Prayer Power

Luke 1:10

And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer.

Today is the National Day of Prayer in the United States. For those of us who live here, we should first offer up a prayer of thanksgiving that we can have a National Day of Prayer. Let’s also pray for all those around the world who cannot openly pray to Yahweh. For all of you who read this devotional and live outside the United States, will you consider this your personal invitation to join with us for a day of prayer? There is no time or space in the Spirit because we are united in the Spirit.

Maybe you will pray with me that we will become a people known for prayer. I think we don’t pray as often as we might because we have lost confidence that our prayers are effective. “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much,” or so Brother James would have us believe (James 5: 16). Maybe we doubt our righteousness, or maybe we just don’t think we have enough spiritual “oomph” to make a difference. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel like our prayers are going to impact a situation. We talk about the power of prayer and we’ve even seen how prayers have turned a situation around, but the confidence leaks out of us when it comes to our prayers. Well, there is help for that. It is called unity. As we unite in prayer, we become stronger. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken,” (Ecclesiastes 4: 12 NIV). Together we can do amazing things! Jesus said, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 18: 19).

The spiritual realm has power. However, we are not well versed in operations within spiritual sphere. When you speak words, they actually have energy. Researchers have already shown that thoughts create an energy signature. They aren’t just wisps that float off into Neverland. Likewise, there is spiritual substance in our words and thus, in our prayers. Even if you feel like you don’t move a lot of spiritual weight, in our combined strength we really can move mountains. And, don’t forget that it is really our heavenly Father doing the heavy lifting, but we have our part as well. He takes our prayers and the spiritual energy they create and molds them into the answers we seek. The long and short of it is that when we combine our energy, we are a powerful team. So, even if you feel like your prayer is weak, in its combination with other prayers the power is enormous. It only took a few men in Wales, devout in their prayers, to bring about a revival.

So today, I invite you, no implore you, to join millions of other people in prayer. Pray all day. Every time you have a minute break, offer up one more prayer. Pray for the people at your place of employment, at your church, at your children’s school. Pray for the leaders of those institutions as well as for the leaders of your country. Pray for the people in the media who deliver news, movies, and music. Ask the Lord of the harvest to touch hearts, bless and heal. Pray for the clerk behind the cash register and the teller at the bank. There is no limit to the number of prayers or the number of people who need prayer. Pray for me.

May God, our Lord and Love, bless your every prayer and may he bless and touch every person and institution for which you pray today. May the blessing return to you a hundredfold for every prayer you offer. And, may His blessed grace unfold itself upon all people that all may see that Jesus is Lord and the savior of our souls. Let the love of our beloved God and Father be seen and demonstrated. I pray that God bless you and keep you in the folds of His embrace.

One Voice

Ezekiel 22: 30            GW

I looked for someone among you who could build walls or stand in front of me by the gaps in the walls to defend the land and keep it from being destroyed. But I couldn’t find anyone.

More than once the nation of Israel worked themselves into a position of destruction. God’s desire was to save them. He sought someone who would stand for them, someone who would bear the burden of prayer for the nation. Sometimes He found someone, Moses for example. In today’s verse, we see God’s lament that He could find no one willing to “stand in the gap” for the nation. How important is one person? Reread the verse. For the want of just one faithful person, the entire nation suffered.

Who are you in the body of Christ? Do you feel like a nobody? Well, Israel sure could have used you all those years ago. If God could have found just one faithful person, He could have saved an entire nation.

What is the condition of your nation? Or your town, state or province, for that matter. You may be the only thing that is standing between your town and destruction. The prayers of a righteous person are effective and powerful (James 5: 16). They can save a city. You may not be the best orator in your town. You may even be bashful about praying in public. However, in the sanctity of your home, you can save the nation.

Never minimize the importance of just one person. Especially, do not devalue the power you have in your land. There is no one unimportant in the body of Christ. Turn off the TV and pray for an hour. Pray for you political leaders as well as other leaders, pray for your nation, you church, your pastor, your state and town. Pray for the teachers, police and fire fighters, and so on. There is no shortage of people and institutions you can pray for so don’t feel like you are only a little toe in the body of Christ. You may be the one God is counting on for prayer. That makes you important.