1 Samuel 27-29

Luke 13:1-22

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”     
—Ephesians 6:18

Some of us may have heard others say, “prayer is powerful,” but the truth is, “prayer is not powerful.” Why? Because only God is powerful and prayer is the means by which God makes contact with the world. Imagine a stick-shift car, it has three pedals: a brake, an accelerator and a clutch. We may start the engine of the car but nothing happens; put it into gear but again, nothing happens. Only when we release the clutch, the car begins to move. Is it the clutch that makes the car go? No, the clutch is not powerful; it simply enables the engine to make contact with the wheels. The true power is the engine. Similarly, prayer is like the clutch and God is the engine. Prayer is not powerful. Only God alone is powerful. As we intercede, we bring God in.

On one occasion, a man shared with me that he was converted in a small town in Ontario, in the middle of a field without ever knowing what a Christian was. “But,” he told me, “I met with God and I know it was God.” He then went to a Bible college in western Canada and became a missionary. I told him, “This is remarkable. What happened? Was somebody praying for you?” He answered, “That is a very interesting question you are asking me.” The man continued, “While I was at Bible college, I gave my testimony at a gathering about where I came from. Afterwards, a girl came and asked me, ‘I have a friend who came from that same town—do you know her?’ She said her friend’s name and I replied, ‘Yes. She was the older sister of my best friend.’ Then she explained, ‘One day, we were having a prayer time and she asked us to pray for her brother and his wild friend. Were you wild?’ I said, ‘Yes, that was probably me.’ Then, she opened her Bible and showed me what she scribbled: ‘Pray for the wild friend.’ She said, ‘I prayed for you every day.’ But I noticed beside the prayer note was a date, month and year. I asked ‘Why that date?’ She answered, ‘Because on that month I felt the Holy Spirit tell me that I did not need to pray for him anymore.’ And I said, ‘That is the month I was converted.’” 

What a story! But that is not all, the man asserts, “Let me introduce you to that girl, she is my wife now.” I do not know how much prayer is necessary but the principle is simple: as we pray, we know God is at work.

Lord God, You alone are powerful and You are at work as I pray. Thank You for the miraculous ways that You answer prayers. Praise You!