-Sir Thomas Buxton
Prayer is something we are called to do, yet we do so little of it. Why is that? I think it it because for some, they get impatient and frustrated when they do not see the fruits of their prayers right away or even at all. For some it is because it did not produce the result they wanted. For others, it just not that important. I think most of us sometimes forget why we are called to pray. Not only are we commanded to pray but there is power, strength and unity in prayer. Men and women who above all pray, change the world and endure all that is set before them. There are two reasons why I believe this to be true.
1.Prayer is the only way to truly connect with God. And when we truly connect with God, our whole being is effected and our lives are transformed. In the forward of E.M. Bounds book "Power Through Prayer", Stromie Omartian writes
"Prayer makes the person and it affects who we are and who we become. It effects our character just as it did Paul, David, Elijah and Jesus. Prayer changes the heart and actually makes the person. It takes away our impatience, harshness, selfishness, and cluelessness, and replaces them with patience, gentleness, loving-kindness, and understanding. It takes away our blindness and replaces it with fresh vision and clarity. It takes away our weakness and gives us strength."
And why does prayer do this? Again because we are personally interacting with the one true God, and one cannot personally interact with Him without walking away changed. Jesus Himself prayed much. He prayed for those around Him, for us (John 17) and for Himself. Before He was betrayed, he prayed twice for strength to do the Fathers will. He knew that prayer connected Him to His Father and being connected to His Father was the only way to accomplish what He was sent to do.
2. Prayer unifies us. in Romans 15:30, Ephesians 6:18, Colossians 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:25 and 2 Corinthians 1:11, Paul is asking others to pray for him. Why? Again, Bounds explains this perfectly. He writes:
"Paul is an eminent example that we must have the prayers of other. He asks, he coverts, he pleads in an impassioned way for the help of all God's saints. He knew that in the spiritual realm, as elsewhere, in union there is strength; that the concentration and aggregation of faith, desires, and prayers increased the volume of spiritual force until it became overwhelming and irresistible in its power. Units of prayer combined, like drops of water, make an ocean which defies resistance...".
Paul dealt with hardships, persecution and such things that most of us will never go through or understand. He alone would never have been able to endure all this if it was not for God alone and for other interceding on his behalf. We too cannot stand alone. We need be unified and strengthen by interceding; praying for each other.
There is power and unity through prayer. Amazing things happen when we pray. Our lives are transformed when we pray. The world is changed when we pray. So let us again, become men and women of prayer. Let us connect to our God once again and become one with Him and each other through prayer. Soli deo gloria: Glory to God alone.
