6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works.
This man, whom God called a man after His own heart, is a great example for us of someone who was devoted to prayer. Not a perfect man, by any means, but a praying man who desired to walk in the ways of God. He was surrounded by trouble, but looked to the Lord who would sustain him in the midst of his suffering. We can come before the Lord in confidence and be encouraged, just as verse 7 says, to call upon Him and know that He hears us and will act according to His will, so that in and through our lives He might be glorified.
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There are some powerful moments of prayer recorded in 1st Kings chapter 8, where King Solomon called upon the Lord:
26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.
27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:
29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.
26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.
27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:
29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.
The National Day of Prayer has adopted 1st Kings 8:28 as its theme Scripture for the 2015 observance. On its website it uses, from the NIV: "Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day."
So today, one day removed from the men's basketball championship game, we steer toward Duke University, not on the hardwood, but toward a leading academic who relates the correlation between religion and health. Yes, Duke has a Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health and its director is the author of several authoritative books on faith and healing - his name is Dr. Harold Koenig.
He is quoted in a piece on the Newsmax website, in the Health section, as saying that, "Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick — and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster." He refers to an exhaustive analysis of more than 1,500 reputable medical studies that “indicates people who are more religious and pray more have better mental and physical health.”
He also stated that "...out of 125 studies that looked at the link between health and regular worship, 85 showed regular churchgoers live longer," adding, "There's a lot of evidence out there.”
So today, one day removed from the men's basketball championship game, we steer toward Duke University, not on the hardwood, but toward a leading academic who relates the correlation between religion and health. Yes, Duke has a Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health and its director is the author of several authoritative books on faith and healing - his name is Dr. Harold Koenig.
He is quoted in a piece on the Newsmax website, in the Health section, as saying that, "Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick — and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster." He refers to an exhaustive analysis of more than 1,500 reputable medical studies that “indicates people who are more religious and pray more have better mental and physical health.”
He also stated that "...out of 125 studies that looked at the link between health and regular worship, 85 showed regular churchgoers live longer," adding, "There's a lot of evidence out there.”
Koenig says that, "The benefits of devout religious practice, particularly involvement in a faith community and religious commitment, are that people cope better. In general, they cope with stress better, they experience greater well-being because they have more hope, they're more optimistic, they experience less depression, less anxiety, and they commit suicide less often." He adds, “They have stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, and probably better cardiovascular functioning.”
Tom Knox, a one-time atheist who became a regular worshipper after doing in-depth study of the medical benefits of faith, says, "What I discovered astonished me...Over the past 30 years a growing and largely unnoticed body of scientific work shows religious belief is medically, socially, and psychologically beneficial.”
Consider this evidence from the Newsmax article:
Koenig mentions a study published in the Southern Medical Journal that demonstrated that prayer has a remarkable effect on patients with hearing and visual deficiencies.
In 2006, population researchers at the University of Texas discovered that the more often you go to church, the longer you live.
The American Journal of Public Health studied nearly 2,000 older Californians for five years and found that those who attended religious services were 36 percent less likely to die during that period than those who didn’t.
A study of nearly 4,000 older adults for the U.S. Journal of Gerontology revealed that atheists had a significantly increased chance of dying over a six-year period than the faithful.
The American Society of Hypertension established in 2006 that church-goers have lower blood pressure than non-believers.
Scientists have also revealed believers recover from breast cancer quicker than non-believers, have better outcomes from coronary disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and are less likely to have children with meningitis.
And, research at San Francisco General Hospital looked at the effect of prayer on 393 cardiac patients. Half were prayed for by strangers who had only the patients’ names. Those patients had fewer complications, fewer cases of pneumonia, and needed less drug treatment.
A study of nearly 4,000 older adults for the U.S. Journal of Gerontology revealed that atheists had a significantly increased chance of dying over a six-year period than the faithful.
The American Society of Hypertension established in 2006 that church-goers have lower blood pressure than non-believers.
Scientists have also revealed believers recover from breast cancer quicker than non-believers, have better outcomes from coronary disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and are less likely to have children with meningitis.
The physical evidence confirms the spiritual principles - prayer can have a profound impact on our lives and the lives of others. As Christians, we can be convinced of the power that is present as we call upon the name of the Lord. This research can provide inspiration for us as we consider the impact that Biblical prayer can have.
And, we can be encouraged that prayer has the potential to impact the trajectory of our nation. We have the Scriptural admonition in 1st Timothy chapter 2 to pray for our leaders, and the problems that are facing our nation are so great, the moral decline so steep, the economic challenges so sharp, and the security issues so troubling, that we need the power of a supernatural God to intervene in a powerful way. Christians will be coming together at churches, city halls, county courthouses, state capitols, and meeting rooms across America on Thursday, May 7th to commemorate the National Day of Prayer. Learn more at www.nationaldayofprayer.com. The 2015 theme is "Lord, Hear Our Cry."
I also want to remind you about Faith Radio's devotion to prayer - each weekday, our staff gathers to pray for various needs about which we have become aware. Please contact us if you would like for us to pray for you.
Also, I would like to ask you to pray for Faith Radio. Pray that God would use this ministry to touch hearts and strengthen lives. And, pray for His provision of financial resources. He has been so faithful over 31 years of ministry, and we look forward in anticipation to what He will do. Thank you for praying for and supporting our broadcast ministry.
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