The Power of Prayer

Prayer  My Lord, My God, I thank you for the outpour of your blessings, your rich presence, and the work of your Spirit. At times I struggle in prayer, searching to find the right words to express my concerns.  I'm confident that even when I don't know how I should pray the Holy Spirit intercedes with groans on my behalf that I cannot understand. Help me to pray continually about the cares of life. Bless our nation and its leaders that they may govern righteously. Prick the hearts of your people, draw us closer to you and reveal yourself to us daily. Open the eyes of our hearts so that we can serve You faithfully. In Jesus' name, Amen.   The Power of Prayer by Veronica Garrett    The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16     Years ago, I was a frequent business traveler.  I was very comfortable flying the friendly skies.  On this particular day all passengers were seated with belts fastened because the stewardess had completed her safety demonstration. The doors to the plane were secure and the carrier had pushed away from the docking zone. The airplane began to taxi to the runway. Sitting on a busy runway of a major airport, we awaited our turn to take off. Eventually, the airplane began to move forward with sure speed.  This particular day I felt a sudden urge to pray.  I can only explain that often I feel the prompting of the spirit but this moment I felt a tremendous urgency. This had never occurred during a flight I begin to pray for family, friends, and the airplane and travel safety.  I can recollect that my instant thought was regarding those I loved.   I didn’t immediately consider that my flight was in jeopardy.  Almost immediately the Boeing 747 airplane suddenly stops. The passengers quickly became quiet because this was not a normal flight occurrence. I sat in astonishment knowing that I had bombarded heaven just seconds prior. The pilot came over the loud speaker only to tell us that another aircraft had erroneously taken off when we were about to take off. I thank God for his prompting and allowing me to experience the power of prayer in such way.  Far too often we organize our prayer petitions in the "draft" folder of our heart and yet fail to "send" the prayer towards Heaven. We definitely want to feel the effects of answered prayer but we must always remember it is asking, seeking, and knocking we experience the blessing of answered prayer.