What Makes Prayer Work?

What Makes Prayer Work

Prayer does not work the way we often think it does. In this solo teaching, Leighann McCoy explains why Jesus centered prayer on abiding in him and his words, and how praying God’s promises changes both our confidence and our experience of God’s presence. The main focus is practical and devotional: trusting God’s character, praying scripture back to him, and learning how to recognize his faithfulness.

Key topics

• Leighann McCoy teaches that prayer works through abiding in Jesus, drawing from John 15:7 and the idea of letting God’s words abide in us.
• She contrasts God’s character with the “tenacious neighbor” and the “persistent widow” parables, stressing that God is not reluctant or unjust.
• In this episode, she argues that praying Scripture is powerful because it aligns our requests with God’s promises and his own words.
• She points to Jeremiah 1:12 as a foundational promise: God watches over his word to perform it.
• She says God’s character is the foundation of trust, and cites Andrew Murray on cultivating a trustful attitude toward God rather than treating promises like formulas.
• She walks through Old Testament history as evidence that God is faithful, honest, reliable, and consistent in fulfilling what he says.
• She highlights the fulfillment of more than 300 Old Testament prophecies in Jesus, including Peter Stoner’s mathematical illustration about the improbability of fulfilling just eight by chance.
• She explains that praying God’s promises ushers in God’s presence, because those promises originate in his mind and heart and are returned to him in prayer.
• She gives three practical steps for making promises “work” in prayer: embrace an all or nothing mindset, be surrendered and satisfied, and cultivate gratitude.
• She closes by saying God keeps his promises the moment he makes them, and that faith means holding on to God, not merely to the promises themselves.

Feel free to reach out to Mikel at mikel.mccoy@prayerclinic.com if you would like some prayer cards!