Let’s pray. How many times have you heard that comment? Have you ever wondered how prayer works? If someone were to ask me about the mechanics of prayer—how it worked in other words—I am not sure I could give a very good answer. “I really don’t know,” is all I could say. I would be quick to add that it does work and that’s why I pray.
That’s why I encourage others to pray. And pray more and more often. It just works. I know it works. I’ve seen it work. I have personal evidence that it works. And so I pray.
In fact, it works so well that I believe it may be the most important thing I do. Think about that. I have so many important things in my life, just like you. The list goes on. Right? Can prayer really top all those things? I believe it does.
The days after Jesus died on the cross had to be difficult for the disciples. They had to be confused, anxious and wondering what comes next. What vision did they have of the years ahead? What would the church look like? Who would lead it? Where would they find the resources to make a difference in a brutal world?
They did not have the answers to these questions. In fact, they had very little information about their future. All they really had was prayer.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying:
Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.
Acts 1:12-14
These were the early church leaders. They were united. They prayed together. Prayer brought about their unity. It worked for them. It will work for us. It is our most valuable asset. We may not know how it works, but we know the Who behind it.
John Frederick Oberlin spent much of his life serving some of the poorest people in France. He taught them how to grow things, built orphanages, helped them to build roads, improved their lives, was a noted philanthropist, preached sermons in two languages, and all in all just gave his life away to these destitute people. They loved him for it.
His greatest strength? Prayer. In fact, the townspeople and parish members all knew that every morning from 9 – 10, he was on his knees praying for them and their families and their health and their finances and their courage.
When it came to prayer, the pastor killed it. He majored in prayer. And what a difference he made because of it. Let’s pray.
