Prayer Wimp or Warrior?

When I was brand spankin' new to this Jesus thing, I used to wonder why I needed to pray. If God knows everything, then what effect would praying have on a situation? It will either happen or it won't. And I didn't really believe that praying made much of a difference.

So I started researching the Bible and found the book of Amos. Amos was just an ordinary shepherd until God called him to prophesy to his people. In chapter 7, Amos begged God not to destroy the land. So God relented. God actually listened to Amos!

After reading that, my prayer life radically changed. "Lord, you told me to pray about everything, so get ready." I started really praying. Not the wimpy prayers like "Well if you feel like it, or if it's in Your will." I started believing. And I started to see results. God answered prayers that were unreal. Unexpected. Unimaginable. The more results I saw, the more faith I had, and the harder I prayed.

God's power is so close. Yet often we neglect it. We forget to go to Him first. Or maybe we don't really trust that He'll come through, so we try to fix it on our own. But God designed us to need Him. He wants us to rely on His strength. His power is made perfect in our weakness.

So when you pray, believe that He will answer you. I'm not saying that you will always get what you pray for though. God isn't a cosmic vending machine that caters to your every whim such as, "I'd like to win the lottery, find a hot husband, and never get another breakout." Sometimes, you won't get the outcome you wanted. Sometimes you will. God has a plan and a purpose for all of it though.

What does your prayer life look like? Are you constantly praying for yourself or do you pray for others? If someone asks you to pray for them, do you follow through? If so, are you doing it half-heartedly? I've had to ask myself these questions lately. One day I was praying for someone and God seemed to whisper, "If you really believe that I will answer you, then pray like you mean it." I've had to daily remind myself to not just go through the motions so I could check off my Good Christian box. There is real power in prayer. Tap into it.