...the prayer of the righteous is powerful...

Why pray? Because nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer, except that which lies outside the will of God. You'll never know how many people have been strengthened because you asked God to encourage them. Or healed because you stood with them in faith. Or how many spiritual runaways have come home because you prayed for their souls? None of us will ever know the true results of our prayers this side of heaven, but we know this: God's kingdom on earth is established by those who pray.Through prayer we are invited into a relationship with God - a relationship that involves both talking and listening. Prayer is 'talking with God about what we are doing together' as Dallas Willard puts it. In addition to all the other work that gets done through prayer, the greatest work of all is the knitting together of our hearts with the heart of God. Many a person on their deathbed has regretted their obsession with work, money pleasure, and power. But have you ever heard of anyone who regretted spending too much time in prayer? No. Where there is much prayer, there's much love,
G.Ashton Oldham says 'Prayer does not consist in battering the walls of heaven for personal benefit or the success of out plans. Rather, it is the committing of ourselves to carrying out God's purposes. It is a telephone call to headquarters for orders. It's not bending God's will to our, but our will to His. In prayer we tap spiritual reservoirs of spiritual power whereby God can find fuller entrance into the hearts of men'. Why pray? That's why

The Word for Today (UCB)