Does prayer work?

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by Lady Brave

One of the best quotes I ever heard regarding prayer was this: When you pray, are you always seeking God's hand, instead of seeking His face?

For those who say prayer doesn't work when you are seeking miracles in your life, you're wrong. I can give numerous examples in my life where prayers were miraculously and supernaturally answered. The one that sticks out most for me happened when I was 12 years old.

My mom was recently divorced and didn't have the money to buy heating oil for the winter. She measured the oil in the tank and it was almost empty. So she called the oil company to come and fill it. She decided she would set up a payment plan over the winter to pay for it and put down a payment of $50 which was all she had. The oil company guy comes out, goes to the tank to fill it and comes back to our door in a few minutes and hands my mom a bill for $50. She is confused and tells him she wants the tank filled completely and the man looks at her and says, "Ma'am your tank was almost full. I only needed to put $50 worth in it."

I don't mean to poo on your good experience of prayer, but she obviously didn't know that it was almost full, so how is this a work of prayer?

I have had quite a few major disappointments when it comes to prayer, and here are the biggest three on my mind right now:
1- I was abused by my father from when I was 2 til when I knocked his teeth out when I was 17. He would beat on me for YEARS. I prayed and prayed that it would stop, and it never did. It was not until I got violent that it stopped, then he just took it out on my sister and mother.
2- Jan. 30th, 2004 my daughter died after birth. I knew of the complications, and I prayed for several months before this incident, and I was convinced that everything would be fine. Well, it wasn't fine, not only did I lose my daughter, I almost lost my wife and she can't have children now and will forever take medication from the complications of birth.
3- I prayed before I quit my last job that He would take care of me and help me find something. I trusted in Him. I beleived that he would help me find employment and I had faith. It's been several months now, and I felt he was showing me a path to Denver...even travelled up there, spent several hundred dollars that I didn't have, and nothing has come out of it. I just had to borrow money (cc's) to make ends meet for another month. Where is He? I gotta say, my faith in prayer is not shaken, it's just about gone. What's the point of prayer if He won't be there to help?