Prayer’s Power and Purpose
You see, I’ve done a lot of work for the Church I’m aware of it. It has been my only thought, my only care. I have raced hard and covered as many miles as the most committed missionary. At a certain point it occurred to me that what the Church lacked was not work, activity, the building of projects or a commitment to bring in souls. What was missing, or at least was scarce, was the element of prayer, meditation, self-giving, intimacy with God, fidelity to the Holy Spirit and the conviction that [Christ] was the real builder of the Church: in a word, the supernatural element.
Let me make myself clear: people of action are needed in the Church, but we have to be very careful that their action does not smother the more delicate but much more important element of prayer. If action is missing and there is prayer, the Church lives on, it keeps on breathing, but if prayer is missing and there is only action, the Church withers and dies.
—Carlo Carretto,
Letters to Dolcidia
Prayer changes things. I can testify to that! Most of us can. And yet, we so often forget this as life’s challenges and struggles loom large. The Bible says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). We don’t know God’s eternal, sovereign plans in all their detail, but we do know that He hears and answers ours prayers. We know that He wants us to pray and to believe that He will answer our prayers as they are in accord with His will. Let’s not be afraid to pray, but pray earnestly, believing that He will accomplish His purposes through our intercession. What’s happening in your world right now? Let’s take it to the throne! —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics