How Powerful Is Prayer?

12 On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” -Joshua 10:12-13 BSB

Joshua 10 is a picture of what Jesus spoke about when He said this about the power of prayer…22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them. 23 “Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. -Mark 11:22-24 BSB

I’m not saying that anyone can make the sun stop or actually move a mountain, but what I’m saying is that prayer to the Lord will make the impossible, possible no matter what it is that’s going on in your life.

If what you prayed for is God’s will, you will see a miracle. When your faith gets hit, all you need to do to revive it again is pray to the One who gave it to you for strength, and He will strengthen your faith.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:2 BSB

Are you doubting the Bible? Or, are you doubting your faith in the Lord? Get on your knees and seek Jesus before your doubt becomes serious.

The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. -James 5:16b

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Pray For The Salvation Of Your Friends & Family

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

-Romans 10:1, NASB

As Christians, prayer for the salvation of our friends and love ones must be at the top of the list. You see, the moment a person dies, it will be too late for them. They will not get a second chance. In James 5:16, it says that one’s prayer “can accomplish much”. Without prayer, the Lord will not move on your behalf. Prayer shows the Lord your dependence on Him—humbling yourself before Him.

Prayer builds up your faith, putting it into practice the moment you start praying. It will push your faith to believe in the promises found in the Word of God that He will answer your prayers.

A word of caution—when a person stops trusting in the inerrancy of the Scriptures, their faith starts to die as Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”. Our faith comes by reading and believing God’s Word. And the faith that God gives us, it is for communicating with Him—praying His will, will produce in us good fruits that is acceptable to Him. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to the earth, He will desire to see faith.

1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged…8 (b) when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?

-Luke 18:1, 8, NASB

Persistent Prayer Reveals Your Faith

1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart…8 I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

-Luke 18:1, 8, BSB

Prayer is an essential element in the process of a believer’s growth in the Lord. In verse 8, prayer reflects one’s faith or the strength of it. Jesus connects prayer to the level of your trust in Him when you read the context that’s between verses 1 and 8.

Jesus talks about a widow who went to an unjust judge for justice who didn’t care about God or people, but because the widow kept coming to him, he saw that she was going to wear him out. He decides to give her the justice that she sought. Jesus then said, won’t God answer His children’s prayer even quicker? Jesus finished by comparing consistent prayer to strong faith.

Jesus only answers a prayer that is consistent because it exercises the person’s faith towards the Lord. In Hebrews 11:6, it says, “6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” As you can see that faith in Jesus Christ is what pleases Him, and without it, you cannot not. A prayer that does not give up displays a faith that is firm and immovable.

Doubt is prayer’s cancer. It eats it up by causing the person to cease from hoping in an answered prayer from the Lord. After the person stops, bitterness develops, and its roots go down deep into the person’s soul and takes hold until it destroys that person’s faith.

Remember, the target will always be your faith because faith is what pleases God and strengthens you. Without faith in Jesus, there will be no life of prayer, hope, and worse, no salvation. How do you think that a person who at one time was a Christian turned around and became an atheist? Once you destroy the little bit of faith they had in Christ, it severs their connection to Him. They have no choice but to abandon Jesus because what keeps you clued to Jesus Christ is trust in Him.

If Jesus is not answering your prayer, do you give up, or have you made up your mind to be persistent until He answers you?

What type of faith do you have?