Leadership Thought: Who Says Prayer Can't Do the Miraculous?

Dear Friends

There is a remarkable story about intercessory prayer told by author and preacher Tony Campolo.

A prayer meeting was held for him just before he spoke at a Pentecostal College chapel service. Eight men took Tony to a back room of the chapel, had him kneel, laid their hands on his head, and began to pray. That’s a good thing, Tony wrote, except that they prayed a long time, and the longer they prayed, the more tired they got, and the more tired they got, the more they leaned on his head. “I want to tell you that when eight guys are leaning on your head, it doesn’t feel so good.”

To make matters worse, one of the men was not even praying for Tony. He went on, and on praying for someone named Charlie Stoltzfus: “Dear Lord, you may know Charlie Stoltzfus. He lives in that silver trailer down the road a mile. You know the trailer, Lord, just down the road on the right-hand side.” (Tony said he wanted to inform the pray-er earlier that it was not necessary to furnish God with directional material.)  “Lord, Charlie told me this morning he’s going to leave his wife and three kids. Step in and do something, God. Bring that family together.”

Tony writes that he finally got the Pentecostal preachers off his head delivered his message, got in his car to drive home. As he drove onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, he noticed a hitchhiker. I'll let him tell it from here: We drove a few minutes and I said, "Hi my name is Tony Campolo. What’s yours?” He said, “My name is Charley Stoltzfus.”

I couldn’t believe it! I got off the turnpike at the next exit and headed back. He got a bit uneasy with that, and after a few minutes, he said,  “Hey Mr., where are you taking me?” I said, “I’m taking you home.”

He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why?”

I said, "Because you just left your wife and three kids, right?” That blew him away. “Yeah! Yeah, that’s right.”  With shock written all over his face, he plastered himself against the car door, and never took his eyes off me.

Then I really did him in as I drove right to his silver trailer. When I pulled up, his eyes seemed to bulge as he asked, "How did you know that I lived here?” I said, “God told me.”  (I believe God did tell me).

When he opened the trailer door, his wife exclaimed, “Your back! Your back!” He whispered in her ear, and the more he talked, the bigger, her eyes got.

Then I said with real authority, “The two of you sit down. I’m going to talk and you are going to listen!” Man, did they listen! That afternoon, I led those two young people to Jesus Christ. (John Ortberg, The Life You Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People.

Not all our intercessory prayer experiences will turn out as dramatic as this one, but God can do incredible things when we intercede for others.

There is power unleashed when people pray. But too often we don’t receive answers to our prayer because we don’t really expect answers from our prayers.

We are like the church that “prayed without ceasing” (Acts 12:5) for Peter’s release from prison and then when he was miraculously released and showed up on their doorstep, they didn’t believe it could be him.

Let us be reminded of the words of John Wesley who said, “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.”

Let the saints of God remain on bended knees.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom