When Prayer Stopped Bullets

By Lane Palmer, Christian Post Guest Columnist Tuesday, March 27, 2007

So … how is your prayer life?

I don't know if you remember much that happened in October of 2002, but the people in Washington, D.C., will never forget. For three weeks two men with high powered rifles went on a terrorizing killing spree in and around our nation's capital that left 10 people dead and three others critically injured. For millions of people, it was a time of paralyzing fear and feelings of terror when just walking out their front door. These two wicked men evaded police and capture seemingly without effort, and it looked as though the nightmare might never end.

And it might not have – until a group of 50 Christian truckers got together and begged God to bring an end to the crimes and death.

One of those truckers was Ron Lantz. He believed that when believers pray, God answers. In fact, his faith was so strong that he told others that God would use him to catch the killers.

A few days later he was driving through the region where the shootings occurred when he felt compelled to pull off the road at a random rest stop. Random to him I guess … but not random to Him – as in God. As Ron surveyed the parking area, right before his eyes was the car that was being described to his ears on the radio by police!

I'm sure Ron's prayer life got even more active at that point – and so did his quick thinking mind. He called 911, pulled his truck across the exit to prevent possible escape, and waited out for 15 minutes that probably felt like 15 hours. The police arrived, the murderers were apprehended, and the rest is history.

Some might call this story a twist of fate, but I would call it an answer from the Father – wouldn't you? The power of prayer is often unseen, but it is definitely undeniable.

So … how is your prayer life?

From my experience, a healthy and active prayer life is one of the most difficult areas of the spiritual life for most Christians – which really isn't a surprise. After all, if you were Satan, what would be the one focus of your attack on believers? Exactly – prayer. As Samuel Chadwick once said: "The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."

When we stop praying, Satan starts winning. That's why we are commanded specifically to "pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5:17). The original word in the Greek language for "continually" gives us a word picture of a hacking cough. Ever had a hacking cough? The harder you try to stop it, ignore it, or suppress it, the stronger that little tickle in your throat becomes and you erupt into a coughing fit that sends people running for cover.

Get the picture? Our prayer life isn't limited to a time, a place, or occasion. It is all the time, in every place, for every occasion – and the harder Satan tries to stop it, ignore it, or suppress it, the stronger it should become. We should be constantly breaking into prayer fits that send the enemy running for cover!

So why do we struggle with a consistent and healthy prayer life? Simple…we don't really understand prayer. We link "prayer" with "boring" and "useless" – when in reality:

Prayer is coming into the presence of God Himself.
Prayer is taking our concerns to the One who cares for me
Prayer is standing on sacred ground…
Prayer is communicating with the Creator of the universe
Prayer is a child talking to His Father…
Prayer is bringing our hurts to the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort…
Prayer is reaching out to our Redeemer…
Prayer is crying out to the rock that is higher than we are…
Prayer is calling out to the only One who can save us…
Prayer is touching the One who loves us with an unfailing & unquenchable love…
Prayer is bringing our questions to the One who has the answers
Prayer is reaching out to the God who is NEVER tired, confused, afraid or taken by surprise
Prayer is connecting our lives with the ALL knowing, ALL present – and ALL powerful KING of kings…
Prayer is coming near to God…*

And that's just the beginning.

Your prayer life is the key to your relationship with God. Period. When you understand this, your prayer life will be just that… a life. A living existence that breathes through the Holy Spirit and moves to the heartbeat of God. It will be the start and end of your day and the last words on your lips before bed. You'll take each step in the recognition of God's presence and power, and you'll feel the "tickle" in your soul from the Holy Spirit that your Daddy wants to hear from you.

How many lives did the prayers of the Christian truckers save? We'll probably never know, but I know this, your prayers can change your life and the lives of others in ways you could never imagine.

So … how is your prayer life?

www.sermoncentral.com

_____________________________________________________________________________

Lane Palmer is the Youth Ministries Specialist for Dare 2 Share Ministries in Arvada, Colo., where he works with to provide resources for youth leaders and students. Dare 2 Share exists to energize and equip teens to know, live, share and own their faith in Jesus. For more information on Dare 2 Share Ministries or the GameDay youth conference tour, please visit www.dare2share.org. Send feedback to lane@dare2share.org.