According to American theologian R. C. Sproul (1939-2017): “Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is __________ [1].”
What would you put it the blank? A few possibilities include:
- The lives of those we pray for
- The way events unfold
- The attitudes and perspective of those prayed for
- Us—the people doing the praying
Sproul wrote, the most important thing prayer changes is us.
Author and Bible teacher Kay Arthur (1939- ) wrote similarly: “You cannot spend time in prayer, even intercessory prayer [for others], and not have it impact you personally [2].”
Such statements as these beg the question how. How could our prayers for others affect us?
One possibility comes readily to mind. Praying for others and watching miraculous answers unfold strengthens our faith, which contributes to peace of mind and heart.
On the other hand, in those situations when God chooses to postpone his response and yet we continue to pray, the waiting teaches us patience and persistence.
But might there be more ways intercessory prayer impacts us? A bit of research turned up the following. You may be surprised as I was by how many there are.
Intercessory prayer fosters unity in our hearts with those we pray for. We can even find ourselves growing in compassion and affinity for them.
I’ve prayed for Kiana for a number of years now. We’ve never met; I know very little about this young woman in India and yet love for her has bloomed in my heart just the same. I’m looking forward to meeting Kiana in heaven and hearing her story [3].
Intercessory prayer teaches us selflessness as our thoughts are directed away from ourselves and toward others.
Intercessory prayer changes our perspective as we see our desires for a person or situation shift to what God wants to do. We remember: his expansive plan always includes more benefit than we can perceive [4].
We also acknowledge that even times of pain and trouble produce worthwhile results.
Esther Ahn Kim was a Korean Christian who spent six years in a Japanese prison during Word World II as a result of her faith. No doubt many prayed for her release, and yet freedom wasn’t granted. However, at least two guards and many of Esther’s fellow prisoners became believers in Jesus—because of her [5].
Intercessory prayer shifts our attitudes from fear and anger to peace and calm as we affirm the truth of scripture, including:
- Whatever transpires has been allowed by God
- We will never understand all the workings of God this side of heaven
- Even suffering achieves purpose [6]
Intercessory prayer develops humility as we acknowledge our limited ability to impact people or circumstances and affirm only God can affect any change he chooses.
Intercessory prayer augments our usefulness and causes spiritual growth.
When Pastor Hendricks learned that Matt T. had been asked to teach the Sunday School class for junior high boys, his eyebrows went up. Matt was just out of college and still had some growing up to do himself.
But before long, Pastor Hendricks began hearing reports of the once-rowdy boys eagerly participating in the class. He invited Matt to lunch and asked about his secret of success.
Matt showed him a little black book with one page for each boy. On each page were comments like, “Having trouble in math,” “comes to church against his parents’ wishes,” and “wants to be a missionary but doesn’t feel capable.” Matt was praying over the pages every day.
Pastor Hendricks observed: When we pray for others, we become more like Jesus. And as we grow, God shows us more, and uses us more [7].
Isn’t that just like our Heavenly Father? Even as we seek to bless others with our prayers, God is also blessing us.
P.S. Please join me in prayer for the suffering people of Israel and the innocents of Gaza. Let’s pray that the perpetrators of evil are thwarted at every turn [8].
[1] The Prayer of the Lord
[2] His Imprint, My Expression, 157.
[3] You can read how I learned about Kiana at https://nancyaruegg.com/2019/12/12/advent-ure/
[4] Ephesians 2:20
[5] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/esther-ahn-kim-steadfast-in-persecution/
[6] Romans 11:33-36; James 1:2-4
[7] https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/sermon-prayer-life-of-a-christian-colossians-4
[8] Psalm 125:4-5
Photo credits: http://www.freerange.com; http://www.canva.com; http://www.pickpik.com; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.canva.com.
Discover more from From the Inside Out
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
From the Inside Out 
Thank you for this, Nancy!! And, yes, I am joining you in prayer!
You’re welcome, Debbie. No doubt there are thousands of us praying, looking to God for his intervention in a horrific situation. HE is our/their salvation! “From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people” (Habakkuk 3:8).
Amen!!
I haven’t stopped praying for Israel since all this started last Saturday, Nancy, and I will continue to pray. And you are so right about how praying for others enlarges our love for them, our caring, and our empathy. The very act is one of humility and complete trust that God’s will will be done. Just recently, the power of such prayer was revealed to me personally – my son and his wife were going through a rough patch in their marriage, but I continued to pray. Guess what? They’ve reconciled and agreed that their marriage is more than worth working on. Imagine my relief!!! Thank you, God!
Praise God for this recent answer to prayer in your family, Martha! You’ve brought up another blessing of prayer: the euphoric joy we experience when prayers such as these are answered. It’s such a privilege God has given us, to participate in prayer with what he accomplishes!
Praying for peace! Beautiful post! Thank you for sharing this message on prayer…so much wisdom in your reflection.
Thank you, Linda. Praise God for drawing my attention to this topic of the blessings of prayer. And thank you for adding your voice to the throng that must be lifting up the Mideast situation to God. Just as he rescued the Israelites from Egyptian captivity long ago, He can rescue the captives of today. He is still the sovereign power of the universe, capable of shattering any enemy! In the greatness of his majesty, he can throw down those who oppose him; he can consume them like stubble (Exodus 15:6-7)!
Thank you for this wonderfully informative post about prayer. Matt’s success story is impressive and so is Pastor Hendricks’ observation about this young man’s answered intercessory prayers. And thank you, Nancy, for the list of ways that prayer helps us. 🙂
You’re welcome, Nancy. So glad you found the post helpful. I was impressed with that story of Matt as well. I never met Pastor Hendricks but read some of his books and listened to a tape series of his talks about the Christian home–several times! His teaching was certainly impactful to me.
I’ll have to check out some of Hendricks’ books. Thank you again, Nancy! 🙂
Prayer, the real “carpet chewing” variety ( a former pastor’s wife description) truly changes us. There are things that can only be learned, from the heart of God, while on our knees. The world likes to talk about mindfulness meditation, but prayers to God reveal His mindset, not ours. Great post, as always, Nancy! God Bless!
Thank you David for your encouragement. What wonderful imagery for passionate, intense prayer you shared! As for mindfulness, it certainly has its limitations–especially if the exercise doesn’t include praise and gratitude to God. But what he accomplishes in and through prayer? Boundless!
love how you both teach and inspire with your writing. Yes yes prayer changes me – slowly but ever present shaping my heart to love more and judge less. May you have a wonderful weekend, Nancy!
Thank you Jean for your gracious comments! I can say the same about prayer’s impact on my life. I’ve learned to be less judgmental over the years as God reminds me I’m not perfect either! My sin may just be in a different area. / My weekend WILL be wonderful–it includes the granddaughters coming to spend the night.
I love that prayer gives peace of mind and heart, patience and persistence…and I’ve felt and seen those things be true in my own life.
Joining you in prayer for those in Israel.
I suppose we could say, when we pray with fervor and sincerity, it is guaranteed we will experience those qualities in our spirits. That is no small matter! As for our prayers for Israel: We look to the Lord; we wait for our God of salvation to act, even as we know he hears us (Micah 7:7).
❤️wise words, my friend.
Aw, thank you Alicia and praise God, the Source of all wisdom!
Thank you Nancy. Just what my heavy heart needed to hear.
God is SO good to provide what we need–in his timing. How wonderful that he used this post to minister to your heavy heart, Carolyn! Thank you for the encouragement.
Nancy, as always an encouraging post. My heart is heavy for Israel, joining you in prayer!
Thank you, Pam. It is indeed heartbreaking to watch what the people of Israel are enduring right now, and the conclusion will not come easily or quickly. Yet still we pray: Father in heaven, “may those who love you be secure. May there be peac within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity” (Psalm 122:6-9).
Amen!
Your reminder that prayer changes our attitude from fear and anger to peace and calm has been true in my life. When I feel fear and anger overtaking me, or settling into my spirit in a slow and dangerous way, I find myself drawn to prayer. I know it’s the Holy Spirit urging me to go to the only source of peace and calm. And even when I don’t feel great passion in prayer, I know that God understands and bends down to hear me. I join you in prayer for Israel, and I thank you for another timely blog. Blessings on this Lord’s day, Nancy.
Thank you, Patty. I agree with you wholeheartedly that even when the passion for prayer isn’t there, God understands and listens anyway, heeding our words as we make the effort anyway. Praise God he is such a gracious, compassionate Father!
Prayer brings me peace of mind, Nancy. It’s not what I pray for or even what I may hear in return. Instead, it’s simply communicating with God as a means of strengthening my relationship with Him, and that always brings me peace. I love “whatever transpires has been allowed by God”. In times of trouble there is an even bigger plan in motion for which someday we will all be thankful. I join you in prayers for the people of Israel and the innocents in Gaza.
Prayer is indeed all about relationship as we communicate to God and he speaks to us. As for being thankful for trouble because a bigger plan is in motion, you have my permission to remind of that truth when the time comes! Thank you for your reflective thoughts, Dave.
One important thing that I’ve learned from intercessory prayer is that it puts my own concerns in proper perspective. Some of my prayers for myself are very valid and important; however, being aware of others’ needs for God to intervene in their lives highlights how insignificant some of my own prayers are in the big scheme of things compared to others’ needs. For example, I may pray that fixing an appliance won’t cost too much, while someone else is asking God to heal them from a serious disease or for the salvation of a loved one. In this way it really does teach me humility and thankfulness.
Spot on, Cheri! Thank you for adding this worthwhile aspect of prayer to our list.
Nancy, this post really spoke to my heart. Sometimes, I grow weary of praying for others because I don’t see the fruit. But, God doesn’t call us to see fruit in the lives of those we pray for, He calls us to pray for them and let Him work the way He will. Thanks for sharing all the ways intercessory prayer impacts us and others.
It CAN become discouraging when prayers go unanswered for years. One day we’ll understand the bigger picture around our request, but for now you are so right: we have to let God work the way He will–perferable without fussing!
oh yeah, prayer changes me. i realize how small and dependent I am on the One who created the universe. i see how releasing all my concerns to the One who can do something about them brings me a lightness to my soul. I realize how little I control.
Ah yes, I can identify those changes in my prayer life also–now that you mention them! Insightful additions to our list, Linda–thank you!
Prayer is such an extraordinary opportunity to connect with the God of all creation and see Him operate through us in ways we can’t change. I’m seeing how prayer is changing me–I, too, am praying for those in Israel and Gaza and Lebanon and everywhere else where Jewish people and Christians are despised. Letting go of my anger and frustration that something that evil could happen and turning my focus to the Lord and what He can choose to do through this has made a difference in how I’m responding. And I’m praying more consistently for revival!
Amen, Dayle. Revival is our only hope!!
Hey, Mrs. Ruegg…
I have been leading a newer Bible study to a group of ladies at our church – “When You Pray.” It has been formative for so many of the reasons you’ve listed here. I am glad for every large and small way God’s inbreaking kingdom come to me – a lot of times in my moments of discourse with Him. This sweet communion is what sets apart Christianity from all other religions on earth – our communion with a living God. I pray you are well. Let’s catch up soon.
Peace for the journey,
Elaine Killian Olsen
Thank you, dear Elaine, for taking the time to comment. I’m so glad you pointed out that communion with God Himself is a singular element of Christianity. It’s a glorious reality, isn’t it? I can’t imagine struggling through life without His presence! No doubt you feel the same. How wonderful that you and women from your church are learning what the Bible has to say about prayer. I’m not a bit surprised that it’s been formative! / Indeed, let’s catch up soon!
Amen. Joining you in prayer for all concerned in the Middle East. Nancy, I find this discussion refreshing from the perspective of energizing my own prayer journey. Often, prayer connects us with our heavenly Father, one precious ribbon at a time.
A beautiful image, Richard–“one precious ribbon at a time” for each person, each concern, each ministry prayed for. Lovely!