‘I’ve Seen the Power of Prayer’

Story by Shawn Shives

As we pray together, God promises to answer. Lives are changed, healing happens, people come to know God. Prayer is one of the most powerful things God’s people can do.

Recently, while I was leading worship at Reading Junior Academy (RJA), I was thinking about a meeting I was headed to afterward. I expected it to be a difficult appointment that wouldn’t end well. So I asked the stu- dents to pray for my meeting. They prayed for God to lead, and God heard their prayers and answered! The meeting went better than I could have ever imagined.

At worship the next week, I told the students how God had answered their prayers beyond my expectations. I invited them to join the “By My Spirit” prayer team, praying daily for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. RJA now has more than 45 students committed to praying each day, and almost 20 have asked for Bible studies to prepare for baptism.

Students in Pennsylvania Conference schools across the state have received a “How can I pray for you?” pin, as they commit to praying daily for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They are learning to pray for others.

First- and second-graders at the Harrisburg Adventist School have been taught that the sound of a siren means it’s time to stop and pray for first respond- ers heading to an emergency. The Whitehall Christian School has a bulletin board dedicated to prayer requests, answers to prayer and thank you notes from people who have been prayed for in a special way.

One day I forgot I was wearing a “How can I pray for you?” pin when a woman stopped me at the grocery store and asked, “Would you really pray for me?” I prayed for her and her family right there in the aisle. Rarely has a person said no when I’ve offered to pray for them. They may not listen to sermons or come to church, but they welcome prayer.

Won’t you join my young friends and me as we pray daily for others and for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? United together in prayer, we can fulfill our mission of reaching everyone, everywhere with a message of hope and redemption—and God will do even more amazing things!

“To those who wait humbly upon God ... is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train” (Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 672)