Article April 2, 2018 Issue

Does God hear our prayers?

George Zucker

As we were flying into Philadelphia one stormy night, the pilot announced that we would have to circle the city for an hour before we could land. Moans and muttered grumblings broke out among the passengers. I prayed to know that we were all safe in God’s eternal care and that we could be sure our disrupted plans for the evening would be resolved harmoniously.

Moments later, the pilot said, “Somebody back there has done some powerful praying! We just got clearance to land and should be on the ground in a few minutes. Thank you, whoever you are!” I was sure I wasn’t the only one who had prayed, and I smiled, giving God the credit for the good news. But some, on reading this, may wonder, Could prayer really do that?

We read in the Bible that the God of love is everywhere, filling all space. “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? … Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:23, 24). But when I was a child, someone told me that if I prayed really hard, my prayers would be answered. So when I really wanted something, I’d close my eyes and pray with clenched fists and a scrunched-up face, straining as hard as I could. And that didn’t work.

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