PRAYER

What is the power of prayer?"

The idea that power is inherent in prayer
is a very popular one. According to the Bible, the
power of prayer is, quite simply, the power of
God, who hears and answers prayer. Consider
the following:

1) The Lord God Almighty can do all things;
there is nothing impossible for Him ( Luke 1:37 ).

2) The Lord God Almighty invites His people to
pray to Him. Prayer to God should be made
persistently ( Luke 18:1 ), with thanksgiving
( Philippians 4:6 ), in faith ( James 1:5 ), within the
will of God ( Matthew 6:10 ), for the glory of God
( John 14:13-14 ), and from a heart right with God
( James 5:16 ).

3) The Lord God Almighty hears the prayers of
His children. He commands us to pray, and He
promises to listen when we do. “In my distress I
called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came
before him, into his ears” ( Psalm 18:6 ).

4) The Lord God Almighty answers prayer. “I call
on you, O God, for you will answer me” ( Psalm
17:6 ). “The righteous cry out, and the LORD
hears them; he delivers them from all their
troubles” ( Psalm 34:17 ). Another popular idea is that the amount of faith we have determines whether or not God will answer our prayers. However, sometimes the

Lord answers our prayers in spite of our own
lack of faith. In Acts 12 , the church prays for
Peter’s release from prison (v. 5), and God
answers their prayer (vv. 7-11). Peter goes to
the door of the prayer meeting and knocks, but
those who are praying refuse at first to believe
that it is really Peter. They prayed he would be
released, but they failed to expect an answer to
their prayers.

The power of prayer does not flow from us; it is
not special words we say or the special way we
say them or even how often we say them. The
power of prayer is not based on a certain
direction we face or a certain position of our
bodies. The power of prayer does not come from
the use of artifacts or icons or candles or beads.
The power of prayer comes from the omnipotent
One who hears our prayers and answers them.

Our Prayer​ places us in contact with Almighty God,
and we should expect almighty results, whether
or not He chooses to grant our petitions or deny
our requests. Whatever the answer to our
prayers, the God to whom we pray is the source
of the power of prayer, and He can and will
answer us, according to His perfect will and
timing.