The Power of Prayer

Prayer is an essential part of our Christian lives. In 1 Thess 5:16–18, we are told to "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." And in Eph 6:18 we read: "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”

We recently had a crash with one of our vehicles. Fortunately, nobody was hurt but the vehicle was totaled. Relying very heavily on two vehicles, we needed to find something quickly. As we started looking into a new vehicle, we were told by the local dealer that the make and model we sought was going to be difficult to obtain and the best thing was to be put on a list and then wait three months. Not wanting to just settle for just anything, I started calling dealers within a 300-mile radius. The message I repeatedly heard was similar to the local dealer. I let Chris know that she had better start thinking about a different vehicle.

The next day we spent time in prayer asking for the Lord to provide. My first call was back to a dealership that had something close. We ended up talking to the sales manager, hoping to at least reserve a similar vehicle. When inquiring about the vehicle, his response was that the vehicle was not to be delivered until June. Our hearts sank. The manager then rattled off another vehicle of similar style, but it too was not going to be delivered for some time. Ready to give up, he looked at his inventory one more time. Back on the phone, he said he had one other vehicle that would be here in two weeks. As he described the vehicle, our jaws dropped as what he described was exactly what we were looking for! As we visited with the sales manager, we learned he too was a devout Christian. We all praised the Lord!

Shortly thereafter as I reflected on my prayer, I had a sense of shame as my prayer was halfhearted and my expectation dim. But God had a different plan. Not only did He give us exactly what we wanted, He also reminded me that He is faithful, even on the small things. This little but powerful situation reinforced that when we pray, we demonstrate our dependency on God and acknowledge that He is in control – both over the small things and the big things.

Joel Jundt, Elder