I am still reflecting on a conversation I had a few weeks back with a friend of mine, also in ministry. I can’t get out of my mind his first response when I asked him, “What are some keys to the growth you’re experiencing right now?” Without a thought, he replied, “Prayer. I didn’t know what I was doing and I still don’t. I have spent a lot of time on my knees constantly asking the Lord for wisdom, and to bless this church and its leadership. God has answered those prayers. Everything has been accomplished by Him and through Him.”

Do you remember one time when the disciples of Jesus experienced failure? They couldn’t cast out a demon, so they turned to Jesus for an explanation. “He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you’” (Matthew 17:20). Their failure came from a lack of faith.

Some might have a problem of interpretation with this verse. So why not look at Mark’s account? “And He said to them, ‘This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer’” (Mark 9:29).

That really helps me. “Faith as a grain of mustard seed,” is a living, breathing faith that prays. So how do we find the helpfulness that we need? By believing God enough to pray.

Prayerlessness is powerlessness