Prayer changes the world, and prayer also changes us. That’s the power of prayer in a nutshell.

We have an advocate in heaven who prays for us night and day. His name is Jesus. His prayers move mountains and work in conjunction with the Holy Spirit who is spread out all over the world. The Holy Spirit is on the move globally and challenges us to pray. Our prayers are like a breath of fresh air sweeping across our countries. We’d be suffocating without prayers, I’m sure.

The apostle Paul urges his friend Timothy in his letter to pray specifically for kings and authorities. Men and women in authority need a lot of prayer because they affect a lot of people. I think it’s hard to pray for authorities because most of us are not related to them. We all probably find it easier to pray for people we know, or at least for people we empathize with. A powerful person quickly becomes an abstract for us. We see the person primarily in their functions, and that’s what they become in our minds – the CEO of a company, the police officer, the king of England, the president of the United States – but this abstract person really only exists on paper. That’s like painting a picture and claiming the painting is reality. Paintings are just two-dimensional. Reality on the other hand contains a third dimension, depth. To pray effectively, we need to take this extra step in our hearts and minds, go past a person’s title and status and see a vulnerable human being.

God knows everybody from the inside out. He can help us relate to a person better. And wouldn’t you know it? All of a sudden we pray with empathy. That’s how prayer changes us.

Prayer changes the world because God listens to prayer, especially selfless prayer. People pray differently. I am writing this because some of us seem to be haunted by certain stereotypes triggered by such words as “prayer warrior” or “prayer closet”. Nobody prays the same, and we shouldn’t. That’s as if all love affairs were the same, and they aren’t. Prayer first and foremost is our communication with God. How that looks like depends largely on our personality. So be yourself and don’t give up on God or people. That’s what prayer life is all about.