More Than Words - the Transforming Power of PrayerSample

The Incredible Power of Prayer

Have you ever heard someone say, “I guess the only thing we can do is pray?” That statement has always bothered me. It makes it seem like prayer is a last resort when all else has failed. It also minimized the power of prayer as if to say, “Well, since we can’t do anything else, we might as well pray.”

Prayer is everything! James 5:16 (NIV) reads, “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” That means that the prayers of a righteous person can cause a lot of good things to happen. We know from James 5:17 (NIV) that, because of the prayers of a man named Elijah, it didn’t rain on the earth for three and a half years!!! Prayer changes things!

In the late 1970s, I worked for a Christian television station in Chicago known as TV-38. The founder and president was a man named Owen Carr. Owen was a pastor who believed that Chicago needed a Christian television station so the Gospel message could be brought into the homes of people who would never go to church. He was a man who believed in the power of prayer. He always looked presidential. He was always wearing a nice suit, but if you looked closely, you noticed that the knees of his suit pants were always wrinkled. He spent over an hour every morning kneeling in prayer. He almost seemed to glow from being in the presence of the Lord. Owen had no television experience, yet he was able to pull off the monumental task of bringing a Christian television station to a major city. He believed it happened through the power of prayer.

Prayer is the key to heaven. How can we truly know the Lord if we don’t spend time talking to him every day? I like to start praying as soon as I wake up. I know that I need God’s presence in my life each and every day. How about you?

Ask yourself:

Am I spending quality time with God every day? Is my prayer time a priority?