Power of Prayer

For whatever reason I tuned into part of the democratic debate. I missed the actual phrasing of the question, but it was obvious they were asked to give their views on the power of prayer. Besides the entertainment of watching them squirm, there was one answer given by three of them that caught my attention. They said they believe in the power of prayer for comfort and peace but prayer cannot stop bad things from happening. If you go back to the example that Jesus left for us on how we should pray, you'll see a perfect example of how prayer can stop bad things from happening. "Lead us not into temptation". God gives us the ability to say no to tempatation which can stop many destructive things from entering our lives. In a broader sense, prayers have blocked untimely deaths through healing, protected lives when we did not even know it, kept marriages from divorce and the list goes on. God promises he will raise a standard against the enemy. He is a shield around us. Becasue of the world we live in, we will all have to deal with some terrible things in our life time. But there are countless times God can keep us safe simply by touching His heart through the power of prayer.