Power of prayer - part 6

Heavenly Father we glorify Your Holy Name and thank you for the blessing of Your Word this morning.

Today's lead Scripture is from 2 Corinthians 1:3

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

Amen.

A big part of prayer (if not the most important part) is praising and thanking God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for all that He has already done for us. God's ultimate mercy and love for us was manifested when He sent His One and Only Son to die for our sins so we could be set free from the power of sin and death. As born again believers, we are now sons and daughters of God with an inheritance from Him that cannot be taken away from us. Apostle Paul reminds us, "you were bought at a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God's." I believe effectual prayer is praising God and thanking Him for all that He has already done for us through His Son Jesus Christ. Praise and worship not only gives reverence to the Father but it also unlocks and gives us access to every blessing that God has for us.

Ephesians 1:3 tells us, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. We praise and thank God not because of what we wish to receive or obtain blessings from Him but because He has already given us everything that we shall ever need in this life and in eternity. 2 Peter 1:3 reminds us that "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to His own glory and excellence."

In the book of Acts, we see a good example of the power of prayer and praise. Apostle Paul and Silas were beaten and put to prison for spreading the gospel of Christ. "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed." (Acts 16:25-26). Paul and Silas understood that their praising God was not tied to their circumstances of their bodies beng whipped, bruised and imprisoned. They believed deep within their hearts (and as seen in the above Scripture) that as long as they had breath, they would continue to glorify God in their bodies and spirits and as a result, heaven was in agreement with them which led to their release. The power of prayer coupled with praise comforted Peter and Silas, opened the prison doors and freed them. The power of prayer coupled with praise led the prison guards to give their lives to Christ. One of them asked "Sirs, what must I do to be saved" (Acts 16:30) after he witnessed the power of God that loosed people's chains and opened the prison doors.

You may not be in a physical prison right now but they maybe chains holding you back, chains of fear, debt, failure, rejection, bad decisions, a terrible job, a bad medical report or a painful past but may I remind you that the power of God to comfort, open that prison door and loose every chain and set back is still available today when you believe in Jesus. Friend, there is hope. Jesus in John 14:12 encourages us and says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."

My prayer for you today is for God to continue to give you the strength to pray, praise His name through every season of your life because His faithfulness never changes.

Invitation to salvation: Finally, in case you have not already, I invite you to believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins. I repent of my sin. I choose Him as my Lord and Saviour today and forever.

Congratulations, by grace you have been saved and are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old life has passed away and you have received the free gift of salvation into your life. To the glory of the Almighty God. Amen.

As a new believer, I urge you to prayerfully consider becoming a member of a church and buying a Bible or downloading the Bible app on your mobile in case you don't already own one!

I'll end with this Scripture in Psalm 103:2

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

Amen. Thank you LORD.