Does Prayer Work? Read This!

On my nightly Internet radio show on BlogTalkRadio, I like to read prayer requests sent in by listeners. I then ask everyone listening to pray for the intentions along with me. Last week I received the following request on my Facebook fan page:

Please pray for a young man Billy 22yrs., in Ireland, who has had a lung transplant and is now in a coma…that his lungs will be healed and that he will make a complete recovery to full health, in Jesus’ Name. Thank you and God bless.

In addition to remembering Billy in my daily prayers and asking my Facebook friends to pray, I read the intention on my radio program. Tonight I received the following email:

Hi Gary, Thank you for the prayers of all your listeners on your radio program for Billy in Ireland (22yrs) who had the lung transplant. He has made a remarkable recovery. Praise the Lord! The doctors are amazed. They had called the family around his bedside as he lay in a coma. Prayer was their only hope. The day after I posted the message at your invitation to submit petitions for prayer to broadcast on your radio program, Billy was taken off the ventilator and today 15 Jan. he is sitting up in bed! His family say a big ?Thank You? to all who prayed for Billy?s recovery. The Lord has heard and answered our prayer. God bless you.

I just returned from the adoration chapel, where every Saturday I pray before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I ask for people to submit their intentions and join me in prayer from wherever they are. It has become a very special part of my work at Following The Truth. I’ve discovered that there are so many people carrying very heavy crosses and are very much in need of healing and God’s peace.

From time to time, we all doubt the Lord’s ability to work miracles in our lives. Sadly, many times He does perform miracles, but we miss them because our prayers aren’t answered in the way we expect. When we hear stories like Billy’s, we are reminded that the healing power of Jesus Christ is just as alive in 2011 as it was 2,000 years ago!

What is important to remember is that God hears and ANSWERS all prayers. Sometimes he says “yes”, sometimes He says “no”, and sometimes He says “not yet”. We also have to remember that the Lord gives us what we need (for our eternal salvation), not necessarily what we want. If you have needs in your life, share them with the Lord. Don’t ever feel bad about bothering Him. Jesus wants you to talk to Him all the time. However, if your requests don’t get answered in the way you want, trust that the Lord knows what is best. And if your requests do get answered in the way that you want, don’t forget to say “Thank you”!

Thank You, Jesus, for Billy’s recovery. Just as when You healed the paralytic in Capernaum (Mk 2:1-12, Lk 5:17-26), let us all “glorify God and be filled with awe”!