Sermon Illustrations

U.S. News and World Report in Dec. of 2004 did a magazine focusing on the power of prayer: Jeffrey L. Shelter wrote in his article, "The Power of Prayer, on pages 52, 53)

"A pierced and tattooed man quietly bows his head at a noisy lunch counter. A child in pink pajamas kneels at her bedside and recites a familiar blessing. A baseball player crosses himself as he steps to the plate on national television. A white-haired woman lights a candle and weeps silently into her handkerchief for her dying husband. A dark-suited minister prays for peace on Earth, and the Congregation in one voice cries out,Amen." Prayer has become familiar terrain in modern America. It is woven into the daily rhythms of life, its ethos embedded in the public and private experiences of millions. Indeed, a recent Roper poll found that nearly half of all Americans said they pray or meditate every day-far more than those who regularly participate in religious services. Over the centuries, its practitioners have included saints and scoundrels, skeptics and believers, the meek and the mighty-people of every creed and culture and of every station in life who, whether out of pious faith or primal fear, have reached out to a reality greater than themselves. Prayer has been called the native language of the soul the universal expression of an innate human desire to make contact with the divine."

Why pray? Maybe because prayer was ingrained into us by our creator? Maybe prayer is like breathing you just do it without thinking about it especially when you hit those crisis moments. It just rolls off your tongue and it seems natural to pray to God for help. Maybe prayer is really easier to do than we think.

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