Article August 26, 1905 Issue

Is Prayer a Reserve Force?

Alfred Farlow

Boston Times

Recently a noted divine declared, "Parents have no right to pray for their children's lives until they have first done all they can to save them through the science of medicine and surgery."

This is not in keeping with the Scriptural teaching that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." We can scarcely believe that it was the gentleman's intention to assert that man should first exhaust his own strength before leaning upon the omnipotent arm. It is certain that there is no Scriptural authority for regarding God simply as a reserve power. By implicit reliance upon Him we rightly honor Him and reap a reward in harmony.

Jesus declared, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing," implying that we should lean as heavily upon Spirit as possible in every age of the world, not only during the claims of our troubles but in their incipiency. We should even trust God before we are sick, as a preventive of trouble. It is a very grave error to suppose that one who places his dependence upon Spirit is doing less to help himself than the one who resorts to material remedies, and the present results of trusting God demonstrate the truth of this declaration. Is it less rational or less Christian to depend upon the certainty of divine providence than to pin one's faith to the uncertainty of materia medica?

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