The Power of Prayer – Part Five
The essence of prayer is its abilty to evoke a response to a predicament in life that is exquisitely tailored to the needs of that situation. Yet this response invariably defies scientific analysis and scientists are quite unable to explain it. They are left with little more than equivocation and rationalisation, designed to dismiss the response as something unworthy of true scientific investigation.
Even leaders of the major religions of the world are hesitant to pronounce upon the results of prayer, especially when these results defy the commonly accepted view of the universe. Although they may claim to believe in the existence of a Higher Power, they are uncomfortable dealing with extraordinary events, such as can be found in the following example.
In 1972, Kathy Thompson’s son Phil was participating in an NCAA swimming contest at Lee College in Lexington, Virginia. Although she had arranged to be with friends that morning in Annapolis in the state of Maryland, Kathy nevertheless told her son that she would meet him at this event which was due to start at 3pm that same afternoon.
After taking two flights from Annapolis, Kay arrived at the tiny airport at Staunton, Virginia, some fifty miles from Lee College. It was already one o’clock, and as no public transportation was available, Kathy rented a car to take her to the College. For the first twelve miles she drove through open fields without seeing any other traffic on the road.
Then coming to a fork in the road, she found that there were no signposts to direct her. Unsure which road to take, Kathy looked around for a house or some human habitation, but all she could see was more open land. Realising she was lost and that she would never make it to the College in time, she dropped her head onto the steering wheel, weeping with frustration. In desperation, she prayed to God to help her out of her predicament.
Although she had previously seen no other vehicle on the road, Kathy suddenly became aware of an ancient brown sedan covered in mud and grime a few feet ahead of her. Through the dirty rear window she was able to make out the silhouette of a well-built man hunched over the steering wheel.
Then a rough voice shouted at her: “If you are going to the College, follow me”. As the grimy sedan pulled away Kathy set off in pursuit. Although they were travelling along a straight road, Kathy found that she could not get close to the sedan, no matter what speed she drove at. In some uncanny way the brown sedan seemed to match her speed, so that an even distance always separated the two cars.
As she continued following the sedan, Kathy saw it turn abruptly left and leave the main road. As she turned left to follow the sedan, Kathy felt a rising sense of panic as she saw they were travelling down a one-way track leading to swampy ground. She realised that she had been foolish enough to fall into a trap from which there would be no escape.
Despite her fears however, the sedan continued to lead her onwards into the swamp until at last a major highway loomed ahead. As soon as she reached the highway Kathy stepped on the accelerator. This time she found that she was able to pass the grimy sedan with ease. However, as she looked back into her rearview mirror, she was astounded to discover that the road behind her was empty. There was no other vehicle in sight.
After continuing down the highway for a short distance Kathy soon saw the familiar outline of Lee College, where she was able to meet with her son at the appointed time.
Scientists tend to dismiss such tales as mere co-incidence, They would point out that Kathy was in a highly charged emotional state which undoubtedly clouded her observation and her judgement. Besides, since there were no other witnesses to corroborate her story, this entire incident would be nothing more than anecdotal evidence.
And since science limits itself to data that can be replicated in a laboratory, there would be nothing here that could serve as scientific evidence. But what this enigmatic episode proves beyond a shadow of a doubt is this. More things happen under heaven and earth than modern scientists dream of, and that the universe is far richer than the narrow limits of scientific law would allow.
Not only that, but human beings throughout history have been able to perform “miraculous” feats that defy everything that scientists believe, as can be seen in the following instalments.
