Like all medications, my chemotherapy medications follow a dose-response curve. This means that at low levels, the medications do little to no good in treating the cancer. There is a minimum dosage needed for the medication to be effective. This also means there is a maximum dosage of the medication beyond which there is no more increase in effectiveness. The area in between this minimum and maximum dosage is the therapeutic level of medication. Click on the picture for a larger graph of a typical dose-response curve.Some medications have wide therapeutic levels, others are very narrow. Whatever the therapeutic level, it is critically important to find it. Not enough of the medication and you don’t beat the cancer, it beats you. Too much of the medication and you beat the cancer alright, but the medication beats you as well.
I’ve noticed that some very well-meaning folks think that prayers work on a dose-response curve, too.
I am very blessed. Seriously. I have an untold number of people praying for me. My family. My church. My parents' and in-laws' friends. My parents' and in-laws' churches and Sunday School classes. My friends from college and seminary – and their churches. My co-workers – and their churches. And this is just the beginning. There are people I’ve never met that are praying for me.
I’m honored that so many people would petition our King on my behalf. I’m floored, actually. I don’t deserve the attention. But I am encouraged beyond words. It is very hard to get too discouraged when I know so many people around the world are praying specifically for me. I believe in the power of prayer.
But I sometimes detect in conversations with others a belief that God must be answering these prayers for my healing because there are so many people praying. And I wonder…… Does God answer prayers on a dose-response model? Is there a minimum number of people that must pray before He decides to answer? If Shanda was the only person praying for example, would it matter? On the other hand, is there a maximum number of people praying beyond which it doesn’t make much of a difference?
Does God count votes? Do more prayers by more people require God to be more active? I don’t think so.
But now my head starts to hurt – because I WANT as many people praying for me as possible. I see the value of our church prayer lists – not just for me, but for everyone who is hurting and in need. And I believe that God answers prayers.
So here’s your chance for reader participation again. (Actually, I ALWAYS invite reader participation.) Help me sort through this issue. Do numbers matter? Why or why not?
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7 comments:
Well, in Genesis, Abraham was able to petition God to change his plans on Lot's certain demise. And he did it alone.
So, if we know our James, then the prayer of a humble and Godly man does great work and can move the hand of God.
However, Jesus DID say that where two or more are gathered...and also that if you can agree with each other in prayer...
I think it is sort of like German food for me. A little German food can have me steer the car off the road at the last minute if I see a sign on the road. I have done this before.
A lot of German food becomes destination dining that I plan and prepare for.
Maybe it has more to do with the heart and connection of the pray-er to God than how many pray-ers there are? Make sense? Didn't think so...
Craig, don't sweat the not making sense part (I'm there frequently, myself.)
I'll take a stab at this, Aaron. I have come to the conclusion, after praying for many, and seeing many pray for some, that this is beyond our comprehension. That God's response to prayer is God's alone - not formulaic by any means. No "curve" of any kind does God follow. He is God. Period. He is sovereign, gracious, loving, and determined that His ways will not be thwarted. This I know. This I trust. Much beyond that is speculation to me.
Scripture calls us to prayer, and assures us that He hears and that He responds. Parables tell us that a squeaky wheel gets grease, and yet, not everyone who is prayed for by thousands of people get what they are praying for. They get God's best, yes, but it does not always look like what we picture it to be.
And yet, then again, sometimes it does.
Could it be that what it "has ... to do with the heart and connection of the pray-er" is not that if our hearts are right, He will respond, but that prayer itself, interaction and intimacy with the Father, brings our hearts into right-ness with God, where our deepest desire is for Him to act according to His good pleasure? (Phil 2:13)
Craig and Peas, You've given me much to ponder.
These questions Aaron ask are too deep for me most of the time.
I got this as an email today. I didn't ask permission to use their name, so I'll just post it as anonymous. But I thought it might be worth adding to the conversation....
Aaron:
I have been pondering your latest blog this afternoon. I think that God wants to hear from His children.....no matter what may drive them to their knees or what the reason may be that we come to him. Our father is not unlike you as a father that if one of your children was in need.....that whether it be your child or others petitioning you in their behalf...you would like to hear the reasonings and petitions of others. Many praying for you does make a difference......some of us at a given time may be praying for you specifically, others praying for your family, others for the doctors as they minister to you, others for your care givers and on and on. In your case it's like OK Dear God, Drop whatever you are doing and look down on Aaron at this particular time. Your needs are multifaceted as you well know....so it takes everyone we can get to pray, pray, pray.
Enough rambling for now. You are in our thought and prayers as are all of the above mentioned folks. I always enjoy your blogs and entering in on your thought provoking observations.
Blessings,
Anonymous.
An interesting topic to be sure. Ponderous! I don't pretend to be very deep, maybe a bit wide, but not very deep. (now I'm singing the song)So here are a few thoughts, not facts, or even drawn conclusions, just thoughts.
1. Is God Transcendent or Imminent, or some combo of the two? I ask this because of the reference to Gen. 18:16-33. Did God really CHANGE his mind or was he giving Abraham a chance to adjust to his will? If God is Transcendent (over all, just sets things in motion and lets them run in a certain order) then did he really change his mind or was this the "predestined" course? If he is Imminent (activly involved in man's life) can we have that much influence on God? Or is it some combo of the two?\
2. James 5:13-20 would seem to suggest that the "Faith Healing" movement could indeed be real. That the prayer offered in Faith will make the sick person well. Does this really mean that our faith has to be strong in the desired outcome for it to be realized? Does it mean that when we are praying (assuming that our lives are right and we are "instep with the Spirit") are we actually praying for what God will ultimately do anyways? ie. Phil 2:13
3. Funny you should post that email. That person just talked to me tonight! That is a good point they bring up. Maybe all of us aren't praying for you specifically but more in an indirect route. Or that God impresses upon each person what to pray for and we end up covering all of your needs by having so many people pray? So that some pray for your health, some pray for Dr's nurses, lab techs, etc.
4. What I find the best in this question is that God's people are talking to him! God desires a relationship with us and one facit of that is prayer. So, as uncomfortable as you may be by having a multitude of people petitioning Heaven on your behalf, has God not used a difficult situation to draw HIS people into a deeper relationship with him. You are not infact the focal point at all, you are just a tool, well lets say impliment(less negative connotations)Similar to a magnifying glass that takes multiple rays of light and focuses them into one powerful beam and onto one thing in particular.
Aaron,
Your blog is a great combination of good questions (from you) and great answers (from everyone). I really enjoy it. I think all of these answers are great!
Paul
i feel like prayer is for the pray-er and not for the purpose of "changing God's mind." i think God commands us to pray because he knows that is draws us closer to him (as someone already stated), but it also give comfort to the one being prayed for.
i believe when God answers "yes" to us, it builds our faith - we see that he is aligning our desires to his. i believe when God answers "no" to us, it grows our patience and perseverence - we learn to adjust to a different circumstance than what we expected. or, we can react in an altogether negative way, and totally miss the point.
i believe we should always present our requests to God - in light of His will, of course. but, i don't believe there is anything wrong with saying "God, I would like this and such to happen." however, i feel like behind it all, our ultimate prayer should be "God, be glorified in this circumstance." So, if God being glorified means us not getting what we want or things not turning out how we planned, we still rest in the knowledge that His divine will is at work.
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