What Happens When We Pray?
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”
James 5:16–18
There is a great deal of attention paid to prayer in the church today, but many times it is only theoretical. We tend to talk about prayer more than we actually practice it. If we are not careful, we can become what Dr. Curtis Hutson called “practical atheists.” We believe there is a God, but we live as if we do not. And when we do not pray, we rob both ourselves and God’s work of the power and resources that are needed.
Prayer is not a relic. It is not something reserved for great saints of the past but out of date in the modern era. Prayer works just as surely now as it has for thousands of years. We must never forget the privilege God has offered us to boldly enter His presence and make our requests, confident in His ability to respond. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Prayer moves the arm that moves the world.”
Our society glorifies the myth of those who do it on their own, without any help. But God honors and rewards those who live in dependence on His strength and claim His promised resources to accomplish His purposes. If we do not pray, we will certainly fail when the moments of test and challenge come. “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” (Luke 18:1).
James 5:16–18
There is a great deal of attention paid to prayer in the church today, but many times it is only theoretical. We tend to talk about prayer more than we actually practice it. If we are not careful, we can become what Dr. Curtis Hutson called “practical atheists.” We believe there is a God, but we live as if we do not. And when we do not pray, we rob both ourselves and God’s work of the power and resources that are needed.
Prayer is not a relic. It is not something reserved for great saints of the past but out of date in the modern era. Prayer works just as surely now as it has for thousands of years. We must never forget the privilege God has offered us to boldly enter His presence and make our requests, confident in His ability to respond. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Prayer moves the arm that moves the world.”
Our society glorifies the myth of those who do it on their own, without any help. But God honors and rewards those who live in dependence on His strength and claim His promised resources to accomplish His purposes. If we do not pray, we will certainly fail when the moments of test and challenge come. “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” (Luke 18:1).
Today’s Growth Principle:
A Christian who does not pray will not have a positive impact for Christ in the world.
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