WHAT PRAYER DOES

Prayer has diverse benefits for the believer. As the issues and circumstances of life vary, so also does prayer address the various needs of man.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:18

This implies that there are different kinds of prayer, and they accomplish different things in a believer's life. Let us examine some of them.

It Provokes Help From Above

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

Without help from above, we are helpless on the earth. The enemy is fierce. He knows his time is short, so he is out against the children of God with full force. The wickedness on the earth is intense, but we have access to help from heaven to overcome them all through prayers. That is why the Bible says:

Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Psalm 127:1

Every blessing and accomplishment in life comes as a result of the helps of God. Paul said in Acts 26:22:

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:

He was preaching the same message as other apostles in his time, but he got better results because he had the help of God. The Psalmist, though a great man of war who never lost a battle, knew this secret. In Psalm 60:11-12, he prayed:

Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

The Bible also tells us the secret of king Uzziah's successful reign:

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.

And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunims.
2 Chronicles 26:1,5,7

Prayer is not just telling God your needs, because He already knows them (Matt. 6:32). It is getting Him to intervene in your situation on the basis of His Word. God is your heavenly Father and He knows your needs, but you require His help to overcome the enemy....READ MORE