I have a friend who is committed to working out and eating right. He lets nothing get in the way of the time he has set aside to work out. When I was driving home the other day and saw him walking to the gym, I thought to myself, "Wow, If i could just be as dedicated to prayer as he is to working out." I thought to myself though, What drives him to do it? It was then I remembered that the answer came straight out of his mouth recently. He said it was because of the results!
Prayer is the same way, I know that when I pray, I see results and it pushes me to pray more, why? Because God's faithfulness to answer my prayers increases my faith and stirs my zeal.
"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." Acts 4:31 ESV
We could walk through the book of Acts and see endless correlations between the prayers of the Church and God moving in power. The key to the place being shaken, people being filled with the Spirit, and speaking with boldness came "When they had prayed".
My friend's results in the gym did not come from half-hearted efforts, but rather a die hard commitment to doing something. When we, as the church, commit to truly praying we too can see Kingdom results. We will see marriages healed, sick made well, souls saved, disciples made, and churches established.
If I worked out i might have abs, If I worked out i might be healthier......
Now ask this question
If we had prayed..... you fill in that blank.....
This is not to condemn but to challenge ourselves. If you are not okay with the status quo than I would challenge you to pray, because it is when we pray things happen.
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