THE POWER OF PRAYER

Prayer works.

When you and I begin to consider how we communicate with God, how our lives reflect His love and how the fruits of our labors bring transformation in people's lives, then prayer becomes even more powerful than any weapon on earth. Praying to God as we communicate with Him, yet living out of fellowship with Him is like talking to a concrete wall.  It's present, but there is no listening because we have completely betrayed everything that stands before us for our own "will and desire".

The power of prayer can be enhanced when you begin to serve God in a new way, in a believing way and you see the true essence of God through your prayers. Its way more than magical and far into the supernatural when God's love begins to completely flow from your heart, soul, mind and spirit. This does not mean we reach a level of true perfection, but more a real level of total surrender.

So do you surrender your "everything" to the Lord? Are you willing to take what is on your heart, mind, soul, body and spirit and release this to a Heavenly Father who loves you so much He sent His son for your life? This is a very private question and it relates only to you.  If you were to go on social media and ask on FB these questions, you would find the majority of the world has no idea what you are talking about.

In fact, those who "believe" are often skeptical of His real power in the first place.  Its because they have a temporal faith or an intellectual assent.  Its when you find people who really pray for God's will to be done is when everything is different.  

This past week, I went to see Jack Thompson in the hospital. He is a young 92 and it was his first visit to any hospital in his life. They were draining water from his lungs and he is currently waiting for an answer.  My dear friend, Dr. Matthew Britt is treating him now. Jack told Dad and I something important when he said, "I am not praying for healing, but I am praying for God's will to be done".  He went on to say how he believes in healing, but he didn't want to outlive what he felt God might want. 

Here is a man so "surrendered" to the Lord, he didn't want to appear selfish, even when it meant the existence of his own life.  I had never heard anyone be so bold about their faith in total surrender to God. I love Jack so much and his entire life he has followed the Lord which is why I have admired him so much.  Therefore, his words are important to my heart. 

When I stop to think of people like him, I am drawn to men of purity, men surrendered, men who I consider to be very holy and champions in our faith.  Ron DiCianni, Rick Thompson, Norman Behymer, John Kyle, Wendell Estep, Mark Hartman, Claude Thomas, Steven Curtis Chapman, Randy Smith, Matthew McAfee, James Barnett, Randy Sugg, Clint Thomas, Mark Chironna, Rabbi Landry, Paul Marcellino, David Pierce, Darrel Campbell, Mark Johnson, Mark Thomas, Dr. Heng Lim, Steve Green, Stan Moser, Roland Lundy, Loren Balmen, Matthew Britt, John Huff, Mike Hall, Jerry Wells, Bob Hoffman and there are so many people I have grown to believe in because the fruit in their lives are so impactful.

These men are men of prayer, some of them very broken, but God has raised them up and they know the power of prayer, and they work to live it every day, "behind the scenes" and not in front of the crowd, but on their knees.  They are men I count on because of their commitment.  Equally, there are many women of prayer whom I have grown to admire in ways because of their faith.

There are many women I believe in who embody the power of prayer like Gigi Graham, Beth Moore, Julie Clifford, Anna Kay Thompson, Megan Marcellino, Christy Landry, Cecelia Norman, Pam Pierce, Laura Jones Watts, Stephanie Musser, Kelli Hoffman, Laurel Hascamp and the list goes on and on. 

Probably the woman who impacts me most when it comes to prayer is Stormie Omartian. When I saw her at the music concert a few days before my healing, she carried such a presence of "Christ" in her, that I knew if she and her husband could come pray over my affliction, a miracle might happen as a result of her prayer. I do believe through every struggle of life, we have to find people who "believe" and will truly make prayer a priority.

Wayne Watson years ago wrote a song entitled, WHEN GOD'S PEOPLE PRAY and it touched my heart so deeply. The words encouraged us to ask for prayer, to promote prayer and to be completely arrested by the reality of what happens when people do pray.  Sometimes in worship, we find ourselves praying, but it is often difficult to set aside a time during the day to pray.

As part of the VERITAS 300 along with reading a character trait every single week, we simply ask for a prayer to be spoken on behalf of our ministry. It requires time, a real commitment and a belief prayer will work.  We see all the time in scripture when God's people had to "wait" on His voice.  Praying is not only asking God for something, but listening for what He has to say. The dialogue is not easy when there is no audible voice. What makes it even more challenging is the ability to discern truth.  

There are many ways to know God's will and I have shared these before. However, the inner witness of the spirit can be a blessing and a "danger" because the heart is basically wicked.  So when we pray, we have to begin by totally surrendering our lives to His will and pray believing.  

So when you feel the world is tumbling around you, when the health crisis consumes you, when you are angry and looking for answers, when your faith is challenged and when you are lonely, depressed and hurting, go to Him!

Herein, is the power of prayer and the results directly correlate with warriors who pray in truth!

I love you,

Kevin