The Power of Prayer

I speak to you in the name of the One True and Living God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.






I will start by warning you that I am hoping for answers to the questions I ask today. Is that okay with you?



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Second question: Why do we pray?

- Thank God

- Ask for help

o For ourselves

o For others we know

o For certain groups

- Guidance

- Mad at God or someone else

- To find peace

- To get closer to God



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Who prays?

- Christians …

- Prayer is common to virtually all of the world’s religions in some for or other



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How do we pray?

- Prayers written by someone else

o Prayers of the people

o The Lord’s Prayer

o The psalms

o Hymns

- Prayers we create ourselves

- Silently

- In groups like church

- Alone

- With some focus to help us

o Incense

o Prayer beads

o A cross

o Something we see that reminds us of God (Nature, Children)

o A labyrinth

- Standing, Sitting, Kneeling, Walking



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What do we expect to accomplish through prayer?

- A closer relationship with God

- An improvement in our life

- An improvement in someone else’s life

- Not necessarily what we asked for



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Can we see the effects of our prayers?

- Sometimes

- Often not



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I am going to go back over the questions now and let you know what I came up with as a single answer for each of them.



Why do we pray? I believe that we pray because we have faith in God. Because of that faith, we are drawn into conversation with God.



Who prays? Everyone prays whether they intend to or not, whether they believe in God or believe that there is no God. Every time we notice something amazing we are praying. Every time we have concern for someone who we can’t directly help, we are praying. Just by being human, reacting as God intended to the world around us, we are praying.



How do we pray? There are as many different ways to pray as there are people on the Earth. I don’t believe any two people pray in exactly the same way. Just as each person’s relationship with God is unique, each person’s way of talking with God is unique.



What do we expect to accomplish through prayer? To make the world a better place. Every time we pray, we are working to bring the Kingdom of God more fully into the world. We may not accomplish exactly what we prayed for, but we do bring the world closer to God.



Can we see the effects of our prayers? I vary rarely see the direct effect of any single prayer. What I have noticed is that when my prayer life is healthy, my life is richer as are the lives of those I come in contact with. When I am lax in my prayers, I don’t do as well and neither do the rest of my family and all those I love.



Prayer is a powerful mystery and a gift from God.



This past week, to help myself with my challenge from two weeks ago, I wrote a prayer. I am going to pass out bookmarks now with that prayer on them. Once everyone has one, I would ask that we all repeat that prayer together to help each other make the world a better place.



(Hand them out)



Almighty God, you created all things and appointed me as a steward of your creation. Help me to find the time each day to remember what you have given me. Help me to give thanks. Help me to hear your call to service. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Saviour. Amen.