I have a friend that asked me about\u00a0“prayer blankets or cloths”. I am aware of the Scripture she is referencing: Acts 19:11-12. I’m just unsure on how to help her understand scripturally why this is not necessary. Thank you for your time and scriptural truth; I really appreciate it.<\/p>\n\t
“Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them<\/em>” (Acts 19:11-12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Your friend wishes to claim that what God said was an\u00a0unusual<\/em> miracle showing that Paul was an apostle and inspired by God (Hebrews 2:3-4) is now a commonplace item.<\/p>\n
But it really isn’t the same thing at all. People were miraculously healed by the clothes that Paul had touched. Notice that no mention of prayers is found in this verse. Prayers may have been said, but that is not where the emphasis lies.<\/p>\n
God answers prayers, but people think they need something tangible instead of trusting God to hear. In a way, they are much like Thomas, “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” <\/em>” (John 20:29).<\/p>\n
God never commanded the use of prayer cloths and there is no example of such being used (beyond pulling an event concerning Paul out of its context). What I’ve seen these days is hucksters offering mystical prayer cloths for some money. Even if someone realizes the cloths don’t do anything beyond wiping up dust, they are told that it is because they lack faith. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:3-4).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I have a friend that asked me about\u00a0“prayer blankets or cloths”. I am aware of the Scripture she is referencing: Acts 19:11-12. I’m just unsure on how to help her understand scripturally why this is not necessary. Thank you for your time and scriptural truth; I really appreciate it. Answer: “Now God worked unusual…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[363,1510],"class_list":["post-40781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-miracles","tag-prayers"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34016,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-prayers-in-i-corinthians-11-referring-to-praying-in-an-unknown-tongue\/","url_meta":{"origin":40781,"position":0},"title":"Were the prayers in I Corinthians 11 referring to praying in an unknown tongue?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, Regarding I Corinthians 11:3-16, where women commanded to cover their heads while praying and prophesying. Some argue that the prayer mentioned in that verse was a miraculous activity connected with prophecy. God talked to man through the Spirit. In I Corinthians 14:14, Paul mentioned praying with an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30627,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-pray-for-the-sick\/","url_meta":{"origin":40781,"position":1},"title":"Why Pray for the Sick?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Acts 3:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We have talked about the purpose of miracles earlier \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Purpose \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To reveal the truth - John 16:13 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To confirm the truth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hebrews 2:3-4 - God shows his agreement with the speaker \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mark 16:20 - Confirmed the word spoken \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0c.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Acts 2:22\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6891,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-miracles-not-happening-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":40781,"position":2},"title":"Why are miracles not happening in the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! I am a member of the church. One thing I never understood is this: There are movies, such as Breakthrough, a true story about a boy falling through ice, then being pronounced dead, and then his mother prays over him and suddenly he starts breathing again, and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6893,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-age-of-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":40781,"position":3},"title":"The Age of Miracles","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 47, Nov. 21, 2008. Question: Most of the older members of the church tell me that the age of miracles has ended. But I can't find anyone who can give me the passage of Scripture that teaches that. Can you provide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23752,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-we-limiting-god-by-saying-miracles-dont-happen-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":40781,"position":4},"title":"Are we limiting God by saying miracles don’t happen today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a friend who believes, like many people, that spiritual gifts still exist. He says to believe that they don't is limiting the Holy Spirit. I told him that I see that as the opposite being true. To say that some have the gift of healing today and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52796,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-mary-lead-prayers-did-people-receive-all-the-gifts-of-the-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":40781,"position":5},"title":"Did Mary lead prayers? Did people receive all the gifts of the Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you for taking my questions. We were discussing the upper room Wednesday night. Acts 1:13-17 mentions that Mary, Jesus' mother, and other women were present. We were trying to determine if Mary herself was praying while all the people were there. I know some women prophesied back then.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40781\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}