24-Hour Prayer Power

What a difference a day makes! I’ve heard this saying before, but this weekend I realized just how true it is. Although the saying should be, “what a difference a day of prayer makes!” From Saturday morning to Sunday morning God showed me just how much power there is in prayer.

The reason behind my fervent prayer was the fact that I was playing the drums on the worship team at church on Sunday. We’d had worship team practice on Thursday night and to say that it hadn’t gone well would be an understatement. I had messed up many times and couldn’t seem to get some of the song endings right. My negative thoughts convinced me I’d ruin worship and make a fool of myself in the process.

To top it off, my seasonal allergies kicked into high gear. I felt miserable! By Saturday the need for prayer was undeniably evident. During these types of situations, the only thing that calms me down is talking to God by writing in my prayer journal. As I settled down before the Lord, I wrote Him a desperate prayer.

4.24.10
Lord, my throat hurts, my head hurts, my eyes are watering and I can’t sleep. Please help my body to function! Lord, I want to glorify You on the drums tomorrow. I need You to take my meager ability and multiply it! I can only do this though Your strength. I am claiming Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Writing that prayer helped calm my fears and get me through the day. There was only a little time for practicing on Saturday, so I needed to trust God for musical ability that could only come from Him! Judging from Thursday’s practice, He’d have to pull off a miracle! I woke up early Sunday morning and decided that time would be best spent in prayer. I remembered the encouraging words of Psalm 33 and decided to read it again. Then I wrote another prayer in my journal.

4.25.10 (a.m.)
Psalm 33 says to “Sing joyfully to the Lord … Praise Him, Praise the Lord with the harp (I inserted the drums), make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre (again, drums), sing to Him a new song, play skillfully and shout for joy.”

Lord, I don’t feel well today. I really need You! I want to honor You on the drums today. Please guide my hands and feet so that others may worship You. Please help me to play skillfully. I don’t want my mistakes to distract others. I will give You all the honor and glory.

The only way I was going to play skillfully was if God took over. There was absolutely no way anyone was going to “shout for joy” if I played like I did in practice. I was depending on God to take my drumsticks and use them for His glory.

He answered my prayer in a big way! On Sunday evening I took a few minutes to think about how God had made His presence known in my life that day and I made another prayer journal entry.

4.25.10 (p.m.)
Lord, thank you for being my hands and feet today. Worship time was awesome! I could feel Your presence. Thank you for answering my prayers. You showed Yourself through the music, communion and through Pastor’s message. You are an amazing and awesome God!

Sometimes I try to live my life in my own strength and I don’t rely on God. Then things start going wrong and I wonder why my life is a mess. This weekend’s 24-hour prayer power experience has helped me realize that God deserves to take charge of everything in my life. Why am I still holding on to things, thinking that I can do a better job handling my life than He can?

Playing the drums is one of my steps of faith. On my own I cannot make a joyful noise, but He has the power to make a joyful noise through me. I’d rather have my life planned out and scheduled so that there are no surprises or unknowns, but the Lord knows that I need experiences like playing the drums so I’ll depend on Him.

What drumsticks (areas of your life) to you need to hand over to God? Let Him take over those areas and use them to play skillfully.

If you want to know more, read Psalm 33.