SoLo Lives! Ministry

Answer: The power of prayer is the power of God, who answers prayer. Consider, 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). 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 (v5), and God answers their prayer (v7-11). 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, but they failed to expect an answer to their prayer.

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 is based on Who hears our prayer and answers it. Prayer places us in contact with the Almighty God, and we should expect almighty results. As Oswald Chambers put it, “What happens when saints pray is that the power of the almighty is brought to bear upon the one for whom they are praying.” Amen.