The Undeniable Power of Prayer

“You did not choose Me, but I CHOSE YOU and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that WHATEVER YOU ASK the FATHER in MY NAME, HE MAY GIVE IT TO YOU.”  John 15:16

It is an unfortunate reality that the majority of Christians do not have a full understanding of the importance and power of prayer. I have spoken to countless friends and acquaintances that admit that prayer is not a significant part of their daily lives. As a matter of fact, many believe that it is not likely to impact their lives one way or the other, mainly because there is an underlying belief in the Christian community that God will do whatever He is going to do regardless of the prayers of the people. Others admit to just occasional prayers while others confess that they use it as a last resort. 

The truth is that prayer is our lifeline to God. James 4:8 tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Our relationship with God is not unlike our relationship with others—It is a two-way street. Imagine for a moment your relationship with your significant other. Would the relationship work if you only spoke with that person occasionally? If you only showed interest once in a while? If you never really wanted to be around them? More than likely, the answer would be NO! It is exactly the same with God. He will never force you to love Him, seek Him, or listen to Him. He would rather you make that decision all on your own.

Prayer is also our birthright. As children of the living God, He blesses us with the ability to hear His voice, to receive wisdom and discernment as we seek Him, to receive spiritual growth and physical healing, and to receive direction for absolutely everything in our lives. The struggle is getting Christians to embrace this reality and truly understand how the process works, especially the part about not giving up. The best biblical example I can give you is Daniel. 

In the 10th chapter of Daniel we read about how he prayed 3 times a day for 21 days. Woah, 21 days? Most people would gasp—they cannot ever imagine praying 3 times a day, let alone for 21 days. But, Daniel’s example speaks volumes. Starting in verse 10 it is clear that from the very first day he prayed, his words were heard. But Daniel prayed for 21 days—so what happened? Why the delay? Well, when Daniel began to pray, demonic forces rose up and angelic warfare broke out. So, this begs the question—Do you know what that means for us praying today?

When we pray, we loose the powers of heaven—when we pray, we receive power to battle the forces of darkness—when we pray, angels fight on our behalf to deliver an answer to our petitions. Consider Hebrews 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits (angels) sent forth to minister for those (us) who will inherit salvation? Prayer packs a powerful punch—It is undeniably one of our most powerful weapons of warfare. Not only do we have the honor and privilege of hearing God’s voice, we also receive the necessary power to battle satanic forces, and to sweeten the pot even more, we have an army of angels at our disposal waiting and willing to engage in battle for us. Why anyone would ignore this is beyond me!

Now listen, Daniel’s answer was delayed for 21 days. During the time that he engaged in persistent prayer, forces were battling in the heavens. What we see in the natural realm is NOT what is occurring in the spiritual realm. Real forces are at work. Our job is to remain faithful and trust that as long as we are doing our part, God is most definitely doing His. 

Our prayers also carry a lot of weight. There is a theological debate in Christian circles regarding persistent prayer. Some will argue that the purpose of persistent, fervent prayer is to persuade God or even change His mind. I would argue that persistent prayer instead is for the purpose of pushing back on the demonic forces that will ALWAYS oppose us, no matter what we are praying for. Jesus taught us to pray and NEVER give up (Luke 18:1). 

Every time we pray, we unleash more and more power from the throne of God. Every time we pray we put more and more pressure on the person/people we are praying for to listen to God. Every prayer brings God’s power to bear on difficult people and situations. It makes no sense to give up. Would you give up trying to save a child falling off a cliff, even if your arm was hurting, tired and felt like it was going to snap? Every prayer is like that child slipping off the cliff—hang on to that prayer regardless of the lies the enemy is telling you—hang on tight and pray like if it were life and death because in the spirit realm the battle is raging, there is no time or room for you to take a break or, God forbid, give up. If you do, you know what the end result will be, your enemy will get the upper hand. 

Prayer is not a passive act, it is an aggressive, offensive, and active ministry. In football, players will aggressively push forward throughout the game to score points for their team. We MUST do the same in prayer, except that it is not a game, it’s a raging war that will not stop until Jesus returns. We must PUSH through our times of prayer and never give up. When everything seems to go wrong, just PUSH—When the job gets you down, just PUSH—When money is scarce, just PUSH—When you become angry or frustrated, just PUSH—When you are uncertain or scared, just PUSH!

                                                Pray Until Something Happens

If your day is hemmed in with prayer, it is less likely to come unraveled (Cynthia Lewis).

This message was inspired by a sermon given by Richard O. Rich in 2008, The Power of Persistent Prayer.