Prayer and the Prosperity Gospel

An interesting article was brought to my attention today. It was posted on an msn website, and it dealt with a scientific study focused on prayer. Basically, it was reported that prayer “flunked the test.” Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.”

While this article presupposes (due to the findings) that prayer does not work, consider the verse in James 5:16 which says, “the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.” (NAS) Notice the condition: the man must be “righteous.” Only through Christ, by faith, can anyone truly be righteous, and thus a true agent of prayer.

The second thought I had from this article is that of the modern relationship between prayer and the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel promotes the philosophy that God is there to serve us by answering our prayers and making us well. This type of thought is totally man centered. God is not a cosmic genie waiting to give us what we desire whenever we pray for it. Instead, prayer exists for the purpose of man humbly seeking God’s grace, and ultimately His glory in all things.

It is convicting for the believer, because we, like the world, fall into the trap of self-centered prayer. I encourage you, seek to be humble in prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 6:5, “and when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (NIV)