Prayer: Does it really matter?
I admit that sometimes I fall into the trap of wondering if my prayers for another person really make any kind of difference. After all, God is sovereign and He is going to accomplish His purposes no matter what, right?! So, if I forget to pray for another person—Is it really that big of a deal? It’s not like “little ole Ken” can get in God’s way simply because I didn’t pray, right?! See how easy the trap is laid?
God’s sovereignty and “our need to pray” seem to be dueling ends of a tug-of-war tight rope. Yet, in the midst of the tension, we can find a place of balance. Simply put, Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, “Let Your will be done… Accomplish Your purposes in my life and in my sphere of influence.” Yes, this is surrendering to the Father’s rule in our lives… but there is something that actually happens in our lives when we begin to pray this on a regular basis. God actually honors this kind of praying!
Paul, the founding pastor of a crazy little church in Corinth, once wrote his former congregation about some extremely hard times that he had gone through. In his writing, he acknowledges the prayers of that congregation and states that their prayers actually made a crucial difference.
2 Corinthians 1:8-11, “I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. 10 And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us. 11 He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people’s prayers for our safety have been answered.” (NLT)
Paul actually links God’s rescuing him with the prayers of the Corinthian Christ-followers! I won’t pretend to understand everything about praying, but I know that God hears me when I pray. Beyond that, like Paul, I’m learning the importance of being covered with a canopy of prayers from others. I’m also learning how important it is for me to REALLY pray for others.
God’s sovereignty and “our need to pray” seem to be dueling ends of a tug-of-war tight rope. Yet, in the midst of the tension, we can find a place of balance. Simply put, Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, “Let Your will be done… Accomplish Your purposes in my life and in my sphere of influence.” Yes, this is surrendering to the Father’s rule in our lives… but there is something that actually happens in our lives when we begin to pray this on a regular basis. God actually honors this kind of praying!
Paul, the founding pastor of a crazy little church in Corinth, once wrote his former congregation about some extremely hard times that he had gone through. In his writing, he acknowledges the prayers of that congregation and states that their prayers actually made a crucial difference.
2 Corinthians 1:8-11, “I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. 10 And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us. 11 He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people’s prayers for our safety have been answered.” (NLT)
Paul actually links God’s rescuing him with the prayers of the Corinthian Christ-followers! I won’t pretend to understand everything about praying, but I know that God hears me when I pray. Beyond that, like Paul, I’m learning the importance of being covered with a canopy of prayers from others. I’m also learning how important it is for me to REALLY pray for others.
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