May 4: Power of Prayer?

I hear a lot of people talk about the power of prayer. I don’t believe in the power of prayer, per se. I know a lot of different people who pray to a lot of different gods. In Asia we saw people pray to idols made of stone and wood. Those prayers fell on deaf ears. The power lies not in the prayer or the pray-er, but in the God to whom we pray.

Here in America yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. I have a lot of questions about that. How many people really prayed? To whom did they pray? How long did they pray? Did all those prayers really make a difference? Really? I met with a group at noon at a local park. We prayed for about half an hour. Maybe next year we should have The National Half-Hour of Prayer.

What if our nation really did have a DAY of prayer? Twenty-four hours where everything ceased except praying to the God of our founding fathers, the God of Jesus, the Christ. What about The National Week of Prayer? Would that make a difference? I believe it would. I think it would impact the entire world in a very positive way.

We find the early Church “all joined together constantly in prayer” for days on end (Acts 1:14). I suppose they saw the stakes as pretty high, a matter of life and death.

We read in the Book of Acts, Chapter four that “they raised their voices together in prayer to God…. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One (Jesus)... 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:23-31)

When Nehemiah heard about the dismal state of Jerusalem, that "Those who survived the exile and were back in the province were in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and its gates had been burned with fire." He wrote: "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said: "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses”. (Nehemiah 1:3-7)

Maybe when we pray that honestly, and pray so intently that we weep over our sin, we are so grief stricken about our predicament that we forgo food and daily routines because we cannot move until we see God move, maybe if we prayed like that things really would change for the better. Maybe, but are we willing?

~ Father, forgive us for giving you a cursory “tip of the hat” as we proceed merrily on our way without breaking our stride. Help me to become modern-day Nehemiah in regard to my praying. Amen.