Does Prayer Work? Does LOA work? PART III

In part I and II of this post, we explored the role of faith in getting our prayers answered and fulfilling the words of Christ when he exclaimed that we can do all the things he did, plus more (See John 14:12-14). But rarely do we see anyone walking on water, raising the dead, or quite honestly, doing any of the miracles Jesus performed today. Whenever someone does proclaim to be able to heal the sick, they come under attack (mostly by other Christians) and are accused of being a fraud! It’s no wonder men and women of faith do not come out of the closet to show their gifts and powers – they will likely be attacked, not by unbelievers, but by “un-believers.”rnIt’s odd to me that people go to such great lengths to justify their lack of faith and works or explain away scriptures that clearly state we should be doing all the works of Jesus, plus greater things. If you take some time to “Google” some of these scriptures, you will find a multitude of articles, blogs, sermons, and even videos of people explaining how that scripture didn’t really mean we can perform miracles. The same goes for any of the versus that empowers us as God’s children, such as the ones that say we can curse a tree and watch it wither up before our eyes, or that we can speak to a mountain or a storm and it will obey our words. The more you “Google,” the more you will see evidence of an abundance of DOUBT. Clearly, lack of faith and doubt is the reason we have been rendered powerless. rnHowever, this post is about finding out what else could be hindering us in situations when we know that we walked in faith and believed, but still didn’t see results. This may not be the entire explanation, but I believe it provides an important consideration of the core of the matter. I keep talking about energy, and honestly, how could I not? It’s true that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is made up of energy. I used to say, “attitude is everything,” but I have since come to understand, “energy is everything.” Even your attitude is energy, but that’s another post for another day. In the Bible, Paul gives us a bit of insight as to the most important energy forces…look at I Corinthians 13:13:rnAnd now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.rnWe’ve already talked about faith being an energy force. It’s undeniable when you feel it rise up in you. Most likely everyone has experienced the energy of love. Of course there are many types of love, but consider for a moment the power behind the energy of love. Some say love makes the world go around….I tend to agree. Love is the most powerful form of energy there is. This is what Paul is telling us. The greatest of these sources of energy is Love. God is Love. God is the most powerful source of energy. But what the heck is energy anyway?rnIt’s funny to me that even in the field of science, no one can fully define the word energy. If you “Google” it, you will most often find the term “the ability to do work.” That’s pretty vague, don’t you think? Especially when you consider that all branches of science agree that EVERYTHING is made up of energy. You would think they would have a better handle on what we are talking about when we say that. But they don’t. Scientist agree that they simply do not understand energy, they only know about it’s characteristics. rnSource: Richard Feynman (very famous & smart physicist), "Lectures on Physics"rnQuote: "It is important to realize that in physics today, we have no knowledge of what energy is. We do not have a picture that energy comes in little blobs of a definite amount."rnThey can describe the effects of energy, how it operates, what its potential is, how it feels, how it looks….but they simply do not understand the core essence of what it is.rnI believe they do not and cannot understand energy because energy is God. Ok, I got a little side tracked…..rnWe already know that when we pray, we have to have faith and have no doubt. But again, Paul gives us another ingredient to consider about faith. In Galatians, Chapter 5, Paul is talking to some folks who had been listening to a visiting evangelist who was claiming that they could not possibly be “saved” unless they were circumcised according to the law of the prophets. Paul was trying to explain to them that being circumcised or not isn’t the point. In fact, he told them that if they are going to hold on to one part of the law for salvation, they better hold on to every bit of it! He was making the point that you can’t mix law and grace and since you cannot live a perfect life without breaking a single law, you better appreciate grace! In Galatians 5:6, Paul tells them that “In Christ, circumcision or no circumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressed through love.” Let’s do the math. • We know that the three forces of energy are faith, hope and love and that love is the greatest. (I Cor 13:13) • We know that without faith, works is dead. (James 2:20) • We know that if we have works, but no love – it counts as nothing. (I Cor. 13) • We know that with faith, even faith like a mustard seed, we can move mountains and ask “whatsoever” things we desire. (Mark 11:23) • We know that when we pray, we are to believe that we have already received it. (Mark 11:24) • We know that faith must be expressed through love. (Galatians 5:6) • We know that God is love. (1 John 4:8) • And we know that faith is the substance of things hoped for (another energy) and the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)rnI have come to the conclusion that many times, our missing ingredient is love. I think it is the meaning behind James 4:3 – you have not because you ask amiss.rnWe could spend days talking about love, just like scientist can spend days talking about energy and theologians can spend days talking about God….they are one and the same. As Christians, when we are flowing in the energy that we call love, we are immersed in God. At that point, it is impossible to pray outside His will. At the point of being motivated and saturated in love, it is not us performing the miracles, or creating our dreams or goals, rather it is that “same spirit who raised Christ from the dead” dwelling in us. (Romans 8:11). If God is love and love is the most powerful energy force in existence, and love dwells inside us, then how can we NOT raise the dead, walk on water, or move mountains? The question gets turned around! It’s no longer “how can I get my prayers answers?” Now the question is “how can you possibly NOT get your prayers answered?”rnNow for those of you who lean toward the law of attraction and the more scientific explanation of this life, these principles are just as valid! The concept of natural laws and the law of attraction in particular include the emphasis on having a spirit of gratitude. I believe the gratitude that is needed is not simply being thankful for your stuff. It should go deeper to being grateful not only for your material possessions, but for life itself. It’s an underlying attitude and part of who you are, rather than just something you do. In my opinion, this deep level of gratitude for life, for breath, for beauty, is in essence – love. In the video, The Secret, I feel the producers fell short when they explained that you had to feel the feelings of gratitude in order to manifest your goals. Sure, it’s important to count your blessings and being thankful for what you have, but to really make the law of attraction work in your favor, what you need is genuine gratitude for the wonders of all of creation. To me, that is love. rnWhether we are talking about being effective in our prayer life, or making the laws of attraction work in our favor in creating a life of our dreams, I think the source of power is the same. It is God and it (He) must reside within. He is the ultimate energy. He created this world for us and told us to dominate it. He has created a world of abundance and given us the tools and gifts in order to live an abundant life.rnSo the next time you are tempted to say, “prayer doesn’t work,” or “the LOA doesn’t work,” examine your heart. Are you walking in love? Does the love energy flow through you? If not, it is as simple as making the decision to let it.