The Power of Prayer

We have all heard of "the power of prayer," but how powerful is prayer really? Does prayer really accomplish anything? In this weeks' article these questions will be answered.

1Kings 17:1- "And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word.' "

In this verse we are introduced to the prophet Elijah in this account of how he pronounced judgement on the land because the wicked king Ahab had turned the hearts of the children of Israel away from God (or to be more accurate he led them farther away from God than they already were). Elijah's statement was basically, "It's not going to rain until I say so." It took amazing boldness to make this statement: a boldness that I believe came from an understanding of the power of prayer. As we understand the power of prayer we will see an increase in faith and we will learn how we can work with God to change the world around us.

1Kings 18:11- "And it came to pass after many days that the word of Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.' "

Three and a half years had passed since Elijah declared that there was going to be a drought and just as the prophet said, there had been no rain, but now God told him, "I'm going to send rain." In this situation many of us would probably have said to ourselves that if God is going to send rain we should just wait for it to happen, but remember that it was not to rain until Elijah said so. God had told Elijah what He was going to do, and in revealing His will the creator of the universe invited Elijah to work with Him to bring that will into the earth. This same invitation is extended to us today.

1Kings 18:41-46- "Then Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the abundance of rain.' So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of mount Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, 'Go up now, look toward the sea.' So he went up and looked and said, 'There is nothing.' And seven times he said, 'Go again.' Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, 'There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand rising out of the sea.' So he said, 'Go up, say to Ahab, "prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you." ' " Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went up to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel."

After presenting himself to Ahab and facing the prophets of the idol baal, Elijah went to the mountain to pray. However, before he prayed, Elijah said, "...there is the sound of the abundance of rain." Elijah was about to pray for rain, but he believed he already had the answer before he saw it. Jesus taught us to do this in Mark 11:24 when He said, "Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive [or "have received"] them and you will have them." This is precisely what Elijah did, believing that he already had the answer even before he began to pray. Jesus gave the pattern for us today to pray this prayer of faith, with the promise that as we do we will have what we are praying for.

We also read that Elijah prayed seven times, each time sending his servant to look for a cloud. Elijah believed he already had the answer, but he saw a need to keep praying. Elijah had a promise from God and as an act of faith he prayed until he saw it happen. In the "Lord's Prayer" (sometimes called "the Model Prayer" which is actually what it was) Jesus taught us to pray: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) When Jesus made this statement as part of the Lord's Prayer He was telling us that we can pray the Father's will into the earth. Elijah prayed seven times before he saw the rain God promised but he refused to give up. If you have a promise from God that you are praying for that hasn't happened yet, don't give up. God has promised and He cannot lie. I believe Elijah kept praying because he knew God would keep His promise to send rain, and we can have this same confidence in God to keep His promise. Elijah was not some "super saint" who reached a level of faith unattainable by us, but as James says, "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit." (James 5:17-18) Elijah was an ordinary man who was used mightily by God and his actions were recorded to show us how we too can be used mightily by God when we pray the prayer of faith. James wrote these words to show us that, "...the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16) In other words, there is great power in prayer. Prayer does more than we realize because when we pray we are asking God for help, and there is nothing too hard for Him. Whatever promises you may be praying for, be encouraged and keep praying. Remember to focus on God and trust Him as the God who will always keep His promise.