From Powerless To Powerful Prayers

It is no question all Christians would like to move from powerless to powerful prayers. Yet so many live with a defeatist attitude- they give up far too soon. We may believe in Jesus- His death and resurrection, we may believe we have the Holy Spirit power within us, yet it remains untapped and our prayers remain unanswered. Because of this, we give up.

Many pray before meals and attend church regularly, but leave the sanctuary without any real understanding of how to apply God’s Word to experience answered prayer. As a result, children are raised in the same powerless faith, and God’s blessings remain untouched, generation after generation. Even worse, the same struggles continue to resurface again and again with each generation.

I can only imagine how heartbreaking this must be for God, watching His people stumble through life. He gave His only Son to die for us- not simply so we could be saved- but so we could live with purpose through a powerful, Spirit led prayer life. Yet we continue to live far below what He intended.

Rest In Jesus For Powerful Prayers

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”(Matthew 11:28-30)

This verse came to me during the worst season of my life. I had no idea what to do and very little support. Upon reading this verse I thought, Yes, I need you, most of my earthly help seems to have disappeared – so please teach me! The first thing I learned is that God sent Jesus to teach a new way of life. A life that yokes us to Him in order to surmount all of our problems. We no longer have to live in a dog- eat- dog world where the most powerful, wealthy or connected people prevail. When we are yoked to Jesus and follow His way, things will ultimately work out, so long as we don’t unyoke ourselves from Him.

That realization was a revelation for me. I had been looking for a miracle but was willing to “settle” for help from the Bible. The funny thing is, our miracles can only come from biblical wisdom.

God’s Plan Includes Blessings On Earth Through Prayers

In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul earnestly sought to help people understand God’s plan. It goes beyond forgiveness of sins and a place in heaven when we die. Jesus’ plan was to give us a power source to help us rise above all of our problems. Therefore, God’s saving grace, His salvation, is actually twofold: deliverance through our problems and deliverance into heaven one day. (This is a concept I explore more deeply in another post- here.)

“I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.“(Ps 27:13-14)

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!”(Ps 27:13-14 KJV2)

When we read the Bible and pray, we receive guidance as to how to live. This guidance from God leads us to move closer to Him which will give us confidence in our prayer requests.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20)

God’s plan was to send Jesus so that, through faith in Him we could receive the Holy Spirit’s power. This power helps us understand the Bible and convicts our hearts of the unshakable truth of God’s Word. Even more, the Holy Spirit transforms us from within. It cleanses our hearts of hatred and bitterness even toward those who have deeply hurt us. And this is only the beginning. Through the Holy Spirit, we are given wisdom, strength, and guidance to turn every situation around through praying the Word back to Him and rock solid faith in it’s certainty.

The Israelites Physically Participated, We Pray

When the Israelites were on the boarder of their promise land God tested them. The land was filled with giants. Needless to say, the Israelites were extremely scared to fight the giants in order to take the promise land. They were sure they would be annihilated because they trusted what they saw more than the Lord.

Likewise, when we see a healing verse in the Bible, we may think of it as a long shot. Really, stage 4 cancer can be healed by prayer? This is where trust in the reality and integrity of Scripture comes into play.

Powerful Prayers Include Our Participation

“The LORD had said to Abram: “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.“

In the first book of the Bible, the Lord said “GO” to the land I will show you. Abraham had to participate in receiving his blessings, and so do we. Our job is to move into agreement that God’s way is best and to eliminate from our life the things that God abhors. Just as the Israelites had to fight fervently against the evil in the land until the victory was won, we need to fight the evil thoughts that lure us into a lifestyle of sin. As we become sucessful at rebuking Satan’s evil in our lives we become more confident in the Word. We begin to realize God’s Word cannot fail.

With each step in this land of giants, they had to cast out fear and replace it with the truth of what God had told them. This is exactly what we do. When we pray for an urgent situation to change, we must aggressively fight the thoughts in our mind telling us we cannot do this. God cannot fail, and we don’t give up we will see a victory. It’s a battle of the mind.

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”(2 Tim 2:13)

When we believe in God’s Word more than what we see, we will eventually win and receive our answer. If we cower in fear- we miss out. After I learned this fact, I was tested – deeply tested. Would I stand on God’s Word and believe He would step in, even as my circumstance worsened? Thankfully, and I mean thankfully, I had no one else to rely on. My main support system- my father- had recently passed away as I was learning these truths and everything around me began to unravel. I was alone. But now, my support system was my heavenly Father – and He never fails.

Stand On The Word and Win!

The most powerful prayers are those based on Scripture, prayed with frequency and true desire as well as from a heart that has retained no un forgiveness. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.“(James 5:16)

We are told in Ephesians 6:13 to put on the full armor of God, which includes being in rightstanding with God. With our armor we will be able to dismiss all the negative voices in our head that tell us our prayer is a long shot, it won’t happen and we should give up. These are voices of evil, the satanic forces in the world that don’t want us to understand that believers can have powerful prayers if we don’t give up.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

1 Peter 5:9
“But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

When we have found a Bible promise that pertains to our situation, never give up praying. This steadfastness combined with surrendered heart will lead to answered prayer. Stand firm, pray often and see the deliverance of the Lord!

Food For Thought,

Lisa