THE POWER OF PRAYER

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all the faithful pray to You while You may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 32:1-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What happens when we pray to God, particularly when we pray with a spirit of repentance?

As we study from the opening verses of the 32nd Psalm, we begin to find answers to this question. Let’s examine this passage and break down what God’s word as spoken through David teaches us about the power of prayer:

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

The first step to experiencing the power of prayer is to realize you need God in your life, that you need to call on Him. We are to take action and approach God with our petitions, realizing He is the only One who can help us, or in the case of confessional prayer, the only One who can forgive us of our sins.

David realized this and so he acknowledged his sins to God and stopped covering up his iniquities. He then took action and confessed his transgressions to the Lord and in exchange for that confession, he received God’s amazing grace and mercy through His forgiveness.

So the first thing we learn about the power of prayer is that when we confess our sins to God, we receive His forgiveness and pardon. And this leads us to a state of happiness. Look back to the words of this Psalm:

“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.”

Something amazing happens when we experience forgiveness. We are released from the guilt of our wrongdoings, delivered into peace and released from the shackles of shame. And this release brings us happiness because of the blessedness we receive from God. His blessings flow to us in so many ways and bring us to the joy He intends for us to have in life. This is why it is so critical for us to seek and receive forgiveness. For through the power of confessional prayer, we are empowered with gladness through God’s pardon.

There’s one more thing we discover when we turn to the power of prayer and accept God’s offer to come before Him at any time. We find shelter and refuge in His care. Look again at the scripture:

“Therefore let all the faithful pray to You while You may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

David would write in another psalm that God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble. (Psalm 46:1) He wrote it because he experienced it himself and knew that what God offered him was available to everyone who places their faith in God’s ability to do all things and lifts their prayers to Him. For when we do that, we find ourselves shielded from harm and rescued from danger, rescued by the Almighty Hands of God, our hiding place, our Protector and Deliverer.

God’s word makes it clear what we have to gain by coming to Him in prayer. There are so many benefits we receive that I can’t believe anyone would not want to come before Him and lift up their needs. For when we experience the power of prayer, we are receiving God’s power to help us through life.

So what happens when we don’t pray, and in particular, not make our confession before God?

Look back to the words of this Psalm:

“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”

Here, David shares his personal experience about when he chose to not come to God in prayer. At first, h adopted unrepentant attitude and chose to not ask for forgiveness from his sin. And consequently, this led to God’s heavy hand being upon him, applying the crushing weight of guilt and conviction that God uses to drive us to confession. Indeed, the pressure David felt from God was so intense that his “strength was sapped” by the burden of guilt he tried to carry, a guilt he only found relief from when he confessed through prayer in heartfelt repentance.

So what are we to take from this passage and the matter of power on two fronts, the power of prayer and God’s power exerted against one who decides to not repent?

We find that we will fall to our knees one way or another and bow in prayer before God.

Either we go there on our own, realizing our need for forgiveness and pardon through actively acknowledging our sins and seeking God’s pardon.

Or we decide to carry our sin burden, trying to deal with it on our own. And when we do, we, like David, will find the power of God squeezing out the strength of self reliance and pressing down on us to the point where we can no longer stand and we fall to our knees before Him. Yes, God will drive us to repentance if we don’t go there on our own.

So what will it be for you today?

Will you come before God willingly and confess your sins in prayer, experiencing the power of His forgiveness and blessedness? Or will you instead opt to feel the power of God bringing you down to your knees as you try and carry the burdens of your sin shame and guilt?

My prayer for you is that you will willingly come and bow before the God who loves you so very much that He is willingly to pardon you from your sins and lead you to a life of righteousness, a life that will be everlasting through His Son Jesus Christ, who died for you and prayed in power for you long before you were conceived.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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