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The following is an article published in the May 2000
issue of Conexiones, which can be downloaded from this website under the
"Newsletters" link.
I have come to realize the power and importance of
prayer. In fact, when I go to churches and tell them what the prison
congregation is doing and solicit their support of this ministry, I tell
them that we need their prayer, their attendance at worship, gifts,
prayer, their support by putting us on their congregation’s budget and
prayer. We are told, in the New Testament, that “the prayer of the
righteous is powerful and effective”(James 5:16b). To be a righteous
person is to obey God, who in his earthly form commanded us to love and
pray for each other.
Prayer is the power behind palanca, the lever. Palanca is prayer.
Palanca is not something written on a piece of paper. Palanca is not a
trinket or knick-knack or any other item no matter how lovingly made.
Palanca is prayer. It is the actual taking time out at times that may be
entirely “inconventient” to pray for all who are attending the weekend.
Palanca is not even intended to be directed at individuals. Palanca is
meant for the entire weekend community. Some time ago, Dr. Randy Byrd,
a staff cardiologist at the San Francisco General Hospital, conducted
his own ten-month experiment with prayer. Of 393 patients to the
coronary care unit of the hospital, he assigned 192 of them to Roman
Catholic, Protestant and Jewish congregations, giving these people the
names and a brief description of their condition, and asking them to
pray for the patients daily. The other 201 were not prayed for. No one
in that hospital except Dr. Byrd knew who was being prayed for, not even
the patients. The results were startling. None of those prayed for
needed breathing tubes, for instance, and the prayed-for group faired
far better than the not prayed for group. Prayer has a strong effect,
even when you are not aware you’re being prayed for. Recently I noted
one or two movements touting the fact that to receive palanca from their
movement, all one has to do is log on to their website and download it.
Where is the prayer and sacrifice in that? No, that is definitely NOT
palanca. What have we done to palanca? We have relegated it to a nice,
artfully created poster with sentimental and spiritual sayings on it,
but prayer and sacrifice are not apparent in such “palanca.” People of
the Via de Cristo or any movement based on the Cursillo© movement, I
call you back to the basic premise of palanca. Give up something
significant while you pray; assume an uncomfortable position as you
pray; lay face down and pray; stand on your head
and pray; get up at 11pm, 12am, 2am 4am to pray; pray instead of lunch;
get together with several others each day to pray for the weekend; spend
a solid hour in prayer, anything that is a sacrifice while praying. Tell
the people on the weekend what you plan to do, and then do it; but,
don’t just send a poster, trinket or letter and forget about prayer and
sacrifice.
— Rev. Carroll Lang
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