PRAYER DOESN’T WORK!

Ibet this got your attention, right? “What’s this Preacherman saying? Isn’t he supposed to be the one who should believe in prayer? Did the COVID damage his brain? Has all that wacky stuff he’s written fried what few brain cells he has left? What gives? Has the journey he’s been making these past couple of years finally done him in? What in the hell has Satan done to him?” Calm down, calm down! I haven’t lost my mind, my heart, nor my faith.

This audacious declaration isn’t how I feel, nor how I believe. This statement is an observation based on what I see and hear–among those who say they love Jesus. There is a cry–nay–a deprecatory bewailing pouring out across our culture. It’s louder that anything else. It’s the sound emitting from the melancholic heart–and I weep as I am hearing it. But when I hear this melancholy lament from God’s people–I get angry!

Why, in God’s name, are so many of God’s people giving up, at least here in the good old U.S. of A.? PRAYER DOES INDEED WORK! YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK! (Yes, I’m yelling out loud!) But some are thinking–“If prayer works, why is our culture in such a mess?” If you are struggling with that question, I have the answer: Go look in a mirror! That person you see either believes that prayer doesn’t work or maybe, just maybe, you’ve been praying the wrong way praying about the wrong things.

Some folks are good, I mean really good, at praying against people. Praying for their demise. Praying for them to suffer. Praying for another to take their place. We need to be praying “FOR” people. And we need to be praying with GREAT CONFIDENCE! We need the mustard seed kind of faith–faith that, be it ever so small, never loses confidence in God to heal, restore, and renew! Sure, there are some things that you need to see it before you believe it. Admit it, we could all have familial roots somewhere in Missouri.

But when it comes to prayer–the kind of prayers that honor God, restore people, changes the course of human history–You Have To Believe It Before You Can See It! Now, go back to that mirror and say this: “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT) Once you’ve done this, do it again–but say it this way:

If I, who say I am a Christian, will stop being who I want to be and become who I ought to be, and confidently pray, seeking HIS desires and heart, and give up my own sinfulness to walk more closely with Jesus, then HE will forgive MY sins, and bring a revival to our times, the likes of which have never been see!

Pray with the attitude and heart that God is moving to heal and restore. Pray in confidence that transformation will happen. Think about that moment when those Disciples of Jesus failed to drive out that demon (see Mark 9). When they asked Jesus why they failed, remember His answer–and it’s the same answer to our prayer problem. “It can only happen through prayer and fasting!” And remember, fasting doesn’t mean just abstaining from food–it’s about giving up something we have or want and accepting what God offers. I heard a new song (to me, anyways) called “When We Pray” by Tauren Wells. The line that grabbed me and shook me hard (and thus led to this edition of my thoughts and heart) is this one: “But what if we could be a people on our knees, as one before the King, ’cause we believe. All the world starts changing, when the church starts praying. Stongholds start to break. Oh, when we pray!” Maybe you need to see and hear the whole song: