By Jennifer Moreno
I always knew prayer was powerful, but I had not realized how significant prayer was until I noticed how my spiritual walk with Christ began to grow and my prayers were answered. For some prayer is probably the last thing they think about when they’re in trouble. Most of us drown in our problems and use prayer as a last resort. This isn’t what God wants from us, He wants us to take the initiative to pray fervently, to humble ourselves, repent and request our petitions before the throne.
Praying aligned with His Will:
1 John 5:14 says the following: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything ACCORDING to HIS WILL, he hears us.”
John 9:31 also says “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does HIS WILL.”
If you notice both verses say that God listens to the righteous person who does HIS WILL. If you come to the Lord with a bitter heart, un-forgiveness, or any kind of sin…you can bet that your prayer won’t be heard. But if you come in humbleness and repent, He will hear you.
Prayer is a weapon against the evil spiritual realm
Prayer is a powerful weapon because you are breaking through the spiritual realm and prayer is the only tool we have to allow God to take control and fight our battles. Remember that ‘our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’
Mark 9:29 you can see Jesus speaking to his disciples who were unable to cast out a demon from a boy. Jesus said… “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Prayer is extremely powerful and demons will submit to the authority of the Holy one.
Prayer is surrendering to God
Prayer is essentially surrendering to God and letting Him be in control of what is happening in your life. For example, if you’re sick, instead of relying on every word that comes out of the doctor’s mouth, pray for healing and let God be your physician. When you go to Him first, you’re saying “God, you’re in charge, you can heal the sick, I have faith that you can heal me.”
In 2 Chronicles 16:1 King Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet, but instead of seeking God for healing, he relied on doctors.
“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.”
Nehemiah relies on prayer
In the book of Nehemiah you can see his distress when he hears that the wall of Jerusalem is broken and its gates were burned with fire. The people have been living without any protection from their enemies for such a long time and no one ever did anything about it. Immediately Nehemiah prayed to the Lord God and said ” I pray, Lord God of heaven …..please let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of your servant which I pray before you now, DAY and NIGHT, for the children of Israel your servants, and confess the SINS of the children of Israel which have sinned against you. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.”
Nehemiah understood that in order to receive any kind of blessing, change, or favor you first must seek God’s face and align with His will. Nehemiah then got the chance to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem after receiving favor and permission from the King Artaxerxes.
The power of prayer isn’t just only in the person doing the act of praying, but the power resides in God who answers the prayer and moves on our behalf.
What do I pray?
When you pray you must be sincere and speak what is in your heart to God. Praying isn’t just about seeking God’s hand, but seeking His face. Jesus modeled for us what we should pray by saying to pray like this:
Matthew 6:9-13
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
May forever be your kingdom and your glory, Amen.
Jesus rather us pray this and not babble on with vain repetition or speak long eloquent prayers that mean nothing. Remember that God already knows what you need even before you ask. But it is the act of confessing to God, surrendering, and humbling yourself that makes the difference.
2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Hope this encourages you to plug into the power of prayer. I challenge you to pray with passion and consistency. Write down your prayers and also write down His answered prayers and you will see God’s glory on display. Be blessed! 🙂
GODLY WORDS MINISTRIES 