer

The second report is based on the work of a research team from the University of California at Berkeley. They found that Christians and Jews who attended services regularly had longer life expectancy and were less likely to die from circulatory, digestive and respiratory disease. This study examined the link between religious participation and cause-specific mortality from 1965 to 1996 in a sample of 6,545 residents in Almeda County, California. The results were still significant even after they were adjusted for variables such as health and frequency of exercise. One interpretation by the author of the study, Doug Oman, PhD., is that "It's likely a stress-buffering resource. Regular attendance at services can give people an inner peace that is unshakable. That results in less wear on their bodies".

The Rules of Engagement

I believe that many people have either forgotten or never learnt the rules of prayer. Too many of us see this powerful force as just a begging spree. Prayer is a conversation with the Devine. All conversations involve speaking and listening. Sometimes we talk too much and listen too little. How can you hear what God is trying to tell you if you wont shut your mouth and open your heart? What part of the answer did you not understand? The "N" or the "O"?
Rule One:
Even before they finish praying to me, I will answer their prayers. ISAIAH 65:24

Rule Two:
Realise that we have an unlimited account with the universal bank
Our faith is the deposit, Our prayers make the withdrawals.

Rule Three:
Many Lose Confidence in Prayer, because they do not recognize the answer
We ask God for Strength, God gives us difficulties which make us Strong
We ask God for Wisdom, God gives us problems to solve, making us Wise
We plead for Prosperity, God gives us brain and brawn to Work with
We request courage, God gives us Danger to overcome
We ask for favours, God gives us Opportunities
Yes, all prayers are answered
(Seen on the wall at Rusea's High School Office)