Paulette Taylor
February 15, 2023A few years ago, while doing outreach at an abuse shelter, one dear soul recalled to me that while she was incarcerated, she prayed for a job. Like the prophet Samuel, she heard a voice in the middle of the night calling her name and, in this particular case, telling her she would be blessed with a job. Although she passed this information on to naysayer fellow inmates, her prayers were answered later that day. “God got [my] attention,” she told me. She began believing in the power of the Almighty. “Be not afraid to trust God. Rely upon His sure promise, ‘Ask and ye shall receive.’” (E.G. White, Prayer, Ch. 8, p. 70)
How about you? Do you believe in the awesome power of the Savior? Answered prayer can change you, your Christian walk, and your strength in the Divine Redeemer. “Strength and grace can be found in prayer.” (E.G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 127)
Actually, it is hard to imagine a day without prayer. Waking up and talking to the Lord all throughout the day is a must! Keeping prayed-up and leaning on His everlasting arms can get you through so much. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 (KJV)
If we were to stop and just think about the life situations our Heavenly Father has brought us through, we’d be praising His Holy name more and more. And when we praise Him, the worry of those situations will begin to diminish. “Prayer and faith will do what no power on earth can accomplish.” (E.G. White, Ministry of Healing, p. 509)
You realize it is only by His hand that we are sustained. He lifts you up and has kept you from slithering farther in the pit of despair, depression and doubt. Life on earth is anything but simple. Complicating this fact, the devil continues throwing everything he and his angels can at us.
Saints, those times when our anguish is so intense, as we kneel to pray, sometimes, the words just don’t come, or cannot be expressed. Let the Holy Spirit do the talking for you to the Father. “When we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a deep inner desire will begin to well up within us to be more in prayer to our Heavenly Father.” (Dennis Smith, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, p. 65)
We need to remember that our churches are sanctuaries for the soul. God is there waiting to meet us . . . in prayer. Whether your spirit is broken, you are hurting, or just have need—let go and let God handle it all. As the lyrics state, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” (Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, #499)
As we welcome 2023, reflecting on the unimaginable depth of Christ love for each of us, may we remain connected to Him through prayer.
Paulette Taylor is Indiana Conference’s Prayer Ministries coordinator.
