The Power of Prayer in the Practice Of Law

This week I wanted to focus on the power and importance of prayer in the practice of law.

The video above is about a new ministry an attorney friend of mine (Tyler Makepeace) started in Colorado Springs a few years back. In just a few years, they have prayed with over 11,000 people in front of the Colorado Springs courthouse!! What is even more exciting for me is that we are now starting the ministry here in Chicago! (If you want to learn more about the ministry or how you could get involved at a courthouse near you, please let me know.)

Tyler and the folks at Courtside have discovered the power of prayer in the midst of the brokenness that floods in and out of our courts each day.

In my practice and at the Courtside Ministry table in Chicago, I have witnessed first hand how prayer is often the most valuable thing we can offer someone who is broken and mired in legal problems. In almost every area of practice, lawyers confront something or someone that is broken. The "something" could be a contract, a marriage, or the law; the "someone" could be an accused, a victim, a plaintiff or a defendant.

The calling of a lawyer is either to prevent things from breaking, fix or restore what is broken, or do the best with the broken pieces. And often, despite our best efforts, things break, there is no perfect fix, and there appears to be no way of redeeming the broken pieces--at least from a legal perspective. But as Christians, we are given a new perspective, because we serve a God who

Psalm 147:3
... heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 34:18
... is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

As Christian attorneys (who acknowledge our own sinful brokenness and place our hope in the work of Jesus to make us whole), we are called to look and approach brokenness differently and on a deeper level. In view of the Fall, we know to expect brokenness. In view of Jesus' teaching, we know that our external problems stem from internal brokenness. In view of what Jesus did to heal our brokenness, we of all people should be gracious with the broken people we serve.

And in view of the great commission, we are called to pursue and engage the broken rather than shelter ourselves from them.

Prayer is one, but perhaps the most important, weapon the Christian attorney has at his or her disposal, because it invites God to do what the law is powerless to accomplish!

Please share any testimonies you may have about how you have witnessed the power of prayer at work in your life or in your practice.