The Price Of Power In Prayer

By Wesley L. Duewel

    Every Christian believes in prayer, but few have power in prayer.

    God wants every Christian to be a powerful prayer warrior. But not many really want such power. It costs too much.

    What is the price of prayer power?

A Spirit-Filled Life

    A Spirit-filled life requires two things. The born-again child of God must receive the filling of the Spirit. Then he must be filled again and again by daily thirsting for more of the Spirit and rejoicing in more of the Spirit and by obeying God. God gives the Spirit to those who ask and those who obey.

    Few people keep so full of the Spirit that holy rivers of water flow daily from their inner selves (John 7:37-39). Have you enough courage to answer this honestly: What keeps me from being flooded again and again by fresh outpourings of the Holy Spirit? The more Spirit-filled you are the easier it is for the Holy Spirit to empower you in prayer.

Time in Prayer

    You cannot become mighty in prayer unless you are willing to take the time. If you spend only a few minutes in prayer morning and evening and seldom read more than a chapter of the Bible per day, you cannot expect to be anything but a prayer baby with a weak spiritual life.

    Prayer costs time. There is no magic formula for instant prayer power. Do not fool yourself. You can find time for prayer if you really want to. If you are not taking time to pray, it is because prayer does not mean that much to you. We all do those things we feel are important.

    It is necessary to be presentable and to care for our body. But if you spend more time on personal beauty than on soul beauty, do not be surprised that you are spiritually poor and a prayer weakling. If you spend more time on frivolous amusement than on prayer, you know and God knows you love neither God nor prayer very much. Anyone can become a prayer warrior if he takes time to pray.

Intercession for Others

    You will never learn to pray as long as you spend most of your prayer time praying for yourself and your loved ones. You are to be a priest of God (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). A priest is responsible to pray for others. God will not greatly honor the prayer of anyone whose prayer life is self-centered.

    Ask God to guide you in preparing and using prayer lists. Begin to pray for other countries, their leaders, God’s work in those countries. When you name the missionaries, pray in loving detail concerning them.

    The more you take others on your heart, the more your own spiritual life will grow. The more you pray with deep burden, fasting, and tears for others, the more God will lift your burdens and bless you. God wants you to be one of His hidden prayer warriors.

    Any Christian can become strong in prayer. Children and young people can learn to pray. Nor are you ever too old to begin. Retirees can enter a whole new and wonderful period of life by really learning to pray. God gives them special time for prayer.

    You can become a mighty prayer warrior and see God do great things. All it requires is three steps: A daily Spirit-filled life, time, and intercession for others. Do they cost more than you are willing to pay?

    – Reprinted from an earlier issue of Herald of His Coming.