the power of prayer

i am currently reading buddha is as buddha does and was moved by this story:

A young American journalist moved to Israel and rented an apartment that had a view of Jerusalem's famed Wailing Wall. Every morning before leaving for work, she looked out her window at the sacred wall and saw an elderly man standing there wrapped in his prayer shawl and praying with great zeal. Every noontime she returned home for lunch and saw the same man there, intensely praying. Every evening she came home after work, and there the same man stood, rapt in prayer.

After several months of noticing this fervent soul, the young woman went outside and waited for him to pause in his prayers. When he did, she introduced herself and asked him, "How long have you been praying like this, every day, and what is it you pray for so earnestly?"

The man told her, "I have come to this spot every day for more than twenty-five years. In the morning, I pray for world peace, and then for the brotherhood of man. I go home briefly for a cup of tea, and then I come back and spend the rest of the day praying that there will be no more illness, disease, hunger, or suffering in the world.

The young woman was astonished at his answer. She asked, "How do you feel, after coming here for twenty-five years and praying for these things?"

The elderly man looked at her and said, "Just imagine how much worse it could have been without these prayers."

moving. a thought to consider each time we wonder if our prayers are being heard. each time we are discouraged and tend towards losing faith. i pray that we believe....