Prayer is an amazing thing that we so often take for granted. Think about it: you and I have direct access to the creator of the universe who we can talk to about our struggles, needs, and desires. Why would we not utilize that to the highest degree?
However, I feel as though the reason we don’t always utilize it in the way that we should is because we doubt that anything will come of it. Since prayer doesn’t have immediate results, we find ourselves wondering if it’s even worth it in the first place.
Today, I want to tell you that prayer is, in fact, worth it.
Let’s take a look at 10 different Bible stories, all of which could be used for a prayer lesson or Bible study, that will hopefully reassure you that there is indeed power in prayer.
Let’s take a look at some Bible verses and some amazing examples of powerful prayers in the Word of God.
Hezekiah Saves Jerusalem
The books of 1 and 2 Kings are action-packed, filled with stories of the various kings that ruled over the nations of Israel, and in 2 Kings 19, we find ourselves reading about King Hezekiah.
In this chapter, King Hezekiah is in quite a predicament as the powerful king of Assyria, Sennacharib, has decided to come up against Jerusalem and lay siege to the city.
Jerusalem was God’s holy city and a siege against it was certainly not a good thing. When an army would lay siege to a city, they would surround it and lie in wait, preventing anyone from coming out. This may seem like a passive way to fight, but it was actually very effective.
It prevented people from leaving the city to get food and resources, essentially starving them without even fighting.
In response, Hezekiah tells his people to keep their faith in God and he earnestly prays for their deliverance. He prays:
“So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” [2 Kings 19:19, ESV]
That night, we read in 2 Kings 19:35-37 that God sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians and struck down 185,000 of them. Not only was the army destroyed, but even the king of Assyria was struck down by his own sons on return to his home.
Despite the bad situation, Hezekiah prayed for God’s people and God answered. He showed great faith and encouraged faith in others that God would come through, and God did, as He always does.
Jesus Prays for God’s Will
Jumping forward to the New Testament, there is an amazing story of prayer found in Luke 22:42. This story not only gives us an example of prayer to follow but also gives us a glimpse into the humanity of Jesus Christ and his relationship with the Father.
This event took place just before Jesus was arrested when Jesus went to go and pray in the garden of Gethsemane about the events that were to come. We see here that even though Christ Jesus knew what God had sent him to do, he was still wary about going through it.
He prayed for God to remove this cup of suffering from him, but the end of his prayer is quite telling. He prays:
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” [Luke 22:42, ESV]
What an amazing example of prayer for us to follow! We too should be praying, “Not my will, but yours, be done.” So often we think that prayer’s purpose is to change God’s mind when, in reality, prayer is for us to mold our wills and desires to God’s, especially when it comes to the important things.
Even though Jesus, the son of man, did not want to enter into the suffering ahead of him that would bring the good news, he knew that the will of God was the highest and the greatest, so he submitted to it and obeyed, just as we should today in our daily prayers.
Hannah Prays for a Son
The story of Hannah found in 1 Samuel 1 in the Old Testament is a story of patience and the power of waiting on the Lord in prayer. Hannah was a wife of a man named Elkanah who had one other wife named Peninnah.
We are told that Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. According to the Bible, the Lord had closed her womb.
Out of compassion and love, Elkanah would give a double portion to Hannah on days of sacrifice, but Peninnah would provoke Hannah since she still was unable to have children. It was so bad that Hannah would weep and not eat.
However, at one point, Hannah rose and prayed to the Lord at the temple, saying:
“O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” [1 Samuel 1:11, ESV]
She petitioned the Lord for a son heartily, and the Lord answered her prayer. In God’s timing, Hannah conceived and bore a son, Samuel, because her prayer was heard and fulfilled by God. Although she wanted a son in her own timing, her prayer allowed her to be patient until the Lord fulfilled it in his divine timing.
Likewise, we must learn to be patient in our prayers and wait on the Lord, for his timing is much wiser than our own. Waiting on the Lord in the quiet place of a lifestyle of prayer brings inner peace that should be a characteristic of the Christian life.
Elijah Prays for the Widow’s Son
In 1 Kings 17, we find another amazing story of prayer as we read about the prophet Elijah. The Lord had commanded Elijah to go to Zarephath where the Lord had commanded a widow to feed Elijah and provide for him.
However, the son of the widow became ill while Elijah was with them and he died. The widow was struck with grief and said to Elijah:
“What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” [1 Kings 17:18, ESV]
This, of course, was not what Elijah was there to do. Instead, I think that he was there to do what happened next. Elijah took the widow’s son, carried him to the upper chamber of the home, and laid him in his bed. He then began to pray to God:
“O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” [1 Kings 17:21b]
Miraculously, the Lord listened to Elijah’s prayer, and the widow’s son was brought back to life. By the power of prayer, Elijah petitioned God to bring this boy back to life and the Lord listened. The Lord hears our prayers and he will answer them according to his will, doing miraculous things in our lives.
Daniel Prays for Revelation
In Daniel 2, we read in God’s word that in the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him to the point of not sleeping. He called all of his own magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers to himself, but they could not give him the true interpretation of the dream that he sought.
In his rage, the king commanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be destroyed, including Daniel and his friends.
However, Daniel gathered together his friends and told them to seek God’s mercy through prayer and to ask God for revelation concerning the dream that the king had.
Sure enough, by the power of prayer, the mystery of the king’s dream was revealed to him through a vision. Since God answered their prayer and revealed this dream to Daniel by the power of the Holy Spirit, Daniel was able to save himself and his friends from the hand of the king and pass on the revelation that God had given him.
Likewise, we can seek out the God of heaven through prayer for guidance and revelation in times of trouble in our own lives. God will answer us in his timing and provide us with the guidance and strength that we need to handle any situation that comes our way.
Samson Prays for Strength
Most of us probably know the story of Samson. He was one of the judges that God appointed in the book of Judges who was known for his superhuman strength given to him by the power of God.
However, he took lightly the calling that God had placed on his life and ended up losing his strength through a plot of Delilah, a woman in the valley of Sorek. She worked with the Philistines who wanted Samson dead since he was such a threat to their armies.
After Samson’s strength was taken from him, he was captured by the Philistines who gouged his eyes out and used him as entertainment for their people.
However, while they were gathered to offer a sacrifice to their God, Samson found himself positioned close to the pillars that held up the house. He prayed to God:
“O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” [Judges 16:28, ESV]
The Lord heard Samson’s prayer and strengthened him once more, allowing him to break down the pillars of the house, killing the Philistines who were inside who numbered more than all that he had killed during his life.
Through Samson’s prayer, God gave him the strength to avenge himself and show the Lord’s power to all who heard the story.
Elijah Prays for God’s Power
The people of Israel in the Bible are definitely not known for being very loyal to the one true God. They used to be drawn to worshiping other gods, specifically the god of Baal on more than one occasion.
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah decides to settle this debate once and for all by setting up a sort of test for the two gods.
They gathered all of the people of Israel together as well as all of Baal’s prophets and began his test. He proposed that he and the prophets of Baal would each be given a bull. They would set up the bull on wood as an offering and each call to their god to consume it by fire and see what would happen.
When the prophets of Baal called upon their god, nothing happened. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He even upped the ante by soaking his bull and wood with water, making it harder to burn.
Yet when he prayed and called upon the God of Israel, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the entire offering, even consuming the water that had been poured out.
By prayer, the living God showed his power to the people of Israel and called them back to himself, despite their wandering to other gods. He certainly showed up that day and continues to show his great power today through prayer.
Moses Prays to See God’s Glory
In the book of Exodus, Moses had a truly close relationship with God that is inspiring to read about. He talks to God intimately, spends time in God’s presence, and shares a bond with him that amazes the people of Israel.
In Exodus 33, Moses actually asks something of God that he can’t give him. Moses prays, “Please show me your glory,” but God can’t do this.
It’s not that God is unable to do this, it’s just that God explains that if he were to truly show Moses his glory, Moses would die.
As a compromise, God allows Moses to see a glimpse of his glory and protects him from being killed by his overwhelming presence. Yet even in this, our heavenly father answered Moses’ prayer and showed him part of his glory.
Elisha Prays for Revelation
In the books of 1 and 2 Kings, it is quite interesting to see how God uses his prophets to protect his people and accomplish his will.
In 2 Kings 6, we read about how God would make Elisha aware of where the king of Syria would be moving his armies during the war so that he could warn the people of Israel as to where they should and shouldn’t go.
When the king of Syria realizes this, he sends an army to kill Elisha where he was staying at the time. When the army arrived, Elisha’s servant became extremely afraid, but Elisha simply said to him:
“Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” [2 Kings 6:16, ESV]
Then, Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened and his servant began to see that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire sent from God to protect Elisha. Elisha then prayed once more and God struck the army with blindness, protecting Elisha and the people of Israel by his power.
David Prays for Guidance
David is perhaps one of the most notable men of God in the Bible. One of the reasons that he is most notable is because of his use of prayer. He would pray to God constantly, securing the title of “the man after God’s own heart”.
He was a great biblical example who shows the importance of prayer.
In 1 Samuel, a city that David ruled over had been attacked and all of the people had been taken captive, including the wives of David and his men.
The people were so distressed by this that they even spoke of stoning David, but David turned to the Lord in prayer and asked for guidance.
Through David’s prayer, God showed David that he should pursue the men and that he would succeed in overtaking them and bringing back the captives. Just as God had said, David and his men defeated the men and came back with God’s people rescued.
Even in hard times, David turned to prayer and received from God exactly what he needed at the time.