Power of Prayer

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Prayer was utilized by Jesus, the Apostles, the Apostolic Fathers and beyond as a powerful weapon to achieve limited and localized repair, reconstruction, restoration and repossession of God’s c...
Prayer was utilized by Jesus, the Apostles, the Apostolic Fathers and beyond as a powerful weapon to achieve limited and localized repair, reconstruction, restoration and repossession of God’s creation and thereby thwart the prince of darkness and the forces of evil.  Physical healing was commonplace in the early Christian community.  But many Christians, in the 21st century, have become so sophisticated and jaded that they doubt the power of prayer.  They view individual prayer as a useless anachronism in our time.  What about corporate prayer by the body of Christ?  Curiously, most churches have little commitment to united corporate prayer and even less inclination toward confession of individual sin while praying.  Prayer has become a tired ritual which is performed with no real expectation.  A prayer may be offered during worship service to accommodate tradition.  Then, if nothing happens, the Health, Wealth and Prosperity advocates ask, “Whose un-confessed sin caused God to ignore this prayer?”  The Calvinists ask, “Was this prayer ignored by God because it was inconsistent with His unchangeable blueprint established before the world was formed?”  In any case, no one really expects a response from God.  Most churches preach and teach the importance of praying together as a united body of Christ but these same churches don’t really believe it and seldom do it!  In fact, it is difficult to identify a church whose foundation is corporate prayer.  But what if all the church ritual prayer, musical entertainment and baby food Sunday School lessons were replaced by congregational corporate prayer from men and women yearning to be led by the Holy Spirit down a path of confession, remorse, repentance, faith, obedience, humility, forgiveness, sincerity, purity, persistence, restoration, truth and worship?  What if the Sunday sermon, crafted for entertainment, was replaced by one intended to make us better able to give a reason for the hope that is in us?  Who knows what would happen. What about uniting in prayer as a Christian nation?  This is probably the least likely approach to succeed in the USA because, unfortunately, it is no longer a Christian nation.  For example: God has been purged from education, entertainment, government and society at large.  The USA is currently a Godless nation.
Our spiritual opponents in this Great War are powerful beyond comprehension; they would destroy us in an instant were it not for God’s restraint.  Even God’s angels appear to be reluctant to enter the fray (Dan 10:21).  Why didn’t God give us “superhero” personal power against these adversaries to make an even fight?  Perhaps because the struggle is ultimately about ideas rather than brute power.  Satan wants to convince all the angels in Heaven that God’s plan of salvation for mankind is flawed.  He wants to expose God’s entire enterprise of creation and redemption as the product of radically flawed wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.  The accusation, once raised, could not be removed, not even by destroying the accuser.  The divine purpose hung in the balance. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ was a fatal blow to him who holds the power of death (Heb 2:14) and sealed the ultimate outcome of the war.  But Jesus wants his army to stand beside him as He reclaims and restores His creation.
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