In a 24-hour news cycle, we’re no strangers to tragedy. One disaster strikes and then another swiftly takes its place in the headlines. And people commonly respond with comments like “thoughts and prayers.” But lately, people have been questioning whether prayer is actually much help.
We love being able to fix problems in our own power, but we often forget where our true Source of power comes from—God. Pastor Craig Groeschel says it this way, “Prayer is never a last resort. Prayer is our first line of defense.”
We often don’t realize the power that prayer has to change circumstances, and we often forget that sometimes the greatest power of prayer is to change our own hearts and perspectives. Prayer reminds us that we are not in control but that we serve a God who is. Prayer allows us to surrender our worries, align our hearts with God’s, and practice depending on God. And prayer also changes us. It encourages us. And sometimes it challenges us to be an answer to the prayers we pray.
Jesus taught a lot about prayer during his earthly ministry, and He even instructed us how we can pray through what’s known as the Lord’s Prayer:
“… your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:8-13 NLT
You don’t need special language for prayer. God already knows what you need. But see how prayer shapes our perspective in that prayer. It invites us to depend on God by asking for Him to meet our needs today. And it invites us to take part in being an answer to God’s Kingdom coming to earth by the way we live and love others.
Ultimately, prayer is less about getting what we want and more about realizing who we get to be connected to. It’s about surrendering control and trusting God to do things that seem impossible to us. And it’s something to do often, because it’s such a privilege to get to talk with the Creator of the universe. And we don’t just pray for something once. Jesus instructed us to keep praying. And we know that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful.
So yes, our prayers matter. They move the heart of God. They have the power to change circumstances. But above that, they always change us. Our own power is limited. But God’s power? Limitless. So we pray. We ask God to move, to intervene, and to act. And when we feel prompted to be an answer to prayer by meeting a need for someone else? We take action, knowing that it’s God who is at work—not us.
Study Further:
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:7-13 NLT
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”
Matthew 7:7-11 NLT
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Ephesians 6:18 NLT
“Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Luke 11:5-10 NLT
