Power of Prayer

The following was sent to me by a sister in Christ. One of the most compelling and most convicting written pieces about Prayer!
I feel obliged to share in the hopes that it blesses you too!

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Ps 32:6 “Therefore let everyone who is godly pray…” NIV
Luke 18:1 “men ought always to pray, and not to faint…” KJV

One of the great disconnects between the written word and the “practice” of Christianity today must surely be in the area of prayer. I am struck by the constant exhortation in the Bible to pray and how little praying we actually do. The early church seemed to think that it was something vital, something urgent, something that they could not afford to neglect if they were to live the Christian life. And so they were always praying – they wrestled in prayer (Col 4:12), they joined together in prayer (Acts 1:14), they devoted themselves to prayer (1 Cor 7:5), they lifted up holy hands in prayer (1 Tim 2:8).

When they were imprisoned and persecuted they prayed. They prayed for the sick, for one another, for their leaders and for their enemies. They prayed for guidance, they prayed for the salvation of nations, they prayed for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They prayed in prison, they prayed in their homes, they prayed in the fields, they prayed in the streets, they prayed on the beaches. They never ceased to pray. When they gathered together, prayer was a natural consequence.

Is it any wonder then that they accomplished so much? Is it any wonder that they were able to turn the world upside down? They were dynamos of supernatural power. They moved mountains, raised the dead, healed the sick; even their shadow was enough to bring instant healing! Serpents couldn’t harm them, demons fled before them. Trials and tribulations could not break them and all the power of Rome couldn’t silence them.

Incredible! Awesome! Amazing!

In truth, the early church simply modeled themselves upon the example of Jesus. Jesus was always going off by Himself to a quiet place to pray. He spent whole nights in prayer by Himself. Prayer was a natural part of His life. Prayer is so important that He is still praying for us! (Heb 7:25).

Now if prayer was so important to the Son of God, how much more important must it be for us? Can it be that we are so powerless, so helpless today because we are so prayerless? Can it be that we never really experience the power of God in our daily lives because we have not made prayer a priority in our daily lives?

All the mighty men and women of God were first and foremost prayer warriors. David, Elijah, Daniel and Ezra, to name a few, were prayer warriors. David Brainerd walked the woods for days deep in prayer. Charles Finney prayed for hours before he went out to preach and minister. It was said that the sun never rose on China without finding Judson Cornwall on his knees. Robert Murray McShane was a legendary prayer warrior. Susannah Wesley, despite having nineteen children, found time to get alone with God and spend one full hour in prayer each day.

It is interesting that when James talked about the power of Elijah, he began by noting that Elijah was a man just like us (with all our weaknesses and temperament, etc) but then he began to pray … the fire fell and the nation was turned back to God. There is a direct connection between prayer and power – the greater the praying, the greater the power.

When he was struggling for a breakthrough, Charles Finney once proposed to his group that they should all observe a “closet concert of prayer for the revival of God’s work; that they should pray at sunrise, noon and sunset…” As they began to pray the spirit of prayer was poured out…and soon revival swept through the region.

You know, I think we have bought into the lie of the enemy that our prayers don’t accomplish much. So often we see it as just another “religious activity.” But James declares that the “prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Every revival that has ever come, has come through prayer. Study the Bible again and you’ll find that every battle that was ever won, was won because of prayer. I am convinced that without prayer nothing of consequence can ever happen! Prayer is that significant. Can we afford then not to pray constantly, continually, wholeheartedly?

We may not know how to pray like that, how to travail in prayer… but there is One who knows. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to teach us prevailing, travailing prayer. If we start praying, He will give it to us. To him who has, more will be given (Lk 19:26). Make time for prayer and He will fill the time with prayer. And it will change your whole life.

I feel the Spirit calling every believer to prayer, to a new “closet concert of prayer.” Prayer must urgently become a way of life for us, corporately and individually. We must begin to devote ourselves to prayer and not just the “bless me” kind of prayer. We need to make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, to pray according to the purposes of God. We need to take everything to God in prayer. We need to cover our families and our nation in prayer. Against the tide of evil and unrighteousness that is sweeping the land, we need to bend our knees and our hearts in prayer, earnest prayer, travailing prayer. Pray, pray that God will “pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground…” (Isa 44:3). Pray, pray, that God will give us a mighty harvest of souls for surely the great and terrible day of the Lord draws nearer.

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Jesus loves you so much. Be blessed this day.

© 2010 Fire Begets Fire Ministries. “Fuel for the Fire – Daily Reflections on the Word of God” : Used by permission of Fire Begets Fire Ministries, Ottawa.