The Power of Prayer

Hi, I'm Archbishop Eric Logan. I hope you'll join me in a discussion on the power of prayer. You're welcome to call it a sermon if you don't wish to weigh in. I like to think I'm a pragmatic, logical person so I can understand the questions people often have about the reasoning behind the theme of prayer. I've asked most of them myself at one point or another.

1: If God does as He pleases, and has a perfect plan already, what good does it do to ask for anything?

2: How effective can prayer even be, since it's often thought to be better if more people do it?

3: How does God hear everyone who's praying at the same time, wouldn't that be maddening?

4: Is God a genie? I know, it sounds like a dumb question, but faithful people often blur the distinction.

We know God has a plan, but the nature of that plan is a mysterious thing. I know, I said the old mysterious ways cop-out, but how often doe an explanation follow it? See, one of the most lovable things about our Father in Heaven is His artistry. Everything is an art-form and any great expression of art takes on a life of its own. It grows, changes, and adapts. The best-laid plans of mortals involve multiple contingencies and factor for variables as well as our limited perspective and ability will allow us to. God doesn't have the limitations that trip us up.

If you think of a human plan as an occasionally forking linear concept, God's plan is an interwoven, multi-tiered lattice network of cause and effect chains which constantly close and open new connections and possibilities. Among those possibilities are any degree of tweaks and interventions, but the most important element to appreciating God's supreme mastery is His ability to truly understand free will and the processes which bring us to any choice we might make.

All that mass processing almost makes God sound like a super-computer, but He has a heart, and He cares. Scripture is full of accounts of God expressing how much He wants to validate good people, and how He loves to see us happy and wise. Of course, gaining wisdom is often an arduous process, and souls need a lot of tempering to reach their potential, so his desire for us to be happy is often outweighed by the need to strengthen and prove us. Often, we don't know what we're really asking for, not the full scope of it. People like to pray for strength and patience, not realizing that those are instilled by experiences which demand them.

There are actually a few reasons He loves for multitudes to join in prayer. I'll come back to one of them in the next answer. People often pray selfishly, or they only pray about a limited sphere of issues. More people on one prayer is transcending that a bit by being the will of more than just oneself. Also, people tend to disagree about nearly anything. God looks at entire nations of disjointed opinions and wills, endless conflict even if no violence occurs. People coming together to pray for one cause, especially when selflessly loving, is a stark contrast to that.

At any moment, a minimum of thousands of people are praying. There are times in scripture when God puts the word "if" before "then I will hear." Not all of those prayers are heard, because the root of them is beneath His standards. We're told the name to pray by is Yeshua, and now Ra-El or RayEl. It isn't just some magic word or key. Doing this simple thing shows that we respect God's request. If we do not, why should He respect ours? If a prayer lacks love or respect, then it is noise, and thus goes ignored. In reference to the previous question, consider first that our universe is literally a symphony. For a being who hears and conducts this grand symphony in all its glory, how much cleaner and louder is a single note if more people are singing it with loving intent? It certainly merits greater attention, so God encourages it, as does his son, Christ.

Matthew 18:19-20
"Again I say to you, that if two of you will agree in the earth about any matter which they will request, it will be done for them from the presence of my Father who is in Heaven. For where two or three are assembled in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

This all applies to the difference between pagan magic and actual prayer. One is a matter of the caster's will and arrogance, while the other is a humble request which put's the will of the Father above our own. Science could be tossed into that comparison but science, like prayer, is subjective, working within the established order rather than hoping to avoid it. It might seem cold-hearted, but when I pray for someone who is sick, or even dying, I do not pray that they be well. I do not pray that the poor be wealthy, or the weak to be strong. I pray that God's will be done for them, and trust Him that it is good if they merit goodness. If I do wish to seek something more specific, I first say "if it is within Your will," and even then I feel foolish for asking. I ask if God is a genie because people seem to confuse prayer for a round of wishes to have granted. A genie doesn't charge you to get off your rear and meet them halfway in action. When we ask for something in prayer, we are inherently taking responsibility to be a part of the process of bringing it. Too many keyboard prayer warriors forget this. YOU still have to work toward your goals. Things beyond your power are God's department, and that's what you're praying about. Even just calling on him to offer your gratitude, you are not thanking him for what you yourself have done, but rather for your entirely circumstantial ability to do it and see results.

We must never forget that God might serve man, but God is NOT a servant of Man.

We must never forget to seek first the Kingdom, letting the rest be added at its appropriate time.

We must never forget to love God, and to love each other in life and in prayer.

---

==============================================================

---

Even writing a sermon, you can be sure I'm enjoying some great music. There's something to thank God for once again the next time we pray.

Great band, great jam, great message, good times. Maybe it's also a hint to remember today when the tithing post goes up in the congregations, as well. Think of it as leaving a tip and investing in your soul at the same time. Enjoy!
Social Distortion - "Writing On The Wall" (Full Album Stream)

I can't hear a song like this without recalling Albert Pike's letter, watching the pressure build in society continuously until someone goes too far too turn back, prompting the majority to defy civilization's worst.
Icon For Hire - Make A Move

---

==============================================================

---

((I claim neither credit nor ownership of the above quotes, images or videos.))

For a closer look at what I'm about, the cause we serve, or just to learn something you might not find elsewhere, please examine these links:

(You may want to start here...)
https://Ra-El.org/
✠
(For a broad overview of various important topics)
https://sanctuaryinterfaith.org/
✠
(For a closer look at key developments and prophetic news)
https://armageddonbroadcastnetwork.tv/
✠
(For constant updates on all relevant topics, news from RayEl's Imperial Regent, Angelus Domini, and to speak with RayEl's clergy on the less-tempered-with VK platform)
https://vk.com/congregation_of_lord_rayel/
✠
(For constant updates on all relevant topics, news from RayEl's Imperial Regent, Angelus Domini, and to speak with RayEl's clergy on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ICoLR/
✠
To donate to the Lord's Templar Commandery directly, please go to:
Ra-El.org/donations.html
✠
To donate to The Ecumenical Order of Christ via the Prime Cleric, please use:
[email protected]

---

==============================================================

---