From reading the Scripture, it’s clear that prayer plays an important role in our lives. Prayer makes a real difference, and if we don’t tap into the power of prayer, we are losing something. James 5:16 says:
The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
In the next two verses, it gives the example of Elijah:
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
These verses show us that prayer works. It makes things happen.
Colossians 4:3 is another verse that shows us the power of prayer:
At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison
Here Paul asked the church in Colossae to pray for him. What should they pray about? That “God may open to us a door for the word.” As it turns out, prayer has the power to open closed doors! If we have closed doors in our lives, we need to pray for them to be opened.
There is a warning, though:
You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:2-3)
There is a danger here that we ask wrongly. That happens if we ask something out of our self-interest. So we need to make sure that we ask rightly. We need to make sure that we ask something in accordance with God’s will.
Let’s make prayer an essential part of our lives. Let’s make time daily for it. You will then experience the power of prayer in your life.
