30. The Power of Prayer?
Key Verses / Passages
In every situation, by prayer and petition… the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds. Philippians 4:6–7
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Discussion
We discovered in our last devotional that prayer is a powerful yet simple 2-way conversation between you and God, like that of a child and their father. So, knowing this, let’s turn our attention to why it is powerful and important. Below is a list of different reasons that highlight the significance of prayer in our Christian faith.
When we pray to God, we:
· Develop a relationship with God – We get to know Him more and understand the ways He speaks to us and what He wants to tell us. We might hear from Him when we read the Bible, we might hear his audible voice or soft, gentle prompting in our hearts, or even might notice a circumstantial sign that is Him communicating to us.
· Receive rewards – Matthew 6:6 tells us that when we pray in private, we receive the presence of God. Philippians 4:6-7 says that through prayer we can receive God’s peace in all circumstances. We get to gain God’s perspective when we pray. We get to experience God’s power through prayer.
· Receive results – In the book of Matthew 7:7-11, it affirms that when we pray to God, He will give us a result. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will I give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”.
This verse is one of the clearest teachings on prayer in the Bible. It tells us to keep presenting our needs to God (ask), to keep pursuing Him with our needs (seek), and to keep asking (knock). It also reveals to us the perfect nature of God as our loving Father who always desires to give us gifts and things that are according to His perfect will and timing (not to our own).
So now we know that prayer is free, it is powerful, and it allows us to receive things from God. How incredible!
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Reflection / Questions
• Can we pray for anything?
• If God is all loving, will He give us everything that we want? Why/why not?
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Prayer
Dear God, I thank you that you want us to ask, seek, and knock on your door. I love that you desire to give us things that you know are good for us in your perfect timing.