When I was in middle school, the church I attended had this phrase hung on the wall above the sanctuary stage: “Prayer changes things.” I remember scoffing at the message more than once. For starters, it didn’t look nice. The plastic letters were attached sloppily onto the wood-panel box that hid the projector screen; almost—I thought—just because someone thought something should go there.
But, more than that, the words themselves rubbed against something in my young, proud, and only briefly sanctified heart. What, exactly, does prayer change? At that point in my journey with Christ, I had been taught to pray, and I did pray. Prayer was a way of talking to God, and it felt good to bring burdens and cares to him. But, did prayer change things? Certainly it couldn’t change God’s mind, I thought, and God was in control of all things. In hindsight I can see that I didn’t yet believe in the power of prayer, probably because I hadn’t yet been confronted with my need for it. My life was comfortable, easy, and careless. God saved me from my sins, was my friend, and taught me how to live right and wise, but I didn’t need his direct intervention in my life beyond that. Not yet…
Fast forward just a couple years, and my life had taken a radical turn. Desperately in need, I found myself crying out to God regularly, wondering whether he heard me or not. I was a restless seeker. One day I was reading James, and came to this passage: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit” (James 5:17-18).
This passage left the high school version of me dumbfounded, and to be honest, it leaves the 30-something version of me dumbfounded as I write this. What amazed me at the time was not that God answered Elijah’s prayers and did miraculous things—I grew up learning the Bible stories and believed them all. No, the thing that turned my view of prayer upside down and unlocked its door for me that day was the line “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” Elijah wasn’t anything special. He was just like the rest of us. Just like me. I fully expected God to miraculously answer the requests of a prophet, but a man like me? I wasn’t so sure, but I was beginning to be.I began to pray in faith that day, and as I did, I began to see God move. He answered prayers for friendships, freedom, and healing. Some in very obvious, practical ways, and others in ways I couldn’t clearly trace.
Brothers and sisters, each year we as your pastors invite you into a life of prayer. Why? Because—on the front lines of pushing back darkness in our city, bearing witness to Christ, discipling kids, and fighting sin—each of us needs prayer. Because we believe the Bible when it says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). Because, simply put, prayer changes things.
This month, we will gather for prayer each Sunday, from 4–5 pm. It’s nothing fancy. We will just give thanks to God and let him know what we need (Philippians 4:6).
As we begin a new year, there are so many good things you can recommit to. I hope you’ll make prayer one of them. It has more power than any other to produce real change in your life.
