The Power of Prayer
by Dan MacLeod
May 3, 2026 · Harrison Hills Church
Kind: sermon
Scripture: James 5:16-17, Luke 11, Matthew 26, Luke 24, Acts 2, Acts 3, Acts 4:31, Acts 12

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/dan-macleod--the-power-of-prayer
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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your pastor's absence. James 5-16, the Bible says, confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And I want to talk to you today. This is not going to be a revolutionary subject. In fact, I deliberate a little bit this morning, but I was encouraged to hear that announcement about the focus on prayer and fasting. It served as a little confirmation to me that perhaps what I was bringing this morning was fitting. I want to talk to you for a few minutes on the power of prayer. Amen? The power of prayer. Lord, I thank You for Your people in this house. I pray as we turn our attention to the Word of the Lord that You would help me speak and help us hear. I pray, Lord, that You would help each of

us step a little further into the journey of prayer. Help us deepen our lives of personal prayer and help this body as a church family grow in areas of corporate prayer. I thank You. I give You praise and honor. In Jesus' name, amen. The Lord bless you. You can be seated this morning. The power of prayer. Prayer was the custom of those early disciples whom Jesus called out of family and familiarity and the comfort of career. The Bible shows us in Luke chapter 11 that they asked Him to be taught about prayer. Verse 1 of Luke 11 says, As He was praying in a certain place when He ceased, He stopped, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught His disciples. They watched Him pray. They listened to Him pray. As they observed the fluency and the effectiveness that it seemed like He had in prayer, it

probed them to ask the question, teach us to pray as John also taught His disciples. This tells us it wasn't only the fact that Jesus prayed, but it was accustomed among them, that when there was a leader or a rabbi, in this case John, He taught His disciples. And now being followers of Jesus, they ask Him, we want you to teach us to pray just like John taught His disciples. And in the very next verse, the Bible says Jesus responds when you pray, meaning it is the assumed behavior of everybody that follows Jesus. He spends no time trying to convince them of the necessity of prayer. He does not preach to them the burden of prayer. He just said, when you pray, pray like this. I would say it like this today, perhaps the silly and simple illustration would help us understand it. But what good is a fridge that doesn't stay cold? What good

is a car that does not drive? And what good is a Christian that does not pray? I preach today to advocate for the spiritual discipline of prayer in our lives. And I want to admonish you, I have been preaching in this vein the past many months everywhere I go. We have to take time to pray. Now perhaps you like I have been guilty at some point of making that proclamation where it just feels like your day and your calendar is overwhelmed and you say, I just wish I had more time. But more time cannot be given. God said the order in motion long ago. There is there are 24 hours in a day and there are 60 minutes in an hour 60 seconds in a minute and there's nothing we can do that would change the construct of time that God has set in motion.

The sun will rise and the sun will set. There are seasons and cycles because God has made it this way as much as I would like to put more time in my morning or more time in my evening. I cannot add hours to my day. So if I can't make more time, I have to reconcile the reality. Where will I take time from? Will I take time from my sleep and rise early in the morning? Will I take time from my noon hour break and meet with God? Will I take time from my hobbies in my evening to become a man or a woman of prayer? All of us have to answer this question. Where will we take time from in order that we might pray? Prayer is not a discipline that you will stumble into haphazardly. It is not an activity that you will just find yourself

doing. You have to fight to become a person of prayer. You have to contend with your will and with your calendar to become a man or a woman of prayer. When the Apostle Paul was writing to that young man, Timothy, he wrote in his letter and said, first of all, prayer, this was to establish this as a priority in the young man's life. He was telling Timothy, I know your days will be full and your days will be busy. You are assuming the pastorate of the church in Ephesus. It was a church full of revival. It was growing at an unparalleled rate. Timothy, I know there's many things that compete for your attention. I know there are many things that will that will call for your focus. But hear me, Timothy, first of all, prayer. It has to be the priority of your life. And so I echo that charge today.

Prayer must be our priority. The disciples ask him, teach us to pray. And he does. We find that in the sermon on the Mount. We find that in the Lord's prayer, as it is often called. But you know, as well as I do, that that is one dimensional. You only learn so much by way of lecture. And some perhaps learn very little by way of lecture. And so there is another form of learning by experience, hands on through tactile in touch. And so it's striking to me that as Jesus makes his way into the Garden of Gethsemane, he will drink the cup of suffering that Isaiah prophesied about in the Old Testament. And Matthew 26, he would come to his disciples. He would find them sleeping. And he said, could you not watch? Could you not pray with me for one hour? He had invited them to come with

him, to accompany him into this Garden of Gethsemane, where he would drink the prophesied cup of suffering, where he would bow his knee in humility and he would cry out, if there be any other way, let this cup pass for me. But nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. What was this? It was Jesus inviting those disciples into the experience of prayer. Because there's only so much you can learn by lecture. There's only so much you can retain by teaching. Preaching can only get you so far. You can hear a hundred sermons about prayer. But if you don't actually stop listening and at some point start praying, you will never learn how to pray. And it says, if Jesus tells them you wanted to learn how to pray and I've taught you about prayer, but now it's time for you to come with me to the Garden and pray together with me. Because as the old

adage says, some things are taught, but some things are caught. And so it was, he would teach them to pray, not only by lecture, but by experience. He invited them into that place of prayer, but God forbid, they fell asleep. I want to encourage you today. Prayer is powerful. And well, I could preach the rest of this sermon about the burden of prayer. Well, I could try to provoke you to prayer on the basis of need and its necessity in our life. I really want to present to you two values of prayer, two reasons or benefits of prayer in our lives. The first I find in Luke 24. It's at the conclusion of Jesus' time on the earth and he begins to tell his disciples, I will send the promise of my father upon you. I want you to go and tarry in Jerusalem until

you're being dood with power from on high. The Bible said he leads them out as far as Bethany. He lives up his hands and he blessed them. It came to pass while he blessed them. He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. They worshiped him and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. He said, I want you to go to Jerusalem and stay there until the power shows up. And that's precisely what they did. The Bible tells us in Acts chapter two that they had gathered in Jerusalem in this place called the upper room. They tarried there. They stayed in that place for 10 days. And for 10 days they prayed. 10 days of consistent corporate prayer. 10 days of seeking God together. 10 days of waiting for this promise that he had spoke to them of just a few days prior. And the Bible tells us when the day of Pentecost was fully come,

they were all with one accord and in one place. That's significant. Because you can be in one place but not be in one accord. You can be in one building but not of the same mind. But the Bible said they were all with one accord. They had singularity of thought. They had agreement in the purpose, in the plan, in the vision. They were in a common place but they too had a common purpose. They positioned themselves by prayer. Now, if you go back to Luke 24, here's what you'd find. Jesus actually gave this invitation to over 500 people. But when you get to Acts chapter two, it says there were about 120 in the room. 380 people are unaccounted for in this story. Maybe some did not come. They didn't make the journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. Maybe some did come but didn't stay the 10 days. But of these 120 people, they persevered in prayer.

Some left but they kept praying. Some didn't show up but they just kept praying. And the Bible tells us that suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind. It filled all the house where they were sitting. It appeared under them with cloven tongues like as a fire. It sat upon each of them and they were all, somebody say all. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. That's what happens when people pray. Too often we get focused on those that did not make the journey or did not persevere. But I'd like to highlight today the victory of the 120 that showed up when Jesus gave the invitation. I'd like to highlight the faithfulness of the 120 that persevered in prayer when others didn't come and when others left they just stayed and kept on praying. I would like to declare to you today

that you can pray your way into the promises of God. That's exactly what happened in Acts 2. Jesus said, I want you to go there and I want you to stay there until the power shows up. And when they got there, they stayed there by persevering in prayer. Prayer was the tool. It was what they used to get in position for the outpouring of the Spirit. There are some things that you will not get any other way except by prayer because prayer gets you in position. Prayer brings you to the end of yourself and gets you in position for everything God has for you. Yes, I'm sure there was some conversation. No doubt there was times of teaching and instruction and moments of praise and celebration. But above all, it was a time of prayer. A time of focused, consistent prayer and ten days of prayer put them in the proper position

to be in the right place with the right attitude and the right mentality that when the Spirit was poured out, the promised Spirit, they were in position to receive it. You can pray your way into the promises of God. You can pray your way into promises of healing and provision and deliverance and increase. You can pray your way or you can search the pages of this book and find the promises of God. They are many. And when you find it, pray your way into it. I think too often we sit back casual and complacent with our arms folded, just kind of waiting for things to unfold. But I declare to you today, God is looking for people, for men and women who understand the power of prayer and know that when I pray, I get myself in position to receive from Him. It's not just about positioning for the promise.

It's also about praying our way out of some things. This was not just one moment. It was not just one story. It was the consistent pattern of the early church. One chapter later in Acts chapter three, the Bible tells us that Peter and John are on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer. That means that prayer was scheduled. There were scheduled times on the church calendar, hours of prayer, times of scheduled prayer that they knew about and were accountable to. Now it's probably not like this in Harrison Hills, but I've preached in a lot of other churches and it tends to be like this. The prayer meeting is the least attended gathering in the church. But the custom of those early believers was that when prayer was on the calendar, they showed up because they had a revelation of the power of prayer.

They knew that something happens when we pray. So they make their way to the temple at the hour of prayer. You know the story, I'm sure. The lame man had been laid at the gate called beautiful. This was not his first time there. But on that day, he met a couple believers whose faith was invigorated by a life of prayer whose expectation was high because the priority of prayer. And that day they spoke a word of faith and the lame man was healed. But the miracle was not well received by everybody. Religious and political leaders were angry. They condemned them telling them not to preach and teach in the name of Jesus. Speak not of these things even though they proclaim, we cannot deny it. We have seen he who was lame and now walks. We cannot deny it yet we command you. Speak it all and do not

teach in the name of Jesus. The Bible tells us their response. When they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord. They just kept on doing what they'd always been doing. They prayed because prayer was not just what they did once in a while. It's not just what they did when it was scheduled. It was the discipline, the habit of their life. They lifted up their voice to God and they began to pray. The next several verses of Acts 4 are their prayer. They begin to talk to the Lord. Grant us boldness to speak thy word. They were not praying for a way of escape from every problem in their life, but they were praying for effectiveness to minister in whatever situation they were in. Because to people that don't pray consistently, problems are just that, problems. But people that have a habit of prayer,

they recognize that problems are merely opportunities for God to show up and work in my life. And what everybody else would have called a problem and saw it a way of escape, they simply said, give us boldness to speak your word. Do signs and wonders by the name of Jesus. And Acts 4 and 31 proclaims this powerful truth. It says when they had prayed, the place was shaken. I've come today to tell you there is power in prayer. This is not some lifeless, empty and meaningless spiritual thing that we do. There is real life power when the people of God choose to pray. And just as you can pray your way in to his promises, I want to declare to you you can also pray your way out of some problems. When they had prayed, the place was shaken. I've come today to preach this most simple

but profound thought. You can pray your way out of stuff. You can pray your way in to a different future. You don't have to die in that dilemma. You don't have to live barren. You don't have to live depressed. You don't have to live in poverty. You don't have to live discouraged. You can pray your way in to a different future. The Bible doesn't say when they thought about prayer or when they talked about praying. It says when they prayed. There is power when we pray. Time does not permit us to go through all the examples of the Scripture. Needless to say this was not just a moment, but this was the pattern of the early church. Perhaps the most significant account we find in Acts chapter 12. The Bible tells us that they had already killed James, the brother of John. And when they saw that it pleased the Jews, they've decided

tomorrow Herod will do the same thing to Peter. He will take his life by the sword. But the Bible tells us in verse 5 of Acts 12, Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. That means when they heard word that Peter was about to be killed. Somebody got the idea. I know prayer is not on the calendar tonight. I know it's not our normal schedule, but we have a need. We've got a brother in trouble. Why don't we get together at Rhoda's house and just have a time of focused prayer and let's see what God might do. And the Scripture said, well, they were praying at Rhoda's house and angels showed up in that prison cell and delivered him and he walked out a free man. Have come today to preach to you. Prayer can change the outcome, can pray your way in

to a different future. If you don't like where you are, if you don't like the problems, if you don't like the pain and you don't like the circumstances, God sent a preacher here today to tell you, you can pray your way out, but you can't think about prayer and you can't just talk about prayer. You're going to have to carve out time to actually pray. You're going to have to find a place in your house in a corner in this church where you can shut yourself in with God and you can lift up your voice and you can actually pray. You know, there was a day when prayer wasn't such a foreign thing. Churches of every denomination prayed. Churches had scheduled prayer meetings and pre-service prayer. Now it's the anomaly. It's the rare thing. And I fear beneath it all, we are forgetting the power of prayer. We are forgetting the life changing, transformative power of prayer.

The prayer is the tool given by God whereby we get in position for his promises. That when I pray, he works through my prayer to fulfill his word. That when I pray, I rise above the pain and the pressure of circumstance. And I can quite literally pray my way into a different outcome. Our text, James 5 said this, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The effectual fervent prayer, that word effectual simply means to be at work, to be active. Something that produces results. Effectual prayer is not passive. It's not lazy. It's actively working to accomplish something in your life. Effectual prayer is a prayer that is actually prayed and not merely intended. It's one thing to think about prayer. I need to pray. I should pray. I want to pray. I know if I pray. But effectual prayer is prayer that is not

just intention. It's action. Because any prayer that is prayed is powerful. The power is not in the eloquence of my words or the volume of my voice. I can pray quietly or I can pray loudly. There are times for both. I don't have to speak 1611 King James English. I just have to speak out loud from the sincerity of my heart. That is effectual prayer. Fervent though speaks to intensity. It means it's not mechanical. These prayers cannot be mindless words muttered from the obligation of some kind of religious routine. I'm not doing this because it's obligated. I'm doing this because my heart knows its value. Fervent prayer is passionate prayer. That is words that are spoken from a sincere heart with a hunger for God with a desperate cry knowing if he can hear my voice he can change my outcome. The effectual fervent prayer. It's simply the prayer that's

prayed and prayed with passion. That's what he means. And of that he said the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man or a righteous woman availeth much. It will accomplish much. Stand together with me. I've come today to encourage you to pursue God and prayer because there is a power. There is a power that can change you. There is a power that can change your family. A power that can change this church. A power that can change your circumstance. But when we pray, we've got to pray with passion. And when we pray, we pray knowing it positions me for his promises. And when we pray, we know God's power is working through us and in us. And my outcome can be different. The very next verse James said, Elias, Elijah, that Old Testament prophet was a man subject to like passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of

three years and six months. That powerful Old Testament prophet was a man with passion, with emotion, just like us. But he prayed earnestly and God answered that prayer. As we turn the pages of scripture, we are confronted with the lives and testimonies of so many who seem so powerful that it's hard for us to relate by times. Have you ever called fire down from heaven? But the writer says he was just like us. He was a man with like passions. He was just as emotional as you and I. He had good days and bad days, times of celebration and times of sorrow, moments when he felt like he couldn't feel or find God. But what made the powerful prophet was he did not live subject to his passions or his emotions. He prayed earnestly. He did not live as a man wandering about at the mercy of his emotions.

Well, today I feel good, but now I feel bad. No. He put his emotions in the subjection to his prayer life. He knew if I can just pray, God will perform. It's the power of prayer. I've come today to both challenge and encourage you, to challenge you as a man and as a woman. Carve out a space of prayer in your home. Find a chair that you can set aside and meet with God in the morning. Carve out some minutes of your hour and an hour of your day and some days of your week. Find time in your life to meet with God. But know this. When you do, it's not just senseless obligation. It's not mindless religious routine. God works in you and through you when you pray. And when you pray, there is a power that you connect with that that can change

anything in your life. So don't live as a man or woman who's tossed about by wind of emotion. Don't allow your life to be dictated by news and media and reports and the economy and family drama and troubles at the workplace. Whatever circumstance shows up in your life, know this. If you will live like the old prophet did and you will allow your emotions to be subject to your life of prayer. And if you will carry that pain and that trauma and you will take all those problems into your closet of prayer, there is a power that God can work. You can pray your way in to a different outcome. Hallelujah. Come on. Would you lift up your hands to the Lord right now? In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Come on. You got to open up your mouth. Let God hear your voice. Let God hear your voice right now. Lord, we are in one place and we are in one

mind. We are praying for the promises of God at Harrison Hills Church. We are praying for the promises of God in the hills of Eastern Ohio. We are praying for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost for the life changing power of the Spirit. Come on. That's it. Don't be timid. Don't be afraid. Nobody's thinking about you. Nobody's listening to you. Nobody's judging you. We're in one place and we're in one mind and one accord. We are here together to lift up our voice and call on the Almighty God whose name is Jesus who has all power in heaven and in earth. Come on. You can be healed right now. Your backslidden family can be restored by your prayer. Your finances can be mended by prayer, but you can't just think about it. You can't just intend to. You've actually got to open up your mouth and let God hear the effectual and fervent prayer.

I'm praying for every marriage and every family that's been destroyed by worldliness. I'm praying for every backslider that lives in proximity of this church. I pray today in the name of Jesus, the band of wickedness would be broken. Every lie would be torn down. The power and the tool of deception that the enemy would use. Every device called discouragement, fear, anxiety, depression, torment. We bind it now in the name of Jesus. Come on. There is hope for these hills. There is healing for these communities. You know why? Because there are some people at Harrison Hills Church that know the power of prayer, and when we pray, God is going to work. Come on. That's it, man. That's it, sir. Lift up your voice. Let God hear your voice. Be the man of authority God needs you to be. I speak the name of Jesus over every man and over

every home. I pray today that you would raise up mighty men of prayer in this house of faith. That's it, lady. That's it, ma'am. I'm praying God would raise up women of intercession in this house. Women like Hannah, whose prayer will get them in position to receive a promise from God. Come on. One praying woman birthed a prophet that changed a nation. Come on. There's a work of the spirit in this room today. I'm telling you whatever situation you are tired of, whatever pain and problem you are tired of dealing with, you can pray your way out. Can pray your way in to a different future. But you got to stop thinking about it. Stop talking about it. Start praying about it. God has a power available to work through you.