Developing a Passion for Prayer
Lesson 8: Realize the Power in Prayer
Developing a passion for prayer encourages a deeply personal relationship with God. It sensitizes one to the need for prayer, stimulates one to practice prayer, and strengthens one’s faith in prayer. When these things occur, it creates a desire for further fellowship with the great God of the universe. This fellowship results in a deeper passion for prayer and an even more powerful prayer life.
A powerful prayer life is evidenced through the great works accomplished by God as a result of passionate prayer. Such works are demonstrated in the Bible on numerous occasions. In this final Bible Study on prayer, I’ll recount five results of powerful prayer from God’s Word. These accounts fully demonstrate the power prayer has when it is passionately practiced.
1. The Power to Restore Life
The first example of the power of prayer comes from the prophet Elijah. After Elijah encounters the widow woman of Zerephath, and receives sustenance through the miracle that God brought through the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil, the widows son falls ill and “ there was no breath left in him”. Elijah cries out to God in prayer on behalf of the widow and her son. As a result, we see that God’s power worked through the prayer of Elijah as the son’s life was restored.
21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.
22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
In the midst of trials and troubles, in the midst of bounty and blessings, when affliction comes, it is time to pray with passion, seeking the power from the One who can restore life and bring about a miracle.
2. The Power to Revive the Church and a Nation
Next, we see the power that God displayed in answer to Solomon’s prayer of 2 Chronicles 6 at the dedication of the temple. As Solomon prays a remarkable prayer, he specifically:
- Lifts up the Lord
- Asks God to hear
- Acknowledges God’s just and righteous position
- Seeks God’s mercy and forgiveness
- Asks for revival of the people
God’s response to this plea of Solomon’s is a promise that, although conditional, is powerful nonetheless:
12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
In the midst of the new temple, God promises to hear the prayers of the people and forgive them, restoring their nation. The conditions that God set forth for such powerful response from God were straightforward:
- Humility before God
- Praying to God
- Seeking God
- Turning from sin to God
When these conditions are met, in a heartfelt way, God promises forgiveness and revival.
3. The Power to Release from Bondage
Captive in a prison, beaten and bound behind locked doors, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God. As God heard their prayers, His power was revealed in a mighty way. The walls and the foundations of the prison shook, the doors fell open, and even the stocks that bound them were broken.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
In the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances, the prayers of Paul and Silas were heard, resulting in this awesome display of God’s power. So awesome was the moment that the prison keeper was dismayed to the point of taking his own life. But God intervened in the life of the prison keeper, by having Paul and Silas minister to him with the gospel – the power of God unto salvation.
We must remember that although we may face incredible and almost impossible situations, whether it’s being trapped in the bondage of sin or being caught up in this world system that grows all around us, we can call upon the name of God in prayer and see His power at work immediately, setting us free to carry out God’s will.
4. The Power to Relieve the Sick
In the book of James, we receive instruction on prayer, especially prayer for those who are afflicted with illness. God makes a promise concerning prayer and His power to heal:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
In addition to healing the sick, God promises to relieve the affliction of sin. These are remarkable promises. The promises are based on faith. Just think – if we believed that God would heal those who are afflicted around us, and if we truly had faith, then our prayers “of faith” would bring powerful results. Sadly, in many cases we just don’t have that kind of faith – so we pray half-heartedly, dejectedly, and worse yet, we fail to pray at all.
I have seen the prayers of faith from God’s people bring about miraculous recovery from afflictions. When family, friends, and physicians had no hope, the prayers of God’s people – fervent, faithful, and insistent – brought forth God’s power of healing. It wasn’t a touch of a man or some miracle medical procedure – it was the mighty hand of God – the Great Physician – that touched an afflicted body and brought healing.
Other times I have seen the hand of God at work in the downtrodden soul of a lost sinner who was ready to give up on all things, but through the faithful prayers of God’s people and the working of the Holy Spirit, that precious soul walked the aisle to trust Christ as Savior.
God’s healing power is available. We just need to call on it.
5. The Power to Reclaim the Lost
As mentioned above, God’s saving power is revealed through the prayer of a lost sinner seeking salvation through Jesus Christ. All it takes is a repentant heart and a cry to God in prayer. This was evidenced by one of the thieves who hung on a cross next to Jesus as He was being crucified:
39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
There were no works that the thief could perform to remove his guilt. There were no actions that he could take to redeem himself and make all his wrongs right. But the one thing he could do while he was on his cross was to call out to Jesus and ask Jesus to “remember” him. That thief recognized that Christ was dying for no penalty of His own. The thief also knew that he (the thief) deserved to die, but he sought remembrance and redemption from Jesus. Note that immediately Jesus responded and promised the thief redemption.
The power of the prayer for salvation is still here today. As Romans 10:13 tells us:
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
A Testimony of God’s Power
Sometimes we don’t recognize God’s power in response to our prayers. That’s probably because we just aren’t looking for it. I recall one eventful moment several years back when God powerfully made His immediate response to prayer known to me. It was a moment that changed my prayer life forever. I briefly mentioned this moment previously – but here is the rest of the story…
While driving north on Interstate 55 through Missouri on a family vacation trip and while briefly distracted, I was forced to react quickly to an obstacle in the road. Without time to consider the consequences, I swerved quickly to change lanes in an attempt to avoid the obstacle. As a result, I lost control of my SUV and began heading into the median destined to cross into oncoming traffic. I quickly overcorrected toward the other direction causing the SUV to spin and go sideways on two wheels. As the SUV spun and tilted on two wheels sharply toward the driver’s side, luggage and other items were crashing through the windows. At this point I realized that this situation was far beyond my control and those I loved were in serious danger. Just as the SUV seemed to cross the 45-degree angle to flip over on the driver’s side, I cried out to God, “Dear Lord, please protect my family – I can’t do this!”
Immediately – and I do mean immediately – the SUV came to rest, upright – it had never flipped over! In fact, it had never made it fully to its side. After checking to ensure everyone was alright – no one had a scratch – I got out of the vehicle to survey the SUV. It was upright in the grass on the side of the interstate highway, with luggage and our other things strewn about the highway. The vehicle was a mess. There was not a single panel that wasn’t damaged. Tires blown out, glass broken, bumper gone – but everyone inside was safe.
I looked around to try to determine why we didn’t flip over and I found one thing… a deep indentation about the width of a finger on the top right rear corner of the vehicle. It was about 4 inches long and was recessed pretty deep into the metal. To this day, I believe with all my heart that the indentation that I found was made by the finger of God as He immediately answered my prayer for help and rescued my family. You may call me crazy or whatever – I know my prayer and I believe God answered immediately. There is mighty power in prayer. From that day on, I will forever testify of that power.
Summary
So this ends our 8-week Bible study on how to develop a passion for prayer. It starts by recognizing the purpose for prayer, realizing that there is a need for prayer, learning how to pray, having the right attitude for prayer – and then just doing it: praying in the setting that’s appropriate for the moment. Then, you can experience the power in prayer and, once you experience that power, you will have a passion for prayer!
