“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” – 1 Peter 3:12
The holy art of prayer is a foreign concept to the natural man. Yet, prayer is the divinely appointed vehicle of accomplishment. Of which the Apostle writes: “in everything by prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” You can find throughout the scripture where much has been accomplished through the sincere prayers of the righteous. As a faithful preacher in our church (Ed Miller) once said: “prayer is the key to unlock heaven's door.” Lord, teach me to pray.
What is prayer? What is the act of praying? The scriptures will bear out that it is an avenue to which one can approach God. Stop and consider the gravity of this. We as mortal men can approach the throne of the Almighty with our: requests, problems, petitions, thankfulness, and praise. We can communicate with God for we have his ear. Prayer can move mountains; prayer can change lives! Jesus exhorted us that men everywhere ought to pray and not faint. He left the example of communing with the Father through prayer and pointed to prayer as a weapon of warfare against Satan. The Apostles set so much store by prayer that they “gave themselves to pray and the ministry of the Word.” With all this in mind, when is the last time you have engaged in genuine prayer? Can you recall a recent occasion where you prayed and knew you had an audience with the King of Kings? It’s easy to view prayer as a life raft; rather than the engine itself. Yet the text says: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much!” Prayer works! It is an effective weapon for this warfare we are engaged in. We must cast aside the lie Satan is telling us: “you are but one, you can do nothing.” Not so! If you can get a prayer through to God; you can do so very much! Let us take courage “And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9) Every day, I hear bad news. I hear about the bad government we have, I hear about the bad school system, the bad economy, the bad church attendance, the bad people, living in this bad world, and every time I hear it, I think the same thing………what can I do? Pray……” yes Lord I know but what else.” Pray. “I am going to do that, but are you sure there is not a……” Pray. Really and truly pray; commit your time to it. Make it our business above all other businesses. Our occupation, and established trade. God help us, for the people of God must be a praying people. How else are we to pull down the strongholds of Satan? What scheme, strategy, amusement, or sales pitch do you have which will cause a person to be resurrected from the dead works of sin? Let’s acknowledge our lack and pour our heart out to God. Allow our souls to be burdened for the lost, for the poor, for the broken. When did praying and living holy become attenuated? Why have programs, human ingenuity, form, and flamboyance taken the place of soul burdened and earnest hearted prayer? Prayer has worked and will continue to work; if we believe in it and practice it.
Perhaps we readily dismiss it because prayer is not an institution of man, but rather an institution of God. It requires humility, faith, obedience, and belief; all the things that are “foolishness to the world.” It’s spiritual work, and as E.M. Bounds once said: “spiritual work is taxing work, and men are loath to do it.” Yet, we must, because as David said to the Israelites who cowered before Goliath: “is there not a cause?”
