"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Php. 4:6-7)

Prayer changes things only for God's people because "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Rom 8:26-28). "Everything by prayer" does not mean everything in the universe, but rather "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3-4, 11). The "life" refers to eternal life. We pray only for the change that has connection to God's plan of salvation.

However this does not mean that we pray only for spiritual things. Prayer will certainly change material things when that change has a spiritual value and benefit.

Prayer is not for satisfying physical and material lusts (Jas 4:3). It does not mean that we cannot pray for material needs. Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses..." (Lk. 11:3-4) The main purpose of prayer, however, is to help make things "turn out for salvation" (Php 1:19).

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (Jas 5:16) When a righteous man prays there are more changes than he could ever imagine or comprehend. "And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." (Jas. 5:15) The sick person is not only healed but also saved.

Many years ago there was a Christian woman in Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia who had been suffering from hemorrhaging, the sickness similar to the one who touched the border of Jesus' garment and was healed (Lk. 8:43-48). This Malaysian woman had also spent her family's savings on doctors and still could not be healed. A member brought her to our church and after hearing the full gospel of salvation she believed in the new birth of water and the Spirit (Jn. 3:3-8).

One evening while she was praying fervently at home she was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with tongues. At that moment she also felt the power of God descended on her and pushed some liquid out of her body. After the prayer she got up and saw a puddle of blood on the floor where she had been kneeling. This woman was completely healed from that moment onwards. She and her husband were baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ.

After many months she met one of her former physicians at the town market. The doctor was surprised that she looked so healthy and asked what happened to her. He also wanted to know who had healed her. She said her doctor is the Lord Jesus Christ. The doctor also believed in Jesus and was baptized into Him.

"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit." (Jas. 5:17-18)

In 1969 three ministers - Pammal James (Madras, India), John Chin (Singapore) and Paul Wong (Ipoh, Malaysia) were on a flight from Singapore to Madras (now Chennai). During the flight James told us the whole state of Tamil Nadu had been suffering from drought for two and half years. He requested us to pray for rain. When we arrived in Madras we actually saw and experienced how bad the drought was. The land was parched and the river bed had cracks. People did not take baths and were saving the water for cooking and drinking only.

We preached in a soccer field in Pammal Settlement outside Madras. The night after the open-air service it rained only in that area. On the second evening many people who had seen the miracle of the rain and they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We baptized 69 people in a depression in the river where rain water had collected the previous night. Praise and thank our Lord Jesus Christ in 1969 two new churches - Pammal Settlement and Ambathur were established in the State of Tamil Nadu, India through this wonderful miracle.

God can still perform miracles like what we read in the Holy Bible when we pray to Him in faith. Prayer does change weather conditions.

Following less than a month after Hurricane Katrina had devastated New Orleans another Category 5 hurricane named "Rita" formed in the Gulf of Mexico and had a projected path towards Houston.

On Tuesday September 20, 2005 "Forecasters said Rita could be the most intense hurricane on record ever to hit Texas, and easily one of the most powerful ever to plow into the US mainland".

That same day through email a special prayer request was sent out to all our Church members in Houston and also through the ARK Forum for Christians all over the world to pray for three things. (1) Weakening of the hurricane, (2) Changing the course of the hurricane to an area with no population, (3) No deaths and very little damage.

On Wednesday September 21, 2005 Hurricane Rita had developed into a Category 5 storm and was heading towards Houston/Galveston. Mayor Bill White had issued warning to Houston residents and advised them to evacuate. Millions of Houstonians jammed all the roads from the North to the west.

Many Church members tried to leave Houston but got stuck in the traffic jam, so they assembled in the Lee family home in the Northwest of the city.

On Friday afternoon September 23, 2005 we saw and heard the Television News that Hurricane Rita had weakened to a Category 3 storm and had changed its path. Our family went to our son's home in Northwest Houston. In the evening we held a Bible Study. On Saturday we also held a Sabbath service. Praise and thank God there was not even a raindrop in our area.

God had answered our prayers. (1) Hurricane Rita had weakened (2) The course had been changed and Hurricane Rita made landfall on Sabine Pass, an uninhabited area near the border between Texas and Louisiana. (3) There were no deaths and little or no damage.

Prayer truly changes things. Glory and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, HalleluYah!