Philippians 4:6-7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
These are the words of Paul, who changed the course of history through prayer. When someone truly understands what takes place when we pray, that person becomes a world-changer.
In Christ, we have become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), and because of that, our prayer is “powerful and effective” (James 5:16). When we focus on God in prayer each day toward the throne of the Triune God, Jesus says that mountains can move (Matthew 21:21).
How? When we pray, God mobilizes His angels to fulfill His will: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). Prayer is a spiritual science. When we pray in Jesus’ name, the Holy Spirit begins to work powerfully, and “the strong man,” the devil, is bound (Matthew 12:28).
The Early Church understood this mystery. Scripture says that “they all joined together constantly in prayer” (Acts 1:14), and that prayer changed everything when God answered by sending the Holy Spirit in power (Acts 2:1–4). Ordinary fishermen, laborers, and women became history-makers.
God arranged encounters through their prayer, like when the crippled beggar was healed “at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon” (Acts 3:1), when Cornelius “at about three in the afternoon had a vision” (Acts 10:3) while Peter “went up on the roof to pray” (Acts 10:9), and when Paul’s gospel ministry in Philippi began as they went “to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer” (Acts 16:13), and again when “we were going to the place of prayer” (Acts 16:16) and the evil spirit was cast out.
When we pray for the ministry of the gospel, God pays full attention to our prayer because “this is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3–4). When our heart aligns with God’s heart in prayer, nothing in the world can block what God is about to do.
So what are we always thinking about? That determines the future. We do not need to worry about anything, because our Father in heaven knows what we need. Jesus reminds us that “the pagans run after all these things,” and instead, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,” and God will provide “all these things” as well (Matthew 6:32–33). God has chosen to change the world through prayer. And He has given that authority and privilege to you.
So pray—and watch mountains move.
Prayer. Father, I thank You for the incredible privilege of prayer. Open my eyes to see what happens when I pray. Align my heart with Your desires so that my prayers may accomplish Your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.