Gregory Smith, Assistant Head of Development at the Eternal Wall, shares why praying bold prayers is essential and how you can be activated in prayer.  

Picture this. You’re on a barren mountainside surrounded by people who don’t know God. You’ve spent years trying to get them to follow Him, but it’s just not happening. Against you are a rather unfriendly group of prophets claiming that their false god is real. So you set up a challenge. Two altars ready for burning. Whoever’s god sets the altar alight is the one true God.

Already the situation is impossible, which the other prophets soon discover as they spend all day brutally crying out to their god. Nothing happens.

Now it’s your turn. You build your altar as God asks. Then you pour water on the wood. Then you do it again. And again. The wood is now soaked, and the trench you built around the altar is filled with water. Nobody can set fire to this now. Except you know the God of the impossible.

You pray, and WHOOSH! The fire of the Lord consumes the sodden altar. He’s done the impossible once again. Everyone around you collapses to the ground as they realise that the God of Israel is the one true God.

This is the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18 when he challenged the prophets of Baal. He knew God intimately, and it shows in the way he both acts and prays with astounding faith. 

Often we limit God when we pray, believing He can only do so much. Surely some things are just too impossible, even for Him? Maybe my debt, my addiction, my fear is too much for God to fix… But what if we find inspiration in Elijah’s faith? As he poured water on the altar he was demonstrating that there are no gradients to impossible; either something is impossible or it isn’t, those are the only options. Therefore nothing, not even the most dire situation, is too much for God.

What’s the worst that can happen if you try praying? Scratch that… What’s the best that can happen if you try praying? What if you saw your course mate healed of crippling migraines, or one by one your housemates giving their lives to Jesus? We might be overwhelmed when we read about Elijah’s tree-sized faith, but all you need is that mustard seed to see mountains move.

This principle has guided us at Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer. Building a Christian national landmark in the heart of the UK has (unsurprisingly) proven to be an impossible task. However, it’s happening. We’ve been granted planning permission. We’ve been given a perfect piece of land between two motorways and under a flight path. Just a few weeks ago, ground investigations began. Construction is just around the corner.

Through it all, we know God is behind us (check out our Heavenly Land video to see why!) We can stand on the testimonies of what He has done before. Our aim is to make hope visible, through this massive landmark built of one million bricks, with each brick linked to an answered prayer. As people encounter personal encounters of what God has done for others, their faith will increase. Suddenly the impossible doesn’t seem so tough, because “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

We dare you to start asking God to intervene in the impossible situations in your life. Then, when you see answers to your prayers, or hear of breakthroughs in the lives of people around you, remember those stories. Then next time your back’s against the wall you know Who to call. The impossible doesn’t stand a chance.

Find out more about Eternal Wall, and how your answered prayers can be part of it here.