The Power of Prayer

By Cindy, United States

The Bible records many stories in which situations take a turn for the better and problems are solved through the power of prayer. So, how can we gain the power of prayer? What should we pray for?

1. The power of prayer is so great.

Jehovah God said, “Then shall you call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you” (Jeremiah 29:12). God straightforwardly told us that as long as we genuinely call out and pray to Him, He will accomplish everything we ask for. Indeed, the Bible records many stories in which situations take a turn for the better and problems are solved through the power of prayer. For example, when God gave a revelation to Noah and let him make an ark, though he had never seen what an ark looked like, through sincerely praying to God, he miraculously built a big ark under God’s guidance and enlightenment, and when the world was destroyed by flood his family of eight survived. When Joshua led the people of Israel to attack Jericho, it was through praying that they finally won the victory. It was also through praying that the people of Nineveh gained God’s mercy and weren’t destroyed by God, able to go on living. When Esther and her Israeli compatriots fasted and prayed for three days and nights, Jehovah God heard their prayers and helped them be spared a catastrophe. From all this, we can see how great the power of prayer is. When we sincerely offer up prayers to God and look up to Him with our hearts, something marvelous and unexpected will happen—the power of prayer is indeed that great and prayer is extremely important. All this gives us a message: As Christians, regardless of whether it is in our life or work or when we encounter other things, as long as we sincerely pray to God and learn to rely on God, God will surely listen to our prayers and solve the difficulties we face, thus allowing us to feel His real existence.

2. How can we gain the power of prayer?

Now we know that the power of prayer is so great and that God is a help to us at all times. So, how should we pray to God to obtain the power of prayer?

God’s words say, “Prayer is one of the ways in which man cooperates with God, it is a means by which man calls upon God, and it is the process by which man is touched by God’s Spirit. … Being someone who believes in God, the more you pray, the more you are touched by God. Such people have greater resolution and are more able to receive the latest enlightenment from God.” “But the effect to be achieved by prayer is no simple matter. Prayer is not a case of going through the formalities, or following procedure, or reciting the words of God, which is to say, prayer does not mean parroting words and copying others. In prayer, you must give your heart to God, sharing the words in your heart with God so that you may be touched by God. If your prayers are to be effective, then they must be based on your reading of God’s words. Only by praying amid God’s words will you be able to receive more enlightenment and illumination. A true prayer is shown by having a heart that yearns for the requirements made by God, and being willing to fulfill these requirements; you will be able to hate all that God hates, upon the basis of which you will have knowledge, and will know and be clear about the truths explained by God. Having the resolution, and faith, and knowledge, and a path by which to practice after praying—only this is truly praying, and only prayer such as this can be effective.”

God’s words tell us that prayer is a kind of exchange between us humans and God, and that it is one of the ways for us to be touched by God’s Spirit. First, we must pray with a true heart and speak to God from the heart. Only in this way will God listen to us and will we be able to obtain the power of prayer. Second, prayers must be based on the foundation of God’s words. Only by seeking God’s will according to His words can we receive His enlightenment and see His wondrous deeds. What’s more, we should have true faith in God, and believe that God rules over everything and that nothing is impossible for God. Only by meeting these three conditions can our prayers be heard by God, and only then can we gain the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and have faith, strength, and a way of practice in facing everything. However, if we treat praying as rules to be followed, just moving our lips without a true heart, if we, feeling that praying is holding us up, say a few prayers carelessly or sometimes simply don’t pray but rely on our minds to work or live or deal with other things, if we do this for a while, then because of lacking true communion with God, our connections to God will be severed, we will have no relationship with God, and we will live under Satan’s domain. As a result, whenever things crop up, we will become muddled; we will feel empty every day. All of this is the consequence of not gaining God’s guidance. Actually, God is always beside us, caring for us. He has unreservedly told us how to pray to attain His approval. As long as we act according to God’s instructions, we will be able to build a normal relationship with God and earn His guidance.

For instance, when Joshua met difficulties, God used words to personally tell him how to cooperate with Him to get through the difficulties. Joshua acted according to the requirements of God’s words, and he genuinely prayed to and relied on God, believing that God could accomplish everything. Finally, God saw the faith and obedience of him and the other Israelites, and allowed them to conquer Jericho without losing a solider and defeat the enemy easily. We can see from this that as long as we sincerely pray to God with an honest attitude, telling God of our deficiencies and difficulties, God will grant us faith and strength, and guide us forward. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

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