Monday, October 4, 2021

More Prayer – More Power!

As a new follower of Messiah Yeshua I heard someone preach these words: Much Prayer – Much Power; Little Prayer – Little Power! I am sure that the preacher had heard them from someone else, but they were new to me. A simple phrase, but with such profound meaning; don’t we all need to develop more powerful prayer lives if we really want to be more useful for G-d’s service! Yet, do we really believe this? Do we really believe in the power of prayer?  Consider what this text is actually teaching us:

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of Messiah’s community, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your offenses to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. (James 5:13-18 TLV)

Too often our commitment to prayer is superficial. Many are just not really interested in wrestling in prayer, crying out for G-d’s intervention in the lives of people. We are too busy watching a drama on television or crying about our personal problems with others. All excuses aside, let’s be honest: we don’t seem to value prayer the way we know we need to! Prayer is a hard thing to really do well. It requires our time, our focused attention, our energy and our emotion. G-d desires that we choose to intentionally and deliberately seek him in personal prayer! This takes work! Are you willing?

Setting aside specific time each day for intentional, unhurried and well thought out prayer is a sign of a maturing faith. If we really believe the Scripture’s teaching to take our concerns to G-d, then we must make prayer a clear priority in our schedule, both personal prayer on our own as well as communal prayer with others. When was the last time you prayed in an unhurried manner, carefully seeking G-d’s action in regards to specific needs? How much time do you set aside for deliberating prayer each day, each week? How do you prioritize opportunities for communal prayer with other believers? Remember that G-d expects us to prioritize intentional prayer! More Prayer – More Power!

Forward for Messiah,

Kirk Gliebe

Rabbi & Director