Prayer + co-laboring with Christ

Jesus said if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move.

 

But what is prayer and why are we called to pray when the God of the Universe is in control? Are our futures fixed and finite or fluid and undetermined? Could prayer really move mountains? Why would an omnipotent God entrust us with that power?

 

Prayer is an active part of the Christian faith walk, but it is all too often misunderstood and underutilized. Many of us are familiar with the standard liturgical prayers recited out loud, the Lord’s prayer, the silent prayers of our hearts, meditations, and even arrow prayers that we send up to heaven throughout the day. These are all beneficial forms of prayer, but we believe in a Biblical footprint for prayer that is much bolder.

 

Just as prophecy, prayer is a spiritual discipline of action. We pray for a specific purpose and our prayers are meant to change our environments.

 

Satan doesn’t want the Church to know how much power we have in Christ, and he definitely doesn’t want us to know how much power we have through the ministry of our prayers. He is sneaky and if he can keep the Church perpetually worried, anxious and distracted — asleep — then we won’t be using the mighty power we have in Christ to move mountains, to heal the sick and to save souls.

 

I don’t pretend to be a theologian or to be educated about the various schools of thought surrounding the Protestant Reformation and the concept of predestination. I do, however, believe the Bible is very clear that we are partners and heirs with Christ called to co-labor with him in prayer. I also believe that each of us is uniquely positioned to change our environments through prayer.

 

Let me caveat that I understand people have many different views of how the Universe works. We personally believe in one true, triune (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) God who created the Universe and is sovereign over the Universe. We believe in a God who is omnipotent and omnipresent. We believe that God gave human beings free wills and that there are many paths we can take in this life, but that our omnipotent God who stands outside of time, and is not time-bound, knows all of our choices before they are made. We believe he gives us infinite opportunities and infinite paths. We also believe that, because of the element of free will, we can write our own paths with God. So while some things, such as salvation, are known to God from the beginning, we have the ability to shift our lives and our environments through prayer. Our prayers can heal, soften hearts, bring hope and comfort, and change people’s life paths for the better — just as Jesus was a minister on earth to the sick, weary and brokenhearted, so are we.

 

Prayer is an instrument of change to be used for the Kingdom as co-laborers with Christ, and God made us to be co-laborers because humans with free wills need God in the flesh to help them find Jesus. All gifts of the spirit, including intercession, are given to edify, exhort and console — to glorify the Most High God and to shepherd people into his presence.

As Christians, we have the power of influence, and we have authority in Christ through prayer to move mountains and to pray change. Jesus says all of [his works] we will do and even greater things than he when we pray in his name.

 

Let’s be clear that this is a not a prayer for a new car, promotion or new house in Jesus name in order to spend what we get on our pleasures (Jam. 4:3). Yes, we should pray for our needs, but our Heavenly Father already knows these material needs and he has gone out of ahead of us to provide (Matt. 6:26). We can, however, believe with a faith so concrete that God will move boldly in the lives of our friends that he heals marriages seemingly beyond repair and does miraculous works to bring his people back to him.

 

A bold prayer is prayed silently or out loud in the stillness of a quiet, private space or in fellowship with other believers wherein we call out to God for healing; for someone to know Jesus; for the leaders of our nation; for the presidents of nations; for our Church body and leaders; for God’s comfort and provision; or for discernment facing complex decisions. 

 

A bold prayer says, Lord, if it is your will, please move this mountain in Jesus name. Please bring a greater release of your Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Please do the impossible thing and save this marriage that seems broken beyond repair in Jesus name. Please stop the emotional abuse in Jesus name. Please rescue someone from codependency in Jesus name. Please help my family to stay connected to the You in Jesus name. Please help my family to reach their highest Kingdom potential in Jesus name. Please keep me on my path, Lord, and do not let me waver from You in Jesus name.

 

Bold prayers get results. When we pray with the right motives, in Jesus name, to edify, exhort, console, heal, or correct, and when our motives are in alignment with the will of Christ to heal the sick, God answers. God is attentive to a persistent heart in prayer (Luke 11:8). Maybe his answer will be no, and it’s possible the answers may take years to come, but bold prayers do move mountains. I have seen desperately broken marriages restored, hearts softened, people grow in their creative God-given gifts and potential, people return to Christ, and even miraculous manifestations of God’s holiness as a result of bold prayers I have prayed. But we must pray with selfless intent as co-heirs and co-laborers with Christ. This is a deep work of the Holy Spirit to which all believers are called, and as co-heirs, the more we share in the suffering of Christ, the more effective our prayers will be.

Heart blocks. We are called to love our neighbors and to forgive as Christ first forgave us. If we do not remove the bitter roots of unforgiveness from our hearts, we are living in unrighteousness and our prayers will not be effective.

Wrong motives. When we pray for our own pleasure and material comforts, above and beyond our actual needs, we are praying with wrong motives. Prayer is not an instrument for personal gain, as the pleasures of the world are not meant to be spent on ourselves in excess. It is okay to ask for more resources to give more away, but the world is not our playground. It is a broken place full of injustice, poverty and sickness, and as believers, we are called to be ministers and keepers of those less fortunate than us.

Flesh-driven. All who are led by the spirit are sons of God (Rom. 8:14). When we are walking in unrighteousness and living according to the desires of the flesh, rather than in the Holy Spirit, our prayers will not be effective.

Fear. Will God give us a snake when we ask for a fish? (Luke 11:11) Certainly not! If we fear that God will give us something bad when we ask for something good, especially in alignment with the will of Christ, we are living in fear and not faith, and we cannot advance in prayer or in our relationship with Christ until we restore a right perspective towards God. We are his children and he loves us with an everlasting love. It is his pleasure to release more of the Holy Spirit.

As believers walking in the spirit we are sons of God and co-heirs with Christ, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to do even greater works than these. This mighty power of God is within all believers, and it’s time for the Church to rise higher and to battle deeper in prayer for our families, for our communities and for our world. We cannot rest any longer on the laurels of salvation. We are accountable for the power that lies within us to move mountains.

 

 

Pray boldly, friends. We are co-heirs and co-laborers in Christ. Let’s rise and move mountains!

 

 

Blessings and love,

three strands