July 23, 2025

Partner with God!

I once heard the late, great Jack Hayford state, “The quest of Jesus Christ on the earth is greatly crippled by wrong notions of the sovereignty of God.” That is a very sobering statement. Debates regarding the sovereignty of God have raged for centuries. The answer to whether or not He is sovereign is an emphatic “Yes!” But does this mean He operates independently of us humans, always accomplishing His will, regardless of our actions? “NO!” As incredible as it may be, a sovereign God made a sovereign choice to limit Himself in many ways and situations to the actions, decisions, and requests of human beings. His plan has always been to work on earth with and through us, His family and friends, not independently of us.

Consider the following examples that clearly point out the need for prayer and obedience in order for humans to experience God’s will:

• Healing of a nation: “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

• Receiving covenantal blessings: “Now it shall be, if you will diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth” (Deuteronomy 28:1; verse 2 and the following verses list several more conditional blessings).

• Experiencing a long life: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you in the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Deuteronomy 5:16).

• Protection from harm: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

• Forgiveness of sin: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

• The release of God’s will on the earth: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

John Wesley so believed God’s plan was to work on earth through people that he contended, “God does nothing on the earth save in answer to believing prayer.” E. M. Bounds, one whose teachings on prayer have impacted millions, was just as bold:

“God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil.... The prayers of God’s saints are the capital stock of heaven by which God carries on His great work upon earth. God conditions the very life and prosperity of His cause on prayer.”(1) 

Dr. Ben Carson understood this partnership. Back in 1987, he realized that a successful operation to separate conjoined twins depended not just on his surgical skills, but also on God working through him and his team. 

“After nineteen hours of surgery, Dr. Carson and his medical team collapsed, exhausted, into conference room chairs. In the middle of separating the two Zambian twins who were born joined at the head, they considered stopping the operation. But as dangerous as it looked to proceed, it would, in effect, be a death sentence if they stopped.

“As they walked back to the operating room, Dr. Carson prayed that God would take over the operation. As he resumed the delicate surgery in the South African hospital, struggling with just a scalpel instead of the microinstruments he used at home, he sensed a remarkable steadiness in his hands. It was as though he were simply watching his hands move, while someone else had actually taken over the surgery. While he had often sensed prayer support during other surgeries, he had never experienced anything like what happened during this intricate operation. At the very moment that the last vein connecting the boys was separated, after twenty-eight hours of surgery, the stereo system began playing “Hallelujah Chorus,” from Handel’s Messiah. Everyone in the OR knew something remarkable had taken place.”(2)

Dr. Carson recognized his inability to complete this operation on his own. What an amazing example of God and humans working together through both prayer and action.

Our late friend Quin Sherrer shared the miraculous story of what happened when a mother realized she needed to involve God through her prayers:

“God cares about even the small details of our lives. Eleanor was a Christian who knew God cared, but she had a child with a very special need. Would God really intervene? After hearing me speak about prayer at a meeting in Alabama, Eleanor realized three things: she hadn’t been giving God quality time; she hadn’t been praying with definite requests; and she had never really let God speak to her through His Word.

“She left that meeting with a burning desire to pray, and with a definite plan for how to do it.

“The problem: Eugene, her thirteen-year-old adopted son, had not grown even an eighth of an inch in a year. Her doctor told her to take him to a specialist who would prescribe growth hormones.

“The plan: Eleanor’s habit for years had been to rise at 4:30 a.m. and run for several miles. Then she usually came home, flopped down to rest, and said about ten minutes’ worth of general ‘God-bless-us’ prayers.

“‘I realized the time I spent with the Lord was like ‘snack time,’ when ‘banquet time’ was what I really needed,’ she said. ‘I decided to start praying first; then if I had any time left, I’d run.’

“During one of her first mornings of spending quality time with God, He showed her a specific Scripture verse she could pray for her son. She paraphrased it: ‘Lord, may my son, like Jesus, increase in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man’ (see Luke 2:52 KJV).

“She never got around to taking Eugene for the hormone shots. He began to grow. In the first three months after she started praying this way, he grew three inches! In the next three months, he grew three more. Some people may argue that it was his natural growth spurt year, but Eleanor knows God honored her prayer. She saw other evidence confirming this. Her son’s conduct grade on his report card went from a C- to an A. ‘Mom, my teacher likes me now, and I like her,’ he commented when she quizzed him about it.

“‘Eugene increased not only in stature and favor with his teacher, but in wisdom, too, as his other grades also have improved,’ Eleanor told me when I saw her months later.”(3)

I end today’s post the way I began it, with a powerful quote from Jack Hayford: “Prayer is essentially a partnership of the redeemed child of God, working hand in hand with God, toward the realization of his redemptive purposes on earth.”(4)

Let’s partner with our great God now. 

Pray with me:

Father, we are always humbled to think You made us co-laborers and partners with You. Most believers do not fully grasp this incredible truth. We ask for revelation of this profound plan to permeate the Church. Do for us today as Paul prayed for the Ephesians: enlighten our understanding (Ephesians 1:18). Bring revelation of the fact that we are “workers together with” You (2 Corinthians 6:1). 

We work together with You in prayer today to see more and more justice come in the arena of America’s government. Continue to expose the corruption and weaponization of our government over the past 10 years. Expose the relentless, corrupt attacks against President Trump and others who worked alongside him. Restore integrity to our government.

We also partner with You to see renewal brought to the church. We ask You to do a quick work, through the coming revival, of restoring passion, zeal for truth, and love for Your Word. Awaken us, fill us afresh and new with Your Spirit, return us to first love. 

We agree in prayer with our brothers and sisters. Please heal those who so desperately need Your healing power. Save family members and restore prodigals. Heal relationships and emotional wounds.

And we pray also today for our brothers and sisters suffering persecution around the world. Many have recently paid the ultimate price for their faith. We honor them for their steadfast loyalty to You, and their commitment inspires us. We pray for those still suffering – give them grace and comfort. And deliver them from evil men. All of these things we pray in the name of Yeshua. Amen.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. As quoted in Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975), p. 51.

2. Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery, and Nancy Mitchell Autio Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communication, 2000), pp. 64-67.

3. Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock, How to Pray for Your Family and Friends (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant, 1990), pp. 58-59.

4. Jack W. Hayford, Prayer Is Invading the Impossible (South Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1977; revised edition, Bridge Publishing, 1995), p. 92, 1977 edition.