Persistent, Powerful Prayer

The first time I saw the power of prayer firsthand, I was at church one evening helping to prepare for an upcoming ladies conference with women from my church. Suddenly, one of them stopped and asked us to pray for her husband, who was serving in Iraq at the time. Sensing the urgency, we all stopped what we were doing and got on our knees in intercession for her husband. Once we finished praying, we continued to prepare the sanctuary—completely unaware of what had happened on the other side of the world.

A couple days later, we found out… Three hours before we stopped to pray, her husband, along with a caravan of troops, had come across a landmine. Usually, this area was under heavy attack, and they would have to travel through the area quickly, but this time it was eerily quiet. They sat on the road for a long time waiting for the mine to be cleared. It was at that very same moment that his wife felt we needed to stop and pray for her husband. The landmine had been cleared, but he and his caravan were ambushed by opposing forces. They launched a rocket at her husband and the caravan of troops, there was a small arms fire, and then, suddenly, nothing. What could have been a very deadly encounter ended without much of a battle—because of prayers from the other side of the world.

That single moment solidified to me the power of prayer. I tear up thinking about how the Lord intervened and protected her husband and those troops in the very same moment we stopped to pray. This is just one of the examples I have seen in my own life of James 5:13-16 in action.

Prayer changes things. It changes people. It changes the atmosphere. Prayer is not just about letting our requests be known or seeking God for what He can do for us. Prayer is an opportunity to worship the Lord, to come and sit in His presence and be still before Him. Prayer was never intended to be our last resort. It was always intended to be our first line of defense. It is a powerful tool that grants us access to the Creator of the Universe, who loves us very much and cares about our well-being.

Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, and He taught them the importance of persistent prayer. He showed them that it was important to keep praying for their needs no matter what was going on around them or what they were seeing with their natural eyes.

“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10, NLT)

Our God is a loving Father who enjoys taking care of His children. He loves it when we come to Him in prayer to ask for what He knows we need. Luke 11 tells us that if we come to the Lord asking Him for bread, He will not give us a stone instead. God knows what we need before we do, and He will always provide what we need. He may not provide everything we want, but sometimes He does that too. I find comfort in knowing that God will take care of all my needs. He loves to give good gifts to His children and that includes you! (See Luke 11:11-13.)

Father God, you are a loving father who desires to take care of all my needs. And I am thankful I can come to you in prayer no matter what I may need because you care for me. I know that when I draw near to You, You draw near to me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.