Increasing Prayer... The X Factor Devotional - Day Forty - March 5, 2010

“…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
James 5:16

Can prayer really make a difference?  Can my prayers actually change things?  Is it possible for the will of God to be thwarted because I don’t pray?  These are legitimate questions.  The answers you give them reflect the very foundation of your relationship with the Lord.  On one hand, if God is Sovereign, He’s going to do everything the way He wants, so why pray?  On the other hand, if He is waiting on my prayers to execute His will, then I had better get serious about praying really quick.  How does His Sovereignty and my prayers go together?

God uses prayer to make the impossible, possible and the ordinary, extraordinary.  Prayers make our efforts effective and help us to define God’s will more clearly.  C.H. Spurgeon said, “Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray.”  Faithful praying releases the Holy Spirit to act.

Someone once said, “God does things when we pray that He does not do when we do not pray.”  May today’s devotional be an inspiration for you to seek the Lord in prayer. 

Prayer Focus: Thank God for hearing all the prayers that have been lifted up on our church’s behalf.  Thank Him in advance for answering them.  Pray God’s people at Impact will pray more than ever before and that everything we do as a church will be labored over in prayer.  And may that start with you!  Make sure you have been and continue to connect with Him through prayer.  What is He leading you to do now for Him and His ministry?