Thursday, 18 December 2025
Prayer works!
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” ( I Thessalonians 5:16-18)
When the disciples started sharing the Gospel of Christ, Herod “had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also” ( Acts 12:2-3). While the Bible does not mention the church gathering to pray for James, it’s clear in the case of Peter. “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” ( vv 5).
And that was the turning key. “Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists” ( vv 7). What seems clear is the earnest prayers of the church yielded positive results leading to Peter’s release. This leaves us to speculate that what if the church had earnestly prayed for James too, maybe he would also have been released!
Or look at the case of Queen Esther. Once she heard of a plot to commit genocide on the Jews, she sent a prayer request:, “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” ( Esther 4:16). End story is that after three days of intense prayers coupled with fasting, she preceded to King Xerxes who eagerly received her and heard her request. “Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” ( Esther 5:3).
The prayers of the church for Peter and of Esther’s prayer warriors caused change against all odds. If you doubt the power of prayer here is proof prayer and fasting works!
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I rise to worship, thank and bring my prayer requests to you, for there is power in prayer to move mountains, and this I believe and pray in Jesus’s name!
