Prayer—the Power Source of Ministry

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 2:7 NKJV

I recently had the pleasure of observing a waterspout over the Atlantic Ocean. I was a few miles from the phenomena, and it appeared to be an otherwise non-eventful weather day.  According to Wikipedia, it was a good thing that it was a fair-weather waterspout because a tornadic waterspout may have been life-threatening for us vacationers.   We marveled as we watched the water from the ocean climb up the spout to the clouds in the sky. It was powerful.

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 ESV

The water went up in power, by power, to be poured back out. This is the way our prayer life is intended to operate.  We are meant to pray in the power of His Spirit. When we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us up completely, it crowds out our own limited thinking. Most of us know this, and yet our powerful minds can take over our heart knowledge and we quickly revert back to ‘telling’ God what we need or what we want. We toss up a quick prayer and then we end up devising our own plans instead of waiting, listening, and following His still, small voice. We want things to go smoothly and look good.  

What if looking good or a flawless presentation is not the best plan for you or for your audience? What if God wants to use your weakness to encourage someone who really needs to know that it is okay not to be perfect? The next time you find yourself beating yourself up over a missed point, tripped up words or forgetting that prop – think about what is most important to God. The God of the universe certainly can override any mistake or misstep that we may make—His word does not go out void. If you are faithful to seek, listen, and lead by the power of the Holy Spirit, the results will be potent.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:16-18 NIV

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, it is the greater work.”  Oswald Chambers

Therefore friend, to be successful in all you do, like that waterspout—allow the power of God to pull you up and to use you for your good and for his glory.

Question:  At what time in your speaking or writing ministry did you know you were being held up by the power of prayer? I look forward to reading your comments.

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Kim Cordes will be at the 2021 Speak Up Conference to share Prayer Mapping: Your Portable War Room.  It promises help for the ADD prayer warrior.  She will be sharing the PRIME approach to prayer so that you will be filled up with the Holy Spirit every time you pray. If you’re not registered for the July 14-16 Virtual Speak Up Conference yet, you can do so here.  You can select the speaking track or the writing tract.