The Power of Prayer: Recognizing the Power of the Tongue

Scriptures: Matthew 21:22, Proverbs 18:21

Introduction to The Power Of Prayer: Recognizing The Power Of The Tongue

Prayer is a vital tool and a powerful weapon. Sometimes when we get into a rut where prayer becomes routine, we forget how strong our prayers are. They are not JUST words. They are verbal arsenal that carries weight and power straight to our heavenly Father. Once your prayers reach heaven, God is obligated to move on your behalf. Your prayers can move God. Just imagine that for a moment. While you are on your knees, your heavenly Father is orchestrating things in the spiritual realms to make sure your prayer gets answered. 

Someone reading this needs to understand just how powerful that is. God doesn’t have to do this. He is God. He doesn’t have to be at our beck and call, but He chooses to. His grace is that good. By nature, we are sinful and disobedient children. We don’t deserve to have a single prayer answered, but God loves and cares for us so much that He dispenses angels, fights battles, sends blessings, and heals us all because His love runs deeper than our sins. 

This devotional is for those who never pray because they think their prayers aren’t received, and prayer doesn’t work. This devotional is for the person who has a weak and inconsistent prayer life; For the person who’s been praying fervently for deliverance or a blessing and is losing faith that their prayer will get answered. 

“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:22 (NKJV)

The following scriptures and stories will set your prayer life on fire and invite you into your prayer closet with belief and expectation. By the end of this devotional, you will believe that there is power in your tongue. You will think that there is nothing God can’t do for you through the power of prayer. I hope that this plan will change your mindset about prayer. I pray that it will stir up your belief and desire to pray powerful prayers and recognize the power of the tongue. 

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

Scriptures: Acts 12:6-11, Acts 12:5, Psalms 91:11

Prayer has the power to release angels to rescue you

In Acts 12, Peter is imprisoned for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was asleep in his cell and fastened by two chains with soldiers standing guard inside and outside. Then, an angel appeared before Peter and struck him on his side to wake him up. The angel instructed him to get up, and the chains fell off his wrist when he did. Then the angel told him to get dressed and follow him. So, Peter did just that following the angel passed the first and second guards through the iron gates, which opened on their own, and continued walking down the street before the angel left him. 

It was the prayers of the church outside those prison walls that sent the angel to rescue Peter. 

“But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.” Acts 12:5 (NLT)

Intercessory prayers are just as powerful as praying for yourself. When someone prays on your behalf, God still moves. God commands his angels to rescue you from your situation. 

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Psalms 91:11 (ESV)

Command means to give an authoritative order. Through His authority, God gives orders for His angels to see about you. That is powerful! That is how important you are to God. Your prayers go up, and His angels come swooping down. Keep this image in your mind the next time you pray to be rescued, delivered, or protected. Angels are literally being dispensed to save you and keep you safe. 

Do you need to be rescued from a particular situation in your life? Or do you know someone who is in need of an angelic rescue? Write down your prayers for yourself or that person so God can send out an order to disperse His angels. 

Scriptures: Daniel 10:10-13, 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Prayer has the power to fight spiritual battles 

In Daniel 10, Daniel was fasting and praying for understanding about a vision he had. An angel was sent to him; however, he was held up for 21 days by the spirit prince of the king of Persia. The spirit prince was a demon assigned to the nation of Persia to represent the devil’s kingdom and fight against God’s Kingdom. He was sent to block God’s angel from answering Daniel’s prayer. 

However, Daniel consistently prayed for 21 days, dispensing the archangel Michael to rescue the angel from the enemy’s hands. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” Daniel 10:13 (NKJV)

This scripture illustrates an actual spiritual battle that Daniel’s prayers were able to help win. Yesterday we mentioned how your prayers are powerful enough to dispense angels. Well, sometimes those angels get held up because we do have an adversary. God sends His angels to help us, and the devil sends his angels to stop them. The hindrance of answered prayers is a prime example of why we pray without ceasing. If you have been waiting a while to get an answer to your prayer, this could be why. The enemy could block your prayers. Therefore, we need to bind and stop the enemy from hearing and interceding our prayers when we pray. 

Your unceasing prayers will send angels to fight spiritual battles for you. Your prayers down here are not only fighting wars in the heavens but WINNING. THAT IS HOW POWERFUL YOUR PRAYERS ARE! The moment you give up on your prayer, you give up in the battle and allow the enemy to win. So never stop praying, and never stop believing that your specific angel will be released to bring you your answer. “pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)

Do you feel like you are in the middle of a battle? Don’t get weary. Let your prayers do the fighting for you. Take out your journal and write out all your battle-fighting prayers. Then, God will send angels to war on your behalf. 

Scriptures: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, John 12:26, Deuteronomy 1:11

Prayer has the power to bless you

Jabez, according to 1 Chronicles 4, was an honorable man. More honorable than any of his brothers. He prayed to God, asking God to bless him, expand his territory, be with him, and keep him from trouble and pain. 

“Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do and keep me from all trouble and pain!” 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NLT)

God granted him this request. When you are honorable to God in serving him, obeying him, and putting him first in your life, it’s like adding gasoline on the flames of your prayers. They become that much more powerful. You can ask to be blessed, and he will bless you. God acknowledges that you have recognized Him as the only one that can bless you. If you approach him with the correct heart posture and intentions, He will joyfully bless those that honor him. 

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” John 12:26 (ESV)

The power in receiving God’s blessing is in your service to Him. He will not bless you if you serve other gods, are disobedient, or have ill intentions. So, be sure these are all in alignment before you ask God to bless you. He is not a genie in a bottle that grants wishes. He is a Father who takes care of His children. So, ignite the power of your prayer with servitude and watch how your Father will bless you. 

“May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!” Deuteronomy 1:11 (NKJV)

What area of your life needs a blessing? Your finances? Your health? Your children? Check your heart posture, write out your powerful prayers to God, and watch your blessings manifest.

Scripture: 2 Kings 20:1-6

Prayer has the power to change God’s mind 

In 2 Kings, King Hezekiah was deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah came to give him a message from the Lord: “Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” 2 Kings 20:1 (NLT)” Now, if God tells you you’re going to die, that is final. There is nothing that can be done about that. Or is there?

Instead of accepting his fate, Hezekiah decided to pray. “Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.” 2 Kings 20:2 (NKJV). He reminded God about all he had done and his faithfulness to him. How he served Him and always done what was pleasing to Him. I don’t believe God needed this reminder because He is all-knowing; however, God saw Hezekiah’s faith in his prayer. 

The combination of prayer and believing in faith for what you trust in God will fan the flames on your prayer. When you read this scripture, you notice that Hezekiah didn’t ask for healing or longer life. Instead, he stated what was true. 

I was faithful. 

I served you. 

I did what was pleasing to you. 

He prayed to God humbly and in faith, knowing that God would move. That is half of the battle when we pray. We must believe that God will come through on what we are asking. However, we also must ask ourselves whether we deserve what we are requesting. Can you say to God I’ve been faithful; I’ve served you, and I’ve done what was pleasing to you? 

State to God what is true. If you struggle in trusting Him or with belief, ask Him to help you in these areas when you pray. He will honor your humbleness and meet you where you are. Hezekiah was a good man who served God well while leading His people, and he came to God as he was in faith. Taking these traits into prayer can move God to want to change His mind about your situation. 

Hezekiah received healing and was also given fifteen more years of life and rescued from his enemies. That is the power of prayer!

Do you believe God can change your fate? Put pen to paper and let God know where you are right now. Are you fearful or faithful? Be honest and genuine and see how your prayers can turn things around.

Scripture: Joshua 10:12-13

Prayer has the power to do the impossible

In Joshua 10, Joshua is in the middle of a battle. God sent his enemies into confusion so that Joshua could have victory over them. Joshua had one small request with his impending triumph, and when I say small, I, of course, mean completely outlandish. Joshua prayed to God and asked, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.” Joshua 10:12 (NLT) 

Joshua was asking God for the sun and the moon to stand still in order to prolong the day so he can have time to defeat his enemies. Guess what? God granted his request. You are probably wondering how this could have happened. Well, all I’ll say is God is a miracle worker, and this was Him showing off. 

How can a prayer like this apply in your life? Let me tell you a quick story. One day I was on the phone with a friend of mine, and we were in prayer. We intentionally scheduled this time to pray. When we were done, I realized the time. It was 4:00 pm, and I remembered her telling me she had a meeting to get to at 4:00 pm. I thought, oh my goodness, you’re late for your appointment. 

Once she got back to her computer, she received a notification that the meeting was pushed back to 4:05 pm. 4:05 pm!! What meeting do you know gets pushed back just 5 minutes? That was indeed God. That, to me, was the equivalent of God allowing the sun and the moon to stand still for Joshua. He allowed time to stand still so we could continue praying and made it possible for her to still make her meeting on time. 

When you are in the middle of doing God’s work, he will do anything for you in prayer. There is nothing too extreme that He cannot control. He is the creator of time. The creator of the sun and the moon, therefore, He has complete control over it all. Time moves forward because He commands it to, so you don’t think He can permit time to stand still for you in some way. 

This type of prayer may seem a bit unbelievable for some people, but true believers of God know He can do anything for those that love Him. So, test God and see if He will do the impossible for you. 

What unimaginable thing do you need God to do in your life? I dare you to take to your journal and send up a powerful prayer to God. He will make you a witness to His miracle-working hands.

Scripture: 2 Kings 6:15-20

Prayer has the power to give you spiritual eyes  

In 2 Kings the 6th chapter, the prophet Elisha was helping the King of Israel gain leverage in battle by sharing the war tactics of his enemies through his gift of prophecy. He was able to let the King of Israel know their next steps before they made them. When the king of Aram’s troops, horses, and chariots arrived, Elisha’s servant became fearful, seeing that they were completely surrounded by the enemy’s army. 

Elisha reassured him, saying, “Don’t be afraid! For there are more on our side than on theirs!” (2 Kings 6:16 NLT) Then Elisha prayed for the Lord to open his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he was able to see that the hillside surrounding Elisha was “filled with horses and chariots of fire.”

Elisha prayed for his servant to have spiritual eyes and witness the legion of God’s army surrounding them. God gave him access into the spiritual realm so he could see what his natural eyes could not. 

So many times, when it looks like the odds are stacked against us, we immediately feel defeated. With our natural eye, we see no way out, no end in sight, no victory. However, through faith in prayer, you too will be given the spiritual eyes to see the army surrounding you ready to defend you. In those challenging situations where it seems you are drowning, know God has already provided a way out. 

Pray to God and ask for the faith to have spiritual eyes to see how he is working things out for you. Stand firm knowing there are more on your side than on theirs, even if it doesn’t look like it. The fight is fixed. The victory is yours. You need to ask for the eyes to see it. 

Whatever you see happening in your life right now, go into your prayer closet and ask God to give you access to the heavenly armies that surround you and protect you. Meditate on this scripture every time a situation seems hopeless, or it looks like there is no way you can win. Pray Elisha’s prayer asking God to open your eyes and let you see.

Scriptures: 1 Kings 17:21-22, James 5:15, Genesis 2:7

Prayer has the power to bring things back to life 

In 1 Kings, God sent Elijah to stay with a widow and provided food for them during his stay. While there, the widow’s son became ill and died. Elijah cried out to the Lord in prayer, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 1 Kings 17:21 (NLT)God heard Elijah’s prayer and revived the child back to life. 

Now, I know what you are going to say this can’t happen in real life. First off, the Bible is real life. Second, God can restore or revive anyone or anything. Even if someone is not dead in their physical body, their spiritual life could be dead. They could be depressed and not living their life according to God’s will. They could be lying in a hospital bed hanging on their last breath. Death can come in different variations. 

“And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” James 5:15 (NKJV)

There are dead things that prayer can bring back: a relationship, a loved one, a business, your creativity, anything. Prayer gives God the access to restore anything to live again. It was God who breathed into the nostrils of Adam and gave him life; therefore, it is God that can bring back that which is dead. 

“Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2:7 (NLT) 

Take some time to think about what dead things in your life or a loved one’s life God can breathe into again. Write them down, and then bring them to your Father through the power of prayer. Keep praying until you see complete restoration.