My late husband was drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Before he left for his one-year tour of duty, I was desperate to say something comforting or hopeful. All I could think of was, “Come back to us, and keep prayer close.” He responded, “I don’t believe God answers prayer anymore.”
I felt my heart drop. I was afraid for him, going into war without knowing the power of prayer. When I arrived home that day, I called a Christian Science practitioner and asked, “How do I pray for my husband, who is on his way to Vietnam?” In essence the practitioner replied, “Pray, pray, pray without ceasing.”
This echoes St. Paul’s counsel to the early Christians (see I Thessalonians 5:17). But how was I to do that? We had four children, all under nine, and one not quite three months old, so there was much to do besides pray.
