4 Keys to Powerful Prayers that Work

As believers, we want to have powerful prayers that work—the kind of prayers that change history. We need effective praying techniques because we are called to go from glory to glory, yet we seem to witness a world that goes from chaos to chaos and injustice to injustice. We know we need to pray for our nation and the world, but sometimes it seems difficult to know where to start. It’s easy to pray for our friends and family, and even our church; but can we really take on the whole world from our own personal prayer closet?

We find the answer in two great events in history when Christians joined together in prayer for a mighty move of God in the United States.

Known as the Great Awakenings, these events awakened the church from its slumber and caused revival to sweep across the land with miracles, signs and wonders. The first occurred in the late 1700s when there was much immorality and unrest (sound familiar?). Then, in the early 1800s, America once again faced a dark time when the Word of God had gone cold in the hearts of the people and churches were not preaching the whole gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit broke through and transformed this country.

How powerful were these awakenings? The first led to the American Revolution and the second ended slavery.

You may be thinking, We sure could use a Great Awakening today! Well, there is good news for us—a third great awakening has been prophesied and is expected by the Church.
The word of the Lord to Brother Copeland said this:

This is the time that has been prophesied about. And at stake here is not only your welfare in the land, but also My move in the end times, of a great awakening, saith The LORD. And it is that awakening that will save this land and others like it, for it is the time of the coming of The LORD. And you will rise up, and you will be My Name, you will be My power, and I will manifest Myself through you. And many shall come and say, Surely, He is the God of all good.

This is an exciting time to be a believer! We can expect to see a mighty move of God in this next great awakening, but we must remember that we have been called to take an active role—we cannot sit idly by and simply hope it will come to pass.

You may be asking yourself, Can I possibly be part of such a great move of God? The simple answer is YES—you can! Your prayers are much more powerful than you may realize.
To help you get started, here are four keys to bring world-changing prayer right into your living room:

Recognize Your Authority
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” –Luke 10:19 (NKJV)

The best part of that verse? We have authority over all the power of the enemy. Have you ever really stopped and thought about that? That’s a lot of authority! But authority is only powerful if the one standing in it knows how to use it. A police officer is given authority by the government, but if he doesn’t use his authority, it is worthless.

That’s why the devil wants to keep us in the dark about how much power we really have. He knows that if we ever find out the true extent of our power, especially collectively, we won’t just change the world—we’ll bring the glory of God—which is something he doesn’t want to see happen.

Passivity won’t get the job done—we have to be bold in taking our authority over the enemy in every area of our lives—including the nation where we live.
How do we take authority over our nation?

We pray against the move of darkness in America. We curse every work of the devil at the root in Jesus’ Name. We cast down the weapons formed against the Word of God and the pursuit of righteousness, and take authority over the plots and plans of the enemy against this great country.

Then, we pray for outpourings from the Holy Spirit, including miracles, signs and wonders. We pray for God’s will to come to pass and for eyes to be opened to the salvation of the Lord. And we expect to see a great awakening that will transform our nation and our people.

Pray for Government Leaders
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.” –1 Timothy 2:1-2

Notice in this verse the words first of all. Often, our first inclination is to complain or ridicule leaders who do not live up to our expectations. But the Bible is clear—the first thing we are to do is pray for them. Then, even when it is tempting to do so, “Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath” (Ecclesiastes 10:20, MSG).

“But our country seems too far gone. I don’t think my prayers will make a difference,” you might argue. With political parties at odds and protests breaking out across America, it may seem that our nation is more divided than ever. But we serve the God who is in the business of healing—even nations. Remember, politicians are not the answer. We need an awakening to God.

He makes the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth (Luke 3:5), and He wants to do the same thing in America and in our world. The Bible is clear that we are to believe for the impossible where our country is concerned and pray for our leaders, whether we agree with them or not, if we want to live in peace and see righteousness reign.

Where can you start?

Pray for the president, his family, staff and cabinet members. Pray that the Lord will strengthen them with wisdom, cause them to seek Him, and help them stand against wickedness and deception and pursue righteousness.
Ask the Lord to guide the president’s decisions and to surround him with godly counselors who will impart wisdom to him.

Then, do the same for your governor, senators, city council members and school board members. We need wisdom from the top all the way down!

Seek Unity
“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” –1 Corinthians 1:10 (NKJV)

Throughout the Bible, we see a mighty move of God whenever His people were in one accord. That’s why Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20, NKJV). There is power in unity!

So, why does the Body of Christ suffer divisions?

We’re powerful together and the enemy knows it. Satan is the great divider—the author of the spirit of strife. His mission? Divide and conquer. Divide us over anything and everything—doctrine, politics, race—you name it.
Our job? Don’t take the bait.

So, determine to come together in the unity of faith and pray collectively for the next great awakening. Walk in love and refuse to fall prey to division and isolation. And pray for unity in the Body of Christ. It is our united prayers that will change the world.

Stand and Believe
“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith.” –1 Corinthians 16:13
There is only one way to reshape our world—prayer. Not just any prayer. The faith-filled, persevering prayer that stands for victory even when there is no sign of change.

It was the faith and strength of believers in the past that brought on the Great Awakenings, founded our country and brought a revival that ushered millions into the kingdom of God.

World-overcoming prayer stands on 2 Chronicles 7:14 and believes God, who said, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (NKJV).

Will you join God’s prayer army? Will you stand and believe for the next great awakening?
Let’s come boldly to the throne of grace and call in the next great awakening!

Be a believer who prays powerful prayers that work. Pray prayers that change history. Use these effective praying techniques, and let’s come boldly to the throne of grace and call in the next great awakening!