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The Supernatural Miracle of Prayer
Being a research scientist, expectations are that in our quest for knowledge and understanding, there can be no room for any belief in anything that cannot be “scientifically proven”. A true scientist knows that ”scientific proof” is a misnomer and what is really meant is “scientific observation”; a set of rules and methods that attempt to capture and describe an observation in a complete and unbiased fashion. If correctly applied, those who follow will be able to identify the phenomena, apply the principles observed or expand to the understanding of the observation. All data is collected and preserved, the good with the bad.
I had some help when it came to understanding prayer. A Quaker by the name of Elton Trueblood, wrote in “A Place to Stand” the following:
“The truth is that the supposed intellectual barriers to the acceptance of prayer come, not from science, but from a dogmatic philosophy which is sometimes associated with scientific effort, and is found more among those who superstitiously idolize science than among practicing scientists.”
“Though they are usually handled separately, prayer and miracle are both better understood if they are handled together. By a miracle a Christian does not mean something mysterious and unaccountable, but rather an event in which the redemptive purpose of God is clearly manifest. A miracle is an alteration in the ordinary course of events which, far from being puzzling, is a clear evidence of divine purpose in God’s world. If Christ rose from the dead, as the evidence indicates, that is a miracle. It is a miracle because, in this instance, God chose to intervene directly in the course of events and did so for a transcendently important purpose.”
“A miracle is not a mystery but a revelation. Miracles do not contravene the laws of nature, but reveal the Lawgiver.”
“Prayer is, in its very essence, supernatural. The communication with other finite persons appears to be limited to the employment of sensory organs, but this is not true when the finite person is in real communication with the Infinite Person, for there is no sight, no sound, no tactile sensation. There is, moreover, no absolute limitation at all, such as the speed of light. Indeed, we are in a supernatural area of experience in which the limitations of space and time have no significance whatever. If such an area of experience is denied, the only possible conclusion is that prayer is meaningless; but if the supernatural is denied, Christ is denied, and then He is no longer our fulcrum.”
One of my favorite songs in DC Talk’s ”Supernatural” It’s loud and rocking and the words speak the truth.
Amen to that!
C.S. Lewis said “Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” It’s sort of opposite of how we think of them. It’s God stepping into “my” world in a very intimate way. The miracle could be on the grand scale for all to see, or very personal just for us to know He’s near.
vern,
Thanks the challenge – this will be good marinade for the week – On that day, tt will be great to “fully know as I am fully known.”