The power of prayer

by Rapha Abreu·May 18, 2023·4 min read

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I have watched some sermons and read a lot about the power of prayer. Unfortunately we often forget about this. We have access to such a powerful tool. Our first step should always be to pray, but often, in the face of situations, we leave prayer for last.

Prayer makes things possible

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.”
Acts 12:5-7

Last Friday I brought the story of Peter’s arrest and the church’s fervent prayer for his release.

The text in Acts 2 says he was in prison between two guards and bound with chains. There was no way he could get away from there, much less get out unnoticed.

But while he was in that difficult situation, the church prayed to God for a miracle to be done. Then an angel entered the prison and released everything that held him. Peter was released. Do you see the power of prayer? How does it make possible what in our mind has no way out?

If you have the strength to leave where you are, leave. God calls us to do our part and move when possible and necessary. But the impossible and the supernatural come from God. Pray about what your hands cannot handle. Pray bold prayers, for there is nothing He cannot do.

Believe before existing

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1

I am at a time in my life where I am experiencing the power of prayer most intensely. But the amazing thing about it is that I haven’t necessarily been getting the answers to what I’ve asked for.

Even if I’m praying about areas of my life that don’t seem to work at all, even if God seems to be very silent and I’m not hearing His voice, through prayer and having a relationship with Him, I can feel His peace. This peace truly passes all understanding. I have been learning to walk by faith.

I’m still not seeing the clear solutions for everything in my life, but I have clearly seen God’s care and love.

Pedro didn’t wait to rest until he was released, he rested while he was in prison. The answers to my prayer now are the exercise of my faith. Having faith is believing as if you were already living it, even before something tangible happens.

Don’t stop the action

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.”
Romans 1:8

The bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. If I believe in the power of prayer and I’m praying for something, I can be grateful for God’s concrete and clear answer on a certain matter because I already know that He will do the best for me. He poured faith into us not to believe in His power only when we are released from prison, but to rest in Him while we are in prison.

God can do all things. Everything is possible in Him. And the Word of God also says that, by believing in it, we can also do anything. He does not limit faith and faith does not limit God, but our faith limits miracles.

As we see in Matthew 13, Jesus goes to his hometown and verse 58 says, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

The word does not say that He did not want or that He did not desire, nor that He was not there. He was present and wanted to work miracles, but the lack of faith prevented people from experiencing the action of Christ. God will reveal Himself and act in your life as you expect His power.

Allow it

“Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
Matthew 17:19,20

Who limits what we are going to live in God are ourselves and our lack of faith.

Even if your faith seems little to you, trust in Him. Pray already with a grateful heart knowing that He will give you a bigger and better answer than you dream.

If we don’t trust, don’t believe, don’t rest… it’s as if we were telling God how far He can go and where we don’t want Him to go.

What makes me rest the most while I’m praying is that I’m sure I’m delivering all my plans. He’s not going to follow those plans, He’s going to follow His infinitely better ones.

I just need to allow and deliver.