Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 17/03) - If you need the power of prayer behind you, there are many people ready to help.

With her prayer guidelines and Bible at the ready, Gale Cook of Hay River is ready to call other members of the Baptist Church Ladies Prayer Chain. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

In the NWT and throughout the world, people have united into prayer chains -- ready at a moment's notice to spread a prayer request by telephone.

In Hay River, for example, the Ladies Prayer Chain has operated for many years at the Baptist Church.

Gale Cook, the prayer chain's chairperson, says the idea is to get as many people as possible praying towards one goal.

She describes it as assaulting the throne of God with prayer. "That's really what it is."

A prayer chain is set in motion at the request of an individual or a family, she explains. "Someone will call us and ask us to pray."

Anyone wanting the prayer chain to pray for them or their families can contact any member of the eight-member group. The facts of the request are verified, and it is passed along to the chain's members. Cook says a prayer chain is mostly used for crisis intervention, such as sickness or accidental injury. She notes most people turn to God in a crisis.

"Basically, your first line in a crisis is, 'God, what's next?' or, 'God help us.'"

Sometimes there are also requests to pray for salvation of the spiritually lost, or to improve interpersonal relationships, such as marital harmony.

Cook says that, because of the confidential nature of prayer, chain members are sworn to secrecy.

However, without giving names, she offers two examples in which she believes the prayer chain helped people.

In one instance, a man was critically injured in a motor vehicle accident, she says. "His health has been restored."

In the other case, major blood vessels were severed in a man's wrist, resulting in a large loss of blood. Despite that, the person returned to full health.

Cook points to those recoveries as dramatic examples of how prayer can help. "There's no question about that."

Prayer is a mystery, but God wants people to bring requests to Him, Cook adds.

As for the power of many people praying, as opposed to just one, she explains God wants people to work in community, not independently. "That's probably the key. God doesn't want us to operate in isolation. He wants us to operate in a community of believers."

Prayer chains exist throughout the world, some for particular topics, Cook notes. "They're all over the place."

Asked to explain what prayer is exactly, Cook says, "It's talking to God. And that's why God created us in his image. He wants fellowship with us."