Great things happen when you decide to pray!
Prayer is a forum that brings fulfillment to a life in Christ. Without prayer Christianity is a title alone, but with prayer, Christianity is an ever-growing, intimate relationship with the God who promises to honor those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30), reveal Himself to those who search for Him (Jeremiah 29:13), and draw near to those who will draw near to Him (James 4:8).
{tweetme}Throughout scripture ordinary men and women decided to pray, and with every choice to look to God, there was emancipation, elevation, and/or evidence that the God we serve is living and available to His people!{/tweetme} “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22) Meaning, those who give deference to God in life will experience victories others forfeit because they’ve underestimated or devalued the power of prayer.
Daniel could have conformed to his environment, compromised his convictions, and lived with a heart of duplicity, but he chose loyalty, humility and sought God daily. From his prayers, dreams were interpreted that saved lives (Daniel 2:17-19), plots set up to destroy him became ineffective, and angels were appointed to him for insight and understanding (Daniel 8:15-17, 10:11-14), all because Daniel valued prayer!
When you value prayer, you establish relationship and strengthen covenant so that God Himself will favor and defend you. No matter what Daniel encountered, he saw God’s intervention, and so can you! If you will communicate from your heart, and assert truth over facts, faith over fears, and the blood of Jesus Christ over the insurmountable, your prayers will hold the power needed to bring release and freedom!
“As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.” (Psalm 55:16-18)
Jehoshaphat was terrified when he heard three armies were approaching for battle. Wasting no time, he gathered the people to pray (2 Chronicles 20:1-12). He needed God to raise him above his circumstance so he asserted, “Are you not God…?” He appealed to his covenant and to God’s integrity, then he asked God to judge. Finally with humility, Jehoshaphat cried, “we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” It’s when we humble ourselves that God says He will exalt us (1 Peter 2:5), and God did just that for Jehoshaphat! Supernaturally, He saved Jehoshaphat from his enemies and increased him with the spoils.
Prayer makes a difference! It is as much an offensive position as it is a defensive position. Neither Daniel or Jehoshaphat knew what the end result would be but each positioned themselves before God and allowed Him to map the course of victory for them. In like manner, there is a course that God will map out for our lives if we position ourselves before Him. Psalm 91:15 reads, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him!” (Psalm 91:15) That’s good news!
God is rich with honor towards those who will pray: Jeremiah 33:3 tells us, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Psalm 34:10 reads, “But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” Hebrews 11:6 promises, “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” And Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all those things will be added to you.” These are just some of the reasons why we cannot afford to overlook prayer.
Your fight and frustration with man or a system is designed to defeat you, but your determined decision to seek God and remain in His presence, maintaining peace and offering worship is the recipe to overcoming in life regardless of the opposition!
Give value to your prayer life and see victory in your everyday life!
Qwynn Gross is a Christian Union ministry fellow working with students at Princeton University.She is known as an inspiring and practical teacher and has created several resources as well as authored books on spiritual devotion: A Pattern for Prayer, A Guide to Consecrated Living, and Teach Me To Pray. She is a conference host and a sought-after speaker at women's conferences, workshops and retreats. A graduate of Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, Qwynn is married to Trevón, the lead pastor of Hope Cathedral. The two have three children: Trevón, Jr., Dianna, and Sarah.
