The Kind Of Prayer That Changes Things Series

The Kind of Prayer that Changes Things

Grant van Boeschoten

February 10, 2007

One of my favorite topics to talk about in life is prayer. One of my favorite things to do is to pray. Some people don’t see what all the commotion and fuss is about though. They don’t think that prayer is anything special, they don’t see it as something wonderful.

You might be one of those people this morning. You might be wondering what the big deal is about prayer anyways. People who aren’t excited about prayer usually fall into one of two categories, and maybe you will find a place that you can identify with.

The first category is of the person who has never experienced the power of prayer. You have never been part of a miracle. You have never been in the room when God healed somebody right before your eyes. You have never seen a person’s soul transform from death to life by prayer.

If you are a part of this group then you might be a part of the people who say that “Seeing is believing” and “Until I see it I won’t believe it.”

The second group of people who don’t get excited about prayer are those who have forgotten the power of prayer. In general terms, these are the people who have a history where God has done some powerful things in their life through prayer, but that was then and this is now.

This second group has become disconnected from the kind of prayer that changes things. When they pray, and if they pray, it is an empty feeling that comes. They feel as if they are speaking to the ceiling, and as if their prayers don’t really make a difference.

If you can identify with this second group of people you might be able to say that you have “Lost your first love.” You used to have a great relationship with God, but now it doesn’t feel like much of a relationship at all.

This morning, whether you are a person who believes in the power of prayer or not, I want to encourage you. I want to let you know that God uses prayer to do miracles. I want to remind you that God uses prayer to transform lives and to transform cities.

That’s why I like to preach about prayer, it’s because;

• When you can grab a hold of the significance of prayer, you begin to significantly pray.

• When you experience the power of prayer, you begin to pray with conviction and faith.

• When you learn about the authority that you can take in prayer, you can regain control in your life.

• When you are touched by God, when you talk and then God responds, there is just nothing like it. You begin to communicate with the creator of the Universe, and you find out that you are special and that you are loved and that God is interested in you.

• When you get a taste of God, then you just keep on wanting more. He is like the addiction that actually has the power to satisfy you. You just fall deeper and deeper in love with God.

And so I love to preach about prayer. I love to see peoples’ lives transformed through prayer. And the truth is that we are living in a day and an age where we really need the kind of prayer that changes things.

Who would have ever thought that abortion would gain the public’s approval? Who would have ever imagined that babies can be terminated before they even get to see their mother’s face and before their father ever had a chance to hold them in his arms.

Our friends to the South of us have some very strong laws protecting the life of an unborn baby. Unfortunately those laws are put in place to guard the lives of their endangered species and not human lives.

In Arizona an Iguana is considered an endangered species and there is a $500 fine for destroying an Iguana egg? In Florida you can go to the beach and be fined $20,000 and be put in prison for a year for taking one Sea Turtle egg from the nest? It is a $5000 fine and a possible year in prison for breaking an eagle’s egg.

Why are these fines in place? It is because as a culture and in the legal systems, we recognize that life begins before the egg is hatched. But we have violated our conscience and choose to believe that human life begins at birth and not conception.

And as a Church, how long can we endure the murder that happens. How long can we put up with our country legalizing and applauding this practice. How long can we allow for our very own tax dollars to fund this horror?