👑 The Power of Prayer: Why We Bother
The Question We All Ask
If you’ve been a believer for any length of time, you’ve wrestled with this thought: If God is sovereign and He’s going to do what He wants to do anyhow, what difference does my prayer really make?
Does our prayer actually cause God to change His mind?
The quick answer is no, not in the sense that we convince an unwilling God. God’s ultimate plan is unchangeable. But the longer answer, and the magnificent mystery, is this: We pray because God has commanded us to pray, and He has chosen to accomplish His unchangeable will through the changeable, dependent action of our prayers.
Prayer is more than just talking to God; it is active communion with the One who made us.
#1 Know Your Audience: To Whom Do We Pray?
Before discussing how to pray, we must first establish who we are praying to. This is crucial because our modern culture has blurred the lines:
We do NOT pray to “The Universe.”
We do NOT pray to ancestors or other spiritual intermediaries.
We do NOT simply use positive thoughts or affirmations to manifest our desires.
WE PRAY TO GOD!
God is not a thing, a force, or an impersonal energy field; He is a Person. Prayer is a spiritual reality—it is a conversation and communion with the living, Triune God. As theologian Tim Keller notes, true prayer requires us to approach Him from a position of understanding who we are—His sons and daughters—and with a heart ready to trust and surrender to His plan.
#2 The Promise of Effective Prayer
The Apostle James provides one of the most encouraging and challenging statements on prayer in the Bible:
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16, NKJV)
The message is clear: Effective prayers are prayed with oomph! God says they “do great work.” So, how do we make sure our prayers are not just words, but are powerful and effective?
According to James and the rest of Scripture, effectiveness comes from the condition of the heart praying, and the object of the faith.
1. Pray Based on Relationship (James 5:16)
James says the prayer of a “righteous man” is effective. In the New Testament, our righteousness is gifted to us through faith in Jesus. Therefore, effective prayer is predicated on an ongoing, intimate relationship with Him.
This means we must deal with willful sin. A heart that is deliberately resisting God’s known will cannot expect to commune freely with Him. We are invited to confess, repent, and clear the path for powerful conversation.
2. Pray in Faith (James 1:4–7)
Our faith must be anchored not in the idea of faith itself, but in the ability of God to answer. We must be convinced that God is powerful enough, loving enough, and good enough to move mountains.
When you pray, do you believe God can answer you? This kind of faith requires confidence not in the person praying, but solely in the Character of God.
3. Pray with the Right Motives (James 4:3)
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
This verse cuts straight to the heart: we don’t receive because we ask out of selfish desires. Effective prayer is Kingdom-focused prayer.
We must constantly check our motives. Are we praying for comfort, reputation, or pleasure? Or are we praying according to God’s will, asking for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?
4. Pray in Obedience (James 5:17–18)
James uses the prophet Elijah as an example. Elijah prayed that it would not rain, and then later, that it would. The key is that Elijah was praying according to what God had already spoken or laid on his heart.
Effective prayer often means taking what God has revealed in Scripture or what the Holy Spirit has confirmed, and praying it back to Him. We are not informing God; we are aligning with Him.
The Mystery Solved
Prayer does not change God’s mind, but it does change the world, because God has chosen to make His eternal purposes intersect with our humble, faithful requests. The power of prayer is not found in our strength or eloquence, but in the mighty God to whom we pray.
Are you ready to align your heart and your motives to pray the kind of Kingdom-focused prayers that truly “avail much?”
