I want to fill you in on a little secret of mine:
I’m terrified of praying out loud.
I hear the powerful, heart-felt prayers of others, and I wonder where do they get these beautiful words? How do they form such eloquent sentences on the spot? Don’t they worry about what they’re going to say next? I start to feel so much pressure that I choke up completely and become too nervous to speak to my Father in front of others. It’s safe to say I have a little bit of performance anxiety. Sometimes I become absolutely silent when my small group begins to pray due to my fears, and I shut down when I could have had the sweet chance to encourage or pray on behalf of a brother or sister.
At training camp, though, I didn’t have much of a choice. Situations kept coming up in which the only thing left to do was pray. My new friends spilled their hearts to me, and what could I do? The only answer was for me to swallow my fears and intercede for my friends in order to ask Jesus for healing and understanding. And though I was forced to overcome at training camp, I still didn’t think that my prayers had authority. Sure, other people’s prayers were legitimate, but mine? I didn’t think that they were good enough to actually have an impact on the situation.
This weekend, the Lord did a little something to show me otherwise. And man, is he creative in the ways he teaches us the lessons we need to learn.
I was visiting a house that two of my friends would soon be renting, and when we got back into the car to drive away, it wouldn’t start. After numerous failed attempts, we decided to pray. My friends bickered between themselves about who would be the one to ask the Lord for help, so I ended the argument by starting the prayer myself… Heavenly Father, I blurted out, we know that you are capable of all things! We ask that you come and fix this car right now, in Jesus’ name, so that we can drive away safely. Amen.
The key was placed in the ignition once again, and I held my breath as I waited for what would happen next. It was a silly request, and I didn’t have the authority to ask for it… right? Wrong. The key was turned, and the engine revved into life. All three of us screamed in joy and I yelled out “YES! JESUS IS LORD!” We laughed and began driving towards the grocery store. Phew, that was quite the coincidence, I thought to myself.
But, after exiting the grocery store and getting in the car to drive home, it wouldn’t start again. Shoot, I thought. Since the last time was a coincidence, why would it actually work again this time after I pray? After trying to start the car a few times without success, I declared out loud: Lord, you fixed the car just ten minutes ago and we believe that you can do it again. Amen! And what would you know, the engine was able to start.
Coincidence, huh? I think not.
The car started without any trouble for the rest of the weekend. It’s as if there was never anything wrong in the first place. So what on earth was up with that little stint? I fully believe that it was the Lord’s way of showing me, in a very light-hearted way, that my prayers are legitimate. They are more than good enough, and heck… he loves that they are simple.
It might have taken a silly situation like praying for a car to start for me to realize that I DO have authority through Christ. The Lord is teaching me to believe it when he said “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt…you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matt. 21:21-22).
Let’s stop believing the lies that we aren’t good enough. Let’s start walking in the authority that Christ has given us. I want to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons in Jesus’ name… and a simple situation like this taught me so much about what I’m capable of doing. All we have to do is believe.
