How to Pray with Power

TweetGod wants to do miracles so that His Kingdom can rapidly advance, because he wishes that none should perish.  But, we must contend for a fresh movement of the God’s power.  So, if healing and the demonstration of God’s power were vital to the success of the early church, and Jesus hasn’t changed (Hebrews 13:8), then how do we pray with power like that today?

First, we need to seek the baptism of the Spirit.  Acts 1:4-8, Jesus told his disciples that they should wait for the gift the Father had promised, this baptism or drenching in the Spirit, and then he said, “You will have power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”  There is a direct correlation between our operating in power, and the baptism of the Spirit, according to Jesus.  We need this baptism.  It is the crucial event in the lives of the early church.  We cannot generate spiritual power.  We cannot make healing happen.  We need God.  Whenever God is present, lives change, power flows, miracles happen.  We need to continually pursue more of God, because power flows from an increase in God’s presence. 

Second, we need to cultivate intimacy with Jesus.  Power flows out of our intimacy, character and identity.  God answers the prayers of His friends; people who have a healthy relationship with Him have more frequent answers to prayer.  We want to draw near to God through spiritual practices like prayer, fasting, worship, thanksgiving, retreats, silence, solitude, listening, and the like.  We want to be careful to listen to what God says, and to walk in step with the Spirit.  We have to understand who we are as children of God, called, chosen, adopted, a kingdom of priests.  Power flows out of intimacy, character and identity.  Some people only talk to God when they have a crisis, or an emergency.  They are ‘emergency friends’ of God.  God answers emergency prayers sometimes, no doubt.  But, there are other people who cultivate deep relationship and understand who they are in Christ, and their prayers have unusual weight with God.  People like Moses – who God talked to face to face.  People like George Mueller – who lived an extraordinary life of miraculous intervention because he had this kind of relationship with God.  Our prayers can have weight and power, but they will only have that kind of consistent weight and power with God if we have this kind of relationship with Him.  

Third, if we are going to pray with power, we need to take faith risks for God.  John Wimber said faith is spelled R-I-S-K.  There is certainly some truth to that.  Jesus made this remarkable statement in John 14:12, “Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.”  Jesus only uses that phrase, ‘very truly I tell you,’ when he is about to tell us something that we will automatically dismiss, because it seems so phenomenal.  He told us that “all who have faith” in him will do what he is doing, even greater things.  You are included in the “all”.  But, we have to have faith.  Faith often involves risk.  God prompts us to pray for someone at work.  But, if we are going to do that there is an element of risk involved.  Will we step out and pray?  What will people think?  What if nothing happens? 

God is looking for ‘no matter what’ followers, who will take faith risks and do whatever He asks. 

The only people who ever get to see God move in supernatural power consistently are people who are willing to take faith risks.  They are willing to step out even if it means they might look foolish.  Faith isn’t something I have to work up.  I don’t have to pray with more fervor or passion; I don’t have to find the right words to say, like some magic formula.  I simply cultivate a sense of God’s presence on a regular and increasing basis in my life, and then I bring people to Jesus.  I simply bring people to the presence of God – God has the power to heal.  Not me.  I have nothing.  But, whenever Jesus was and is present things happen, God’s power is demonstrated, people are healed, and lives are changed.  Cultivate His presence, and bring people to Jesus. 

God longs to rise up a generation of believers who are walking strong in the presence of God, so they can usher in the Kingdom.  As Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”  Until it comes!

Photo Credit:  Loving Earth via Flickr