The Power of Prayer – Part Two

If prayer does not change our situations, it most certainly changes us.  Prayer affords an opportunity to examine selfish ambition and self-centered fear.  A lot of what we want, we simply do not need.  Many of our conflicts with others largely result from selfish motives.  We fail to accept the roles we play in strained relationships.  Prayer assists in stripping away the blinders.  As we lift our requests to the light of God’s holiness, its brilliance burns away the dross of personal preferences. 

Do you pray for the people who ask?  Do you pray for the people whom you tell, “I’ll be prayerful.”  Prayer is one of the most important things we can do for others.  I suggest we take very seriously our Christian responsibility to intercede for others.  I pray the Holy Spirit constantly reminds us to establish a sacred time for prayer and meditation.  Thereby, we boldly approach God’s throne requesting fulfillment of His will for our loved ones, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ.

When we pray for others, what should we ask?  Is it not presumptuous to pray about another person’s problems?  We have limited knowledge of the facts.  There are times when people state very specific prayer requests.  Certainly, those particular desires guide our prayers.  However, the apostle Paul describes the will of God as “good, pleasing and perfect.”  Accordingly, I submit we can always pray for the will of God in any situation.  Although we do not often know the details, we realize God’s will is best in every scenario.  It is helpful to ask for revelation of His will as assuredly resolves any challenges of the people for whom we pray.

The apostle, James, emphasizes the necessity of prayer.  He asks, “Are any among you suffering?  They should keep on praying about it.”  (James 5:13)  Prayer yields solutions to the suffering.  Actually, it reveals ideas and approaches for transforming suffering into redemptive purposes.  Further, James asks, “Are there among you sick?  They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.”  Evidently, the early church practiced taking all illnesses to the fellowship of believers.  If the individual lacked the requisite faith to pray diligently for healing, the members of the Church would support him in his earnest quest for healing and wholeness.  Conceivably, they did not have access to physicians and healthcare that we do.  They, however, had unlimited access to Almighty God and His healing power. 

Though we enjoy the rich blessing of state-of-the-art medicine, we still pray for healing.  We pray physicians, nurses, attendants and others on the medical staff are as professional and lucid as possible.  We ask God for special revelation of knowledge and wisdom in their practice of medicine and care for patients.  As sickness comes in many forms, physical disease is but one type of illness.  Many people suffer from emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual sicknesses that inhibit their ability to actualize their God given talents.  For that reason, the Church encourages them to come to the “house of prayer” and seek inner healing and wholeness.  We request God’s especial revelation of grace, love and peace to empower them in eliminating barriers to their success and wholeness.

Interestingly, illness provides a perfect passageway into a greater revelation of Almighty God’s unfailing love and faithful provision.  Whereas no one seeks this predicament, should it befall him, he realizes rewards of God’s indescribable grace and enduring mercy.  God concretizes these divine attributes in the personalities and good deeds of His faithful disciples.  Our visits, prayers, phone calls, meals, cards, letters, and other acts of kindnesses demonstrate the love of Almighty God.

Presumably, the early Christians sought the prayers of the “elders of the Church” because they were seasoned “prayer warriors.”  It stands to reason that these believers were mature in the faith, having witnessed the power and benefits of prayer.  In the parlance of my upbringing in South Carolina, they knew “how to get a prayer through.”  As a consequence, the sick and afflicted called upon them to utilize the lessons of their spiritual journeys and the privileges of their relationships with the Lord to effect the healing of the sick.

In addition, young believers resolved the elders had the requisite faith to deliver fervent prayers that yielded healing and forgiveness.  James says in the fifteenth verse of the fifth chapter, “And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well.  And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”  Sin is the sickness of the soul.  It is a spiritual disease, which separates the sinner from the source of life and being.  A genuine confession and humble prayer for reconciliation are cures to sin.  The elders of the Church have a unique privilege and prerogative to ask God to give wisdom, to any sinner who sincerely asks thereby enabling his restoration to the Lord and Church.