Prayer is action

Some years ago, a friend told me he wasn't much interested in prayer - he was busy reaching out to people with the good news of Christ.

What he seemed to be saying was: "Prayer is a waste of time.  It doesn't accomplish anything."

That's not what John Wesley believed.  The founder of Methodism, which brought millions into the kingdom of God, said: "Prayer is where the action is."

David Bryant, author of In the Gap, takes it a step further: "Prayer is action."

The Bible supports this view.  Here are some examples:

• In Exodus 3, God tells Moses that he has heard the cries of distress from the Israelites enslaved in Egypt and has come to deliver them;
• In Judges 6, God sends an angel to the Israelites in response to their pleas for help against the Midianites and designates Gideon as the man who will free them from their oppressors;
• In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah prays to God for help as three nations invade his country.  God responds by giving the people of Judah instructions to go out against their enemies singing praises to God - and the Lord miraculously destroys the enemy armies; and
• In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are miraculously freed from their chains in a Philippian jail when they sing praises to God.

In each case, prayer - or praise - was the first step in God moving powerfully.  The implication is that without that action, God would not have moved.

And, of course, there are the great promises of Jesus on prayer such as:

• "For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:10); and
• "If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you."  (Matthew 18:19)

God chooses to move as we pray.

In his book The Hour That Changes The World, missionary and author Dick Eastman says:

"In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God's work, especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer."

Missionary and prayer warrior Wesley Duewel says: "We can reach the world, if we will.  The greatest lack today is not people or funds.  The greatest need is prayer."

It's clear: Prayer is vital in God's work on earth.