EP 71: The Power of Prayer

There is great power in prayer, and Christians should take care to never neglect this amazing privilege and vital discipline. That’s why God commands us to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess. 5:17)

What’s more, God will always answer our prayers — though not necessarily in the manner we hope or expect.

Listen in today as we discuss prayer on the podcast: what we should think about it and how we can cultivate a more vibrant, biblically-grounded prayer life.

The Power of Prayer

Full transcript for Episode 71

Hello, Friend. Welcome to Episode 71 of the Loving Life at Home Podcast. I’m so glad you’re here!

Today I want to discuss one of the most important disciplines a Christian can develop, but one that, sadly, is often neglected in the lives of believers – and especially so when everything seems to be going smoothly.

I’m sorry to say, that is true of me, as well. I do pray daily, no matter what else is going on in my life. But when things are going well, those prayers often lack the intensity or sense of urgency or depth of soul searching that they naturally take on when I or someone I love is in the middle of a hardship.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Pray hardest when it’s hardest to pray?” I don’t think this necessarily means we should pray hardest when we’re in the most trouble.

You see, most people find it pretty easy to pray when they need God to get them out of a tight spot. I know I do. Don’t you?

For me, this quote means that I need to pray hardest when I’m exhausted or excited or angry or anxious or annoyed or busy or behind or distracted.

Being busy. Distracted. Behind. Those last few are particularly hard ones for me.

That’s one reason it so inspires me to read the thoughts and perspectives of great prayer warriors like:

• George Muller, who said: “Four hours of work after an hour of prayer will accomplish more than five hours of work without prayer.”
• Or Martin Luther, who wrote: “Work, work from early until late…. I have so much to do that I need to spend the first three hours in prayer.”
• Or Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who observed: “We should pray when we are in a praying mood, for it would be sinful to neglect so fair an opportunity. We should pray when we are not in a proper mood, for it would be dangerous to remain in so unhealthy a condition.”

For these men, prayer was a daily lifeline. And it should be for us, as well. As fitting and appropriate as it is to call upon God from the foxhole, prayer should really be our first and natural response in all of life’s circumstances:

• When we’re awed by His works, we should praise Him.
• When we’re struck by His greatness, we should worship Him.
• When we’re encumbered by doubts, we should trust in Him.
• When we’re ensnared by sin, we should confess to Him.
• When we’re weary and careworn, we should lean on Him.
• When wisdom is needed, we should ask of Him.
• When brimming with joy, we should sing to Him.
• When weighed down with grief, we should cling to Him.
• When honored, we should magnify Him.
• When humbled, we should hide in Him.
• When burdened for the lost — as we all need to be — we should plead for His unfailing mercy.
• When blessed beyond measure — as each of us are — we should thank Him for His unmerited grace.

An attitude of constant prayer is a distinguishing mark of the mature Christian, which is why we are commanded to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). I don’t know who said it, but it is definitely true: “If you pray only when you’re in trouble, you’re in trouble.”

Over the years, I’ve published more than three dozen free printable prayer guides.  All the prayers are drawn straight from scripture and formatted in a visually appealing way.

I have prayers designed to help you intercede for your spouse, for your children, for your parents, for your friends, for your enemies (since praying for your enemies is exactly what Jesus commands us to do), for the sick, for the lost, and many more.

And I get requests all the time for new prayer guides. Just today, one reader sent me a message just today that said:

“I need special prayers for: Sisters, Brothers (Siblings), the Blind, and Special Needs Kids…”

Well, I’ll try to honor that request, just as I’ve honored many others. But I’d also like to make it clear that these free printable prayer guides are just meant to be a starting point. Prayer isn’t a one and done undertaking.  I never intended my guides to be rote prayers you recite then abandon the conversation.

Because that’s what prayer is meant to be: a conversation. God speaks to us through His Word, and we answer back through prayer. And He wants that line of communication to remain open at all times, which is why He bids us to “pray without ceasing” or “pray continually.”

But, in addition to hearing from readers who want specific prayer guides I haven’t thought to create on my own, I sometimes hear from folks who take issue with something I’ve included in my prayers. Which always takes me aback, since I take great care to align my prayers with the clear teaching of scripture.

One such instance involves something I wrote in my prayer for an unborn baby. This prayer guide includes many of the things my husband and I earnestly prayed for all twelve of our children before they were born.

And, since we firmly believe it would be better never to be born, than to spend eternity separated from God, our fervent prayer that God would draw our children to faith from an early age took precedence over every other request — including prayers for our babies’ health.

Of course, God is the one who knits each baby together in its mother’s womb and watches over its every stage of development, as we read in Psalm 139:13-16. So, in the section on health, I suggested parents should pray that, if it please God, He would give their child good health and a strong body.

And that is the phrase my reader took issue with. She wrote:

You said “If it would please him, God would give your child good health.” THAT IS UTTERLY AND ABSOLUTELY WRONG STATEMENT! (sic) JESUS died to take away our diseases and sickness away… IT IS HIS WILL TO GIVE GOOD HEALTH TO EVERYONE!

She said a few more things in addition to that, but the crux of all her arguments was that God does not intend for any of us to be sick and that, if we all had sufficient faith, we could all enjoy perfect health.

While I agree that God does ultimately intend to bring an end to all sickness and disease — and to death, as well — the Bible teaches that His primary concern is our spiritual health.

It was our sin that sent Jesus to the cross, not our physical infirmities.

To be sure, Jesus cured all manner of sickness and disease while He was on earth. He made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see, as we read in Matthew 9:35 and John 9:39.  

But He also forgave sin, which — as is made clear in several of these passages — He considers the weightier, more pressing issue. He asks the pharisees in Mark 2:9-12,

“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,  “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”  And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Does God still have the power to heal? Absolutely He does!

Does He always choose to exercise that power on our behalf? No, He obviously doesn’t — even when we pray earnestly for Him to do so.

Why is that? We can only guess. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways, as Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us.

Do you remember what the disciples asked Jesus when they saw the blind man in John 9:2?” They wanted to know, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” They assumed the blindness must be some kind of punishment from God.

But what was Jesus’s response?  ““It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus told them. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” (John 9:3)

You see, God had a purpose for that man’s affliction that went far beyond those disciples’ understanding.

Well, that’s a very timely reminder for me, since I recently found out I have breast cancer. Of course, I’d certainly love for God to heal me completely from that so that I don’t ever even have to think about surgery or radiation or chemo, much less endure it.

When I first received the diagnosis, my husband gathered the children around me, anointed my head with oil, and then asked our pastor to come pray over me, too, per the instructions given in James 5:14-15, which reads,

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

Interestingly, most of the prayers that were offered up for me in the days immediately following my diagnosis were asking God to give me peace, to calm my fears, to let me feel His presence, to give my doctors wisdom, and to keep the cancer from spreading beyond my lymph nodes.

All important prayers, to be sure, and prayers that God has been so very kind and faithful to answer – although I won’t know for sure about the last one until after my upcoming MRI. ( It was originally scheduled for January 9 but just got moved up to tomorrow, so continued prayers appreciated for that )

However, my husband has been reading the book of Acts lately and began to feel convicted that he should be praying not just for peace and strength and wisdom, but for my complete healing, as well. After all, James 4:2 tells us “You have not because you ask not.”

So yesterday, Doug asked all the children once again to join him in laying their hands on me and praying for my complete healing.

I think sometimes we are hesitant to give voice to such prayers – to say them out loud — even if that’s the cry of our innermost heart, because we don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up (including our own) only to be disappointed. Or we fear that we will somehow diminish God in the eyes of our loved ones if we make a request that He doesn’t grant.

But Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

I deeply appreciate all the prayers being offered up on my behalf. I’ve heard from so many friends and family members and blog readers and podcast listeners and Instagram followers that they are praying for me and putting me on prayer lists and sharing my situation with their Sunday School classes and prayer teams and coworkers. It means so much to me.

But those bold prayers my husband and children prayed over me yesterday will always have a special place in my heart.

And the wonderful thing is that, no matter what the outcome, God will have answered our prayers and granted me the desire of my heart.

If, miraculously, they scan my breasts and find my tumors have shriveled up and disappeared– praise God! He will have answered these most recent prayers and healed me of cancer.

If the scan shows the tumors have grown and inoperably metastasized to all my vital organs, then there’s a good chance God is going to grant another prayer I’ve been praying for years – that He would take me home early rather than letting me live long enough to dishonor Him.

It is always so sad to me to read of great men of faith that go off the rails in their old age, like Solomon, who was considered the wisest man who ever lived. Yet in his later years, he abandoned the LORD and worshipped idols. Which is so sad.

And Solomon’s fall wasn’t an isolated case. It seems to be a recurring theme throughout the ages. I could list many examples – both historical and contemporary – of believers who were at one time very devout, very on fire for Jesus, very outspoken pillars of faith, but who eventually grew cold or turned away or denied the very God they’d spent so many years serving and proclaiming to others.

I NEVER want that to be my testimony! And for years I’ve told my children that, even if God takes me home early, if I remain faithful to the very end, they should be grateful to know He answered this most earnest prayer of my heart.

Of course, that’s the opposite extreme from complete healing – although in heaven, I’ll get the benefit of both – so there’s that to look forward to, as well.

But, barring a miraculous physical healing in this life or a more rapidly impending death than expected, then I’m probably looking at having to endure the same kind of treatment countless other women with breast cancer have dealt with before me: lots more tests, surgery, hormone therapy, radiation, chemotherapy, or some combination of any or all of the above.

Yet, even in that case, God will still be answering one of my most earnest prayers – and that is that He would allow and enable me to live out my faith before others – and especially before my children — in such a compelling way that it would bolster their own faith.

Well, I’ve enjoyed what many would consider – including myself — a very blessed life so far. There have been ups and downs, to be sure, but overall, I feel like God has graciously kept me snug and secure in the palm of His hand and has mercifully spared me many of the difficulties I’ve watched friends and family members go through.

But, sadly, a comfortable, care-free, easy life is not normally what draws one closer to God nor sinks one’s roots most deeply into His Word. A lot of times, it isn’t until a fierce storm hits that all the extraneous fluff and trappings and distractions finally get stripped away and our attention becomes laser-focused on what truly matters – which, first and foremost for me, is my relationship to God, my faith in His Word, my reliance on His strength, and my testimony to those who know me.

I want others – and especially my own kids and grandkids – to know that not only do I trust God completely and affirm His goodness through every tempest and trial He sends my way, but that they can do the same – and SHOULD do the same.

And if watching my example through a difficult season of life can make it easier for them to weather their own storms and overcome their own struggles and carry their own cross with the same kind of unwavering faith in God that MOM has? Then whatever suffering may lie ahead of me will be worth it, a thousand times over.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Lord willing, I’ll be back again next Monday with another episode. I hope you’ll join me then.