"Prayer Problems": Power - Is Prayer Worth Anything?

Focus passage: 1 Kings 18:16-38

I felt humbled and more than a little ashamed when I read this section on Elijah and prayer.

He believed so strong while I sometimes struggle believing God will work miracles with my prayers. It isn’t that I don’t pray. It is just that I don’t think that I have the confidence that Elijah has in prayer. I accept the power that prayer has, but I sometimes don’t act like I really believe it. I want to pray like Elijah. Three things strike me about Elijah’s prayer.

• For Elijah, prayer was not a wish or a hope. He laid his life down believing that God wanted what he was praying for as much as he did. With every ounce of his body, he expected God to deliver what he was asking for. He knew that God would not miss this opportunity to witness to the world. I wonder what I could accomplish if I were that confident that God would work miracles in my ministry for Him. I wonder what life would look like for all of us Christians if we were that confident that God would answer.

• For Elijah, prayer was about glorifying God so that this unbelieving nation would bow down and worship their God. He even makes the miracle harder by adding water on the sacrifice. He wants God to be glorified so that this unbelieving nation will stand back in awe at what God can do. I confess that too often my prayers are more about my comfort than about letting others know how great God is. My prayers are more about me than about God.  

• For Elijah, prayer was a chance to face his problems and opportunities. I wonder if the reason that all of us don’t seem to receive answers to prayer is that we don’t really expect God to answer. Our prayers are “holy wishes” thrown up into the heavens hoping that they might stick. Elijah had power because prayer was his first response to life. Elijah prayed to God when life was a disaster and when life gave him a chance to change his world. Prayer brought God’s power into all the aspects of his life.

What do you and I expect when we pray?

As I begin this series, I find myself challenged. I often pray for someone who is sick or for someone to come to know God, but do I really expect something to happen? More important, do I act as if I expect God to work mightily or as if my prayers are just a just a bunch of hopes and wishes. Lord, forgive me and give me the faith of Elijah. I want to pray with that kind of heart.

Have you ever wondered if your prayers accomplished anything? Please share your comments and questions below or send me your thoughts at 32daysdevotions@gmail.com.  My hope is to “talk” about your thoughts in the blog on Wednesdays so we can have a conversation and I can learn from you.