The Power of Prayer

To be able to understand someone, get to know them and be really close to them, what do you do? You talk to them. But, when it comes to believing in God, you might wonder, how can I talk to Him? How can I get Him to listen? Your prayers have been answered, pun intended because it’s exactly that: prayer. It’s our main channel of communication with God, and it can transform your life starting today.

In this article, you will find a quick starting guide for prayer and biblical evidence that supports the power in it. How can I start praying?

Prayer can be summarized in three words: taking to God. There is a clear distinction between meditation (focusing your thoughts) and prayer: to pray, you need to speak. You do not have to shout or raise your voice if you don’t feel comfortable with it at first, just make sure you can at least listen to your own voice. Remember, when we pray we make use of the very same power He used to create everything: the power of spoken word, as accounted in the book of Genesis. 

There is no special place to pray either. If you are starting, you might want to find a quiet place where you can be uninterrupted. 

What are you going to pray about? What words will you choose? It’s totally up to you. In the beginning, prayer was such a normal thing that people directed to God openly and in personal terms, much like Adam did prior to his fall from grace (Genesis 3:8-13). Jesus Christ gave us a wonderful prayer, which shows how to worship God, thank Him, ask Him for His Provision and allow us to talk freely about our troubles and flaws (Luke 11:9-13).

How will I know He listens? Will I see His power manifested in my life?

The power of God manifests through prayer in several occasions as shown in the Holy Scriptures: Two examples of this are Gideon, who feeling unworthy of the task God commanded to him, challenged God in two occasions, obtaining a very powerful answer from Him (Judges 6:33-38); and Daniel, who was spared from hungry lions a whole night by prayer, and prior to that he was well known for his praying habits (Daniel 6:1-24).

It might not seem obvious, but the key in these powerful answers from God lies in the confidence these men were showing to Him in their prayers, as backed by 1 John 5:14-15. 

Times have changed, but God hasn’t; perhaps you have never experienced the power of prayer through supernatural manifestations but God doesn’t need to manifest himself in an ominous way to let you know He’s with you. Maybe it will be through something you didn’t expect to happen, maybe He will manifest through the words of support and encouragement and support from another person. Maybe you will feel peace and wholeness beyond your understanding.

You will know it when it happens. And remember, as stated in James 5:16, the prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.