Article February 8, 2016 Issue

Prayer: Relevant in Bible times and today

Judy Olson

Is prayer really enough? Especially for the “big things”? The Bible is not only full of assurances, but proofs, that prayer based on spiritual understanding is enough. There are hundreds of accounts of individuals who overcame seemingly hopeless challenges through prayer alone. These examples of the efficacy of prayer are timeless, alive, relevant today. They help us face our difficulties.

Perhaps it’s easy to think that people and things were different back then—that “those people in the Bible” were so spiritually minded, and things weren’t nearly so complicated! The argument is sneaky that insists that today we’re such a technological, psychological, pharmaceutical, sophisticated, secular society that prayer alone is old-fashioned, impractical, or simply not enough.

Yet, a careful reading of Bible accounts shows “those people in the Bible” had the same thoughts people today have—of inadequacy, unworthiness, fear, doubt. Same problems—depression, stress, poverty, homelessness, illness. Same crying needs, too—for a sense of meaningfulness, direction, health, and feeling loved.

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