Our first three lessons have shown the power of God in the working of miracles during the time of Christ and his apostles. Starting with our next lesson, we will look at three works of the Holy Spirit, namely the baptism in the Holy Spirit, various miraculous gifts, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Before we do that, we should look at
Prayer is a blessing that has always been in the world for all who care to avail themselves of it. You don't need any special gift to exercise the blessing and power of prayer. All you need is to trust God, obey his word, and bring your requests to him with thanksgiving
When the scriptures show that miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were temporary and not given to every child of God, and when we observe that nobody today demonstrates gifts of that standard, we have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. That is to say, we have to be careful not to detract from the power of prayer which is
[In this lesson we will be supplementing, but not greatly overlapping, what is presented on the same topic in the
Eph 3:20
"God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power
This verse is about prayer, because it is talking about
God is able to work solutions to our physical problems that provide spiritual, eternal, and glorious outcomes. The power of prayer goes beyond anything we can imagine or comprehend even though we, through the revelation God has given, can comprehend very much indeed
The power of prayer is "the power that works within us"
The language which Paul uses here seems clearly to indicate that he did not believe God had placed any limitations on the power of prayer or on what
Having observed the permanent power of prayer, it is important to understand that this power extends to the physical realm. Because we are both physical and spiritual beings, our prayers will include both physical and spiritual problems. God doesn't say, "Sorry, I only do spiritual problems, don't bring your physical problems to me." God cares about our physical problems. He will respond to our prayers about them, and nothing is
Here are some points worth noting
The physical and spiritual are connected. When we pray about our physical and earthly problems, we are not praying about something unrelated to spiritual and eternal issues. For example, Jesus taught his disciples to pray in the same breath, "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses"
God solves physical problems with regard to his eternal purpose, and does not regard our physical problems as irrelevant. Paul had a physical problem, a "thorn in the flesh" and he prayed about it earnestly
The Lord has compassion for us in both physical and spiritual problems. Jesus, while in this world, was often "moved with compassion" for people. His compassion embraced both spiritual and physical problems, and he helped people with both
When we talk about the power of prayer, and show that it applies to our physical problems as well as our spiritual problems, we bump into the idea that the natural physical world can only be influenced by natural and physical law. If prayer brings God's power to bear upon physical problems, this introduces a supernatural and miraculous element which some may
This is hardly an issue, however, since we pray to no lesser being than God, the Creator of all things in heaven and earth
Some are disturbed if an answer to prayer seems miraculous. Others are disappointed if it doesn't. However we should not get hung up on the question of whether an answer to prayer is miraculous. Whether it is, or whether it isn't, God is controlling things, and doing so in our best interests. For that we simply