Does Prayer Really Work | The Power of Prayer: Pray, Praise & Expect Your Suddenly

Yes! Yes! Yes!! There's so much power in prayer. Pray really work. My prayer is after you finish reading this blog you will pray, praise, and expect your suddenly. I can share countless testimonies where my prayers were not only heard by God, but he answered them - all of them. I could only imagine, I empathize with you and I implore you to trust God through this difficult time.

A few benefits of prayer:

1. Activate your faith

2. Intercedes on behalf of another person

3. Brings you into deeper intimacy with God

4. Brings forth restoration

5. Can be a catalyst for your suddenly to happen

Let's take a sneak peek into the prison cell where Paul & Silas were staying. The physical environment was no five star hotel. Their cell was pitch-black, cold, damp, dirty, and poor ventilation - a true breeding ground for mold and mildew. Given the conditions of ancient Roman prisons, they may have been starving and exhausted from having to be weighed down with wooden stocks that locked their feet into a wide position. Talk about uncomfortable, undesirable, and frustrating. But, they prayed and praised & the other prisoners were listening. This story in Acts 16 brought me through many seasons in my life where I felt imprisoned, mistreated, trapped - but, unlike Paul & Silas, I spent countless nights drowning in my tears, calling people to tell them how I was feeling, and writing about my situation. In hindsight, I was allowing my feelings to control me because I was focusing on my situation and not my saviors - God and Jesus Christ.

Let me take you back to January of 2000 when I felt weighed down to the point where I stood in front of the mirror in the Coleman Library at Florida A&M University sobbing uncontrollably. Hours before that moment I realized that I did not have the books I needed and my mother did not have a cent left to her name after using all of her resources to send me to college. I came up with "good ideas" one of them was to visit the financial aid office to get an in-house loan for the semester, not only did the lady give me a big, fat no - that's what she yelled it at the top of her lungs (no exaggeration) and rushed me out of there. Then I had another "good idea" and that was to call everyone I knew in my contact list to get their advice - apply for instant loans for college students. I felt hopeful until I exhausted every option and received denial after denial. That's when it got real, so I rushed into the bathroom and began to sob - yes, girl, the ugly cry. In the midst of my sobbing I finally called out to God, I prayed a short but sincere prayer and He answered by sending Eulinda into the bathroom. Long story short, she refused to leave the bathroom until I came out of the stall to talk with her - and I did. She asked to pray with me and I said yes, and immediately, I felt a wave of peace that made no sense. At the end of the prayer, she shared with me that God blessed her with more than enough grants and that she would buy my books. Long story short, she showed up at my apartment that evening with the books and a handwritten note inside the card that changed my life (it's the actual card in the image below). Well, that's just one of thousands of answered prayers and evidence that prayer works as God is still hearing and answering them. She interceded for me by simply praying for me.

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  PRAY. PRAISE. EXPECT. Your prayer may be the beginning of your suddenly. Acts 16:25–26

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  PRAY. PRAISE. EXPECT. Your prayer may be the beginning of your suddenly. Acts 16:25–26

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  PRAY. PRAISE. EXPECT. Your prayer may be the beginning of your suddenly. Acts 16:25–26

The best part about this testimony is that her kind gesture was the catalyst for my quest to find Jesus and God for myself. I knew of them, but I never really knew them. Today, my approach is much different as my default setting is from Acts 16:25-26, I pray, praise, and anticipate my suddenly. Paul & Silas were freed from their shackles and the cell because of their prayers and praise. Sis, I am inviting you to pray and praise right now. Stop searching for a good idea. Wait on the Lord for a "God idea." Remember, there is power in prayer. When you pray, praise, and trust God - expect your suddenly. Prayer really work! Taste & see - well, more like pray & praise (don't forget to come back and share your testimony).