Prayer is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. In part, this is understandable. How is it that the God of the universe could be moved by prayers offered by ordinary people hardly known outside their own neighborhood? And yet he is, for surely that is the meaning of the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. The widow is so powerless she has no one but herself to plead her case. Against her are ranged the rich and the powerful — not to mention a corrupt judge. Her only weapon was persistence, yet that in the end was all she needed. Jesus says if even the unjust judge was moved by the widow’s pleas, how much more is our loving heavenly Father. But at the end of the parable, he reminds us the real question is not God’s ability or willingness to answer, it’s our faithlessness in asking.
Last week I wrote of our daughter Sarah’s cancer diagnosis. Thankfully, it is one of the easiest and most treatable forms of cancer, but dealing with it has been a challenge. At various points, we have felt carried by the prayers of so many around the world who promised to pray for us. We have experienced a measure of peace in the midst of the storm. Not only that, God has done some remarkable things in propelling Sarah within several days from obscurity onto national television, where she’s been interviewed live three times, and onto the pages of our largest newspaper and trending globally on Twitter. All this relates to an appeal to our government to allow her fiancé Jacob entrance into the country on compassionate grounds. I am sure this is directly related to the power of intercession.
Scholars often remark on the particular depth of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Is it a coincidence that parts of that letter are written in the form of a prayer? At the heart of his first prayer is the desire that believers would know the immeasurable greatness of the power of God at work within us, a power so great it can be described as the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him beside the Father in the heavenly places.
Ronald Dunn wrote a simple but remarkable book titled, “Don’t just stand there — pray something!” Never underestimate the power of your prayers. You won’t know their impact till you meet the Lord face to face. When a friend is in difficulty, don’t say you’re going to pray for them unless you actually intend to. I get encouraged when people who pray when they say they will tell me they are going to pray for me. Something is going to happen.
The hymnwriter John Cowper had it right: God moves in a mysterious way. Part of the mystery is the way a sovereign God responds to the prayers of ordinary people.
The unseen place is the place history gets made. It moves a young woman from obscurity to national attention, and God willing, to complete healing and a marriage kicked off with a testimony she and her husband can share the rest of her lives with their children, their childrens’ children and a listening world.
Because somebody prayed. It might even have been you.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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