Fox News has a segment called “Power Player of the Week.” Each week Chris Wallace highlights someone who’s a mover or shaker. Someone influential, significant, making an impact in the world. To my knowledge, Wallace has never had a simple, ordinary praying Christian as his PPOTW. Why’s that interesting? Because praying Christians are the real power players in this world. I write to remind you of this and to encourage you to exercise your power by praying.

A Prayer-hearing God

Why are praying Christians the real power players in the world? The answer comes from one of the great texts in the Bible. Listen to Psalm 65:2: “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” Prayer’s powerful because our heavenly Father’s a prayer-hearing God. So the message is this: Praying Christians are the world’s real power players because our heavenly Father hears our prayers. So, Christian exercise your power: pray!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the most useful preachers who ever lived. He preached in the 1800’s in what we’d call a mega-church. The Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. Every week he spoke to standing room only crowds of thousands. He testified to God’s glory that not a week went by without people being saved. Someone once asked him what made his preaching so successful. Spurgeon said, “My people pray for me.”

Spurgeon’s people were real power players because they prayed. And they prayed because our heavenly Father’s a prayer-hearing God. “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” Praying Christians are the world’s real power players because our heavenly Father hears prayer. So, Christian exercise your power: pray!

The famous theologian Charles Hodge said that from childhood he had the habit of asking God for everything he needed. Hodge was a real power player because he prayed. And he prayed because our heavenly Father’s a prayer-hearing God. “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” Praying Christians are the world’s real power players because our heavenly Father hears our prayers. So, Christian exercise your power: pray!

Martin Luther said, “As it is the business of tailors to make clothes, and cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray.” Luther was a real power player because he prayed. And he prayed because our heavenly Father’s a prayer-hearing God. “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” Praying Christians are the world’s real power players because our heavenly Father hears our prayers. So, Christian, exercise your power: pray!

The poet Tennyson said, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” The Bible says ‘Amen!’ The Bible teems with ordinary men and women who were real power players because they prayed. And they prayed because our heavenly Father hears our prayers. ‘O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.’ Praying Christians are the world’s real power players because our heavenly Father hears our prayers. So, Christian, exercise your power: pray!

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Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened . . . If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?” Your heavenly Father’s got the Christmas Spirit of generosity 365 days a year. He’s more willing to give to you than a doting grandmother is to her only grandchild. So Jesus says you’re a real power player when you pray. And you should pray because your heavenly Father hears your prayers. ‘O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.’ Praying Christians are the world’s real power players because our heavenly Father hears our prayers. So, Christian, exercise your power: pray!

Jesus also says God does good things for others when we pray. He says we’re to pray “Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts, lead us not into temptation.” In other words, we’re to pray for each other. Why? Because God does good things for others when we pray for them. Even more than General Electric, our prayers “bring good things to life.”

The Bible shows us God bringing good things to others’ lives again and again because someone prays for them. So we see God sparing Lot from being destroyed in Sodom because Abraham prays. So we see God relieving Egyptians of plagues because Moses prays. So we see Peter delivered from Herod’s prison because the church prays. Prayer’s rescued more people than superheroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman combined have. These believers were power players because they prayed. And they prayed because our heavenly Father’s a prayer-hearing God. ‘O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.’ Praying Christians are the world’s real power players because our heavenly Father hears our prayers. So, Christian, exercise your power: pray!

William MacDonald says “Prayer brings power in our lives and peace to our hearts. When we pray in the Name of the Lord Jesus, we come the closest to omnipotence that it’s possible for mortal man to come. Therefore we do ourselves a great disservice when we neglect to pray.” Which, being translated, means that praying Christians are the real power players in the world. And we’re that because our heavenly Father is a prayer-hearing God.

Exercise Your Power

The real power players on this earth aren’t the politicians like Mr. Trump and Mrs. Pelosi. The real power players on this earth aren’t the billionaires like George Soros. The real power players on this earth aren’t the two-bit dictators like Kim Jong-un. The real power players on this earth are praying Christians. Praying Christians are the world’s power players because our heavenly Father hears our prayers.

‘O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.’

So, Christian, exercise your power.

PRAY!

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