The Timeless Power of Prayer

The Oct. 1, 2015 edition of CCM Magazine

It’s great to see the new Kendrick Brothers movie War Room smashing box offices across the country. Additionally, spiritual leaders from all walks of life are singing its praises, from Franklin Graham to Kirk Cameron, and Tony Dungy to Casting Crowns’ front man Mark Hall.

It’s cool how a good flick can stir up the conversation and bring about a renewed awareness within the body of believers across the nations. It certainly does seem that I have heard more sermons and homilies surrounding the subject of prayer since the release of the movie—and overall, this is another great thing.

However, going one step further, I recently heard a pastor talking about some people who were moved by the power of prayer over 285 years ago, and their story lives on today. John and Charles Wesley, brothers who are credited with the foundations of Methodism, comprised a list of 22 questions that they and their fellow believers used as a daily method for critical thinking about faith. One could argue that all of them at least touch on the subject of prayer, but seven (or one-third) of the questions are directly linked to it:

7 and 8: (7) Did the Bible live in me today? (8) Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day? (Note: As one who may read the Bible in prayer, and listens to God speaking through the reading of the Bible)
9: Am I enjoying prayer?
11: Do I pray about the money I spend? (Really, in the 1700’s? Perspective!)
17: How do I spend my spare time?
19: Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
22: Is Christ real to me?

Of course, we should always be praying, and we should be talking about prayer. However, when spiritual subjects experience crossover success, such as talking to God being the talk of Tinseltown, I sometimes worry that we can perceive the timeless as another trendy topic.

I pray that resources like War Room bring people into a real relationship with God, or in the least, help others experience a rekindling of their faith. I also hope that we allow prayer to remain timeless in our lives, after all, we get to talk with God!

“Lord, show me how to enjoy our conversations (and teach me to open my ears, so that I may allow for it to actually be a conversation!). Remind me to also chat with You in my spare time; reveal Yourself to me in very clear and real ways, so that I will want to grow more in You every single day. Amen.”

Prayerfully,