The Congressional Test of Prayer’s Power
People like to talk about the power of prayer a great deal, but when it comes to offering proof that prayer really has any power, they tend to fall silent. That’s odd, given that there are opportunities to test the power of prayer all around us. One such opportunity is found in the U.S. Congress.
Despite the clear instructions in the first line of the Bill of Rights, that Congress shall take no action to establish religion, one house of Congress has an official governmental prayer asking for God’s blessing every morning. That’s the House of Representatives. The other house, the Senate, has no such prayer.
This sets up a clear test of the power of prayer. If there really is a God, and that God really responds to prayers, granting blessings when they’re asked for, the House of Representatives ought to be remarkably more successful than the Senate. So, are there any indications that the daily prayer in the House of Representatives makes such a difference?
The Senate actually has been more successful in getting things done than the House. In 2008, the Senate had 2.15 roll call votes per member. The House, on the other hand, managed just 1.58 roll call votes per member. In the 110th Congress, the Senate passed 1.34 public laws per member. In the same period, the House passed only 0.70 public laws per member – barely more than half what the Senate accomplished.
Members of the Senate are much more productive than members of the House. Yet, the senators don’t have any daily prayers asking for the blessings of God, as the members of the House do. This pattern contradicts the assertion that prayer has any power to benefit its recipients. In fact, there’s a negative relationship between prayer and productivity. The lesson is that the House that prays together delays together.
