Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Power of Prayer

After much consideration, and careful thought, I've concluded that prayer is in fact, a very powerful thing.

Let me give you an example, using a hypothetical scenario:

You see a blind man walking down the block, and he drops his cord, you pray for him to pick it back up, instead of picking it back up and handing it to him. As a result, he steps toward where he heard it fall, and accidentally kicks it out of reach again (think the classic zombie chasing his own head joke). You continue praying for him to retrieve the thing instead of picking it up and handing it to him, and he eventually kicks it into the gutter. Now you switch gears: You pray for his safety, instead of taking any actual action. he tumbles into the street, but wait... IT'S A MIRACLE! He finally grasps his cord tightly, and starts righting himself. As he's dusting himself off, a bus comes by and plows him down. None of this would have happened if you hadn't sat there praying and watching.

Now, here's another scenario.

A frail, tiny woman, who's 230 years old if she's a day, boards a city bus. There's one seat open, and it's ten feet from the door, but the bus is trying to stay on schedule, and she's shuffling at the speed of a dissipating egg fart. I could pray for her safety. The bus lurches forward, and her cane goes flying as she loses her grip on the support bar at the front. I could start praying that she's okay, which would result in her tiny skin-draped skeleton clattering to the floor with a sickening crack. Then, the bus would stop completely as everyone awaits the inevitable ambulance. They would cart her away, and there would be dozens of requests for more prayers for her well being as she lay in the hospital recovering from her forty-seventh hip surgery. Ultimately, she would perish and disintegrate into a pile of dust that would be carried away by the wind, and the world would be populated by one less. I don't pray for her.


Does this make me a terrible person?

No, just a faithless one.


Instead, I extend my arm, catch her, and let her cling to my forearm for dear life as she continues her epic sojourn to the open seat. I hand her her cane, and she thanks me.


Do my actions make me a wonderful human being?

No, just a responsible one.


I could have prayed, but I was too busy helping instead.

Why?

Prayer is a very powerful thing. It kills.

Happy Sunday, all.

Remember: don't just stand there, do something.

1 comment:

  1. There are actually studies which have shown that sick people who are prayed for have increased recovery. That being said, I agree with the general point of the post. If you can see a logical chain of cause and effect that will lead you from where you are now to what you would like to see happen, then do that. If you're completely and utterly stumped, which still happens to the best of us sometimes, then and only then might it be time to "release it to the Universe" (my version of praying). At least that's my philosophy.

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