Prayer is Powerful
- Charlton City UMC
- 10 hours ago
- 6 min read
Dr. RB McFee
Email: drmcfee2020@gmail.com
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Tonight I attended a wonderful concert – the Christian artist Tasha Layton performed at a local church, hosted by CCUMC’s radio partner Q 90.1.
During the concert she invited people up towards the stage so that she and the volunteers could pray over those who accepted the invitation. Many did. And the praying from the stage, and by people – perfect strangers laying hands upon those who needed God’s Help in one way or another – it was a powerful witness, a powerful image.
But then isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Trust God enough that we accept His Love and that of His people?
Prayer is powerful. Not just the individual act or results we expect, but in the shared experience of doing so for others. It is in our tangible connectedness with God and each other – done in private thoughts with public hugs and the Divinely human touch – these are affirmations of the Power and Mercy of our Savior.
Why do we pray?
Children don’t complicate things the way adults do. They run to Jesus, give Him a hug, share what’s on their mind – Jesus I just got a puppy, or “Jesus can you get mom to buy me a puppy? Or “Jesus I skinned my knee,” or “did you see the big turtle?” or “it’s kind of dark Jesus, and I’m scared, help me.”
Kids instinctively know why they pray….they are talking to Jesus! It can’t get more simple or elegant than that. They believe, they ask, they expect an answer. They may not understand it, or like it, but they at least take it to the Lord.
Adults often complicate things. They dig up religious words and beat around the bush, or go to God with some hesitation, wondering if God will come through, is prayer worth it.
Jesus and the Apostle Paul exhorted us to do this important and spiritual practice “without ceasing,” so prayer must be something worth doing.
But why?
Is prayer merely a spiritual version of writing our Christmas wish list, where we treat God as a faith based celestial Santa equivalent, dolling out favors, gifts and honoring our wishes?
Or worse, do we treat the Lord like a Heavenly ATM, hoping He’ll supply our needs on demand?
Perhaps it is more subtle than having Him do something for us?
And yet if we are people of faith – fledgling or strong – and believe God is in fact as scripture describes – omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent which is to say all powerful, all knowing, always present, then one would presuppose He already knows what we need and when we’ll need it.
So again I ask, why pray?
Maybe we pray to change God’s Mind, to change the path He set for us, to change circumstances befalling us, to provide for a need or want?
Changing God’s Mind; that’s an interesting notion, but not without precedent. After all Moses did appeal to God about how many would be punished, and God did in fact agree to change His decree.
Having pondered prayer a long time, I wonder if in the bigger picture, prayer exists in part not so much to change God’s activities on what impacts us, but to change how we approach problems, especially from His perspective.
Perhaps prayer is the conduit where we build partnership with our Creator.
Prayer - if we sit down and really think about it, perhaps it isn’t to change God’s mind, but to change our mind! Perhaps in laying out our requests, placing the problem or issue before God, we are better able to hear His insights, and gain a clarity not present before prayer.
Perhaps prayer exists to bring us closer to our Lord, and to help us grow in and with Him.
Perhaps prayer is a way to quiet ourselves in the midst of a noisy world so we can hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit, and experience moments of Holiness and Peace unavailable outside the protective bubble of prayer we can choose to enrobe ourselves in.
Perhaps prayer is a way to show love by offering our time and a piece of our heart on behalf of others, as was shared this evening at the concert.
One thing is certain about prayer – Jesus did it often - publicly and privately, and for many occasions and reasons.
Often Jesus went off on His own to connect with God. He often prayed alone after doing the miraculous, such as feeding the multitudes (Matthew 14).
Sometimes He prayed in front of others to drive home the point God listens to His prayers, as happened when Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.
We know Jesus advised His Disciples to pray often so that they would survive temptation, tap into the power to heal, and stay close to God.
And when the Disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He gave them, and us, the Divinely Inspired Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11: 1-2). It is a most powerful set of promises, instructions, and affirmations. If you haven’t read or said it lately, consider taking a moment to look at it carefully and really ponder each component because there is Power in each verse, each word.
Jesus reminds us throughout His ministry that our Heavenly Father cares about us, knows about us, and wants to bless each of us. Therefore, if the greatest gift we have been offered is direct access to God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, then prayer has to be considered the ultimate way to phone Home to our Heavenly Father.
Jesus does remind us to be focused, frequent and faithful in prayer – like the mustard seed. Jesus also reminds us that if God will care for the birds in the fields, He will certainly care about and for you and me as well.
And Jesus reminds us to be persistent with God.
Jesus tells the story of a friend who shows up to his pal’s house late at night for some bread, not leaving until he gets some, or story about a woman who is super persistent asking Jesus for help, reminding Him even dogs get scraps off the table.
Jesus made a point that prayer shouldn’t be some complicated verbal barrage to the Almighty, nor should it be an exercise in rote repetitiveness.
Prayer is a conversation between you and the Almighty; preferably heart to Heart, and done in a spirit of thanksgiving, humility, and honesty. God knows when we fib! He recognizes a grateful heart. He appreciates our respect.
Jesus counseled us to go off in a quiet, private place to pray with humility and without fanfare or drawing attention to ourselves, and He noted the power of being together in prayer as well.
All that said, one common thread unites all of the prayers Jesus taught, role modeled, and shared with us – prayer is a powerful force connecting us to God. It is a means of grace. It is a gift of time. It is an opportunity to talk and listen to the Lord.
And if we’re honest – if we have someone who means something to us, our day gets brighter when we are remembered, when one of them takes the time to reach out, not because they want something, but because they want to connect with us.
I suspect God is the same way. When we call up to chat, I think His day gets brighter, too! I am confident He likes to hear from His children, not because we want something, but just because we want to spend time with Him, our Heavenly Father.
So why do we pray?
Jesus told us why …. When we need courage, help, insights, to feel loved, and most of all as a powerful means of worship, and being blessed in the Presence of God.
And the Apostle Paul did a great job reminding us to pray – “without ceasing.”
You and I will know we got prayer right when “without ceasing” becomes as natural, as easy as looking around and seeing God in our daily activities, and saying “hi,” or sending a thought to Him, or saying “thank you” for something causing a smile or making us feel blessed, or reflexively turning to God when the first inkling of a challenge occurs, focusing on the Problem Solver and not the problem.
We will have answered “why pray” when a relationship with God and mindfulness of His Presence in our daily life become part of our purpose, and when that commitment feels like a privilege practiced regularly throughout our day. Put differently, the answer comes when our very consciousness becomes a sensibility and that sensibility is essentially a continuing conversation with the Lord. And through this, we increasingly see, feel and experience His Presence.
Prayer is a key way to bring about the Presence of God in our life. And when we have that, all other prayers – for peace, provision, a pathway, and perseverance toward our purpose – these will all fall into place, and the Spirit will guide us how, when and what to pray.
Regardless of when or what you pray, just know when it is given with thanksgiving, humility, simplicity and a loving heart for God, prayer is powerful.
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