Prayer: The Ultimate Game-Changer
“Call to me and I will answer you. I'll show you marvelous and wondrous
things that you could never figure out on your own.” Jeremiah 33:3 (Message)
“Game changer” has
become synonymous with a turning point in the world of sports or politics. While everything is moving in one direction,
a strategic play or move tips the fulcrum in a completely different direction
to transition the tide toward triumph.
When following Christ, the same can be said of a life with Christ. Time and again, the scripture recounts a shift
in a battle or event that could often be connected to prayer. These included pivotal moments at the Red
Sea, Jericho’s Walls, David’s victory over Goliath, the apostle’s ministry, and
Christ’s touch and transformation in the lives of countless people.
As you study the
life of Jesus, you’ll notice that before Jesus ever did anything significant, He prayed. Prayer was the “game changing moment” in
every encounter. We
have to come to terms with the fact that Jesus’ whole ministry was based in
prayer and that His ministry was profoundly influential because He prayed. Everywhere you turn,He was praying for the
Father’s agenda (“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done”), He was praying for
provision, He was praying for unity, and He was praying for salvation. That even continued up to His death on the
cross. In Luke 23:34, we see that even
as the spikes were being driven into His hand He was praying for them. “Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do.” The power of prayer was revealed at every
point whether the peaks at the Mount of Transfiguration or to the depths of His
torturous death on Calvary.
The late Robert
Munger, one of my teachers at a seminary I attended and author of My Heart, Christ’s Home, also wrote a
book called What Jesus Says. He writes,
“Jesus prayed. The Christian needs no
other call to prayer than this. Because
Jesus prayed, the necessity and validity of prayer is established for all time. Because Jesus prayed, prayer in the life of
the believer should have priority and authority. If the strong Son of God prayed, He who
always walked in fullness of fellowship with the Father, who never knew the
shadow of sin nor the blight of failure, whose personality flashed with divine
glory and whose mighty works demonstrated divine power, how much more do you
and I, weak and sinful mortals, need to seek the face of our Heavenly Father in
prayer.” Powerful things happen when
a believer sets his or her heart to prayer.
It was true with Jesus…and it’s true with you and me.
Some years ago, a
wonderful couple in our church set to pray for their community. They had moved into a neighborhood and were
excited about it. However, they immediately
discovered some unsettling news as they found all kinds of sordid activity was taking place around them. Across
the street was a crack house with drug activity occurring. Next door there were parties that would
rock their home to all hours of the night with beer bottles thrown all over our
friends’ lawn. Next to the neighbors across the street, a shooting took
place. Now most people would say, “I’m
out of here and I’m shaking the dust off of my feet.” This couple thought,
“This is our neighborhood and we’re going to start praying.” So they began to
pray, “Lord, kill these people around us.” Actually she began to pray God’s
judgment on them. I’m serious. They
thought these neighbors had it coming to them.
As they continued to pray this way, nothing was happening. But soon, the Holy Spirit got the best of
them. He challenged them to pray
differently though they didn’t like it.
Rather than praying for their destruction, they began to pray for their
salvation. They thought, “ Don’t want to” yet they heard God’s prompting, “Just
do it.” (Yes, it was God not Nike). So
they began to pray differently. As they
prayed over the next few months, amazing things began to happen. A church group came into their area and led a
rally to clean the neighborhood. They
began to see a change. God began to cause
certain ones to move out and new ones to move in. Along the way, He allowed them to lead
several people to the Lord. They said, “Our neighborhood is a different place
because of prayer.” Simple hearts of
prayer…and change began to come.
Richard Foster wrote,
“To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to
tranform us. If we are unwilling to
change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God
the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ. To pray is to change.
Jeremiah
33:3 says, “Call to me and I will
answer you. I'll show you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never
figure out on your own.” (Message) Jesus
made a way so that we could have a way to pray. Not only does it
change us, it changes the world around us.
Whether you are in the highest heights today or the lowest lows, God can
transform us as we enter boldly and share our hearts with Him. He can change a neighborhood, heal a loved
one, open doors of favor, or simply change our hearts. Call to me (He declares)…unlimited minutes,
no hidden fees, and no roaming charges.
Now that’s a deal that hard to pass up!
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) What
area in your life would God want you to hand over to Him in prayer today?
2) Take
a moment to click on one of the 20 plus prayers on the “Revival Outpour” link
on the side and join in as we pray together.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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