PRAYER RELEASES POWER
– Rev. Jeevan Chelladurai
Would you like to get together and spend some time in prayer?
In all likelihood, many of us might shift uncomfortably at that question.
Instead if we had been asked, ‘Would you like to get together and watch the cricket match on TV?’, almost all of us would jump at the invite.
Of course, prayer is quite an integral part of our lives. We pray before meals. We pray before going to bed. We pray in church. We even pray before every important occasion in our lives. We are all for praying! Yes sir!
But these styles of prayer are only scratches at the surface. Prayer is so much more than a hurried whisper sent upwards or a five minutes ritual of reverently bowing our heads and closing our eyes. Prayer is a beautiful conversation with God where we enjoy intimacy with God.
Not convinced yet?
Alright, let’s start at the beginning.
WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT PRAYER?
Prayer releases God’s power and blessings in our lives.
God’s power and blessings are already in place. When we pray to Him about it, He releases it in our lives. Let’s note the operative word here – release. It is like water stored in a dam. When the outlet of the dam is opened, the water gushes out. It is also like a movie that has been shot, produced and readied. Unless the movie is released nobody can watch and enjoy it.
Similarly, prayer is the key that unlocks the door of answers.
Let’s consider some firsthand experiences in this regard.
- Do you remember the time you decided to follow Jesus? Remember the prayer that you prayed? It must have gone something like this, ‘Jesus, I believe in you. Forgive me my sins. Thank you for dying for my sins. I want you to be the Lord of my life’. Now, God had done everything necessary up to that particular moment. He sent Jesus to die for our sins, resurrected Him from the dead, created us and saw us through, right up to that day when we were convicted of our sins. We had nothing to with all that preparation. But we experienced that Salvation only when we cried out that prayer from the recesses of our broken heart.
- Have you heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit? It is the greater measure of the Holy Spirit’s power that a believer of Jesus experiences. Luke 11:13 says, ‘If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more willyour heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!’. God gives this gift when we prayerfully ask Him for it.
- Have you ever been in a worrying situation where you experienced inexplicable peace fill your heart? Philippians 4:6 says, ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus’. When we boldly come to His throne of grace and prayerfully ask Him, God will grant us an ‘out of the world’ experience of peace.
RELEASE IS NOT FORCING GOD’S HANDS
Lest I am misunderstood, let me clarify that ‘release’ doesn’t imply grabbing something out of God’s grip. Some people think that we need to beg, plead and cry to get something from God. It kind of makes God look like a mean, old fellow with a clenched fist.
But the truth is that He is and has always been loving and full of mercy. Because of that goodness of His, He wishes to lavish His blessings on us. His goodness remains unchanged. Malachi 3:6 says, ‘For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob’. Psalm 102:25-27says, ‘Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end’.
The Heavens and earth will change, but our God will remain the same forever. His goodness, mercy and kindness will continue to abound. Sometimes when our children kick up a fuss or pester us with incessant cries, we might give into their demands out of frustration or pity. But we can’t think that we can con God into answering us by putting up a show of crying and groaning. He will bless us because He is a loving Father. Period. He has prepared everything for us. So why would He hold it back from us? He is simply waiting for us to enjoy the privilege of being His children and asking Him for it.
Now, you might wonder, ‘Why does God have to wait for us to ask?’ Let’s see why.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO ASK?
When I was in 6th grade, I had an excellent Math teacher. Often he’d encourage us to reach out to him if we had any doubts or needed extra help. Interestingly, hardly anybody took up his offer. When the exams were held, many students flunked. He was really upset. He would scold and spank. Once again, he offered to help those who hadn’t done well. Funnily, even after all that, there were only a handful who accepted his help. It seemed that everybody was rather agreeable to facing the punishment. It showcases an interesting human behavior. We can’t really help somebody unless they ask for it.
So is the case with God. He is more than willing to help us. But unless we ask Him for it, He won’t force Himself on us. In John 5:6, Jesus asks a sick man, ‘When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”’. Jesus didn’t forcibly heal Him. He asked the man if he wanted to be well.
So you see when we ask and pray, we arrive at a position where we are able to receive God’s help. When we pray we are saying, ‘God, I need your help’. That reflects the posture of our heart. It shows our humility and our willingness to set aside our pride.
Martin Luther, the founder of Reformation once said, ‘Every day I make sure that I pray at least for an hour. Some days are very busy though. On those days, I go to all lengths to ensure that I pray for at least two hours’. It takes humility and faith to say that we need God’s help.
HUMILITY AND PRAYER
Well, let’s now see what humility has to do with prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, ‘If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’. James 4:10 says, ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up’.
Humility takes away self reliance and recognizes the greatness about the other person. When we pray humbly to God, a great change comes over us. We become stronger in faith and soon we will be released from pride and unbelief. It will mean saying, ‘God, I am not believing in my strength and abilities. I am placing my trust in Christ’s strength alone’.
1 Peter 5:6 says, ‘Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time’. We can humble ourselves by casting all our cares on God and trusting Him to take care of us. In the United States, I had the opportunity to help people move houses. Some of the other helpers were much stronger than I. They’d effortlessly cart huge boxes. I could just about hold on to one piece of luggage. But in order to put up a good front, I’d attempt to haul more than what I could manage. Well, before long my back protested in pain! Instead of putting on a false bravado, I should have humbly told the other guys that ‘I am unable to carry this load. But I know that you are able to, so I am going to count on you to carry more than me’.
Humbly and prayerfully, let’s cast our burden on the Lord.
CONCLUSION
In James 4:2, God says, ‘Yet you do not have because you do not ask’. Often, we don’t receive answers because we simply haven’t asked God for them. James 1:5 says, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him’. Like Solomon, let us begin by asking God for wisdom. Then let us ask for peace in our home, efficiency at work, increase in finances and a hunger to pray. This must be a daily process. Ephesians 6:18 says, ‘praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints’. Let us consciously put aside our pride and self reliance. Let us humbly go before Him in prayer for faith and grace for each day.
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