The Real Power of Prayer

"Momma said there would be hard days..." or so the saying goes.  I've heard this often lately and it seems to be a running theme in my life.  Just when I think I've made it through one battle, another one surfaces. 

My husband teases me that everything I write and talk about is always gloom and doom, that I tend to focus on and make a bigger deal of every little hard thing.  Part of it is my personality - I feel things deeply and my mind is a steal trap for emotions and anxieties.  I have a hard time remembering what day it is, but I can bring to mind a long ago memory and still feel the depth of emotions as if it was happening right now. 

I think a bigger part of it is also a stronghold in my life.  Emotions are not a bad thing, but when I allow them to define me, they can easily become both an idol and a stumbling block. 

I've been sitting here pondering prayer, as our school family is dedicating this day to pray for some really hard battles among us.  We ask for prayer at the drop of a hat and recite a few words quickly before a meal, but what does it really mean to pray without ceasing?

We say that there is power in prayer and that prayer is our best defense when there is nothing else we can do, but does that mean that God is not in control and that we can somehow change the future if we pray hard enough? 

My thoughts are a mess.  One minute I'm really living in gratitude, soaking up the mundane moments of every day living...and, in an instant, without any warning, I feel the weight of battles holding me down. 

I prepare lunch and wonder if my son will eat what I've made and how to unravel the fears that have built a wall around him.  I want to scream and cry and stomp my feet, because WHY is this happening now?  And what of the rash and pain from food that only seems to get worse and more confusing.  I don't know where to go from here.

I open up Facebook while slowly sipping my coffee, a smile on my face, because once, finally, there is no Sunday morning battle to get everyone out of bed and out the door on time.  And then I'm broadsided by a friend's battle that has once again reared its horrible head and it's bad, really bad.  I remember the day doctors first found the tumor in her brain and the words of pure faith despite the unknown she told me then...but still I wonder why.

I listen to a friend share the struggle of her own battleground, the ashes still scattered in the place they called home and they're still wondering how to pick up the pieces.  I hear the pain in her voice and I wonder what the purpose could possibly be in all of this. 

And then we ask for prayer - pray for me, pray for her, pray for this situation, pray for peace, pray for healing...but does it matter?  If God already knows our deepest cries and, even more, has already numbered our days, what good is one little prayer going to do?

Our friend and pastor visits our church on a weekend away from the new journey his family has embarked on and I soaked up every word of his sermon.  It's like God is not just listening, but speaking directly into the cracks and crevices of my heart.  Prayer is not just about voicing our needs, he says, but about rejoicing in the goodness of God.  Prayer reorients our hearts to be more like His.

"We do not pray to God to instruct him as to what he ought to do, neither for a moment must we presume to dictate the line of the divine procedure. We are permitted to say unto God, "Thus and thus would we have it," but we must evermore add, "But, seeing that we are ignorant and may be mistaken-seeing that we are still in the flesh, and, therefore, may be actuated by carnal motives-not as we will, but as thou wilt."" (C.H. Spurgeon)

Prayer should never be a chore either, our friend and pastor reminds us, lest we forget the privilege and gift it is to come unveiled before a holy and mighty God. Prayer is mercy and grace poured out through the blood of Christ.  When the battle is upon us and we wonder why, prayer is our communion with the One who knows and listens and is always waiting for us to run straight into His sanctuary. 

"True prayer is not a mere mental exercise, nor a vocal performance, but it is deeper far than that-it is spiritual commerce with the Creator of heaven and earth." (C.H. Spurgeon)

Isn't that amazing?  Read that over again and let it sink into your heart, because it really is a beautiful truth.

But what about interceding for others? We say prayer is a powerful thing and we are amazed when we see people coming together to pray for the same thing and even more amazed when we see Him answer our prayers in a mighty way.  But what of the "others" who have no one to lift their great needs in prayer?  Does having an army of friends and family you can call on to pray with you mean the need will be met in a bigger way?  Does not having an army of friends and family to intercede for you mean your prayers don't hold as much weight and won't be answered as readily?

Prayer doesn't hold the power to change God's mind or alter His plans.  Prayer sets aside our ways so we can better see His ways.  Watching an army of believers pray for the same need is amazing, but it's not because the volume of their prayers can pound harder at heaven's gates. 

Galatians 6:2 says we should bear one another's burdens in obedience to Him.  When Jesus walked this earth, He gave a new commandment that was greater than the stone tablet Moses once carried down the mount.  We are called, above all else, to love one another, so, bearing one another's burdens is a way for the body of Christ, through prayer, to lighten the loads we each carry. 

Matthew Henry says that the command in Galatians 6:2 is meant to direct us "to sympathize with one another under the various trials and troubles that we may meet with, and to be ready to afford each other the comfort and counsel, the help and assistance, which our circumstances may require".  This is what it means to really be the body of Christ. 

For those in the trenches of battle, knowing that others are lifting their needs up in prayer is both a relief and encouragement.  It is a reminder that we do not walk alone and it is encouragement needed to keep walking forward.  It is the hands and feet of Christ at work in our individual lives. 

So, today, will you join with the body of Christ and lighten the load of life's hard battles through steadfast and fervent prayer?  Please share your own prayer needs here and let's bear one another's burdens.