“Prayer that Avails Much (pt.2)"

(Part 2 in series)

“Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,” he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”

                                                                                                            Matthew 21:12-13

Before we had protesters occupying Wall Street and hippies holding ‘sit-ins”… Jesus occupied the temple of God and cried out over the injustices He was seeing. PRAYER HAD BEEN SILENCED IN THE HOUSE OF GOD! No prayer could be heard over the commotion of the sheep and cows being sold, the barbs of the moneychangers and the bustling of religious activities!

What is silencing prayer is the House of God today? The church is drifting dangerously close to becoming nothing more than a social media site… a place to come and share stories, pictures with friends, read a few religious posts, download some worship music and then log off and go home. There is no room made for prayer. I am not talking about the two minute prayer the minister prayed before his message or the prayer offered to dismiss service. I am talking about a time of corporate prayer designed to engage the presence of God. I talking about a time to humble ourselves, turn from our wicked ways, and seek the face of God!

 Unfortunately, the prayer meeting is the worst attended activity in many of our churches. Announce a fellowship dinner and 100 people show up. Announce a prayer meeting and 15 people show up. Then we wonder why we are not experiencing the power and Presence of God in our churches, families and communities. We have silenced ourselves and there is nothing the devil likes more than a silent church! Samuel Chadwick once wrote:

“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.”

Why is he terrified of a praying people? Because according to James 5:16, the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective! The King James Version of the Bible says that it “Avails much!”

Do you believe that prayer is “powerful and effective?” Do you believe that it has the potential to turn nations, transform lives and save souls? If so, how much time do you give to it?

E.M. Bounds once said, "The little estimate we put on prayer is evidence from the little time we give to it." 

There is an old adage that says “the proof is in the pudding.” Literally the adage means this: that the true value or quality of something can only be judged when it's put to use. How you feel about prayer is not seen as much in what you say as in what you do.

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/