Prayer Changes

As we walk with Jesus, we can know that He has so much in store for us.  We can recognize His 
presence with us, even in challenging times. Psalm 91 states:
14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."

It is reassuring to know that God is with us.  He loves us so much and has called us into a relationship with His Son. We can bring our needs before Him with confidence that He hears our prayers, as we bring our requests with a pure heart. We have been given the invitation to come before His throne and to spend time with Him.  And, we recognize that prayer is two-way communication - we speak to Him and He directs us by His Word and His Spirit.  

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We can be convinced of the power of prayer and the faithfulness of God. 1st John chapter 5 says this:
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

The occasion of the coronavirus has certainly resulted in shifts in the way that we live - and according to a new survey, the way we pray.  According to a survey commissioned by the Presidential Prayer Team, which has offered perspective on radio in the midst of the crisis, "...in the initial weeks of the pandemic half of all adults (49%) indicated they prayed more than usual in response to the pandemic while just 4% prayed less and four out of ten (41%) did not change their normal prayer practices."  That's according to a press release at the Christian Newswire site, which reported on the findings of the survey, which was conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University - that's where George Barna is currently at work; he actually was in charge of this survey.

The research found that three-quarters of American adults pray at least once in a typical month, with two-thirds praying at least once a week.  Only 15% do not pray at all.  Two-thirds of those who pray weekly actually say they pray each day.

The survey dug into the mechanics of prayer, as well.  The summary says:

Among the seven out of ten American adults who consider themselves to be Christian, three out of four (76%) believe that God hears prayers. However, there is a range of ideas concerning how God responds to the prayers He hears.

About 4-in-10 of these "self-identified Christians" believe that God hears and answers every prayer, even when He answers, "no."  One out of five Christians believe he hears, but will still do His will, regardless of what is prayed.  14% of those Christians pray but do not know if God responds or how that He does.

The survey also measured why people pray.  Almost two-thirds of all those who pray at least once a month said that prayer is their way of communicating with God, with just under 6-in-10 saying that is "a way to worship God."  The same percentage viewed prayer as "central to their relationship with God." There were other reasons, including reducing stress and anxiety, a response given by just under half of those surveyed.  But less than a third believe that prayer actually has influence over what God does.

What are people praying for? Three-quarters of those praying once a month said they were praying for "family, friends, co-workers, and people in the community."  6-in-10 are praying for our country, but less than half said they prayed for the President.

The survey summary quoted James Bolthouse, President and CEO of The Presidential Prayer Team, who said: "Americans pray. And that is a good thing...How much they understand about communicating with God, how they approach Him, and what they expect from it, was surprising. It was heartening to know that Americans do pray for the government and our leaders, as we are instructed in the Bible to do. But we also know there is a demographic that isn't sure about the value of praying and whether it would change anything even if they prayed..."

When we pray, we accept God's invitation to align ourselves with Him. He desires to show Himself faithful to His people, and when we show that we trust His Word, we place ourselves in a position to see Him do incredible things.  He calls us to walk in faith, so that in all things He may receive glory.  When you consider that less than a third of those who at least once a month don't believe that prayer has influence on God, you have to admit that is a low view of prayer - I believe that expectation is a key element of our prayers.

We can be confident that prayer changes things.  We can call upon the God of the universe, Maker of heaven and earth, and ask for His power to be released in our lives.  And, even when we don't see the answer in the way we think we should, we can still accept the answer and admit that prayer changes us.  In our prayers, we unify in agreement with the Father, so that ultimately He gets the glory.

We know that prayer is the way through which we communicate with God.  We can bring our burdens and our cares, as well as our petitions, before God and know that He loves us and hears us when we pray.  When we pray Biblically and earnestly, we can know that He is with us and we can know Him better.