Does Prayer Do Anything?

Life on the West Side

Going to God in prayer is meant to disable all the signals coming from our culture, and even quiet the noise in our heads. It stops the outside voices clamoring for our attention, and forces us to be still. Why? Because we are not actually in control of our lives; and God wishes to communicate with us and even navigate our way in the world.

The sermon today is titled "Does Prayer Do Anything?" It is the second installment in our series "Airplane Mode." The Scripture reading is from Ephesians 3:20 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on January 14, 2024. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under GROW: Spiritual Disciplines.
Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.
Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:

• Series title from Grace Church (Kansas City).
• I am grateful to Rick Atchley of The Hills Church (Richland Hills, TX) for several lessons (heard decades apart) where he offered material used in several key aspects of the sermon today. A sermon on revival preached 25 years ago (in Jackson, TN) included the opening story of the Golf Legend, and a telling of the escape of Peter from prison (Acts 12). More recently, he preached a sermon at The Hills church telling of his dream in the file-cabinet room of heaven, and challenging the church to ask for more.
• C. S. Lewis' response on prayer is found in his 1945 essay "Work and Prayer" and in his book Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer.
• A list of powerful prayers in Scripture used in this lesson can be found here.
• Song leader: Tyler Mayo.

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Chapters

1. Tyler Mayo, "Everytime" (West Side Church of Christ) (00:00:00)

2. Intro Highlight: Why Don't We Ask For More? (00:01:07)

3. When You Talk To The King (00:02:01)

4. I Don't Believe In Prayer; I Believe In God (00:04:28)

5. Partnership (00:05:23)

6. Ask For More (00:10:53)

7. Power Through Prayer (00:13:39)

8. Front Lines of the Battle (00:25:00)

9. Lingering Questions (00:26:46)

10. Conclusion: What Do We Want God To Do? (00:28:35)