Today, we focus on the important topic of prayer and the common misconception that the number of people praying influences God's response. I will clarify why this belief can lead to misunderstandings about the nature of prayer and God's sovereignty. While sharing prayer requests is valuable for community support and bearing one another's burdens, it is essential to recognize that the effectiveness of prayer does not depend on the quantity of those praying. I will discuss biblical examples, including the powerful prayers of Elijah and Moses, to illustrate that a single person's prayer can be immensely impactful. Ultimately, we are reminded that God hears each of us individually and answers prayers according to His wisdom, independent of the number of voices added to our requests.

Takeaways:

• In this episode, we explore the idea that the number of people praying does not determine whether God answers prayers.
• It's essential to share prayer requests with others to bear each other's burdens and offer support.
• The power of an individual's prayer is significant, as demonstrated by biblical examples of Elijah and Moses.
• God answers prayers based on His ultimate wisdom and sovereign will, not on the number of prayers offered.
• We should avoid the misconception that a larger group of prayers will compel God to act in a certain way.
• Our relationship with God is personal, and He hears each prayer, no matter how many people are involved.

Links referenced in this episode:

• www.bible805.com

Welcome to the Hobo Soul Podcast of Road Advice from the Bible and from me, Yvon Prehn, someone who's a little further down the road of life.

I'll talk to you every Tuesday and Thursday for about 10 minutes and if you'd like more in depth information on walking with Jesus, you can find that at the www.bible805.com website. For now, let's get started on our topic for today, which is episode number 75

On which prayers to answer, God doesn't take a vote.

Our verse for today comes from James 5, 17 and 18 from the message translation where it says the prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard it wouldn't rain and it didn't, not a drop for three and a half years.

Then he prayed that it would rain and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

Now please listen carefully to what I'll be sharing in this episode as I don't want it to be misunderstood and to keep that from happening, I'll attempt to clarify as I go along. I want to address, though, one big and serious misunderstanding on prayer. And that's the idea.

It seems like a lot of people think that God's going to answer a prayer the more people that are praying for it. Now, this is where I know I might be misunderstood to start out with. So please bear with me as I explain.

First of all, I am not in any way saying that we shouldn't share our prayer requests with others. I think we most certainly should for these reasons.

First of all, we're told to bear each other's burdens as members of the Body of Christ, and it's really hard to do that if we don't know what those burdens are. We share them through prayer requests.

Second, as members of the Body of Christ, sometimes in hearing a prayer request, we can actually be the answer to another's prayer request. Again, if it wasn't shared, we wouldn't know how we could meet it.

I experienced a great example of this just recently when I shared with my Bible study group how overwhelmed I was with an upcoming move and I really needed prayers to get through it. Well, after that, one member offered a truck, another to help put together furniture that I ordered.

I didn't even know that that one person had a truck or that the lady was able to put together furniture. And by the way, she did an extraordinary were both incredible answers to prayer. We all experienced a blessing because I shared.

Finally, when we share a prayer request and we see God answer. When a number of people know that that was being prayed for, many can rejoice in it.

There are places in the Bible where prayers of praise alternate between the community, a person, back and forth, Psalm 34, where David says, you know, magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. And then he shares personal prayer requests and he kind of goes back and forth in that way. All wonderful reasons for sharing.

Now, in summary, there are many good reasons to share, but and here's what I want to clarify, sharing and getting others to pray, though potentially beneficial, is not essential to God answering from the smallest to the most significant of prayers. Now, before I share the biblical examples of why this is true, I want.

To sort of sadly share one of.

The reasons why I think it's important to understand that, to understand this truth, that is.

And that is because in many contemporary Christian circles, especially with the advent of social media and the wide reach that it has, I found that many assume that if we get from dozens to thousands of people to pray, that somehow, by numbers alone, we're going to force.

God's hand to answer our prayers.

Again, it's great to share and to get many to pray, but it can sadly slip over into spiritually unhealthy territory if God does not answer the prayer.

I've seen very sad reactions to this sort of situation, particularly when a well known, either well known in a local church or internationally, person or child becomes severely ill, maybe unexpectedly, maybe quite young, maybe whatever, and death seems possible without divine intervention.

Now it's good and it's proper to.

Share and ask many to pray. But here's where it becomes unhealthy if God does not heal and the person dies.

Sadly, sometimes the result when this happens is that people either question God, his love, his goodness, his truth, or.

Or they question themselves and wonder if they just prayed harder or got more people to pray or believe more or whatever that would have made a difference. Though we ultimately do not know the answer to why God does not answer some prayers.

Now remember, God did not answer the prayer most perfectly prayed of the most perfect person that was of His Son, Jesus. When he asked that the cuff be taken from him, God said no.

God holds the ultimate power and wisdom and sovereign right as to why he answers some prayers and not others. And though we are given various guidelines on how he wants us to pray and things that definitely block answers, nowhere, please hear me.

Nowhere in the Bible are we told that the answer to our prayers depends.

On how many People were praying for it.

To review our opening verse, the prayer of a person living right with God.

Is something powerful to be reckoned with.

Elijah, for instance, human just like us,.

Prayed hard that it wouldn't rain.

And it didn't. Not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain.

And it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

Other translations summarize it in this way. The earnest prayer of a righteous man.

Has great, powerful and wonderful results. That's in the new living, the niv.

It says the prayer of a righteous person.

Note one person is powerful and effective.

Now, this passage in James isn't the only place in the Bible that affirms the power of one person's prayers. Now here I'm going to give you two more examples. One is kind of a sad, negative one, and then there is a positive one.

So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they've done, declares the Sovereign Lord. Again, note the emphasis on someone needed to stand in the gap. But no one did.

God was looking for one person to pray to change the course of judgment for a nation.

Now, in contrast with that very sad happening, because no one did, there was an earlier time in Israel's history where it tells us in Psalm 106, 23, so he said that he would destroy them had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. In one instance, one man, Moses, stood in the breach. And we know that meant praying for 40 days in abject sorrow before God.

And because of that, God did not destroy the nation. Again. In contrast, at the time of Ezekiel, no one did that. Once again, note the emphasis on the word one. And so God's punishment came.

In the Psalms there's a word selah, which means to pause for reflection. There will be a passage and then it will say selah. I think that's the appropriate response here.

I admit to being overwhelmed when I read those passages.

In these passages in the Old Testament and there are others that are similar, the power of one person's prayers, or lack of them, was able to change the course of a nation. Does that mean I have that same sort of prayer power? The Bible seems to say, we all do so.

Selah Pause for Reflection no matter how great your need or the cause, for prayers for others, or whatever it might be, whatever God has laid on your heart, share with others if you wish, ask them to pray. But no that you alone are loved and listened to by your God, and just between you and him, he is able to answer prayers beyond your wildest dreams.

That's all for this podcast, for transcripts, links to related material, and much more to help you learn to know, trust, apply and teach the bible. Go to www.bible805.com for now, let me end with this benediction and prayer.

May you walk each day surrounded by the gracious love of the Father, guided by the gentle wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and conscious of the astoundingly real presence of Jesus, who will walk with you until you're no more a hobo soul, no more a transient wandering heart, but at home in the kingdom prepared for you with your God forever.

Amen.