#13 Moments of Hope with Pastor Jerry Rice

Jesus taught us we should always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). Prayer has been a source of strength for Christians throughout the centuries. Through prayer, we can ask God for help. Through prayer, we can ask God to give us hope. Through prayer, we can pray for those around us. Through prayer, God can change our own hearts. Through prayer, mountain can be moved. Through prayer, God forgives our sins. Through prayer, God can heal our land. Through prayer, we can thank God for all that he has done in our lives.
Isaiah 62 contains this strange suggestion, that we should give God no rest, that we “nag” Him in prayer, pleading with such dogged tenacity that God is compelled to respond to our request. The prophet Isaiah told those who guarded the city of Jerusalem to pray with untiring persistence until God’s promises for the city were fulfilled. Notice Isaiah’s words in verses 6 and 7: “I have set intercessors on your walls who shall cry to God all day and all night for the fulfillment of His promises. Take no rest, all you who pray, and give God no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes her respected and admired throughout the earth.”
Acts 12 tells of the Apostle Peter being thrown in jail, “But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for Him”(v. 5). The end result was that God heard the prayers of His people and Peter was miraculously delivered.
Prayer is not *an* answer to our problems, it is *the* answer to our problems. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Just this morning I saw this newspaper article posted on Facebook: “Someone has said that if Christians really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Did you know that during World War II there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at the prescribed hour for ONE MINUTE to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people, and peace?
“There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 8 PM, stop what you are doing and spend ONE MINUTE praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you have a smartphone – set an alarm to pray from 8-8:01 PM. Please pass this along to your prayerful family and friends. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.”
Let us join this effort in praying for America and the world. If God can speak this world into existence, create man from the dust of the earth, open the Red Sea, crumble the walls of Jericho, heal blinded eyes, cleanse leprosy, and raise the dead, HE CAN AND WILL BRING THIS CRISIS TO AN END. “If you believe, all things are possible”(Mark 9:23).