Prayer is powerful. It can, when we are tuned into the will of God, cause God to answer with things miraculous. Why is it that I don’t treat it that way all the time? Why do my prayers sometimes seem to be weak?

Jesus talked about the power of prayer in Mark chapter 9, when the disciples tried to heal a demon possessed boy and they could not do it. Jesus had given them the power to heal, and yet in this situation they could not. When they asked Him what went wrong, Jesus simply said this…

Mark 9:29 (NASB)
29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

There is something very special about prayer, something that this side of heaven we can’t completely understand. However, we can still draw upon its power if we are persistent, have faith and believe.

George Mueller, who fed thousands of children by only relying on the power of prayer had to say this in his autobiography.

“It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must patiently, believingly, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer; and further we have not only to continue in prayer unto the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us, and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing.”

God wants us to expect an answer. If we pray hoping for an answer, then we really aren’t praying.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Revelation 5:8 (NASB)
8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Our prayers are held by God in golden bowls, a sweet aroma to the Lamb.

Always praying for the Glory of God,

Mark 4:26-29 (NASB)
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;
27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.
28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
29 “But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

This parable of Jesus is only recorded in the gospel of Mark. It is a parable about the Kingdom of God which reveals that our spiritual growth is a continual, gradual process. Our gradual growth in Christ is done by the Holy Spirit as He leads us. No one can be our Holy Spirit for us. And we can’t be anyone’s Holy Spirit either. That is particularly true in our marriage relationships.

If we desire to try to change our wife or our husband, it can only lead to disappointment. This is also true when we are single and contemplating marriage. If we are in a relationship where the other person wants us to conform to the image of who they think we should be, then they are trying to be our Holy Spirit. Trying to satisfy a partner in marriage in this way leads us down a path that God has not chosen for us and is destructive to both partners.

Prayer is the answer. I am so fortunate to be married to a patient woman, one that prays hard for me. She depends on the Holy Spirit to grow me as He wants.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Philippians 4:4-7 (NASB)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians describes a church that loves Jesus. Let’s pray this week each day that your church would be like the church at Philippi.

Pray that we would be the people and the church that God wants us to be.

Always praying for the Glory of God,

Genesis 4:25-26 (NASB)
25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Some commentators say the last sentence in verse 26 is a reference to prayer, others do not. The lineage from Seth led all the way down to Jesus. However, the lineage of Cain led to ungodly men. One of Cain’s offspring, Lamech was the first person to distort God’s plan for marriage by taking two wives. However, the offspring of Seth, led to men that “call upon the name of the Lord”. While the word prayer is not specifically used in this passage, it is likely that this was not only worship, but also prayer. In fact, these words were used several other times in the Old Testament and often linked to the building of an alter prior to calling on the Lord.

The building of an alter requires planning, dedication, and labor. It is not something that is done on a whim. And the worship that follows is not something that is taken lightly either. Prayer also requires planning, dedication, and yes labor, too. We have to be intentional about our prayer time.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Philippians 1:9-11 (NASB)
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul had a profound love for the church in Philippi. And Christ has an amazing love for His church. It is His will that we continue to grow in love, that it will abound more and more as we draw closer to Jesus. How easy it is to be pulled down by the things of this world, yet the Holy Spirit will fill us with love, more and more each day until we are united with Christ.

Always praying for the Glory of God,

1 John 5:13-17 (NASB)
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

John presents some interesting thoughts on prayer in the 5th chapter of 1 John. In fact they are amazing promises. Clearly, he is writing to those who are Christians, giving us the confidence that if we as Christians ask according to God’s will, He will hear us.

It is a comfort to know that, but it also requires that we actively seek His will and allow the Holy Spirit to intercede and guide us. The Bible is our primary source of understanding God’s will, which is why it is so important to not only pray, but to study His word. It also implies here and is confirmed in other passages of scripture (John 15:7) that we should not come to Him with unconfessed sin, or our prayers will be hindered. If we come to Him having confessed our sins and praying in His will, not only will he hear us, but we “know” that we will have the requests that we have asked of Him.

Have you ever prayed a request and immediately had a sense that the prayer had been answered? I think that is what John is trying to say in these verses. George Mueller, who fed thousands of orphans with food provided in answer to prayer, said: “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of God’s willingness.”

Always praying for the glory of God,

There are two instances in Matthew where the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign. These are found in Matt 12 and Matt 16.

Matthew 12:38-40 (NASB)
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 16:1-4 (NASB)
1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
3 “And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?
4 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

If I’m really honest with myself and God, I often pray my petitions for myself and others wishing that God will perform a miracle in order for me to have a sign that will increase my faith.

Jesus tells us that He has already given us the only sign that we will ever need. His resurrection is the only miracle that is required to have faith in Him. His death paid the price to cover my sins, so that I can be His child and commune with Him through prayer.

And so, I can pray confidently, without a need for another sign or a miracle. I can pray always seeking His will alone, not mine. I can pray earnestly as David did in Psalm 19.

Psalm 19:14 (NASB)
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Always praying for the glory of God,