The Process of Prayer – Dr. Hona Amer

Scripture:

“The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.” James 5:16b-18 (MSG)

Perspective:

When you get in your car, you turn on the ignition, put the car in drive, and press down the gas pedal to go. Most people don’t understand exactly how a car works. We know that there is an engine, oil, and pistons that make it work. Yet, we trust in the process that when we turn the car on, it will go. We don’t let our lack of understanding of the mechanics of a car stop the action of driving a car.

Many times prayer can be a long and seemingly tedious process. We wake up, pray, and go throughout our day. The next day, we repeat the same routine. Yet, James says that when you pray, it is powerful. Elijah’s prayers changed the weather for three and a half years. The answer reflects the power of prayer. Yet, many times the lack of visible answers from prayer can prohibit our tenacity. For some answers, it may take years of praying day after day to see the answer with our eyes. However, many times we stop the process of praying before it even starts. We don’t understand exactly how prayer works, so we choose not to participate in prayer. Yet, our lack of knowledge about how exactly a car runs does not stop us from driving. In the same way, we can’t let our lack of understanding of how, when, or where God answers stop the process. We have to trust in the process of prayer. If we commit to be faithful in our prayers, God is going to answer one way or another. So, get up, start your prayer engine, and let prayer drive you to God’s destination.