The Incredible Power of Prayer (a skit)
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Chapter: 7.06
(Section 7: The Incredible Power of Prayer)
Copyright © Michael Bronson 1997, 1999, and 2000
BibleHelp.org

Summary
Just as some people underestimate the power of electricity, they also underestimate the power of prayer. This chapter provides a skit that clearly shows this misperception.

Click Here for a book version of this material

Many people are unaware of the tremendous power that is available to us through prayer. As a result, I created a skit, which illustrated the hidden power of prayer. I used people’s misunderstanding of electricity to make my point. I had two people with me (my wife, Janet and another friend, Ron) to demonstrate my props.

Ron was all dressed up in weight-lifting clothing and was doing some curls with a 10-pound weight. I pointed to Ron and said, "How many times would Ron have to lift this 10 pound weight to equal the energy in 10 cents worth of electricity? Would it be 10 times? A hundred? A thousand? It would be almost 400,000 times!" (The exact number is 379,696.)

I then turned to Janet who was displaying a fan. I said, "How long can this fan operate on 10 cents of electricity? Ten minutes? 30 minutes? An hour? It would be over 28 hours!" (The exact number is 28.57 hours.)

I again turned to Ron who was attempting to lift a mock 200-lb. weight. I pointed to a one-gallon gas can and asked, "How many times would Ron have to lift this 200 lb. weight to equal the energy in one gallon of gas?" As Ron was still struggling to lift the weight I said, "It'll be over 1/2 million times." (The exact number is 505,341.) Ron turned to me in frustration and walked off. Jan then walked over to the weight and picked it up with one hand (as if it only weighed a few pounds) and walked off the stage.

I turned to the audience and said, "How many times would you have to lift that 200 lb. weight to equal the energy in one prayer? Obviously there is no way of knowing, but there is much more energy in prayer than what most people realize. Just as most of you were surprised to find out how much power is actually in electricity and gasoline, most Christians have no comprehension as to how much power is in prayer. As a result, most of us do not utilize this vast resource."

Here's an interesting side note. When I was writing this book, I couldn't find my notes for this skit, so I tried looking up the raw data in my physics book. Since I couldn't find that either, I emailed about 20 petroleum companies asking them for the number of BTUs in a gallon of gasoline. All but one were helpful. Here is the unedited response from one company: "On the absolute atomic scale - enough to power the earth for one year!!! How in 'H' would I know. I'm no rocket scientist-just an engine maker. Regards." Don’t you just love the internet?

Other Chapters in this Section

Special Prayer Request
Prayer: The Unsung Hero
Burden to Pray
Prayer Evangelism
Do You Know a Christian Prisoner?
Rainbow Prayer
Incredible Power of Prayer (a skit)
Changing Lives with Change
Is it even Biblical to Pray for a Person’s Salvation?
An International Prayer List
Calculator v Slide-Rule
Not Forgotten


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