God invites us to pray. He listens to our prayers. He alone has the power to answer our prayers.
Sometimes we don’t feel like He answers prayer because we don’t get what we want, when we want it, or how we want it. Sometimes this is because the motives of our hearts aren’t aligned with God’s. We are like children who want candy everyday for breakfast instead of meals that actually nourish our bodies and make us strong. We pray for healing when suffering will bring us closer to Him. We ask for riches on earth when He knows that sometimes ‘less’ will bless us ‘more.’ We ask for physical comforts when He wants most to comfort our soul.
Sometimes we don’t receive the answers to prayer because we have little faith. The disciples encountered this when they couldn’t cast out demons. I wonder how many times we pray out of sense of obligation but without really expecting God’s miraculous answer, through faith.
God’s power to answer prayer is not limited by us. Even though He invites us to seek Him often regarding our needs, neglecting to pray one day doesn’t limit His power. He invites us to join together in praying for others, but His power is not restrained if only a few people show up to pray. We’re commanded to live by faith, knowing that even the smallest amount of faith accomplishes large things. But God is not even limited by our lack of faith.
Paul tells the true story in Acts 12 when the church prayed for Peter’s release from prison. God answered their prayers and Peter came to them, knocking at their door while they were praying. Their servant recognized Peter’s voice and told the others he was there. But they didn’t believe it was him. In fact, it says they were ‘astonished’ when they saw him! How many times have you been astonished that God actually answered your prayers? Or chalked it up to some natural occurrence, forgetting to give Him credit?
The lesson for each of us is that there is power in prayer, but that power does not come from us. It doesn’t depend on our posture or our words. It doesn’t depend on where or how often we pray. It certainly doesn’t come from rituals we’ve invented to accompany our prayers. God’s ability to answer prayer isn’t even limited by the size of our faith.
The power of prayer comes from God alone. He is our all powerful, all knowing, and merciful God, who by His own choice, invites us to participate with Him in releasing His power through prayer. He doesn’t have to do it that way. He could side-step us and just work His own perfect will as He pleases. But that’s not our God. Our God works in and through the hearts of believers to release His power into the world, according to His great purpose. I’m astonished by such grace!
Almighty God invites us to connect with Him in through prayer that releases His power. Whatever we ask, let’s submit to His wisdom and will, expecting miraculous and powerful results, whether or not they coincide with our specific requests.
“For His is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen!”