Power In Prayer
Why must I toil and struggle through a conflict or decision for days, weeks, sometimes even months before I fall on my knees in prayer? I ask myself this question every time this happens. When will I learn to go to God as soon as soon as possible?
As I have pondered these questions and this topic, I have found reasons why prayer is sometimes, unfortunately, my last resort.
I think I have it all under control.
I think the problem is too small.
I think I am smart enough to figure out the answer on my own.
I turn to other people to help me figure out the answer.
I don’t have the patience to wait for God’s answer. I want a quick fix.
I’m overwhelmed and don’t know what to even ask of God.
I’m ashamed to bring these thoughts to God.
I’m a fixer, put me to work.
Instead of prayer, I worry.
If I think prayer is burdensome and a waste of time, what does that say about my faith? I have written about prayer many times before because it is such a vital part of our relationship with Christ. God has gifted us with accessibility to Him. He has gifted us with the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, and we have access to His power any time we ask. Every gift we have been given is through Christ. Nothing can be done without the power of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes in my journey, I forget how powerful Jesus is and how incapable I am.
In Mark 9, a man brings his son to Jesus and asks if He can heal him from being demon possessed. The man says that he has already brought his son to Jesus’ disciples but they were not able to heal the boy. Jesus says that if the man believes then anything can be done. The man states that he believes, and Jesus rebukes the demon and heals the boy.
Later, the disciples ask Jesus why they were not able to heal the boy. They had been a part of Jesus’ miracles in the past and had learned from Jesus. Why couldn’t they perform this healing on their own? Jesus replies to His disciples, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
When I read this, I was stopped in my tracks. I go on and on, fighting struggle after struggle on my own, and asking Jesus why I can’t perform these miracles and fix my problems. When I read this, I realized every one of my problems can only be fixed through prayer.
Just like me, the disciples thought they had the power to heal the boy and they were disappointed when it did not work. When a problem arises in my life, I try to fix it my own way and feel defeated when it doesn't work out. I’m forgetting who has the power to fix the problem and guide me through it.
If you look at the same story in Matthew 17, Jesus says to His disciples when they ask why they couldn’t heal the boy, “Because you have so little faith.” It wasn’t the quantity of their faith, it was the quality of their faith. They believed in Jesus and knew He was powerful, but they thought they were powerful too. The quality of their faith showed they had forgotten who was in control and who gifted them with their power.
Jesus desires for us to rely on Him. He doesn’t want us to fight and struggle with our own problems. But what do we do with the prayers that have not been answered after years of praying? The answer is, we continue to pray. I know how difficult that can be sometimes. There are so many times in our lives where we say, “God where are you? Why haven’t you answered my prayer yet?” Our faith is not only shown in trusting God with everything we have, but with also resting in the fact that He knows best and He has a plan.
I can tell you first-hand how difficult this can be. I have been praying for a particular situation for 35 years now and the prayer has not been answered the way that I think it should. There has not been deliverance from this difficult situation. This is a hard pill to swallow, but I know God has a reason. My prayers have not always been in line with God’s will and they have not always been quality prayers. In fact, there have been seasons of my life that the quantity of these specific prayers was very sparse. When I get out of the habit of putting prayer first, I know I can always jump right back into that communication with God because of His mercy. He is always waiting for us to surrender it all to Him. Even when we don’t understand and are tired of waiting.
I challenge you to join me in taking everything to Jesus first. Take it to Him before you have exhausted all other options, before you have turned your life upside down trying to fix it, before you take control into your own hands and everything goes awry.
Digging Deeper:
Read Matthew 17:14-21
How is your need of control keeping you from going to prayer first?
What situation in your life do you need to surrender to God so that His will can be done?
Please share your comments below. I would love to hear how I can pray for you and how God is speaking to you about His power of prayer.