Prayer Doesn’t Make Any Difference

Prayer Doesn’t Make Any Difference

Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. 1 John 3:21-22

One Sunday night three decades ago my husband and I were gathering up our Bibles after our time with a small group we were leading when Jane, a woman in the group, approached us.

“You really seem to believe that prayer makes a difference. Like it’s powerful and something really happens when you pray,” she said.

“Yes, we do. We’ve experienced the power of prayer personally, and that’s what we think makes life so exciting,” I answered. Holmes and I were fairly new at this, but we’d seen God work when we prayed.

Jane wasn’t alone in wondering if prayer really makes a difference. For many people, the biggest stumbling block and misconception about prayer is thinking it doesn’t matter if you pray because God’s going to do what he’s planning to do anyway. But the truth is that in God’s design, he works in cooperation with praying believers on earth to form the bridge between earth’s huge needs and heaven’s unending supply of grace. God isn’t short on power! He has an irresistible, inexhaustible supply, and when we connect our needs (or someone else’s) with his might through prayer, we actually become the conduits through which his power is released.

The results can be dynamic: In inner-city Detroit, four single women started praying for the teenagers who were terrorizing the neighborhood with their gang activities. One evening every week they gathered to ask God to bring the teens out of darkness and into his light. Some time later, they heard that four teenagers had left a gang. That night they prayed specifically for those kids. Then they felt that God wanted them to go to the teens’ apartment and share the gospel. As the women sat on the floor with the young people, the four former gang members gave their lives to Christ. The young women began taking them to church so that they could learn more about the Bible. Gradually those four teens reached out to others, and through them, God began to change the whole neighborhood. Do you want to change the world? Then begin to pray, and watch God release his mighty power. —CHERI

Thank you, Father, for the privilege of cooperating with you through my prayers to change the world. Holy Spirit, inspire my prayers, and pray through me so your power will be released!

Around is a world lost in sin, above us is a God willing and able to save; it is ours to build the bridge that links heaven and earth, and prayer is the mighty instrument that does the work. If we do our part, God will do his.

—E. M. BOUNDS (1835–1913), METHODIST MINISTER AND AUTHOR