The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. – James 5:16
It has been impressed upon me lately that many people who are not Christians have experienced the power of prayer firsthand, perhaps without even realizing it.
A while back, a plane was forced to make an emergency landing on New York’s Hudson River. News reports said that many passengers onboard began praying to God for protection as the plane descended, and miraculously, no life was lost!1 Another news article told that when a tornado hit a Tennessee university in 2008, about fifteen students decided to wait out the storm inside the campus chapel. They began praying for God to help, and He did. The report said that eleven hundred vehicles were damaged by the tornado and entire buildings were wiped out, yet not a single person died.2 Another incident from years ago involved fourteen people who became stuck inside an elevator. After waiting about half an hour, they realized their air supply was limited. One man in the group asked if everyone else would pray silently while he prayed out loud, and they all agreed. Only a minute or so after the prayer was finished, they were freed and no one was hurt.3
Prayer works! And to the unbelieving, it is an incredible witness of God’s power and love. He is so faithful to listen to His children when we turn to Him in times of trouble, and He will answer as our loving Heavenly Father. God is more than able to help us with any situation, and there is not a problem too small or too large for Him to be concerned with.
Just this week in my own life, two problems came up that I was unable to solve on my own. I simply asked God to help me, and in a few minutes the answers came. It was as simple as that—God heard and answered! What a privilege we have to be able to whisper a prayer when problems and trials come along!