The Power of Prayer

The Power of Prayer

7/23/19

Many times we randomly say a quick selfish prayer that asks for favor and friendly conditions another example of taking a gift of God for granted, all of us are guilty of such whims.  Over the decades of our servitude to God, we have lost the concept of how to pray, the meaning of prayer, and for this topic the power of prayer.  Prayer is a communication to God and should be accustomed to speaking as one does with a spouse, child, or close friend.  Yet, as our days slip past us our communication skills with God diminish and thus we feel abandoned at times; I wonder why that is.  Prayer grabs the attention of God for it is His child that is speaking to Him, He is never too busy or out of the office, He is never on the cell phone either when you talk in His direction.  God is the almighty Creator of everything and even with such a title, He is still willing to grant His ears and heart to you as you speak.  How powerful is prayer you ask?  When words turn the heart of God into a single person’s direction there can be no greater power present.

We all know or should know that the single goal of our enemy is to steal, kill, and destroy everything that amounts to our existence.  Satan wants to completely annihilate your name from any record books and that would include the Lamb’s Book of Life.  He does not care how he obtains this result either, for he will throw anything and everything at your life in order to make his death wish for you occur.  Your presence on the earth and in the lives of others represents the balance of his kingdom for if he can control you and your actions so that you are not effective for the Kingdom of God he has the advantage not only in your life but in the spiritual battle for others as well.  Satan has already been in contact with eternal death and there is no way possible that he can return to the place that God Created for him.  This means that revenge and hatred fill his heart and it is this vile reality that drives him to eternally separate you from God in death.

No one really likes to talk about death for it is a subject that all of us will have to face at some point in time, but while physical death is something we cannot escape spiritual death is and it should be known that we have a direct communication link from our heart to God’s heart and it is through this pathway that we have salvation when our enemy comes to steal, kill, and to destroy our lives.  From the moment God Created humans, He also gave a manner in which to call upon Him for help and security, and just as it was in the Garden of Eden it is our choice to either obey His voice and commandments or leave ourselves to the spiritual attributes of our enemy’s tricks and lies.  God only knows and can produce life for Life is His definition and the opposite is true for our enemy for he can only produce death for he is already spiritually defeated.  There is no higher price that humans can pay but for death.  Death is sickening no respecter of persons, harsh, gross, and grotesque in all imaginable shapes and forms, but it is a necessity due to our sinful choices that we made so long ago.  But we have the Holy and Eternal Creator to turn toward to provide Salvation from all this mess.

Anyone who is over the age of say fifty years old remembers the old story called Rikki Tikki Tavi?  I saw the cartoon movie a couple of times and read the book once but never really applied its meaning and content to much of anything but God brought this short story that was written in 1894 to my mind a while back to illustrate to us the power of prayer and how it is so effective in the fight against our deadly enemy.  Rudyard Kipling wrote this story as part of the anthology “The Jungle Book” and after a short period of time became its own short story that was produced in the same context in a book.  Modern times saw a cartoon movie about the story, which then became popular viewing and reading material back in the 1970s.  I find it hilarious that God chooses off-the-wall topics to use for His messages to His children and until He gave me this title and article content I would have never placed this story with prayer.  The story is about a mongoose in India who lived with a family and tormented a couple of cobra snakes who were seeking revenge on the family due to the fact that one of them had killed a snake’s relative.  Rikki eventually fought the cobras on their own pit and came out the victor of the battle.  What many kids missed is the fact that mongooses have a specific anti-venom in their bodies that protects them from the poison cobras inject when they strike which serves as the foundation of what God wants us to remember about the power of prayer.

This antivenom is a key component of the mongoose’s life in that its presence gives the mongoose an edge over its deadly competitor and enemy.  Yes, the snake will strike and sometimes land a nasty blow to the mongoose but the poison that the snake’s fangs inject is rendered useless inside the body of the mongoose.  What would likely kill any other animal or human being is not any danger to the mongoose, what a powerful weapon this animal has against its enemy wouldn’t you say?  Also, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have such a weapon in our midst to protect us from our enemy?  Do we understand that God has built within our hearts this exact protective device to ward off the most powerful attacks, bites, and stings from our enemy?  It is here that we must truly understand who our enemy is and whether we wish to know it or not, our fellow humankind is NOT our enemy but it is our adversary who walks around doing his best to bite us with his eternal teeth so that we die a painful death and keep that pain as we separate ourselves from God.  If the mongoose and all other animals know who their mortal enemy is and know how to use their internal and external defensive mechanisms for protection, shouldn’t our protective devices are understood as well?

When God created humans and animals, He did so in such a way that all beings would have a way to defend themselves against their natural enemies.  In the case of the mongoose, they have a natural anti-toxin in their bodies that defends themselves from their enemy, the snake when it attacks them.  Keeping it scientifically simple here, mongooses have anti-receptors in the bodies that do not allow snake venom to attack thus activating the toxins that can kill a human being within minutes, seconds if you are a small animal.  Humans do not have these specific anti-receptors in our bloodstream and this is why snake bites can be deadly if not properly treated in a quick manner.  And how does this example compare to the power of prayer one would ask?  James 5:15-16 gives us the complete answer to this question and should really reinvigorate the Truth about prayer and its effectiveness in our hearts.

Our Scripture passage for this article comes from James 5:15-16 and it states as follows: “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  Yes, this is a well-known passage of Scripture and it has repeatedly been used to demonstrate what it means when a righteous person prays and it also demonstrates the continual and abundant life-line that we have to God.  The first verse in this passage talks about how prayer will heal the sick.  Now, we cannot forget that before sin was invited into our lives that we as humans did not know what it was to be ill or to even die for that matter but because we listened to the Serpent we have to live under the law of sin and death, physically.  My youngest daughter is so funny sometimes when she does not feel good.  It does not matter what she may temporarily have she believes and will boldly proclaim that “I am dying”.  None of us like to feel bad or to be bedridden with the flu or a common cold virus or worse laden with a permanent disease process but we need to understand exactly what is in play here and how to effectively use our eternal communication line to help.

We must never forget the power of prayer and what it means for and to our lives, but we also need to understand that there is a time to pray and a time to go and preach the gospel and we must never confuse the two settings.  I have heard many times people state that they will pray for those who are going around the world or to the next-door neighbors to witness and do neither.  A prayerful heart is one that heeds the voice of God to go and preach as well and if we refuse to go then our hearts are only looking in one direction and it is not in the direction of God.  Given this specific truth, how do you view prayer and do you fall into this category of prayer abuse?  I know I am guilty of such a setting and have repented many times that I have not been a good witness before and used prayer as a scapegoat to promote what our true mission is.  Yes, prayer is an important document that we have with God but if God tells you to speak to someone and all you do is pray then it is considered disobedience.  Stop and think about this for a while.

Not many people know that we can abuse the power of prayer just through not understanding the relational status that prayer offers to our lives.  It is completely impossible to form or to have a viable relationship without communication, even those who are unfortunate to be blind or deaf have ways to communicate with each other in order to survive and it is a gross injustice if we do not do our best to try and communicate with people who speak other languages so what is the difference with God and us?  Over the past few years, God has demonstrated to us through these writings that He desires to hear our heart’s voice every single day and that He desires nothing more than us communicating with Him.  Our speaking to Him is a prayer, our questioning Him for answers concerning how we should handle issues that come our way is prayer, witnessing to others and listening to God’s voice to help those in need is prayer but in order for this to occur we have to have a willingness to pray and to seek God first.

All of the promises that God and Jesus said that we could see and obtain are true if we communicate with Him on a daily basis, not on an as-needed basis.  So often we hear people praying when times are tough as they should be but not much is accomplished or given when the prayers of the people are lifted up in disastrous situations, see when people pray continually God shall show you what is in front of you both the good and the bad, and through the abilities that He has given all of us can either rejoice in the blessings or foresee the dangers ahead and act before they arrive.  The beginning portion of verse 15 in this passage gives us a Truth about prayer that it has the authority to heal the sick.  None of us like to be sick and at some point in our lives we shall face a grave illness.  We cannot believe that God is a regular sugar daddy but through prayer He can operate in such a manner that His glory is manifested in all results.  One of the hardest questions that people ask is why God allows ugly things to occur, but when a person who prays understands this passing time and will comfort those around them who need answers.  Prayer comes in a variety of forms and is sensitive in the appropriate times but only those who know the willingness to pray in all occasions fear God enough to listen to His voice during these instances; if people do not, then they shall heed the voices of the world and further divide their lives and hearts from the One True Creator.

It is a sad fact that many people who call themselves Christians walk around in a defeated state and allow depression, oppression, obsession, overrule their testimony.  When you ask people in these states if they pray most will say yes, but when you ask how they pray the same percentage of them will ask “what do you mean?”  Most pray superficially with common language used, by common I mean that the words they use are repetitive and become a habit instead of truly spilling our hearts out to God.  All of us have fallen into this category and while some realize it and break away from this pattern most do not and use this type of prayer as their prayer-life, a wasteful time that is a cold religious act that God does not want to hear.  This example is not one that represents the power of prayer but one that is formed and blackened that is approved by Satan for it is meaningless in its content and superficial and fleshy to obtain a want and not a desire.  It is this type of prayer that exposes the abuse of prayer and one that demonstrates our capability to seek pleasures and temporary happiness instead of knowing the will and heart of God.

How many times do we see the tricks of our enemy manifesting right in front of our eyes?  How do we handle these situations?  One of the most dreaded settings I have to deal with sometimes in my profession is a person or people that enter into the hospital that is about to tragically pass away.  Some of these moments I have to be directly involved in their final care settings and I have to admit that it is tough, very tough to watch a person leave this world and enter into the eternal realm where he/she shall spend eternity.  Of course, my mind is focused on the present physical situation at hand but my heart is praying seeking God’s authority over the situation and while some people do not make it at the end I know that God is in control and that His will was done during that moment in physical time.  Do we pray in good times and in bad times?  On what level do we pray when these conditions and circumstances arrive?  Do we effectively use the power of prayer to communicate to God so that His presence is not just there but His authority over such settings is manifested?  Or do we just spurt out a wimpy God help me prayer, or God please be with the family statement and call it good?

Why is it that we know what the power of prayer can do for our lives and the lives of our friends and family that we forget to continually sustain such a prayer life that it actually provides life?  Hit and miss prayers do not represent prayer or any type of relationship but a broken and taken for granted practice that means absolutely nothing to both ends of the prayer.  Ever since the days in the Garden of Eden has the concept and truth concerning prayer been attacked and subjugated by our enemy, and for some odd reason, with the history that we have right in front of our eyes, we tend to follow such a devastating pattern today.  Our enemy has done a bang-up job in convincing us that we do not need to have protection from God nor do we need to have a continual and abundant livelihood with Him either.  The world promotes broken relationships and that the next one will be better than the abusive one we just came out from under only to find that the next one hurts us more and causes us to harden our hearts deeper for any true communication system within our lives.

Satan has also done a bang-up job in convincing us that God does not want a relationship with us through the antics of those who do not understand what it means to have a pure and truthful relationship with others.  If a person comes from a long line of divorcees then it is very likely that the person in present tense shall be witness to divorce as well.  This generational curse of division goes unnoticed in many cases and when humans try to find love again many times fall back into the same types of relationships as previously suffered through.  One must beg the question of how to stop such practices and deep hurts and instead of fervently praying to God for Divine guidance we quickly return to worldly standards and seek through faulty channels that we are familiar with.  I have used the example of divorce here but any example of division can be inserted into this example status and be accurate enough to warrant a true change that can actually help our lives instead of ruining them.  Day after day we see people, cities, states, nations, and kingdoms succumb to the death notices that the world turns to yet we ignore the One True Savior that can solve all of our problems correctly and eternally.  The reason that we do not know that God is the answer is that we no longer have a prayer life and now believe that all the power we need comes from the world and not God thus rendering prayer useless and not necessary.

This is the exact reason why you have mega-churches today that may have thousands of people in attendance each Saturday or Sunday but are spiritually dead and have no clue or concept about God and His Ways.  If one does not communicate with their immediate family, business partners, friends, etc. there is no way possible that one can say they know what the other relational partner needs, does, says, lives.  Now I lay me down to sleep is an excellent prayer for a child at night until they grow a bit older and then we should teach them a deeper way to pray.  When we are taught to pray and to have such a conversation that comes from the heart we can only receive growth messages from God.  So, one must ask ourselves what is the difference in a dead megachurch from a spiritually dead individual?  The answer to that one is easy, nothing for they are both dead with their pride and bloated egos still intact and ruling their existence.  When a child of God prays they should do so with boldness for God’s Word says we should come boldly before the throne but in order for us to do this we must first want to communicate with God and if we continue this pattern then we shall depend on our prayer life to secure the results of our days.

A hit and miss, a superficial, or an every-once-in-a-while prayer will only have one success rate and that will consist of Satan flicking his spiritual finger in our direction and heap further destructive forces in our lives.  Look at the events of 9/11 and look at what all has occurred to this nation since that memorable day.  A person can spend the rest of their life studying the raised turmoil around the world and still not fully cover the ugliness that has been shed.  Another person can also study the amount of true prayer that the Church has done around the world too and the conclusion of this amount shall be staggering in one heart.  To be honest, when people understand the Truth about Kingdom and the spiritual warfare that is ongoing around us no studies should be warranted for the results of this warfare is evident and shows which kingdom we have accepted as our own.  Our hearts are blackened and shameful in the eyes of God and He is sending us warning signals that if we do not change our ways and return to Him, He will soon have to alter the course of our hearts.

As long as the majority of this nation decides to line up with the world our lives are in physical and eternal danger.  We have totally forgotten the concept of eternity in accordance with death, for now, it is not acceptable to stand over a teenager who has purposefully and voluntarily ended their life and say to the attendees that what they did was wrong.  We have become hardened to the fact that self rules the day and self-control has no place in our informative societies; what we feel and subsequently do is not recognized as a spiritual leading but only a self-gratifying status that is deserved.  Oh, if you have not noticed I am talking about the Church and not the secular operations.  We should expect these types of activities from the world but from the Church?  It is time that we start praying again with the heart that knows it needs God instead of some lightweight, non-specific, and general “cover all” prayer.  We have lost the advantage of Kingdom advancement and it is time we start winning the world again for Christ.  Allow God to take away the selfishness of our flesh and to replace it with His Ways and to defeat the works of death from our enemy.  The only way for us to complete this sanctity is to get away from the phones, the “reality” programs, and to return to our knees and pray to God and seek His face, then we shall see and know the power of prayer against the world.

DLB