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Prayer is the most powerful tool God has given us. It is a way to connect and unleash our hearts to God. It is a way to praise God, confess our sins, give thanks to God, and petition our needs or others' needs to God.
Prayer teaches us to be dependent upon God and not on the world. God wants a relationship with us and wants us to draw close to Him. However, we must remember that God is not some genie in a bottle. You cannot rub the bottle and expect God will pop out of the bottle and grant your wishes. That's not how God works. We must be open to doing God's will and be accepting of God's answer to our prayers. Also, we must abide in Him and live holy lives.
There are numerous examples of prayer throughout the Bible. There are accounts of men and women praying to God in the Bible. Such as Moses praying on behalf of his people in the wilderness, Hannah praying for a child, Mary, the mother of Jesus, exalting God, or Jesus going off alone to pray and be with the Father.
King David was a man of prayer. The Psalms have many of King David's prayers to God. There is one particular prayer by King David in 2 Samuel. This prayer shows his humbleness and adoration of God.
David’s Prayer 2 Samuel 7:18-29 (NIV)
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!
20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.
27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
Even King David knew how powerful prayer was and had a close relationship with God.
American pastor and televangelist Pastor John Hagee, knows how powerful and how important prayer is. Pastor Hagee gives a moving short sermon on the Power of Prayer in the video below. He says, "a prayer-less Christian is a weak Christian. A prayer-less Christian is a miserable Christian." Prayer strengthens us and gives us peace and hope. Prayer teaches us to put our trust in the Lord and not in people. Nothing is impossible for God. Prayer is powerful.
Heavenly Father,
We humbly come before You and we thank You for hearing our prayers. We want to draw close to You and depend only on You. Help us to be prayer warriors like King David. Help us to exalt You as Mary once did. Help us to be faithful and devoted to prayer just like Jesus. We praise You and give thanks for all that You do. Amen.
Pray you all have a blessed week!
Love and Blessings,
Carol
