by Leigh Ann Dilley on October 03, 2023
Have you ever considered that prayer brings new life? If you think about it, nothing happens in our spiritual life until we pray. Typically, our first prayer is when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and to be our Lord and Savior. Upon asking, God grants us a new life through Him by the gifting of the Holy Spirit. The old self dies and we become a new creation, reborn by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17). Prayer is life-changing because prayer is a lifeline to God. What in your life needs new life? Is it an estranged relationship, a career, a marriage, a medical concern, an unbelieving friend or relative, an addiction? Could your own prayer life need revival? The list goes on and on.
If prayer creates new life, why don't we pray more often? Could it be that prayer is a little like the labor it takes to give birth? It sounds funny but think about it. Prayer can be hard work. It takes focus, yet it is tedious. It is not glamorous, and it is agonizingly slow at times. Dare I say it can even be boring? We become fatigued and discouraged when it seems like nothing is happening.
The fact that prayer creates new life should not come as a surprise to us. God is in the business of creating new life. Examine all God has created from the beginning! God created the world and everything in it. He created a new people for Himself by using the birth of Isaac through Sarah, whose womb was dead. God created a savior for His people through Mary, giving Jesus a human life. God gave Jesus a new life through His resurrection. With Jesus' resurrection, new life is promised to anyone who chooses to follow Jesus. Jesus himself promises to make all things new in Revelation.
There is a lot of talk about prayer these days. It seems like the awareness, desire, and necessity for prayer is increasing. Whenever God wants us to do something new, He calls His people to prayer. Prayer works because it releases the power of the Holy Spirit. As Paul said in Romans 6:10-11, "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you."
The next time you feel the labor of prayer, be expectant for what God might be creating and remember that new life is always worth it.
