When it comes to prayer the question arises is it a good use of our time? There are basically two schools of thought on the issue of prayer which Phillips Brooks summed it up well: “Prayer is to the skeptic a delusion, a waste of time. To the believer it represents perhaps the most important use of time.”1 To the skeptic prayer is a great waste of time since most skeptics don’t acknowledge that a supernatural God exists and therefore believe only the foolish and gullible seek to speak to a non-existent God. Sadly, for the skeptic all of the wonderful prayer promises, shared in the Bible, are intentional delusions and made-up fairy tales.
But for the Christian, prayer is our vital link to our heavenly Father, who not only delights when we pray to Him, but answers our requests often in amazing ways. And while the future is often unknown, prayer allows us to agree with Corrie Ten Boom, who once said: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”2 For you see prayer is the mysterious communication vehicle that summons our known God to fill our unknown future with good tidings and to see His glory put on display.
Scripture is full of examples of how prayer moved the hand of God in miraculous ways. For example, God opened Hannah’s barren womb, to give birth to Samuel in response to her prayer. He send the ten plagues on Egypt as Moses interceded on behalf of his people. God healed the sick through the prayers of many of His saints throughout the pages of the Bible. And He even raised Lazarus from the dead as His son Jesus cried out to His Father.
In fact, prayer is so important that, as Phillips Brooks stated, it represents perhaps the most important use of our time. Sadly, many Christians don’t realize the power and necessity of prayer, quite frankly, because we have been trained to work to solve our problems. But, my friends, prayer is serious work and often is the key to unleashing the power of God into our difficult situations. For example, praying for the salvation of our lost loved ones requires a supernatural move of God to move in the hearts of those who are dead in their sins and trespasses. While the work of sharing the gospel is important, prayer is just as important to allow God to send His conviction power over our loved one’s sinful natures. Sharing and prayer are both essential elements in bringing salvation to the lost.
Our time here on earth is short and there is much we can accomplished, but it will take a great deal of prayer, if we want to see the power of God unleashed to see souls saved, God’s kingdom advanced, and His will be done. Again, Phillips Brooks adds insight here on the power of prayer: “Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God.”3
So, unlike the skeptics, Christians need to understand that prayer is one of the wisest uses of our time to accomplish the will of God. And in many cases it is the only way to see a fresh move of God’s supernatural power which is needed to bring souls into a saving knowledge of Christ.
Prayer is often hard work but the rewards of a dynamic prayer life are well worth the time we spend in this divine activity!
1 39 Phillips Brooks Quotes | ChristianQuotes.info