THE POWER OF PRAYER
by: Mike Dial
IN TIMES OF DISTRESS
It was one of those bright spring morning in Korea, the place of my temporary assignment. I was
dressed in my Air Force uniform, walking past budding cherry blossom trees, beside a strip mall. There
were a number of people going about their business and I noticed somebody cleaning the yard heading
in my direction with his noisy mower.
Suddenly, I heard the mower stopped and the man scampered away. The people too, quickly
dispersed and stood near the shops, as if holding their breath in suspense.
There was complete silence…
But why are they staring at me?
What did I do, and what could it be?
I surveyed my surroundings and
there it was on the ground – a snake!
My mind worked in hyper speed mode to consider the few alternatives I had. I knew I could not outrun
the snake and saying my rosary was not an option, so I chose the only recourse I have left and that is
to confront my adversary.
The snake seemed to be momentarily frozen on its tracks as I marched towards it praying silently with
trembling determination, “O God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help…help…help me.”
I bent down and quickly grabbed the snake by the head as I heard gasps from the onlookers. I then
placed the snake in a plastic bag that I had with me and went about my way…praising God.
I’m a believer!
Prayer works!
IN UNEXPECTED PLACES
I can remember about forty years ago when I was just learning how to pray. I was reading a book
about an agnostic fellow, a scientist by trade. He went about to prove his hypothesis that prayer does
not work. He experimented in his laboratory by praying to plants and animals, and measuring the
effects. At the end of his experiment, he was astounded to know that the plants and animals that were
prayed for exhibited healthy growth that surpassed the others in quality.
The unbelieving scientist converted and became a minister.
He was sharing his conversion story one morning to his congregation and said that if they doubt his
story, they should buy their seeds, and pray.
“If it worked on plants and animals, what more on people,” he said.
That’s just what I did after reading the book. I called my five year
old daughter, Myra, and explained to her the experiment we
were about to perform.
We placed one seed inside each of several film canisters, filled
them with soil, and labeled each canister with a number.
I instructed my daughter that we would provide the same
drops of water for each canister, place them on top of our
washroom window for sunlight, and briefly separate a controlled
canister so we could pray for it. She agreed.
After a few days none of the seeds showed any activity except for the
seed inside the canister that we prayed for. There was a visible sprout. We got excited and started to
measure its daily growth. I placed a ruler beside the growing plant, took pictures to document the
experiment, and collected pertinent data.
On the second week, the plant growth from the seed inside the canister that was prayed for had
grown considerably compared to the others that were just beginning to shoot forth. Some seeds did not
show any activity at all.
The experiment must have created a big impression on my daughter especially at her kindergarten
class in a military base where I was stationed. Her teacher told us that one day, she asked my daughter
to watch the class while she went to the office to get something. When she returned, she found the
whole class kneeling down while my daughter was teaching them how to pray.
IN UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES
My wife the other day tripped and broke a glass of water she was holding. She got upset with me and
said that I must have been thinking something bad about her, that’s why the accident happened.
Not true, but the incident made me wonder. Can negative thoughts and negative words have negative
effects on people? Can the opposite be true? The Bible says, “Be careful how you think; your life is
shaped by your thoughts,” Proverbs 4:23.
I remember reading an article of a scientist from Japan named Dr. Masaru Emoto. His research
involved exposing water to different words, music, prayer and thoughts. Then he froze the water and
applied microscopic photography to reveal the cellular pattern of the water.
The water that was subjected to loving words or positive thoughts resulted in beautiful crystal
formation. The opposite is true for the water that was scolded or subjected to bad thoughts; the
crystal formation there were jagged and lacked symmetry. He later extended his experiment to rice
placed in a jar with different words written and taped outside. The results confirmed his water test.
My family eat rice everyday so it was easy for me to try the rice experiment. I placed rice in three
different jars and wrote “I Love You, Thank You” in one jar, then “I Hate You, Stupid Fool” in the other,
and “Ignore” for my control jar which I intended to do just what the word indicated.
After a few days we had some unexpected visitors
and I have completely forgotten my experiment. I
found them by chance about a month later, and
the jar with the “I love you” was still white rice,
with a pleasant aroma, in contrast to the other
two that rotted with mold.
Inspired by the results of my rice experiment, I now decided to see the effect of a prayer card with a
dead plant. This particular prayer card contained some gold flakes they call “Angel Dust.” It was
collected before mass which materialized due to the presence of Emma De Guzman, the Filipino mystic
and counterpart of Maria Esperanza of Venezuela.
I placed the prayer card beside the dead plant overnight. The next day, I was surprised to see
the plant fully revived. Was it the printed prayer itself, the gold dust taped to it, or the Holy Picture?
I would never know, but my five year old daughter, Myra, whom I performed my initial plant experiment
forty years ago would try to answer that question.
The miraculous occurrence happened this way: My wife and I were enjoying our vacation overseas
two years ago when we received an emergency phone call from our daughter, Myra. She was seen by a
doctor in California for an epileptic seizure and was diagnosed with a very active form of brain tumor.
She could not work or drive anymore. She was given two months to live because her cancer was already
stage 4. We came home right away.
We called our friends and different prayer groups to pray for her. Some came to her house bringing their
favorite statues, rosaries, medals, and other sacramental. I brought my “special” prayer card, of course,
and laid it over her head. A priest later came and performed the Last Rites.
That was over two years ago, and tomorrow she is dropping off her two boys for us to babysit.
She’s fine.
So, what was it that affected her miraculous healing?
Without a doubt, it was the power of prayer coupled
with sacrifices made by meaningful friends and relatives.
Matthew 17:21.
[March retreat in Atlanta]
[Michael Brown Special Reports]
[Books written by Michael Brown]