Plugging Into the Power of Prayer

Plugging Into the Power of Prayer

Prayer - direct communication with the one and only Creator of the Universe. Do we really understand how incredibly fantastic the idea of speaking to God is? We have an instant hotline to the Ruler over everything and there is never a busy signal, He is never away from His desk, He is never in an important meeting and cannot be bothered at the time, and we never get stuck into an endless computerized answering system. We can talk directly to God.

If none of that excites you, then perhaps you need to do some serious checking into your relationship with God. I don't see how anyone could be a believer in Jesus and not be excited about the ability to speak with their Lord and Savior. It is perhaps the second biggest thing about being a Christian - right after that whole forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God thing.

So why do so few people pray? Oh, we all spend a little time in prayer: bless this food, help the car start, let me pass this test, and those "foxhole" prayers. But why do we not actually long for that precious one on one time with our Father in heaven? Most studies show that Christians pray less then 5 minutes a day, yet those same people say they have witnessed or experienced an answered prayer.

Perhaps we do not pray like we should because the deceiver knows how powerful prayer is and will do everything he can to keep us from praying. But blaming everything on Satan does not fix the problem. Just as we plug in all of our electronic devices so that we will have enough power to make it through the day, we need to get plugged into the power of prayer on a consistent and daily basis.

Plan for Prayer

Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." We plan and schedule everything in our lives whether we want to admit it or not. We set alarms, we schedule meals, we have work hours, we have school hours, we schedule sporting events, ballet class, and the list goes on and on. Satan likes to keep us busy so that we don't have enough time for God, so we must plan to spend time with Him.

Plan a time that works for you and stuck to it. Don't try to wedge it into an already busy schedule. You will most likely have to eliminate some of the less important fluff of your life in order to make time to spend with God. Don't make excuses. If you were asked to spend an hour a day with your favorite actor/singer/sports celebrity you would find a way to make it work.

I am not an advocate for morning quiet times because I personally have trouble thinking, focusing, or basically even functioning in the morning. I prefer to be awake and caffeinated for a couple hours before I have to start using my brain. The timing doesn't matter as much as the doing.

Ready for Prayer

Many people fail to pray even when they have a plan because something interrupts that plan. I know all about interruptions. I actually received an important ministry phone call just as I was typing the first sentence of this section. No matter how well you plan, there will be interruptions, so you must be ready to deal with those. Silence your phones, remove all distractions, and notify your family or office that you will be busy with God.

Another hangup that many have with prayer is that they suddenly develop writer's block when they start to pray. You must get some prayer items ready in advance. Some of my favorite items to have ready are my Bible, a song book, a prayer list, a print-out of my ministry leaders and members, and even a selection of my Facebook friend's names. I usually do not have trouble remembering my family member's names or needs, but that might also be important if you have a large family.

Attention to Prayer

Making a plan to pray and then making sure you are ready to pray will help you become more consistent in your prayer life. But even with these people will fail to follow through with prayer because it just becomes a routine rather than a relationship.

One of my mentor's once asked the church if they believed that they could go all day without talking to their spouse. He wanted to know what they thought would happen if they did this for a week or a month. Obviously it would be detrimental to their relationship. Prayer is as much a part of a relationship with God as talking to my wife is to our relationship.

Relationships need attention. They need focus. You cannot approach prayer in a robotic, mindless, task-oriented manner. Yes, you need to make the commitment to pray at first in order to build up the habit of praying, but after the awkwardness passes, you must begin to focus on growing your relationship with God. Don't just recite a list of needs and desires. Share with God about your day, your dreams, your passions, your failures, your hopes, and your hurts.

Y of Prayer

I know that Y is not a real word, but it fit the acrostic for PRAY (Plan, Ready, Attention, and Y). As with all of our activities, we must know why we continue to do something. If you don't believe that, try doing some menial task that has no purpose day after day and see if you don't start to question why you ever started to do that task in the first place. Humans want to know that what we are doing has a function. And more than that, we want to know how it will benefit us.

Prayer fits the bill when it comes to benefit and function. But you need to actually clue yourself in to those so that you will become even more excited about spending time with your Creator. Keep a journal of answered prayers. Write down mileposts of how God worked in your life and how prayer was a part of that. Ask others if they have noticed any improvements in your attitude since you started praying regularly. I guarantee you will see then benefits of prayer.

What about the function? Henry Blackaby has been teaching for decades on that very thing in his study Experiencing God. Prayer is one of the vital ways that we can know and do God's will. Reality Number 4 in Experiencing God says, "God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways."

I challenge you to begin an active regimen of prayer for one month. Plan for Prayer, Ready for Prayer, give Attention to Prayer, and then note the Y's of Prayer. You will begin to see the Power of Prayer as you get plugged into the Ultimate Power source, Jesus Christ.

Share some of your experiences with prayer. How has God answered your prayers? Why is prayer an important part of your life? I would love to hear your stories.