There is so much power in prayer! If you have a faith that has been put through the fire and tested, that faith will never fail. Put your faith to the test. I didn’t start with big miracles, I started with the small things, and I learnt the power of prayer.
The dynamic power of prayer
Powerful prayer works! The original Greek of the Bible often uses a special word for power: dunamis – it signifies miraculous, wonder-working power. From it we get the words dynamo (which generates power), and dynamite (the explosive). If you want prayer to work, to change your circumstances, then it must generate power. Jesus never once in the four Gospels told His disciples to pray for the sick. He said, ‘HEAL the sick!’ (Luke 9&10). He was speaking with authority! Yes, in James 5:14 it says ‘the prayer of faith will save the sick’ – but this is in the church. There is a big difference between the call of the evangelist and ministry within the church.
The treasures of God are hidden in Christ
The treasures of God are hidden in Christ. ONLY when we understand the person of Christ can we begin to understand fully what the blessings of God are. The blessings of God come to us, not from the Father alone, but through Christ. This is the importance of Jesus Christ to us! Yes, Scripture tells us, Jesus tells us to ask God the Father, but He said this: Whatsoever you ask God the Father IN MY NAME, I – Jesus – will do it. John 14.13,14. It is He who has the ability, the right to mediate and pass on the blessings of God to us. Although God is our Father, we still come in the Name of His Son in order to receive the blessing. All my life I have had a very close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I talk to Him all the time – this is not formal prayer – I’m asking Him questions, I’m listening to Him and He’s explaining things to me. It’s an on-going relationship.
The Road to Glory
In such struggles and conflicts that we have, Paul says in Philippians 2, the key is to be like Jesus. We have to seek and to know what God’s Plan and Purpose is. In my praying to God the Father, I pray through Jesus – He is the Intercessor. He lives to make intercession for us. None of us is perfect. I’m not perfect. We all fail. It’s because of our imperfection that Jesus is the Intercessor – He paid the price for our sin!
How to seek God
How do we seek God? King David wrote, ‘You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.’ The Psalmist knew how to seek God. I leant to seek Him through my cancer diagnosis, in my imprisonment. It is not about how much you pray, I want you to have the assurance that God has heard your prayer. God has heard your prayer and He will answer. For so many reading this, you have prayed for so many years, I want to encourage you, God has heard your prayer.
Call upon the Lord from where you are
Call upon the Lord from where you are. Moses encourages the people in Deuteronomy 4.29, ‘If from where you are… you will seek the Lord your God, you WILL find Him, if you seek Him with ALL your heart.’ So, in the midst of every distress, fear, want, even sickness – whatever situation you are in – there you will find God!
The miracle of answered prayer, Part 3
Don’t be discouraged. I want you to get a Vision of what God can do in and through your life! Get into your ‘watchtower’ and pray until God answers you and shows you His Power and His Glory! O Father, open people’s eyes, let them get into that place in the ‘watchtower’ where You answer them when they cry to You, “How long are You silent?” O God, be not silent, but show Your Power and Your Glory! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
The miracle of answered prayer, Part 2
Looking back over more than 70 years of ministry, seeing the difficult times I’ve been through – God has never failed me! There have been ups and there have been downs in my life, but as the Bible said, "The Lord answered me!" Sometimes in our lives we need the patience to wait for the fulfilment of God’s Promises.
The miracle of answered prayer, Part 1
There are periods in our lives when it seems God is not answering. But that does not mean God is not there, that He’s not listening. The communist prison was the worst time in my life – yet God used it to work one of the biggest miracles in my life! When I look back, I thank God for that time! Like Habakkuk, there are times when we have to go through the despair, “How long will I cry and You will not hear?!”