How Prayer Works

Is prayer like magic? Some people must think so. They think positive thoughts or certain words will bring what they want. But that’s more magic than faith--sort of a religious spell.

Magic tries to control people, things and events through spells or incantations. In the world of magic, you’re a god and believe your words have power.

Christian faith trusts the God of the Bible to do what he promised. Your sincerity or the exact words you use are not the issue. It’s what God says (and does) that controls the outcome.

What a good reason to read the Bible! If God hasn’t promised to do something, it’s foolish to ask him for it or believe he will do it. God cannot be manipulated. The Bible shows how he answers prayer and keeps his promises.

For instance, God promises to provide for the needs of those who trust in him. Helping you win the Lottery isn’t covered. That’s greed, not a need. Don’t bother asking or begging.

“Well hold on just a minute!” you may say. “What good is faith or prayer?”

Faith is only as good as its object. The object of faith is the person or thing you trust in. If your faith is in people, sooner or later you’ll be disappointed. People can be unreliable. If your faith is in yourself, eventually you discover you have limitations. You’re not a god.

But God is reliable. So when he says something is true or will happen, it makes sense to take him at his word. That’s not blind faith, it’s faith based on reliable evidence. Evidence that God is faithful. You can trust him. As the Bible says, “God is not a man, that he should lie.”

Manley Beasley, a Southern Baptist preacher, once said, “Faith is believing something is so, even when it’s not so, so that it becomes so, because God said so!”

Rather than hopeless optimism, such an expression is sensible faith. Instead of childish 'Make Believe' it’s trusting in a God who does what he says. Every time.

Corrie Ten Boom, a Holocaust survivor, wrote one of my favorite descriptions of faith in her book, “Tramp for the Lord.” She said, “Faith is like radar that sees through the fog.”

In the fog, radar ‘sees’ things that are real but cannot be seen by the human eye. Faith is like radar because it ‘sees’ what God has promised. And once you learn how God keeps his word, it’s not a stretch of faith to trust him completely.

That’s how a child trusts his parents. When Dad or Mom says, “Dinner will be at 5 o’clock,” the child doesn’t worry or fret. He plays until 5 p.m. and then comes in expecting dinner. Why? Because the parents have proven faithful. They do what they say. Just like God.

So when a Christian expresses confidence in God it’s because God has proven faithful. Christians aren’t being arrogant when they say they’re going to heaven when they die. Jesus promised his followers that he would come back from heaven to take them to be with him.

Since Jesus arose from the dead, he proved his power over death. How much proof do you need? The resurrection is a well-documented fact of history. Check it out.

Faith in Jesus Christ allows you to live life to the fullest. Released from worry and the fear of dying, a Christian can focus on joyful living—whole-heartedly serving God and others.

Here’s the best part: You don’t need a lot of faith. Jesus said that if your faith is in God, you can begin with a tiny amount and still see amazing results. The key is to trust God.

So how does prayer work? Prayer works when you trust in the God of the Bible. It works because we have a prayer answering God. A God that says, “Call to me and I will answer you.”

Listen to the Bible. It’s great for your soul!