Acts 12:1-19

Let me start by saying without any doubt or hesitation that I believe prayer is powerful.  However, very little of the power of prayer resides in our faith; we do not need a powerful faith when we have a powerful God.  We do not find the power of prayer in the nature of prayer itself.  We find that the power of prayer is in our God, to whom we pray.  God has given us prayer as a way, that in relationship with Him, we can bring His power to bear on the situations and events in our world.

Prayer has no power to affect what has already happened.  God does not allow us to use prayer to change history.  Herod had already beheaded James before the Disciples of Christ even knew Herod had taken him prisoner.  There was no time to pray.  However, that was not the case when Herod took Peter prisoner.  The church, when they found out Peter was in prison began speaking earnestly to God on his behalf.  Their earnest prayer aligned them so completely with God’s will, that the power of God was set free to work against evil in the world.  An angel of the Lord was empowered to carry out a jailbreak.

When our desires perfectly aligned with God’s will, the power of prayer can cause amazing things to happen.  Peter was amazed, and thought for a while that it was all a vision.  The servant girl, Rhoda was so amazed that she left Peter standing at the unopened door.  The people inside the house were so busy praying, they did not immediately accept that God had already answered their prayers.  When they did open the door, they were astonished.

Prayer can be astonishingly powerful, but any prayer that is willfully contrary to God’s will is powerless.  Prayer is not a signed, blank check.  God wants us to collaborate with him to change our world.  Prayer without God would be the murmurings of madness.  Powerful prayer requires us to have a powerful relationship with God.