Signs of the Times

with contributions from Earl L. Douglass

Earl L. Douglass in the Pueblo Star Journal, Colorado [Courtesy Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, Inc.]

There can be no doubt as to the place of prayer in the life of every sincere, believing Christian.

The Bible records the fact that from earliest times men have been seeking God in prayer....

Jesus in his teachings had much to say about prayer. First he constantly employed prayer in his own life. All through the Gospels he gives the impression of being in constant communication with the heavenly Father. When he had a great decision to make, he preceded it by a long season of prayer.

Jesus encouraged his disciples to pray not just for little victories but for great victories.... He declared that if they had faith, they could remove mountains. His was a life teeming with spiritual vitality, and he declared to his disciples that the power given to him could and would be accorded them, if they showed themselves capable and worthy of using it. One of his great declarations was, "With God all things are possible." ...

There is no circumstance in life so small that we may not offer up a prayer to God for guidance and support concerning it. There is not circumstance in life so overwhelming that we may not consign it into God's hands, with full confidence that He can and will handle it in wisdom and love.... We are to pray with purpose. We are to pray confidently....

Our Lord ... sent his disciples out on a preaching and healing mission, and they came back and reported triumph. Quite evidently, God intended that faith in divine healing should continue to be a message and a reality in the life of the church.

Belief in the possibility of divine healing has been in abeyance in the church far too long. We are awaking at last to the realization that God never intended healing to cease. The good word still is: "Is any sick among you?" Let him pray. "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

From an article in the New York Times, New York

Empire passes, with all its glory, but freedom, in all its glory, stands forever. No weapon, as we now realize, looking back on past horrors and heroism, can kill it. Free men could endure, and conquer, if this were necessary to preserve their freedom, even the ultimate weapon, even the fire stolen from the heart of the sun.

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January 14, 1956

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