The Power of a Power Team

Have you ever had to team up on a problem to solve it?

A few weeks ago I was reminded of the power of a team. I pulled out one of my favorite shirts to wear and discovered an ugly spot of unknown origin on the front. While I was momentarily disappointed, I thought, “No problem, I can easily wash this out and it’ll be fine.” After a few attempts at removing the stain with various detergents, with no success, I called in the heavy artillery. I remembered that my wife had a bottle of special, high-powered “stuff” made for situations like this. I found it, applied it, waited and then washed the shirt. And sure enough, the spot disappeared!

How did this stain remover succeed when all the other detergents failed? The right team! This one was a cleaning “power team.” The right chemistry was in place, and all the elements, working together, brought a cleansing breakthrough! It was the power of a power team!

In life there are certain things that, much like the stubborn stain on my shirt, resist all our efforts to change them. They simply don’t budge, no matter how many “detergents” we try or hard we scrub. They are determined to hold their ugly place in our thinking, our relationships, our habits and our attitudes. How do we ever get these spiritual, emotional and relational stains removed from our soul or circumstances?

We need the right “power team.” The Bible tells us about the “stuff” God has provided for times and situations like this. It’s the power team of prayer and praise! Not just prayer, and not just praise, but the combined power of both prayer and praise. While there’s power in prayer and power in praise, there’s a release of incredible, exponential power when we practice these together, with faith and persistence.

There are many examples of this dynamic duo in Scripture. One is found in 2 Chronicles 20. It’s the story of the little nation of Judah facing an invasion by three allied enemies. Only a miracle could save them from defeat and destruction. King Jehoshaphat of Judah called all the people together for a time of prayer. He passionately called on God for help.

God’s instruction to Jehoshaphat was to do one more thing. In addition to their prayers, they were to become praisers! Jehoshaphat got it! He understood what God wanted them to do. Take a look at what he did:

… the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising Him for His holy splendor … — 2 Chronicles 20:21 (NLT)

This story ends with a great victory for Judah. The combination of prayer and praise was the power team that brought breakthrough!

Is there some stubborn “stain” in your life? God says, “Employ the power team of prayer and praise!” It’ll work for you!

Dale O'Shields

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