We Have Forgotten the Power of Prayer

Prayer is more than a phrase we say or a response we offer—it is our direct line to God. In this episode of Five Minutes and Coffee, we reflect on how prayer has slowly become casual and commercialized in today’s culture, even though it should be a powerful and consistent part of everyday life.

Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, this episode challenges listeners to reconsider how seriously we take prayer and whether we truly follow through when we say, “I’ll pray for you.” 

This episode is a call to remember the power of prayer, to use it intentionally, and to become the generation that prays with faith, persistence, and trust in God’s ability to act.

Jacobs & Associates, CPA, LLC, 
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Phone: 407-571-6995  Email: Tarsha@jacobs.cpa

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:45

Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of 5 Minutes and Coffee. My name is Jerry, and I am happy to be sharing God's word with you. Today I want to discuss something that we know, but I think we forgot. I want to discuss the power of prayer and how we have forgotten what prayer represents. It is our direct line to God, but in today's society, it has become commercialized. When something happens, we say, I'll pray for you. We say thoughts and prayers. We say so many different things, but do we actually pray? And are we tapping into that superpower? If you want a scripture for today's episode, it is coming directly from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 17. But as I read, I'm going to start in 16. It says, Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything, give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. And as I think about prayer, I think about how some of us have memories of our grandparents praying into the night or our parents praying into the night, and how that is such a staple of our childhood. Are we still praying like that today? In speaking with my mother, I mentioned to her, as a child, I often wondered why she would pray into the night. As an adult, I understand. It was her superpower, it was her way to directly impact this world, this life, and the circumstances she was dealing with. So why as a society have we lessened prayer from what it actually is? And I'm not saying that you specifically that's listening have lessened prayer, but I really just want to emphasize that we should not forget its power. Let's say I'm out on a walk. If you don't know me, I love to go for walks, I love to use it as my time to think. And on my walk, I see someone that is badly injured, and I say to them, I'm gonna call the ambulance, I'm gonna call 911, I'm going to get someone here to help you right now. And then I just walk away. I never call 911, I never get them help, I never even mention it. As a matter of fact, I've forgotten about that person in the time it took me to turn around since seeing them on the floor. And that's what I think of when I think about how we've commercialized the word prayer and how we use it today to fit into society, but not to fit in God's plan. You see that person injured and you say, I am going to call 911, I am going to get emergency personnel here to help you. What you are doing is offering a lifeline. In the same way, an individual that we're looking at may not necessarily be beat up physically, they may not necessarily be hurt laying on the ground waiting for help, but spiritually, they may be down, mentally, they may be overrun. And when they tell you this is what's going on with me, and you say I'm going to pray for you, and you do not, it is the equivalent of turning around and walking away as you watch them bleeding on the ground. And I know I said picture a stranger, but now picture someone you love, someone that you have a relationship with, and you see them and you say, I'm going to pray for you, and you don't do it. These are the people that we go to church with, that we work with, these are the people in our community. Why would we leave them in a position of needing help and not tapping into the power of prayer and going before the throne of God and bringing their issues before the Lord? Do not let the generation that prayed for us deep into the night fade away without us also now becoming the generation that prays deep into the night. Do not forget to tap into the power of prayer. Sometimes when I'm talking to my children, I have to remind them, what type of father would I be to you if I only spoke to you once when I remembered? If I never took the time to know you, what would our relationship be like? As we're navigating through this life of its ups and downs and its pain, and we have no relationship with God because we don't talk to Him, because we have not engaged in the power of prayer. How can we hope to hold on and endure? My challenge for you this week is to remember the power of prayer and to actually pray. I know my last few episodes have touched on prayer in some capacity of just building the habit, but I think it's important that we understand that there's an absolute power and necessity within our faith to pray and to pray like we know that God is able. I hope that you find yourself encouraged with this episode. As again, when I record these episodes, it's because it's something that I needed to remember. And this week I needed to remember that there is power in prayer and that I need not let this life bring me low. So if you have enjoyed this episode, if you have found benefit in this episode, if you want to support the podcast, I am asking simply for one thing just share this episode with one person. And my prayer for you this week is that you will tap into the power of prayer. This is Jerry with Five Minutes in Coffee.