Lately, I have been becoming more and more aware of the intense, incredible, authentic, and life-changing power of prayer!The coolest thing is that there is no defense against the power of prayer! You can go to the nations in prayer! Countries may have closed borders and be closed to the Gospel, but prayer penetrates those borders. It gets through the cracks in hard hearts. It breaks down barriers. Isn’t that just awesome?!
I have this vision of God’s people praying, and it’s like an aviation map. The prayers “fly” across the world — there is no border that prayer can’t cross, no fortress strong enough to hold it back, no wall thick enough to keep it out. That is the power of God through prayer! A country may be closed to you, but it cannot be closed to the power of your prayers. We can change the world through prayer!!!!
Don’t listen when people discourage you from praying. When people say, “oh, my friend, I have done too many bad things, so do not even try to pray for me, because it is hopeless for me,” do not listen to them! I can easily see this as the devil speaking through them, because he recognizes the power of prayer! Think about it…the devil knows how powerful God is and that there is incredible, life-changing power through prayer. If the devil tries to discourage you, he’s trying to limit the goodness of God, limit the incredible life-changing power of God, and he knows that prayer could change this person’s life and so he discourages you from praying, even through the mouth of this very person, to try to stop God from doing miraculous work through prayer. Whoa, huh?
We often times don’t see the end result of our prayers. And that can be very discouraging. But can I encourage you to keep at it with all excitement and Passion and boldness? It is hard when the feelings aren’t there…you feel dry and empty…but it’s all about believing in the power of God to transform lives and do what seems impossible to us, because it is really nothing for Him. We are to be rooted in prayer, because there is nothing that God cannot do. He is everything! There is so much strength in prayer, so much peace in knowing that you have prayed, and now you can let God do the rest, because you have done your part, even if it feels like the smallest thing, by praying.
We underestimate the power of prayer. Many people, or most people at one time or another, think that prayer is wimpy or not good enough. We think we need to DO something tangible in order to make a difference. But I’ve been learning that that is just not true at all!!! Pray with confidence! Pray with conviction! God may not answer our prayers the way we think He should do it, but — reality check — He is WISER than us and He has a PLAN!
There’s a closeness, an intimacy with God when we pray. Sometimes you won’t feel it (I know I don’t most of the time). And sometimes it will overwhelm you!!! But it is really not about feelings. It’s about knowing who God is, knowing His truth and trusting Him no matter what, that He has the best plan. It’s understanding that His ways are not our ways, that we don’t understand “why” all the time. But don’t you think it’s definitely possible that our brains could never truly grasp how wide and how deep and how high is His knowledge, His power, His love for us? It’s about trusting Him through that and never ceasing to pray. Pray with a humble heart and open hands, ready to receive and go, and ready to be all who God has called you to be.
Prayer reaches the nations! How awesome is that? We cannot fathom how far it reaches. We do not understand the full depths of its power. But God is so huge. Prayer is an incredible gift that needs to be picked up and used. It’s hard to pray all the time. It’s challenging, and I fail so often. But try. And keep trying. God doesn’t give up on you. He loves you with an everlasting love. I am so grateful to serve a God with such depth to Him. I can’t comprehend Him, but oh how I love Him and how He loves me!!! This is a beautiful thing, my friends!
Never cease to pray. Lift up yourself…for healing and understanding and the filling of the Holy Spirit. For boldness and confidence in Christ. Then lift up others around you. Bring them to the throne of God! Pray for your nation — for peace and wisdom for its leaders, for God to be known amongst every people group in your nation, and finally, all the other nations in the world. That Christ’s love and undeniable power would be known across the globe, and that the Holy Spirit would penetrate every border, every people group, every person in every nation. That no one would die without the chance to know Jesus, to know that He died for them so that they could have eternal life and be with God in heaven forever! Ahhh-mazing. Amen!
[I wrote this a couple of days ago in a moment of inspiration 😛 I’ve tweaked it since then…but I’ve been incredibly challenged by this. It really challenges me more than I could ever tell you…and I’ve realized lately that I lack so much in prayer. I used to pride myself in praying “all-day-long.” But I am now humbled in knowing I have a long way to go. Would you join me in becoming more persistent, more confident, more deliberate in prayer? It’s SUPER challenging. But the reward, getting closer and more in tune with the Holy Spirit and the heart-beat of God, has GOT to be SO worth it!]
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