power of prayer

Prayer has power. A person has more strength when he's at prayer.
Effective prayer is offered in faith.
When we're in a threatening situation, the normal tendency is to panic.
Many stories could be told of fear being replaced by calm through the power of prayer.
If we remain calm, placing faith in God and believing that we'll receive God's direction,
we'll eventually find the answer to our problem.

We all face challenges in life - physical, emotional and relationship challenges,
and at times we go through great pains.
But if you have confidence that God is in control, in charge of your life,
and that He'll help you through,
then your relationship with God is your strength.
And that relationship is grounded in prayer, if you are praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance.

Sometimes we try so hard to solve the problems of our health, our children, our business,
or our future that we become agitated or depressed.
psalm46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God."
Prayer is more than a plea; it's a place where we must spend time if we are to learn its power.

As we face problems and personal suffering
, we must not forget that our prayers are subject to His will.
This takes the burden off us and gives it to the Lord.
His will is the best for us.
The difficulty is knowing the will of God.
We cannot find true peace outside the will of God.

Prayers that are selfish, vengeful, or mean are not in the will of God.
The answer from God can be yes or no or wait.
God'll not let us down in the hour of our need,
but God'll answer our prayer in His own way and time.
Most of the times, God does not give us what we ask for,
because God has a better plan which we do not know.

How are we to pray, in what manner? We can follow Jesus's pattern.
How did Jesus pray?
Jesus frequently prayed alone, setting Himself away from every distraction. So must we.
Jesus prayed with great earnestness, always seeking to do the Father's will.
His prayer was heard because of His godly fear.(Hebrews 5:7),
because of the submissive attitude of His heart.
He fully yielded His life to the Father's will. He always set His heart to obey the Father's wiill.
God also reads our hearts as we pray.
Jesus entered prayer with godly fear and reverent submission toward God's will.

God desires to reveal Himself to us and give us more and more of His presence and power
to bring about His plans and purposes earth.
The devil desires to keep us from having God's presence and power
actively at work in us to accomplish God's goals for mankind.

The devil knows the effectiveness of a righteous person who is praying with faith.
He'll send little thoughts into our minds to get us off track.
He does not want you to trust God's word in all situations.
He'll keep you busy or distracted so you don't pray or meditate on God's Word;
so that you'll become more anxious about things, more fearful of things,
some of which are unknown, making you think wrong thoughts;
so that you become a burden bearer, and because the responsibily is so great,
you don't want to be responsible for anything at all.

People with a heavy heart, experience weariness, too weary even to read the bible or pray,
no energy to get up, get dressed and go to church;
he is in a state of weakness; and the weaker he becomes,
the more he focus on himself...his needs, his failures.
In a weak state, it's easier for the fiery arrows to hit you.

A person strong in faith has great joy;
joy in turn produces great spiritual strength...the joy of theLord is my strength.
The person who prays has renewed energy and a zest for living.
Such a person feels strong and is eager to take on life's challenges.
Prayer helps one to trust the Father, to claim the promises of God,
to listen to God, and receive His wisdom.

Praying in the Spirit includes praying in tongues.
It means to pray under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
It means to be sensitive to His promptings about what to pray, how to pray.
It means to obey the promptings to speak or act in specific ways at specific times.
Pray about those situations beyond the horizon of your life or the lives of others.
Pray for God to redeem them, change them and bless them.

As you pray in the face of a spiritual attack, set your mind on the vastness of God's power.
In the face of fear, God gives us boldness.

Through prayer, we have better understanding of God's word, greater discernment,
greater awareness of sin, and greater energy and strength.