Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
We’ve all heard the expression, “They don’t have a prayer.” I think that’s a claim that should be stricken from the Christian’s lexicon. Scripture tells us that nothing is impossible with God, and that we should be praying all the time. We wouldn’t be encouraged so much to pray if it didn’t make a difference, if God hadn’t planned to let us participate with him in affecting the universe. I love how Max Lucado puts it: “God has wired his world for power, but he calls on us to flip the switch.” Prayer is the switch….
A few weeks ago my mom was shopping in the mall. She found a seat in the crowded food court and sat down to enjoy a moment of rest. Not long after, a harried woman asked if she could sit down in the unoccupied chair at her table. Mom welcomed her, and before long they were in a conversation. The woman began pouring out her troubles and Mom became a bit overwhelmed with the difficult circumstances her new acquaintance was experiencing. Finally, my mother asked if she could pray for her. Right there in the middle of Auntie Anne’s, Subway and a couple hundred people, they bowed their heads and Mom called on God for help. The woman’s tear-stained face of gratitude was the “amen.”
You should know that my then 86 year-old mother was not a bold, evangelistic type person. She was quiet about her faith. But when confronted with the enormity of the woman’s difficulties, she knew she had access to the power that was needed. Rather than thinking, her situation doesn’t have a prayer, she “flipped on the switch” and teamed up with God to bring relief.
Each of us can do the same. No matter who we are or what we face, no problem is too small, no challenge too great to talk about with God. He wants us to pray fervently, persistently, and confidently. He is delighted when we unceasingly call upon him for all kinds of people and all kinds of situations.
So may I encourage you this week to pray….pray…pray. Pray as if it were your only hope.