Of all the Christian disciplines the most mysterious and most important, in my opinion, is the discipline and ministry of prayer. A. B. Simpson shared the following provocative thought: “There is no wonder more supernatural and divine in the life of a believer than the mystery and ministry of prayer…the hand of the child touching the arm of the Father and moving the wheel of the universe.”1
As far as prayer being mysterious I would have to agree. For any new Christian a casual reading of the Bible will show them just how powerful prayer is. We see that great men of faith and prayer like Abraham, Moses, and Daniel saw the hand of God move mightily as they prayed.
But just how does prayer work? In one sense it is a mystery because we are asking an unseen Being to act behind the scenes to do things that wouldn’t come to pass if we didn’t offer up believing prayer. And in some cases, we are asking God to do the impossible. For example, when we pray for the salvation of someone we are asking God to take someone who is totally dead in sin and resurrect their spiritually dead bodies to life. How God does this is a divine mystery but praise God we know from experience that there are many a praying mother that has brought about, through their prayers, the salvation of a wayward child.
I have learned in my walk with the Lord not to try to figure out the mystery of prayer but to ask God to teach me to pray more effectively. And this entails living a holy life, spending time in walking in the will of God, and spending time in my prayer closet asking God for things that will bring glory to His name. And the more I do these things the more I can feel confident that my prayers will be heard and answered.
So while prayer will always remain somewhat mysterious one thing that is crystal clear is that it is one of the most neglected ministries in the church today. And while not everyone can be a pastor or a choir director, all Christians are able, and might I add commanded, to be much in prayer. And while many Christians spend little time in prayer, this ministry is more powerful and necessary than perhaps any other ministry I know of.
If you need convincing of this fact then consider the words of one of New York City’s most well-known pastors – Jim Cymbala: “Does the Bible ever say anywhere from Genesis to Revelation, ‘My house shall be called a house of preaching?’ Does it ever say, ‘My house shall be called a house of music?’ Of course not. The Bible does say, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ Preaching, music, the reading of the Word – these things are fine; I believe in and practice all of them. But they must never override prayer as the defining mark of God’s dwelling. The honest truth is that I have seen God do more in people’s lives during ten minutes of real prayer than in ten of my sermons.”2
Since prayer is so powerful the logical question is how can we get this power? Charles Spurgeon, I believe, gives us a clue when he shared: “If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ.”3 And isn’t this exactly what we read in Scripture: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7). When we are abiding in Christ we glorify the Father and we invoke His awesome power on our behalf. E. M. Bounds expresses this idea as follows: “Prayer is the greatest of all forces, because it honors God and brings him into active aid.”4
And not only is prayer, and how it works, mysterious, but it often is the only way to move the mountains and obstacles to the answers and changed situations we are seeking. J. Sidlow Baxter eloquently expressed this thought as follows: “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.”5
My friends may I challenge you to spend more time in prayer. It’s the one ministry we as Christians are all able to do. And the benefits and blessings that prayer will produce are simply amazing! Why not put God to the test and watch how He answers. The only caution I leave you with is be fervent and persistent in your prayers and wait for the answer to come in God’s perfect timing!
1 https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-author/a-b-simpson-quotes/
2 30 Jim Cymbala Quotes on Prayer – prayer coach
3 16 Charles Spurgeon Quotes That Will Stir Your Zeal for Prayer
4 The Prayer of Faith is the Only Power in the Universe to which the Great…
5 Quote by J. Sidlow Baxter: “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, …”