Life-Changing Prayers

I was barely living life, in bondage to an eating disorder, BUT I PRAYED and God set me free. I was sick and dying, BUT I PRAYED and God healed me. I was told I may never have children, BUT I PRAYED and God blessed me with two sons. I had a need that looked impossible to meet, BUT I PRAYED and God provided. Marriage was harder than I expected, BUT I PRAYED and God healed us both so that we could truly love each other.

I wasn’t always passionate about prayer. Early in my walk with God, I would pray once in a while, but then I got to a place of desperation in my life and found myself crying out to God more often. Most of the time, my prayers consisted of one word: “HELP!!!!” God definitely answered those prayers by drawing me closer to Him. It was during this time I started reading my Bible more and discovered all these amazing promises from God and I desperately wanted to experience them. And so, I began praying life-changing prayers. 

1. Praying God’s Word is life-changing

James 5:16b says,

“…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

When you pray effectual and fervent prayers things change! Let’s get studious for a moment 🙂  The Greek word “effectual” in the verse above is “energeo” which means:

to work effectively to cause something to happen. To energize, to operate, to put forth energy. To be at work. To produce results.

You’ll find this same word in Hebrews 4:12 when describing the “power” of God’s Word:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.

Life-changing prayers are prayers backed by God’s Word! Why?

2. God responds to His Word

1 John 5:14-15 says:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Life-changing prayers are prayers that align with God’s Word because we can be confident in the outcome. Let’s be honest – sometimes our prayers are not God’s will for our lives and can be motivated by selfish desires. 

James 4:3 tells us:

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane He said, “Not my will, but Yours, Lord.” Jesus, our perfect example, struggled in His flesh when facing the cross, but in the end, He chose to pray God’s will. God’s will for our lives is good and perfect. Better than anything we can ever come up with! And when we pray according to the will of God, we can be confident He not only hears but answers. 

3. God’s Word is always at work

Isaiah 55:11 one of my very favorite verses says:

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

When we pray God’s Word, our prayers are not static, but constantly in motion. As we see from the verse above God’s Word will NEVER return void, but will ALWAYS accomplish what it sets out to do. We have the ability to release God’s Word through our prayers. The Lord gave me this vision one day when I was feeling discouraged because I had been praying for healing for a long time and was still dealing with sickness.

I was standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. As I looked across this amazing expanse of nature before me I suddenly felt the urge to shout and so I screamed, “JESUS!!!!” Immediately there was an echo that continued on and on across the canyon. I heard, “JESUS!!! JESUS!!! JESUS!!! JESUS!!!! and so on. The echo continued going on and on and when I could longer hear it, I knew without a doubt that the sound of my voice continued to travel. Then I heard the Lord say, “That’s the power of my Word when you declare it. It keeps working and moving and transforming and healing. Even though you can’t always see it, know that I’m at work in your life and my Word never returns void but always accomplishes what it sets out to do.

After this vision my faith increased. As I continued to pray for healing for my body and declared God’s Word even more fervently, I knew God was at work and my prayers would be answered. 

Friend, I know that sometimes it can be discouraging when we pray and  don’t see the answers right away. But remember God’s Word is always at work in your life. He’s working behind the scenes to bring your miracle to pass. Some of the situations you’re praying for didn’t happen overnight and God needs to work some things out in you and maybe some of the people in your life. Certainly, God can do a suddenly, but God also wants us to be able to sustain the blessings He gives us. I know with my marriage, it wasn’t just my husband that needed to change, but me who needed some work because I was a piece of work! My health issues also took time to heal because they didn’t happen overnight and came from years of abusing my body. I had to learn how to take care of myself and love and respect myself as God’s creation so I could walk in the healing He brought me. Remember, even when you can’t see it, God is at work answering your prayers and performing His Word in your life. God is always at work healing us and working things out behind the scenes so that we can have healthier relationships, minds, and bodies and truly experience His peace, joy, and blessing in our lives.

About a month ago I was doing some cleaning and I found an old prayer journal from over 15 years ago. This journal was devoted to prayers specifically for my marriage. As I sat there reading prayer after prayer, I was reminded of all the pain I felt when my husband and I were just two hurt people, hurting each other. I had forgotten many of those prayers, but as I sat there reading them I was in awe as I realized I was now living out the answers to those prayers. God is faithful!!! Keep praying those life-changing prayers, friend. God’s Word never returns void!

I have a gift for you! I created a 3-day prayer journal for you to get you started on your journey to life-changing prayers. Even if you’re a seasoned intercessor, I believe you’ll be blessed by this. It renewed my passion for prayer as I wrote it. All you have to do is click below to download your copy of “My Life-Changing Prayers” A 3-day Jumpstart for a More Powerful Prayer Life! Hope you enjoy it!

If you’re reading this and have never signed up for my blog you can sign up here

And as always, I love to hear from you! There’s also a comment box below if you’d like to share something. Blessings!!