The Power of Prayer

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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

Faithful in Prayer and Prayer Tools

 

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A Christian thought to ponder...

Is your prayer life faithful and consistent?

My answer to that question is no. I fail so many times by letting things in this world distract me. Many times, when I am praying, whether at night or during the daytime, my mind will drift. My mind will not stay focused, and I get sidetracked from praying reverently to the Lord. It is similar to when you are in a deep conversation with someone, and then suddenly you get sidetracked by your cell phone or something else, and you abruptly turn away from the conversation. It is rude and disrespectful. So the same principle applies when you are praying to the God only ten times more. For God is our creator, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the Alpha and the Omega, and the great I AM. He deserves one hundred percent of our attention and devotion.

Prayer is powerful, but it is also very personal. It is a way to connect to the Lord intimately. It is a way to cry our hearts out to him. It is a way to show our love for him, praise him, thank him, seek his assistance, strength, peace, direction, or protection, and it is a way to petition the Lord. Many women in the bible sought the Lord out in prayer by praising him, thanking him, and petitioning him. For example, in Mary's prayer (mother to Jesus), in Luke 1:46-55, her words show adoration and thanksgiving. 

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

In 1 Samuel 1:10-11, we see Hannah crying out loud to the Lord and petitioning him to give her a child.

10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

To be faithful in prayer, one needs to pray daily, fervently, and continuously. And just as it states in Philippians 4:6-7, we are not to be worried about anything and pray about everything. 

6 do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

God will give us peace of mind and heart when we free our minds of all anxieties and place all of our troubles at his feet.

Prayer Tools

One way I connect with the Lord is through a prayer journal. A prayer journal is a great tool to reach out and connect with God by praising and worshiping him, confessing sin to him, and petitioning him. In addition, it is a great tool to use for reflection. You can go back and reflect on past journal entries and thank the Lord for helping you through a rough time or thank him when he answered prayer. Also, by writing in a prayer journal, I noticed I get less distracted by the things in this world. I am more intent and focused on my prayer and petition to God. 

Another prayer tool I use when I journal is the ACTS prayer model. ACTS is an acronym that stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. When using the ACTS prayer model, I will sometimes pick one or two verses from the Bible to meditate on and pray over. The Psalms is an excellent book to use for the ACTS prayer model. 

So what does ACTS stand for?

A:

Adoration of prayer: it is paying honor to God, or showing fervent and devoted love to God. It is praising God for who he is. It should focus on God's attributes, God's actions, and the Names of God. 

C:

Confession of prayer: it is acknowledging a sin or a conviction and confessing it to the Lord. 

T:

Thanksgiving of prayer: it is an expression of thanks to God. What are you thankful for, or what has God blessed you with that you are thankful for? 

S:

Supplication of prayer: it is a humble petition to God for needs that you may have or the needs of others. 

An example of the ACTS prayer model in my journal would be like this:

Heavenly Father, 

You are gracious, almighty, faithful, and good. You are the Great Promise Keeper and always promise to be with us. We are never alone, for you are the Good Shepherd always near, ever watchful, and protecting Your flock. You are the Great I AM, and there is no one like You. I praise and worship You and give You all the glory for all things. 

Forgive me for allowing the things of this world to distract me from being faithful and consistent in my prayer life. Please forgive me for placing the things of this world above You. I want a closer relationship with You. Please help me resist those things that tempt me and draw me away from You.

Thank you for taking care of all of my needs and my family's needs. Thank you for all Your blessings. Thank you for Your Son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, and thank you for the hope we have in him and for calling me into Your family. 

I lift up in prayer our Christian brothers and sisters who are being persecuted in red flag countries. I pray that You would protect them, help them have loving and forgiving hearts towards those who persecute them, strengthen them, give them peace, and provide for their needs spiritually and physically. I also lift up all the non-believers in the nations of the world. I pray that You would open their eyes to the Truth, that they would be humbled, and that they would turn to you in repentance and faith.

I ask all these things according to Your will and all for Your glory and praise. Amen. 

I hope and pray that you find these prayer tools helpful in your prayer life and helpful in organizing your thoughts and prayer requests.

Heavenly Father, 

You are sovereign, loving, merciful, faithful, and true. Thank you for Your Word to guide us, shape us and mold us. Thank you for giving us prayer tools to reach out to You and develop a closer relationship with You. Help us to make prayer a priority in our lives. Help us to stay focus on You and seek You at all times. Amen.

Pray you all have a blessed weekend!

Carol Moore