And When They Had Prayed…

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

Acts 4:31

I remember sitting in my room, thinking about all that I needed to do, and realizing that it had been a while since I’d really prayed. I was living alone in a tiny house near the hospital where I worked, and I was trying to figure out how to practically live out the Christian life. I had some free time and I could read my Bible, or find someone to share the gospel with, or memorize Scripture, or study the Bible. Or I could pray. And, to my shame, I literally said these words: “I haven’t prayed in a while, but I really need to do something.” You know how sometimes you say something out loud that reveals a serious flaw in your thinking? Me too.

As soon as I said it, I knew I was wrong. I thought to myself, “You don’t think prayer does anything!” Immediately, James’ words rang in my ears: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). My unbelieving heart was exposed, and I needed to repent of an ungodly and unbiblical mindset towards prayer. Sure, reading my Bible and evangelism were excellent activities, but to think of them as somehow more practical than prayer was wrong. And honestly, prayer-less Bible reading and evangelism are certain to be less fruitful and less successful.

What can prayer do? That’s not really the right question. Instead, what can God do through prayer? If I want to see souls saved, then I need to speak to the One who says, “I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior (Isa 43:11). If I want to understand the Bible, then I need to pray like the Psalmist, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). I want to be expectant like the Apostles who prayed for boldness. It says, “And when they had prayed…” I love that. “And when they had prayed,” something happened! That’s how prayer works. When we pray through Christ, according to God’s will, and in faith, God acts!

I’ve been growing in this since then, but I want to continue to understand the power of prayer. I want to have many of my own, “And when they had prayed” moments. I want to be completely assured that the prayer of the righteous has great power as it is working. I am certain of this: Our God hears prayer. “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” (1 John 5:14-15). So let’s believe these promises, and get to work!

Jacob Crouch 2023