Power in Prayer

"The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth"

~ Psalm 145:18 (NIV).

Prayer is essential in our walk with Christ. It is one of the ways that strengthens our relationship with Him, we communicate with God through prayer. We pray for breakthrough, deliverance, healing and strength in current circumstances that we go through. We also use scripture in our prayers, which is one of the most important weapons that men and women of God use in partnership along with prayer. By immersing ourself in God's word and through prayer, it gives us strength to overcome strongholds of the devil. There is power in our prayers even when you don't realize it.

In many of the Psalms, David was a man who poured out His heart to God in times of trouble. He said often, "hear my prayer", "Have mercy on me", "Hear me when I cry out to you". David faced a lot of opposition, one of them being Saul who tried to kill him (1 Samuel 19). Also from other individuals who were wicked people (Psalm 140, Psalms 3, 5, 59). David went to God persistently and had great faith in God's character. He truly was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). Even though he sinned deeply from murder and adultery, God forgave him of his sin and had compassion on him. (And that's how God is with us. He is a forgiving God no matter how far you've drifted away from Him or the deep sin you've wrestled with. He hears your hearts cry, He is hearing your prayers, He knows!).

Remember that the Lord is near. He holds you close to His heart.

Psalm 145:18 is a verse showing God's compassion and promise that He is near to those who call on Him in truth. one quote from Matthew Henry's commentary puts it this way, "God is willing and very ready to hear and answer the prayers of His people" ( Henry, 1960, p. 729). This shows God's character that He wants us to talk to Him and will answer our prayers according to His will. Which is the important part, our prayers need to be in alignment with what God wants for us. Sometimes we can pray prayers that aren't God's will for our life. (I just want to share a quick story of this from my own personal experience:)

I remember praying to the Lord before I started Bible College in 2018, "Lord I'll do whatever you ask me to do, but I don't want to do youth ministry. I hate it. And when my internship comes, I'm not going back to Newfoundland to do my internship". (yes that's exactly what I said lol). I'd come up with every possible excuse to get away from it. As years passed and once my internship came the Lord did exactly what I prayed not for Him to do lol. So yeah, never say never to God! God took something that I absolutely hated and turned it around into something that Love and have a huge heart for. My whole internship consisted of youth ministry, I led worship in youth ministry, spoke for the first time, and most importantly God healed me from the offences that I carried from my past when I attended youth. And I built amazing relationships with the youth during my time there.

It wasn't God's will for me to stay in Alberta to do my internship and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. God is SO good and so faithful! I learnt so many things about myself from that experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life <3 I thank God for answering my prayers that His will be done over mine. Sometimes the prayers that God doesn't always answer is protecting you from things that you have no idea about. God knows the full extent of everything even when we don't. We don't need to know what happens behind the scenes. Even when you don't know what to pray for, the Spirit of God intercedes for us through wordless groans (Romans 8:26). Emphasis added.

Those who know me personally, know how firm I am on prayer. I believe that prayer changes things. Breakthrough comes when we pray, healing comes through prayer along with deliverance, comfort, strength, and hope.There are many moments where I'll tell people "I'm praying for you". And I don't Just say that because it's the christian thing to say and not ending up praying for that person. I say it because I firmly believe in prayer and I really am praying for you, that God will provide for your needs. I have faced many moments where the Lord will wake me up at 5:AM to pray for people who I don't even know or friends who are going through a rough time that need a breakthrough.

Friends, there's power in prayer. When you get down on your knees to pray for God to work everything out, He will!! You may not see the full result of it right away, but trust me God sees and hears your prayers just like He heard David's and many others in the Bible who have helped pave the way for us.There's persistence through prayer, don't give up! If you don't know the Lord personally, you can come into a long lasting relationship with Him! You are not too far gone, if you want to make matters right, you can pray this prayer.

"Lord you know that I am a sinner, I invite you into my life. Come and cleanse me and forgive me for my sins. I believe that you died and rose again. I want to step into a long lasting relationship with you". I receive you as Lord and Saviour and I want to thank you for coming into my life. Amen".

If you prayed this prayer, I encourage you to get plugged into a church. let a pastor or a congregation member know that you have gave your life to Jesus. And they will provide you with the next steps. Jesus loves you so much and has amazing things in store for your life!!

God Bless you! and know that I'll be praying for you!

Noelle <3