Prayer’s True Power: Transform Your Life and Leadership

Welcome to Equipped for Purpose. I'm your host, Vincent Ream, and this is the podcast

where discipleship meets impactful leadership. Whether you're new to faith or a seasoned

follower of Christ, this podcast is designed to help you deepen your relationship with

Jesus, grow as a leader, and make a difference in every area of your life. Together we'll

explore practical tools, biblical insights, and real-life strategies to equip you for

the purpose God has called you to. Let's dive in.

Many of us have misconceptions about prayer. Some view it as a supernatural credit card

to obtain what they want or some sort of magic wand to circumvent life's problems.

Others think it's a blank check for their selfish desires or a routine spiritual exercise to

manipulate God. These ideas miss the mark. Prayer is fundamentally a personal experience

and an intimate connection with our loving Heavenly Father. I've seen it described as

the natural conversation of a person with God, a deep, intimate communion that invites God into

every part of our lives. He's available 24-7. He knows everything about us, and he still loves us

with the best plans for our lives. Austin Farrer, a brilliant philosopher and theologian,

described prayer as a confrontation with the will of God. This means bringing our desires,

good, bad, or indifferent, before God and allowing them to find their true

proportion in relation to his holy will. You might ask, if God already knows what I need,

then why pray? The Bible says, Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

But prayer isn't about informing God. It's about relationship. God created us with free will,

desiring us to come to him willingly, not as robots. When we pray, we affirm his presence,

build our faith by witnessing his responses, and really allow him to be actively involved.

When we don't pray, God feels left out of our lives. It's his chosen means for our growth in

advancing his kingdom. And again, as I've said in the past, that can sound presumptuous to speak

for God and how he feels. However, I don't think it's out of bounds in this regard either.

We are made to be in relationship with our creator, so why wouldn't he feel left out when we

exclude him from our lives by not talking to him? For anyone who's ever been in any type of

relationship, there are conversations, discussions that take place. If the person you're in a

relationship with leaves you out of their life by not talking to you or even responding to you

when you talk to them, you would feel left out. So I don't think it's presumptuous to say,

I think it's right on the mark. And I wanted to highlight that even with that understanding of

Matthew 6, 8, ultimately, we see prayer is about cooperating with God and abandoning our desires

to submit to his will. It's God's plan for our growth in his kingdom program in the world,

changing our perspective to think God's thoughts. God wants to hear us talk to him,

and he's eager to listen to every word, even our anger and sadness.

So how do we approach God in prayer? Well, be natural. Just talk to him as if he's

right there because he is. Bring him anything, your desires, your fears, even anger and sadness.

Nothing's off limits. Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6, 9-13 as a model,

not a script necessarily to recite. It teaches us to include worship, trust in God's will,

requests for our daily needs, confession, and protection from evil. Use your own words,

just guided by these elements.

Okay, with this foundation, let's explore why prayer matters for discipleship.

Prayer is pivotal for discipleship because it's God's chosen means for our spiritual growth

and transformation. Richard Foster said, quote, prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform

us, end quote. So it nurtures our relationship with God, overcoming self-sufficiency and pride.

Jesus put it bluntly in John 15-5 where he said, apart from me, you can do nothing.

This implies praying for daily needs humbles us, acknowledging our dependence on God.

Daily prayer, even asking for, quote, daily bread, is a specific humbling act that acknowledges our

utter dependence on God for every breath, every heartbeat, and every material need.

This also challenges our pride and self-sufficient hearts, leading to crucified pride.

But furthermore, prayer fosters intimacy with God. God created us with a longing for this intimacy.

It's not a difficult endeavor, but it requires a relentless pursuit of an enduring and growing

relationship with God. Intimacy develops through close contact over time, building trust, and

building trust and changing hearts. When we struggle with any area of life, and we all do,

praying scripture back to God can bring guidance and encouragement, changing our desires, and

consuming our lives with thoughts of Him. Okay, I want to make a shift now to leadership.

I'm convinced prayer is a cornerstone for impactful leadership because it invites God's

intervention. You can think of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, verse 15, where he's facing

an army he couldn't defeat. He prayed and God said, the battle is not yours, but God's.

And then victory followed. Or you can think of Paul, who prayed for the Ephesians to grasp

Christ's love. Leaders who pray surrender fears and weaknesses, gaining God's vision and guidance.

Prayer also releases God's power into situations and nations. It's the shaping force of history.

For leaders, prayer is a means God uses to give us what He wants us to have and to grow us

into what He wants us to be. It's crucial for discerning God's will and ensuring actions align

with His purposes. So where do discipleship and leadership intersect in prayer?

It's in transformation. As disciples, prayer aligns us with God's will, shaping our character.

As leaders, our transformed character impacts how we lead, making us humble,

discerning, and relying on God. So if prayer is so beneficial and crucial,

why do we often find it so challenging? I think we can all agree that there's times where prayer

isn't easy. It's hard work, requiring some intense effort and sustained concentration.

In our world of constant distractions, it can be difficult to find that sustained concentration.

C.S. Lewis described it as irksome, a duty that demands focus. But why? Well, because confronting

God's will, that non-negotiable starting point changes us. We bring all our desires before Him,

and they find their true place in His will. This shifts us from a self-concern to an

intercession for others, which only serves to deepen our intimacy with God over time.

Daily prayer, even asking for daily bread, is a humbling act that acknowledges our utter

dependence on God for every breath, every heartbeat, and every material need.

And yes, I said that earlier, but I want you to really let that sink in. Daily prayer is a

humbling act, and it really does acknowledge that we depend on God for everything.

Prayer helps us deal with distractions and internal struggles. As Farrer observed,

trying to listen to silence in prayer reveals the noisy rhythms of self-conceit, resentment,

lust, and busy intellect. Dealing with these distractions is part of prayer,

leading to self-knowledge and repentance. Perseverance is crucial here, as we improve

with practice each and every day. As we bring this conversation to a close, I want you to remember

that prayer is a privilege, an intimate connection with God, not a burden.

It's the very core of our relationship with Him and engages the state of that relationship.

God wants us to come to Him willingly, make decisions with His guidance, and build our faith.

When we pray, God listens and feels included in our lives. Prayer is absolutely essential,

and there is no substitute for it. God has chosen to accomplish His purpose in the world

in response to the prayers of His people, releasing His power into lives, situations,

and even nations. Consider this. God's ultimate will is unchanging, but the way He chooses to

realize this will is dependent on the prayers of His children. Prayer truly does seem to change

the apparent course of events in the lives of believers. Are you ready to commit to making

prayer a more central part of your daily life, your discipleship, and your leadership?

This episode isn't meant to give you all the answers, but it is meant to be an enticement

drawing you into prayer. So again, are you ready to commit to making prayer a more central part

of your daily life, your discipleship, and your leadership? Matthew 7 verses 7 through 8 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. We've all sinned and deserve God's judgment, but God the Father sent His only

Son, Jesus, who lived a sinless life and died for our salvation. He was buried and rose from the dead.

Jesus made a way for us to have access to the Father anytime in prayer. Will you take hold

of your access and use it?

Let's connect on social media and through my website and remember,

you are being equipped for a purpose. Go make an impact.