Prayer works and aids in healing

Bible News Prophecy

“Bringing you news and analysis of world events in light of Bible prophecy.”  This is a mandate of the Continuing Church of God.  Here is a link to the featured free eBook “Prayer: What Does the Bible Teach?” https://www.cogwriter.com/Prayer.pdf  Believe it or Not! In a scientific study prayer has actually been proven to help cardiac patients who were prayed for daily (without them knowing it) fare better, with fewer complications than those who were not prayed for.  That is an amazing scientific proof of the power of prayer! A question worth asking is this: would that even be possible if there were no God?  In this video Dr. Thiel uses scripture as well as scientific studies to shine the light on the power of prayer. He goes on to explain how God answers our prayers.  Sometimes He answers the way we want and sometimes He answers in a way that is best for us but not necessarily the way we wanted.  Why would God answer our prayers in a way not to our liking? For those of us that love God, Dr. Thiel reminds us of the scripture in Romans 8:28-30. How should we pray? Dr. Thiel shines the light of the verses from the Bible on that question with answers in his free downloadable eBook with 28 tips on improving the effectiveness of our prayers. Watch this video to improve your own prayer life and become a greater blessing to your loved ones, those close to you, and those who are suffering that you don’t even know through the power of prayer. Read the full article to this video titled 'Prayer works and aids healing’ at URL https://www.cogwriter.com/news/doctrine/prayer-works-and-aids-healing/

Transcript

00:00Greetings, friends. This is Steve Dupuy for the Bible News Prophecy Program with Dr. Bob Thiel,

00:10bringing you news and analysis of world events in light of Bible prophecy. Dr. Thiel, very simply,

00:16does prayer work and does God really answer prayer? Yes. I want to read something that

00:24Newsmax posted in 2025. Numerous research studies and anecdotal stories have shown the power of

00:31prayer can have in our lives and for our health. A recent review of 32 studies published in the

00:37International Journal of Depression and Anxiety came to the same conclusion. Nearly every one of

00:42the studies, religion in general, religious training, faith, prayer, were associated with

00:48reduced anxiety. The effects were observed in healthy adults and those with cancer,

00:55cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses. And another study performed over 20 years ago in

01:011,000 cardiac patients in hospitals in Kansas City found that those were prayed for daily for four

01:06weeks without them knowing it fared better, had fewer complications such as pneumonia, chest pains,

01:14that are death, and those were not prayed for. End quote. Anyway, God hears prayers and answers

01:20them, sometimes quickly in ways we understand and sometimes in ways that we do not. That's amazing

01:27that prayer can help someone that doesn't even know they are being prayed for. How should we talk to God

01:33in prayer? Well, prayer is not just asking God to give us things or think God should be pleased

01:40because we address Him. I'm going to go over some information that's in our free e-book

01:46available at ccog.org called Prayer, What's the Bible Teach? 28 Tips on Improving the Effectiveness

01:52of Prayer. Anyway, in it we say, what's prayer? Prayer is simply talking to God. It can be out loud,

02:00though it's often silent. Prayer is an important way, a part of how we worship the great Creator. Prayer

02:06gives us an opportunity to express love toward others, explain our circumstances, give thanks to

02:11God for the many blessings we're given. We have an opportunity in prayer to ask God for help, for

02:16guidance, for strength, and support His work. Prayer is the completion of the two-way conversation

02:21between God and humans. God speaks to His people through His Word, and people speak to God through

02:27prayer. When you pray, understand you're not really doing God a favor. Believe it or not, many people think

02:33God should be grateful that we'll even bother to try to talk to the greatest entity in the universe.

02:39Shouldn't it be the other way around? When you pray, you should realize you're speaking to the most

02:45perfect being and powerful being in the universe. We should be honored by that. Now, in this busy 21st

02:51century, it seems there's never enough time to do all the things we need to do. When there's not enough

02:57time to go around, what do a lot of even Christians do? What do they neglect? Prayer.

03:03Which is one of the reasons, by the way, I suggest praying first thing in the morning.

03:07Anyway, it's never before as we see the end approaching, true Christians should be drawing

03:11near to God in prayer. Yet some true Christians have confessed that they haven't prayed for days,

03:17weeks, or even months.

03:18Waiting months to pray does seem excessive for a Christian. Does the Bible encourage us to pray more

03:27often?

03:29Well, the Bible says to pray without ceasing, and we're not supposed to wait long before we pray to God,

03:35because what we're supposed to do is, it says in Isaiah 55, verse 6,

03:39is to seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he's near.

03:43So that verse is telling us that a time will come when God either can't be found or is not near to us?

03:54Yes, and also faithful Philadelphia Christians, they want to support the work of God as we get

03:59closer to Jesus' return. While that work ultimately involves the entire universe, God's work in this

04:05age includes his people, which means while many don't think they could better serve God,

04:12if he answers their prayer in a certain way, the reality is that you and your spiritual state are

04:17more important than you probably think. God may not answer prayers the way people want him to,

04:23because God wants to help perfect his people more than most people realize. We need to do our part

04:29because God is always going to do his. You know, Jesus said, Matthew 5, 48, to be perfect like our

04:34Father in heaven is perfect. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8, 28, we know that all things work

04:43together for good for those who love God and those who are called according to his purpose.

04:49If you believe that all things work together for good for those who love God, those who are called,

04:55you should be doing what you know God wants you to do and accept what happens in your life.

05:00On the other hand, it should be understood that some people think God's work is primarily about

05:07helping themselves physically in this age. That's a distortion of reality. That's a wrong belief

05:13that often results because of unrecognized selfishness and listening to false ministers who

05:20promote the wrong thing. God's work is more than just you, but you're an important part of it

05:27and how you feel. But anyway, getting back to prayer, can it change anything? Certainly.

05:32Throughout history, people have utilized prayers. Prayers and intercessions by Moses, Joshua, Ezekiel,

05:37and others have been shown to change outcomes.

05:42Give us some pointers on how do we or how should we pray?

05:48Well, Jesus' disciples asked about this and they said, Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his

05:56disciples. This is in Luke chapter 11. He said, when you pray, say, our Father in heaven, hallowed be

06:02your name. So we see we should normally direct our prayers to God the Father. We need to acknowledge

06:09his greatness and our faith increases when he realizes what he has promised he can and will

06:15perform. He's the God of heaven and the rule of the whole universe. In his name, his authority is to be

06:21hallowed be considered holy. And Jesus prayed to the Father, Matthew 11, 25. He said, prayed, I thank you,

06:29Father, Lord of heaven. And in Luke 22, in verse 42, he said, Father, it's your will, this cup be taken

06:40from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. And we're supposed to follow Jesus's example.

06:46And many people don't understand who or what God is. And so they don't often pray to the true God of

06:55the Bible. And because of the so-called progress of the interfaith and ecumenical approaches to

07:01religion, many people think speaking to some vague spirit being or to an idol like a Hindu deity is the

07:09same as praying to the true God. And that's simply not the case. You know, the apostle Paul taught

07:141 Corinthians 8, verse 6. Yet for us, there's one God, the Father of whom all things, and we see for

07:23him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things and through all we live. Jesus also said

07:30in John 4, verse 24, God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

07:39Many think it doesn't matter how they worship, they can just do whatever they want. But that's not what

07:42Jesus said. Actually, he warned in Matthew 15, verse 8 and 9, that there are people who draw near

07:50him with his mouth. They honor him with his lips, but their heart's far from him. And in vain,

07:55they worship him, teaching his doctrines, the commandments of men. People may pray out loud

08:02or silently, but they could be worshiping God in vain if they're following the imaginations of their own

08:08mind or traditions of human beings. Intentionally praying to the East and certain holidays that

08:16many who claim Christianity observe and don't come from the Bible come from, by the way, pagan

08:21compromises traditions with men. And Jesus warned that you can worship God in vain.

08:28And Jesus also taught in Matthew 4, 4, man should not live by bread alone, by every word that proceeds

08:37out of the mouth of God. So that's where we get communication from God. But the world compromises

08:43with the truth. They don't adequately believe the word of God. A lot of people pay lip service to it,

08:49but they don't do it. Now, it's not that God never hears the prayers of those who don't really know him.

08:54But if one truly intends to worship God, they should worship the true God.

09:00Even if you don't believe you're worshiping God in vain, considering that there are probably areas

09:07in our life that we need to examine that aren't true to God. We don't want to overlook this,

09:13because this specifically applies to Christians in these end times. You can read about that,

09:17for example, in Revelation chapter 3.

09:20I would think that trusting and believing God would also be necessary.

09:26Yes. It says in Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6,

09:31Trust the Lord with all your heart and lead not to your understanding. In all your ways,

09:34acknowledge him. He will direct your paths. But James wrote, James 1, starting verse 5,

09:42If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach,

09:47and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting. He who doubts is like a wave

09:53with the sea driven and tossed by the wind, let not that man suppose he'll receive anything from

09:58the Lord. For he's a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. In Hebrews 11, verse 6, we read,

10:05But without faith, it's impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is,

10:11and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

10:15Now, Jesus taught that those who pray need to have faith in God. In Mark 11, starting in verse 22,

10:24Jesus answered and said,

10:26Have faith in God.

10:28For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and cast into the sea,

10:34and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that these things that he says will be done,

10:39he will have whatever he says.

10:41Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask, when you pray, believe that you will receive them,

10:48and you will have them. You need to believe that God will answer you. If it's God's will, yes,

10:53your prayers, the truly faithful, can move mountains. And a time will come, by the way,

10:58where I believe this will likely literally happen.

11:01Oh, really?

11:01Now, where does the Bible say faith comes from?

11:04Romans 10, 17. Faith comes from hearing, hearing by the word of God.

11:08Study and believe God's word.

11:12Now, things don't always go the way we think they're going to go.

11:16But in the book of Isaiah, chapter 55, we read, God says, starting in verse 8,

11:24For my thoughts aren't your thoughts, and neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

11:28For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,

11:31and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

11:33Now, hopefully people really believe that.

11:36Now, that can be hard to accept at times.

11:39The reality is that God inhabits eternity.

11:42He knows so much more than any of us possibly can.

11:46That's part of why it is good, wise, and right to submit to his will,

11:50even when it seems to you he's not responding to your prayers.

11:56But Jesus said, Luke 6, 46,

12:00But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?

12:05Now, hopefully we're humble enough that we'll believe God over our own opinions and feelings.

12:12Hopefully all the time.

12:15And remember, the apostle James wrote that Christians were to pray for one another.

12:18This is James 5, 16.

12:20And Jesus taught, in Acts 20, verse 35,

12:25It's more blessed to give than receive.

12:30It's blessed to pray for others, including enemies, but many don't do it.

12:35Many feel that they'll get to praying for others after they feel they're taken care of.

12:40Yet selflessness is not what prayer is about.

12:42We're to be God's children.

12:44Now, some might be thinking, wait a minute.

12:46I want to do things my way.

12:48That's why I pray.

12:50You keep quoting verses that I should confess my sins, pray for others, pray for the work,

12:54pray for God's will to be done, give thanks, and even fast.

12:57That's not the kind of tips some want.

13:00Well, people need to believe the God of the Bible, but they're not going to.

13:03You can pray for your wants and needs, but you need to understand,

13:05prayer is more than a, please give me this, please give me this process.

13:10Now, we've got this booklet I've held up,

13:14A Prayer, What's the Bible Teach?

13:15And it says, 28 Tips on Improving the Effectiveness of Your Prayer.

13:19I'm going to just read quickly through those 28 tips.

13:23And by the way, this book is available at ccog.org.

13:26We're to pray to God the Father.

13:28We're supposed to worship God in truth.

13:30Believe God.

13:31Obey God more than the demons.

13:33Worship God in spirit.

13:34Resist Satan.

13:35Don't fight God.

13:36Pray for others.

13:37Pray for your needs.

13:38Remember God's will.

13:40Have your priorities right.

13:41Praying positions.

13:43Pray every day.

13:44Forgiveness.

13:45Recognize God's spirit.

13:47Pray for what the Bible says to pray for.

13:49Ask for spiritual gifts.

13:50Don't pray for show.

13:52Obey the Bible's teachings on head coverings.

13:56Ask often, but don't use vain repetition.

13:59If you're suffering or sick, pray about it.

14:01Pray for church leaders.

14:01Pray for secular leaders.

14:03Put Jesus in your prayers.

14:04When it's difficult, remember fasting.

14:07Pray with thanksgiving.

14:08Deal with your secret sins.

14:11Change can make the impossible possible.

14:13And close with amen.

14:15So if you believe and follow what the Bible says, God will answer your prayers.

14:21Pray.

14:24Thank you, Dr. Thiel.

14:25For more interviews with Dr. Thiel, in addition to written as well as audio articles,

14:30visit our website at BibleNewsProphecy.net.

14:34This is Steve Dupuis for the Bible News Prophecy Program.

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