Why Prayer is Crucial, by Krista Dunk

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." - Luke 18:1

Have any of you read the book called 90-Minutes in Heaven? It's a very interesting read for sure. Here is a quick summary of the first part: A pastor was in a fatal car crash, died, spent 90 minutes in Heaven, then was miraculously brought back to life when a passing minister felt an overwhelming urge from God to pray for him (although he had already been dead for 90 minutes). Here were my questions after reading that book - Why did God have that passing minister pray? Couldn't He have simply had the pastor get up and walk out of the car without the prayer? Are our prayers really that important? Yes, apparently they are.

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John 16:24. Here's what I've learned so far from the Word about prayer:

• When we pray, we set our minds on Godly things and on His will.
• When we pray, we authorize His hand to move.
• When we pray, we use the authority God has given to us.
• When we pray, God sends angels to help.
• When we pray, we cast our cares on God and let Him take over.
• When we pray, God answers according to His will.
• When we pray, we plant seeds for our future or for the future of others.
• When we pray, we can minister to the Lord.

Many of us have the idea that prayer is more of a feel-good factor, something we do for our own psyche or for our own "spiritualness". Now it's time to see how prayer equals action. We take action by praying, and God takes action by responding. Let's discuss a few of our bullet points in more detail.

When we pray, we set our minds on Godly things and on His will. Daily life is busy. If I were to try and list my daily routine and responsibilities, it might make my head spin! However, by having a mindset or attitude of prayer throughout the day, we bring our focus and thoughts back to God daily, hourly, moment by moment.

When we pray, we authorize His hand to move. This was a huge revelation to me. Before, I did not realize that God waits on me (and others) to ask for things and to pray about situations. He literally may not move or work until someone prays. Just like in the 90-Minutes in Heaven book, God needed a man to speak the words out to start His healing power in motion. Prayer changes things. As Tammy would say, God is a gentleman. He waits for an invitation. His mighty hand is ready to act on behalf of His people and according to His will.

When we pray, we plant seeds for our future or for the future of others. In the Bible, you can see a common theme or principle at work. It's the symbolism of the seed, the sower and of the agricultural growing process. Prayers are seeds that we sow in the supernatural realm that will cause results to show up in the natural world. We can pray for physical, emotional or spiritual healing, provision, protection, peace, children, direction, etc., for ourselves and others. These words and prayers that we speak out to God are used in a very powerful way. As we know, "life and death are in the power of the tongue" and this is why. Prayer is seed.

In those 3 examples alone, we can begin to see how powerful our prayers are as individuals. They are crucial to every aspect of our lives, including our careers or businesses, our families, marriages, health, friends, our country, and our world. The amazing thing is, is that God actually needs our prayers. Our prayers really do make a difference! Think about what you can do today to impact the world around you with your prayers.

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16