Grace: The Hidden Power Of Prayer

The Hidden Power of Prayer: Grace

Introduction

Almost all Christians struggle with prayer. One survey found that only 2% of respondents say they are very satisfied with their overall prayer lives. The biggest barrier often mentioned is distraction. Sometimes we can’t find the words we really want to say. We deal with guilt when we do not find time to pray. We wonder if we’re “doing it right.” We may be concerned that God is unhappy with us because of these struggles. 

Oswald Chambers wrote, “Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God.” We often forget the hidden power of prayer: grace. What is the connection between grace and prayer?

1. Getting Acquainted With Grace

I do not recall hearing much about the grace of God in my growing up years in the church. It’s very possible I wasn’t paying attention.The effects of a graceless religion are devastating.

-The elusive unforgiven sin could cause one to be lost.

-One can feel saved one moment, lost the next.

-There can be no joy when there is no certainty, and if there is no grace, there is no certainty!

-The cycle of striving to be religious, falling short, and begging for forgiveness can repeat itself multiple times in a single day. 

It is exhausting. We can never do enough. We can never be enough. I hope this is not common among believers, but I have observed it often.

The message of grace is clearly presented.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and  this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast.” If you want to know how big a struggle it is to accept Grace, just listen to us argue with God about it. Grace, but …Grace, and…Grace, plus… This is the underlying enemy to our ability to have a relationship with Abba that we most desire — and that he wants to have with us.

Grace is the unearned favor of God. It is a free gift. Grace is not insurance for the gap. We don’t earn any of it. The only hope we have is grace. This will dramatically influence our prayers.

2. THREE QUALITIES OF GOD’S GRACE IN THE BEGINNING

PURPOSEFUL

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We are impressed with the power of God to create. We know that after creating the perfect atmosphere, on the sixth day he created Adam - fully grown, and at some point afterward, Eve. The fellowship God had with them is amazing to read - as God walked with Adam in the cool of the morning. This picture of God and the first humans is the ideal - it is what God intentionally created and he called it good. His interaction with the lower creatures is grace - even before the fall - it was grace that He extended to them. 

RESTORATIVE

Fellowship was disrupted by breaking the one rule they had. (Humans are notorious rule breakers and cannot ever

be saved by our ability to keep all the rules!). Adam and Eve were filled with shame over their sin and over the realization that they were naked - and tried to cover themselves. (Gen 3:6-7). The problem with fig leaves is that they are a temporary solution to an eternal problem and God was not interested in patching over the tear.

(Genesis 3:9) See the Grace in this…

-God certainly knows where Adam is

-He knows what they did. 

-He knows what was set into motion. 

-He knows what he must do. 

-He knows the Garden will no longer be the home.

-He knows their fellowship has been deeply affected. 

Yet he seeks them. He talks to them about what has happened. He removes them from paradise and guards the entrance. And then God does something unexpected. Genesis 3:21 “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them." This did not remove the consequences of their sins, but God moved toward restoring the fellowship that sin had ruptured. 

CONNECTED

Philip Yancey, in What’s So Amazing About Grace, writes, “In a manner of speaking, grace solves a dilemma for God. You do not have to read far in the Bible to detect an underlying tension in how God feels about humanity. On

the one hand, God loves us; on the other hand, our Behavior repulses him. God yearns to see in people something of his own image reflected; at best he sees shattered fragments of that image. Still, God cannot—or will not—give up.” If we could cross the broken bridge to God on our own, the Bible would have only a few chapters. Adam and Eve could figure out how to live righteously and showed us how to do it. The story could end. But it doesn’t.

Grace is the hidden power of prayer because in it, I recognize that God purposefully wants to have fellowship with me, he approaches with restoration in mind, and he stays connected when it would be easy for him to walk away.