the "power" of prayer

October 7th, 2005 | 1 min read

Apologeticon recently posted on John's vision of the last days. He painted the scene of the throneroom in his own words, and said, "It is a glorious picture, to be sure, and an assurance of the power of prayer..."

And I take issue with this phrase, and I'm curious to hear thoughts on this.

I might just be being too picky, but isn't it incorrect to speak of the "power of prayer"? Just as incorrect as it is to speak of the "power of wedding invitations..."

By that I mean it is not the little card that "makes" people come to an event like a wedding; the card does very little... and many people invited to weddings do not go! Rather the "power" is with the choice of the attendee. They choose to attend, or not to attend.

And isn't it just so with God? We make a request, and he answers or does not answer. Prayer itself has exactly ZERO power. None whatsoever.

Or am I being to literal?

Topics:

Theology and Practice

the "power" of prayer

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