The most powerful people on the face of the planet in any generation are the people who choose to pray earnestly. It's not the people who talk about prayer, or the people who teach about prayer or even the folks who wish that they had time to pray. The most dynamic, history-making people at any epoch in history are the people who actually get on their knees or on their faces and spend valuable time in prayer.
As believers in Christ, we all believe in the power and in the purpose of prayer. But, are you one of the elite of God's fighting forces who actually spends time in daily prayer?
Most people say that they don't have time to pray but the truth is this: You don't have time not to pray! Prayer is the power on earth that moves the hand of heaven. Only people who are committed to the art and to the discipline of prayer will make a bold difference on earth during their generation.
If you only pray when you are in trouble—you will always stay in deep trouble. If you only pray when you are in a battle—you will stay in crisis mode all of your days.
There is no better place to look than in the Bible to see the stirring examples of real men and women who prayed bold prayers and thus changed the course of human history.
The very worst thing that Daniel's enemies could say about him was that he was a man of prayer (Dan. 6:3-11).
Daniel didn't "start" praying when he was in the den with the ravenous and angry lions; he prayed three times a day before he was ever in the lion's den. Daniel didn't pray any more in the lion's den then he did any other day of his life. And that, my friend, is why the lions were not allowed to touch him. Lions are desperately afraid of a man or a woman who decides to pray.
Hannah was an ordinary woman who was dealing with devastating disappointment—she simply wanted a baby. She had been married for many years and had been unable to conceive. Human disappointment and discouragement didn't keep Hannah from the feet of the Lord. Hannah prayed until she lost her voice (1 Sam. 1:9-13).
Hannah prayed until nothing was coming out of her mouth; just her lips were moving. God answers the prayers of men and women who refuse to quit.
Rizpah of the Old Testament was a grieving mother who had lost both of her sons to the Gibbeonites. Rizpah sat on the rock and prayed for six months. She drove away the vultures and the wild beasts until she got the king's attention. Will you pray until you capture the attention of your King? Will you stay on the rock of Jesus Christ and fight off the enemy until you reach a breakthrough?
It's always been interesting to me that the disciples didn't ask Jesus how to worship, how to cast out demons, how to multiply food or how to calm storms. They asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. There was something about listening to the prayers of Jesus that had captivated the hearts of these 12 young men.
I don't know who or what you are praying for, but I want to encourage you to pray on. Pray with boldness and with faith. The same God who closed the mouth of lions, who miraculously gave Hannah a baby, who listened to the heart of a grieving mother is the same God who is listening to you today.
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