Zacharias on Prayer

Ravi Zacharias was the 2008 Honorary Chairman of America's National Day of Prayer. Below is an excerpt of his keynote address at The Cannon House in Washington, on May 1, 2008. Typical of Zacharias, the address is thorough, insightful and loaded with excellent quotes and illustrations.

"...I’ve spoken to our troops in Doha Qatar and at Ramstein prayed with our wounded. In many of the bases I have been, at the end of each meeting there’s a line up of some of the finest young men and women in the world, armed with some of the finest weaponry, asking if you’ll just put your hand on their shoulder and pray for them. They want that power that is greater than what the military might alone can bring.

The famed John Chrysostom, writing in the 400s, said this,

“The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, subdued evil instincts, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-sufficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by the clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a thousand blessings."

To view the entire speech, click here