Do you pray for your students? Could praying for them actually make a difference? I think we’d all say “Yes” right off of the top of our heads but deep down we kind of wonder how. Lately I’ve realized that I really underestimate the power of prayer.

We talk about prayer and pray all the time. I think it’s one of those things we do so much that we overlook the depth of it. We’re quick to say “I’ll pray for you” and yet we’re careless about actually doing it. After a while our prayers follow a pattern that we nearly recite without thinking. And when we’re at our wits end, we say “All we can do is pray.”

That’s the line that brought me up short. I came across a quote by Elizabeth Johnston that says this: “If you’re overwhelmed by the fact that there’s nothing you can do except pray, then you undervalue your GREATEST WEAPON.” Prayer is how we tap into God’s power. So if “all we can do is pray” then we obviously don’t believe God is greater than the situation at hand. 

The book of Job talks about God’s absolute power. “For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.” (Job 5:17-22) “With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his.” (Job 12:13-16) 

That’s the God you serve. His power touches everything. His power commands all that happens. And as His child, you have access to that power. Are you having trouble really believing it? Take Jesus’ word for it. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

It’s almost scary believing that. But it’s true. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” And 1 John 5:14-15 says it again, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Prayer is our weapon. Every battle we face, God is greater than. Relying on Him is the ONLY way to win. So can prayer make a difference? I think it’s the only thing that can make a difference.