Portraying the Power of Prayer
During my lunch break yesterday, I was watching a show on television, and one character made a statement that broke my heart. During a discussion on spiritual matters, the man declared, “In this life, prayer usually doesn’t work. Nobody shows up to save the day.”
At first, I was offended. After all, to say prayer doesn’t work is to call God a liar, for James 5:16 tells us, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Prayer works. Prayer helps. And while it may seem like nobody “shows up” to save the day, the truth is, God is always present. He performs miracles day after day, but we’re often too preoccupied to notice.
As I sat there rolling that statement over in my head, my emotions gravitated from annoyed to convicted. The person who made this statement claimed to be a man of faith, yet he doubted the power of prayer. How often have I done the same? Is it possible that others have such a weak view of prayer because I’ve failed to allow others to see its power through my life?
We’re quick to ask for prayer, but how often do we mention our answers to prayer? We’ll spend hours detailing our unfortunate circumstances, but how much time do we spend recounting our blessings? I never want to doubt the power of prayer; neither do I want anyone else to question it because I fail to offer testimonies of how God has come through for me repeatedly.
That being said, I’d like to share with you the blessings Jason and I have encountered on our missionary journey. First off, we were accepted by the first mission board we approached and could take part in our orientation just two weeks after our acceptance. This is not the norm.
We booked our first two meetings without having to approach any churches because the pastors of those churches invited us, which is always a good thing.
Despite many people telling us we wouldn’t be able to have our table display and materials ready for our first mission conference, we had everything we needed. Not only did we procure all our materials, but we found great deals and were able to get what we needed for a fraction of the cost we were expecting.
Our first mission conference was a huge blessing to us in so many ways. We were able to see friends and family we hadn’t seen in many years. We had the opportunity to meet and chat with other missionary families who gave us much-needed advice and valuable contacts. We were able to present our ministry to the biggest congregation of the conference as well as those listening on the radio and the internet. The songs and sermons each day encouraged our hearts and strengthened us for the journey ahead. The church fed us every day, and I’m talking about some good food—Thanksgiving dinner, steak and baked potatoes, pork tenderloin. YUM! And above all that, the church provided a love offering far above and beyond what we anticipated. Talk about an answer to prayer!
We have another mission conference booked in a few weeks, and between now and then, we have several pastors to contact, many of whom were referred to us by other missionaries. We’ve also been invited to a third mission conference at the beginning of November, and once again, we haven’t even made the call yet. God is bringing meetings to us before we can even book them for ourselves. What a blessing!
I hope you don’t mind my taking a few minutes to brag on God this morning. I tell you, friends, I don’t think we do that often enough. If we did, more people would know and understand there is power in prayer. If we believe that, it’s about time we acted like it.
How would the world change if all of God’s children lived in the knowledge that prayer works? Let’s find out!
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