Have you ever experienced that dreadful moment when you turn the key in the ignition, and nothing happens? You were expecting the engine to roar to life, but there’s nothing. No click, no power … it’s simply dead.
This happened to me a couple months ago. I was out for lunch and went to start my car, when quite suddenly my day changed. There were calls to be made maneuvering to be done with my schedule. Finally, someone jumpstarted my car, and I made it to the auto store.
With a lighter wallet and a new car battery, I returned to my daily life.
But then …
Reality hit two days later. I was at the gas station, to get fuel, and guess what happened? My battery died—again. The brand new battery—you know, the one I told myself would keep the car running with no problems—once again—dead.
The same process from earlier in the week was repeated, this time with a more intense diagnostic evaluation.
The result? I needed a new alternator.
Now I don’t know much about cars, but I do know one thing—the alternator is very important. In the simplest terms, the alternator is a generator that charges the battery and powers the electrical system of a vehicle.
So, why am I writing to you about car batteries and alternators? Well, I think there is a practical lesson here.
You see, back in the summer of 2020 I was in that space of spiritual dryness.
Was I reading the Word? Yes. Going to worship? Yes. Taking notes in church? Yes, to all of this. And yet … something was dry.
My “spiritual” battery would be revived at church and jumpstarted, but I couldn’t seem to generate any power. I was unable to truly stand with confidence in faith.
Simply put, I needed revival—I needed something to change.
But did you notice what was missing from that list?
It’s a simple word with powerful meaning. PRAYER.
My prayers had grown stagnant, my heart had drifted, and in the wandering, I found that my spiritual battery had died, the engine was no longer running and I didn’t really know how to fix it. Because, let’s be honest, for a long time I was able to mask the problem.
My battery was dead but when I went to church, I got a jolt. When I listened to a worship song, another jumpstart…but the alternator was no longer in use.
Then came the change—the call to real and honest prayer. My heart had had enough limping and struggling, I wanted real power, the kind that set my heart on fire for the Lord.
I wanted to be revived.
What began as a simple journal entry, turned into a heartfelt prayer. I closed my journal and wept, I poured out my heart to the Lord, one word resonating, “Why?”
At the time, there were things in my life that I didn’t understand, things I couldn’t get past, and I wanted answers. I wish I could tell you that the Lord gave me the answer immediately, but He didn’t. Instead, He pointed me in a different direction—back to His Word, back to His heart.
Because in the whys and hows of this world, we may never have complete understanding, but His Word is enough of an answer. It is the plumbline of truth that assembles all the chaos around us.
There in my room, the Lord’s call reached me, asking me to submit to His will, to remember Who He is and not to doubt. In taht moment, I gave up. Literally gave up the very things I had been holding back—the obstructions, and life moved in.
This time it wasn’t a simple jumpstart of my heart, it was a resurgence of flames for pursuing Christ.
The alternator of my heart was restored.
Prayer has power.
Remember that. Rely on it. In the moments of uncertainty, seek Him. Scour the pages of His Word for the things which ignite your soul—but most of all trust Him. Trust that He was, He is and He will be—The Alpha and Omega. The I AM THAT I AM.
Because when we rely on Him and not our circumstances or situations, suddenly the small jolts of battery life we had been using to find a spark, turn into a muscle that generates power.
You see, an alternator works while the battery is running. It charges the battery—fuels it. In much the same way, your prayers—how you reside in your conversations with the Lord—fuel your day. It influences your worship, how you read the Word, and how you interact with those the Lord has placed in your life.
Prayer, true, heartfelt prayer, is a source unlike any other. So now, go and pray, trusting that the Lord hears and sees, and that His will is certain to be done.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12
