Confidence in PrayerShembull

Prayer Is a Priority

Throughout God’s Word, we find commands to pray. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

We also find examples of the effectiveness of prayer. Consider the miracles recorded in Scripture and God’s mighty deeds in the Old and New Testaments. How many of those things connect to prayer?

God worked through the prayers of His people. James 5:17 relates some things recorded in 1 Kings 17 and 18. It says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.” The Lord had determined to speak to Ahab through His control over nature, and He used Elijah’s prayer to do just that.

Genesis 20:17 “Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.” God did the healing. He could have done it apart from the prayer had He wanted to, but He didn’t. God ordained healing to work through Abraham’s prayer. He did the same thing with Isaac, Abraham’s son. “And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived” (Genesis 25:21).

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). God was doing all these things through His children’s prayers.

Throughout Scripture, prayer is a priority for those called children of God. Jesus Himself, during His life here on earth, placed particular emphasis on prayer.

Do you see your prayer life as a task to get done, or do you keep the conversation going with your Father, the way Jesus did, throughout your day?