Prayer is so important because it allows us to delight in God’s presence, discern His heart, and depend on His power. But prayer is so powerful because it actually directs God’s hand. When we pray, prayer moves our heart and will to align with God’s heart and will. But it also moves God’s hand to directly interfere into the affairs of humanity. And yet few of us actually believe this. Some of us fall into the trap of fatalism, falsely believing God has already set the future and our prayers won’t actually change anything. Others of us fall into the trap of naturalism, falsely believing that prayer is less important than action. But throughout the scriptures, God does change his mind in response to his peoples’ prayers. In Exodus 32, after receiving the 10 Commandments, Moses prays on behalf of the Israelites and God relents. In 2 Kings 6, Elisha prays for the eyes of his servant to be opened to the reality of God’s power through prayer. If you track the theme of prayer throughout the biblical story, one thing becomes abundantly clear: prayer moves the hand of God to action. It’s our prayers, usually on behalf of others, by which God advances His Kingdom to push back the darkness in the world around us. Put simply, God responds when we pray. By praying bold prayers that just might move God’s hand to action, we practice turning our inward-focused minds, hearts, and bodies into outward-acting agents of God’s kingdom.