.
>> “If I had to choose between prayer and the bible, I’d choose prayer.” <<
If you didn’t have the scriptures that Yeshua and his apostles had when they ministered in the synagogues how would you know whom to pray to, and in whose name that prayer was authorized.
Yeshua said “it is written” as often as he said “go and sin no more.”
You could not know what sin even is without Torah, our “instruction in righteousness.”
.
I can’t answer hypothetical, but I will say that word of mouth can be highly effective, if empowered through the holy spirit.
Also, the more I read and listen to scripture, the more I realize that a LOT of what Christians believe is not the actual word of God, but someone elses interpretation of it. And I disagree with a lot of those interpretations now.
The biggest is that i used to be a believer in ECT (Eternal Conscious Torment) of people who “die in their sins”. I’m now a strong proponent if CI (conditional immortality), and that only the saved, as clearly taught in the Bible, receive eternal life.