Often attributed to Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, famous author and Bible expositor, that quote puts into words what many Christians seem to think.

In decades of teaching seminars & workshops on prayer, I’ve heard it often. “Prayer really doesn’t change circumstances, it just changes us.”

The problem is… that’s wrong. It borders on heresy, denying the personal working of God in this world today.

It’s wrong for these basic reasons:

The Bible contradicts it. Even though true prayer certainly changes the person doing the praying, that isn’t the whole story. Here’s a sample of what the Bible says about answered prayer:

• Prayer gave Isaac twin sons even though his wife was barren – Genesis 25:21.
• Prayer kept Esau from killing Jacob and caused the two to reconcile – Genesis 32:11 & 33:4.
• Prayer freed the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage – Exodus 2:23-25.
• Prayer saved the nation of Israel from God’s judgment and preserved their destiny – Deuteronomy 9:18-20.
• Prayer spared Israel again and again during the time of Judges, until they asked for a king instead – 1 Samuel 12:6-23.
• Prayer gave King Solomon his unique wisdom – 1 Kings 3:9-12.
• Prayer saved King Jehoshaphat & his people from invasion by three armies – 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.
• Prayer released Peter from death row – Acts 12:5-11.
• Prayer led to Paul’s conversion & forgiveness – Acts 7:59-60 & 9:1-6
• Prayer brought Jesus back from the dead – Hebrews 5:7.

And that’s just a small sampling. In Dr. Herbert Lockyer’s book, All The Prayers Of The Bible, the foreword says Scripture records 650 definite prayers, of which there are 450 specific answers recorded.

Besides that, faith contradicts it.

This doctrine – that “prayer changes nothing” – directly contradicts what the Bible says about faith. It’s a doctrine that negates faith. It tries to satisfy the natural man’s aversion to God’s supernatural working.

If God doesn’t answer prayer today, then one doesn’t have to worry about why specific prayers didn’t get answered. If prayer merely changes my attitude, then I don’t expect God to work in specific ways that can be seen and measured. If He doesn’t work in ways that can be seen today, then I’m not obligated to search out His ways.

Put another way – “Don’t expect anything and you won’t get disappointed.”

So, prayer does change things. It changes everything, including people, attitudes, circumstances, illness, the weather… if God can change it, then prayer can influence it.

As the Bible puts it – “You do not have because you do not ask God.” -James 4:2 NIV

I bet most of you reading this post have experienced at least one remarkable answer to prayer. Why not share it with us in the comments?

So what habits did he practice in order to grow spiritually? We found out in the last blog that “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52 NIV). So his powerful spiritual life grew out of his habits rather than coming upon him instantly.

And last time we also looked at some of these spirit-building habits:

• study of the word
• service to other people
• consistent prayer

Also, some of the comments on that first blog brought out two other productive habits of Jesus’ spiritual life: he obeyed his parents and he persisted without giving up in the face of persecution.

Here are some of Jesus’ other habits that grew him spiritually:

1. Fasting. Jesus both taught and practiced this often-neglected spiritual discipline. He fasted 40 days in the wilderness after the Spirit led him there to be tested by Satan (Luke 4:1-13). He withstood this fiery trial because of his habit of fasting and prayer. He didn’t even begin his public ministry until this trial had been won by fasting.  And he taught his disciples, “When you fast (not if) do not look somber as the hypocrites do… But when you fast (not if) put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting…” -Matthew 6:16-18 NIV (emphasis added).
2. Worship. With Jesus, worship wasn’t reserved for formal occasions. Once when 72 of his disciples returned from ministering in the Spirit’s power, Jesus “full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children.’” -Luke 10:21 NIV. And in his confrontation with Satan, Jesus said, “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” -Matthew 4:10 NIV.
3. Surrender. One of the highest-level spiritual habits Jesus practiced, and one of the hardest we attempt, is surrender. Amazingly, Jesus once said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only  what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” -John 5:19 NIV. If Jesus couldn’t accomplish anything without his Father, then I must learn the same sort of surrender to have any chance at growing spiritually.

Jesus also spoke about this type of surrender by saying, “Those who love the life they have now will lose it. But those who are willing to give up their life in this world will keep it. They will have eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me. My servants must be with me everywhere I am. My Father will give honor to anyone who serves me.” -John 12:25-26 ERV.

Can you think of other spiritual disciplines that Jesus practiced? Give us your insights…

Certainly, as the Son of God, he already had the Divine Spirit living in him; he was God in flesh (John 1:1-14). But the Bible indicates that Jesus had to grow into his destiny as the iconic spiritual man walking in the flesh of Adam – “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52 NIV).

So, how did this growth process take place? What did Jesus himself do to grow into his full spiritual stature?

Professor Dallas Willard wrote a thought-provoking book on that idea several years ago called, “The Spirit of The Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives”. In that book, he mentioned that Jesus practiced several spiritual disciplines.

His list is too long to duplicate right now, but here are some basic disciplines that Jesus practiced to grow as a spiritual man:

1. Study. Jesus lived in a rich Jewish tradition of respect for the word. It’s clear as you read his life story in the Gospels that he knew the Bible – the Law, Prophets and Psalms – better than anyone else. He once said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17 NIV) And when tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days, Jesus used the Scriptures as the “Sword of the Spirit”, demolishing all of the evil one’s arguments by saying, “it is written”. (Luke 4:1-13)

2. Service. Jesus’ example stood miles above his religious detractors because he put into practice the things he learned from Scripture. Once when his disciples entered the room to observe the Passover, Jesus noticed that no one volunteered to wash everyone’s feet (a normal, customary thing to do when entering a meal). So he “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet..” (John 13:4-5 NIV)

This horrified Peter who, at first, refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet. How could the Messiah stoop so low as to wash the feet of his own disciples? Jesus did it to serve, to leave an example for his disciples, and to show that he was submissive to his Father’s word (See Isaiah 42:1-4 where the Messiah is predicted to be a gentle servant.)

3. Prayer. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35 NIV). This kind of commitment to prayer weaves itself in and out of the Gospel accounts. Jesus prayed often and he prayed for hours at a time, even sometimes praying all night.

In my book, Why God Waits For You To Pray, you’ll find an appendix that chronicles 17 major prayer events in Jesus’ life, and another one listing the 15 major “seminars’ Jesus taught on prayer. Jesus believed in prayer. And he practiced it with an intensity and commitment that awes us and pulls us forward to follow his example.

Can you think of any other spiritual disciplines that Jesus practiced? Share your insights with us…

The speakers this year reflect decades of study, teaching and devotion to prayer. They’ve all been preaching for many years; some of them teach at the university level, some have preached in local churches for decades and some have done extensive mission work.

You can find all the details at our church website, where you can download a brochure  - http://www.calhounchurch.org/pw.html

Join us this year for inspiring lessons on prayer, networking with other prayer leaders & intercessors, practical prayer time and good fellowship. See you in September for “Building Your Life Around Prayer”!

Some who’ve experienced this amazing coalition can’t remember anything like this happening here before, or even seeing it in other communities around us. It has truly been a “God thing” – brought about by a movement of the Lord’s Spirit.

Spiritual revival has taken center stage in this praying group; our main intercessions right now are for a special awakening here and all over our nation.

Here’s a recent post on our website and blog, which announces our upcoming participation in the National Day of Prayer:

We’ve finalized plans for our upcoming annual National Day of Prayer Breakfast -  It will be held at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on the ULM campus on Thursday, May 5th at 6:30 AM (breakfast serving begins at 6:15). You can get a map of the campus at http://www.ulm.edu/map.

Our theme this year is “Being A Catalyst For Revival”.

Please begin now to help spread the word about this wonderful event. Tickets will be available soon ($10.00 each which includes breakfast).

We’ll keep you posted as we have updated information.

You can get info on the National Day of Prayer at http://nationaldayofprayer.org/ Our event is being posted on their website, and should appear soon under the “Find An Event” logo.

Also, don’t forget our regular Thursday morning prayer time at Mt. Zion Baptist church (211 Mt. Zion Street in Monroe, LA) – 8:00 AM.

________________________________________

For Community Prayer Partners,

Jay Jarboe has 25 years experience teaching on prayer at the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, Texas. He also served as the pulpit preacher for the Sunset Church of Christ, which is the home of the Bible Institute & preaching school.

Jay is now Director of Church Equipping for Missions Resource Network.

Albert Lemmons, well-known to us here at Calhoun, has more experience teaching on prayer than anyone else I know in the Lord’s church.

He has taught over 600 prayer seminars worldwide, and has authored several books & study guides on the subject (which he will be glad to sign at the Workshop).

He’ll be teaching a special seminar this year on “7 Examples When Faith & Prayer Are Inseparable”. You can see more of his work at  www.prayermatters.org.

Don Ossman has preached at the Junction City, LA congregation for 35 years while also working as a business man in our area. He has also led mission works to Romania, Russia & Brazil for several years.

Alan Robertson, who now serves as one of the pulpit preachers & elders at the White’s Ferry Road congregation, has also made several recent mission trips—especially to Haiti and Africa.

And, yours truly, Keith Roberts will be teaching on “How Faith Develops” during the Workshop, as well as signing copies of “Why God Waits For You To Pray”.

Also, as a special treat, Johnathan Dobbs will be leading worship for us again this year.

We’ll also have a bookstore, provided by Boyd’s Books, with an emphasis on writings about prayer.

Make your plans now to be with us on September 10-12. You’ll get a major uplift in your life of prayer and faith. May the Lord make this the best Prayer Workshop we’ve yet had!

You can get more details at http://www.calhounchurch.org/pw.html

The short answer is… prayer.

Here’s how it happened. About ten years ago the ACLU sued one of our local school districts for allowing prayer on campus, especially at football games.

This outraged many of us, but it also woke us up to the importance of prayer… you know, the old adage that you don’t appreciate something until it’s threatened.

So our community banded together in a massive prayer gathering of thousands in one of our football stadiums. This led to renewed emphasis on prayer in our churches, and it also spawned a sense of unity.

Soon a group called Community Prayer Partners was formed, which draws churches, pastors & laymen together in prayer from most of the denominations in the area (you can see the CPP blog at http://communityprayerpartners.wordpress.com).

This group has prayed for years to see our churches unified and our community transformed.  We gather each month at 6:30 AM on the first Thursday to pray. We also organize prayer events on the National Day of Prayer and on Super Bowl Sunday, along with a special Campus Prayer Journey each September right before the See You At The Pole student rally held in most area schools.

We’ve seen remarkable answers. Our churches are more unified than ever. Our economy continues to improve and our schools are some of the best in the state.

All of this has now launched a Community Transformation Effort – which calls us out into the community to help the needy and bless people who need life transformation.

And it has spawed an upcoming major event – the Community Transformation Celebration on May 6, 2010 at the Monroe Civic Center in north Louisiana.

If you’re near our area, join us for this free event with gospel singer and American Idol finalist, Mandisa. See first hand how 82 churches can be unified by prayer.

According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette newspaper (Sunday March 13th) the Bella Vista Baptist Church has a ministry called “The Lighthouse of Prayer” – a prayer room staffed 12 hours per day, 7 days a week (6:00 AM till 6:00 PM).

This means that coordinators Kara Gosnell and Barbara Erskine must fill 84 slots per week in the prayer room, as volunteers pray for the requests that pour in from emails and the church office itself.

Remarkably, this ministry has been going on for the past 21 years.

And the work doesn’t end when the prayers are over. “PrayerGrams” (encouraging cards with Scripture quotes) are sent to each one prayed for, when possible.

One young mom, whose infant son was prayed for while having his third heart surgery, commented about the prayer team, “It was very comforting to me… and God has answered many prayers for him.”

Wonder what would happen if most churches would do the same?

Do you know of any other remarkable prayer ministries? Give us their ideas in your comments…

Here’s a good one:

• “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1-2 NIV)

Waiting for the answer that doesn’t show up right away, or after several years, or ever… that’s one of the great puzzles traveling alongside the praying life. If you’ve prayed more than once, you have probably run up against this same dilemma.

Wonder what God would say. How would he answer that one?

If you look into his word you’ll find that prayer is a human activity, so it’s subject to the same distortions, failures and diluting influences as any other human activity. Prayer is a flawed person trying to carry on a conversation with the Holy One. We often fail at it. We mistreat others and then expect to have prayers answered – we corrupt  the process (See Isaiah 58 & 1 Peter 3:7).

All your prayers are filtered through your spirit. A contaminated spirit will shred them before they even reach heaven.

Or what about this question:

• “Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD?” (2 Samuel 7:19b NIV).

King David’s astonishment at the Lord’s generosity to him overflowed, producing this emotional question. He had planned to build God a temple, but instead the Lord revealed that he planned to build a house for David – a living house, a dynasty that would never end… a blood-line that culminated in the Messiah.

Sometimes prayer brings such powerful blessings that we’re overwhelmed. We know we don’t deserve such answers, but they come anyway.

As the Apostle Paul quoted Isaiah he said, “‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV)

Why is God so good to us, often answering prayers in spite of our rebellion?

Or, here’s one more:

• “How have we shown contempt for your name?” (Malachi 1:6b NIV)

The people of Malachi’s day found it hard to worship God sincerely. They worshiped, but it wasn’t from the heart. It became difficult to maintain their heart-felt enthusiasm for God and their relationship with him.

Why is it so hard to pray consistently? Why do we find it difficult? Why isn’t it a joy to be with him – our Father in heaven?

I’m not sure, but I know we all face it. Our love, our prayer life, our devotion to him comes and goes. I want to cure that, don’t you?

What other questions would you ask God about prayer?