Prayer Power

This past weekend Laurie went with some friends to Columbia, SC, to see Beth Moore speak. 18,000 women in one place. That's a lot of estrogen. Anywho, she said it was an amazing time of worship and teaching. Here's a picture of the event...


One of the things Laurie mentioned from this weekend was something Beth said about prayer. She made the comment that when we pray, things happen that wouldn't happen otherwise. Now, I know what you're thinking...but when I pray nothing happens. But according to Beth, that's wrong. There is something that is set into motion in the spiritual realm, a releasing of God's power and blessing, that otherwise would not happen if we didn't pray.

I've been thinking about this. Why don't I pray more? Is it because I'm too busy? No, I'd say I'm too busy NOT to pray. Is it because I don't set my priorities right? Well, that's definitely part of it. But there's something bigger than that. It's because I've lost faith in prayer. I have a hard time admitting that, but I think all of us can relate to this in some fashion or another. Let me explain...there are many prayers that God answers that I will never see the physical outcome of. Part of that is because He will choose to answer with a "no". Another part is that there are requests that happen in someone else's life that I may not have day to day contact with. And yet another part is those requests that take many years to answer. I've known people who have prayed for someone to come to Christ for 10 or 20 years.

Prayer takes patience, which is a virtue that isn't practiced a whole lot in our society these days. We have to learn to wait on God and trust that He hears us. We also need to realize that there is a power in prayer that is like no other power.

Lord, help me to fully understand and realize the power that takes place through prayer.