Interview with Horace Williams Jr.
Unleash the Power of Prayer in Your Life

Horace, congratulations on your first book! Please tell us about the inspiration behind it.

Thank you for asking Marva, but first I want to thank you for inviting me to share in your space.

My inspiration to write this book began to grow in the Spring of 2015. I had shared with my blog subscribers some answers to prayer in my life and family members. I was so overwhelmed with joy and hope at that time. I invited them to send me any prayer requests or praises they might have. I began to receive prayer requests from all over, including France! It reminded me that my world is so much bigger than the four walls I live within every day.

The mass shootings and bombings were distressing to me, and I received an email from someone in Nice, France asking for prayer as they were now afraid to be living there. The final straw that convinced me to write this book was the Presidential election process. I saw the disheartening group of candidates being whittled down. It was then I knew I had to write something to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ and remind them of the power of prayer.

Thank you for sharing your inspiration, Horace. Here are a few questions I have for you regarding your book on prayer.

What impact has prayer had in your life?

Prayer has transformed and saved my life. Even though I had accepted Christ as my Savior at the age of 5, I did not seek out time with Him growing up. In fact, I only called on Him when I needed or wanted His help.

After my stroke, as I was lying in the hospital bed in the darkness, God revealed to me through prayer that being a Christian was about serving Him. Regardless of my sins and selfishness, He still loved me.

It was through prayer that God has taken me from my left side being paralyzed to now being able to walk again with assistance. He continues to transform my heart and renew my mind. I still have joints that don’t move on my left side. However, my brain continues to heal, and so I can read and study God’s word.

I have learned the necessity of communing with God. I thank Him each day for allowing me to see a new morning. The more you converse with someone in any relationship the stronger that bond becomes. This same applies in your relationship with God

With all the books that have been written on prayer, how would you say this book is different?

That is a great question. I purposely did not read a lot of books on prayer before I wrote this book. I wanted to write what God put on my heart and share my experiences as a testimony of God’s power working in my life.

I share the benefits and blessings of a purposeful prayer life. Unconditional forgiveness, a strengthened faith, and the opportunity to affect lives through prayer to name a few.

I will say this; for me, prayer is personal. I hope to convey that in this book. It is talking with God and being willing to listen to Him.

Prayer should first be about God and His will. We seek His will via prayer.   He desires to hear from us. Not as an afterthought or only in desperate times.

What does it mean to have powerful prayers?

A powerful prayer begins with reverence and repentance. We must first acknowledge to whom we are praying, the Creator of the universe, Wonderful Counselor, and our Savior. A prayer must start with a pure heart, and by that, I mean there is no habitual unconfessed sin interfering with our communication with God.

Our prayers must solely rest in our faith in Jesus. When our faith rests in Him, we can have hope. Hope is a powerful thing. We can press forward to accomplish God’s will infused with His power and blessed by our confidence in Him.

For those who are eager to develop a prayer habit, where do you suggest they start?

I would recommend setting aside a time and a place where you and God can have a quiet time together. A place where you are hopefully uninterrupted by phone calls and text messages or distracted by other things.

In those moments, ask Him to search your heart a reveal to you any habitual or unconfessed sin so you can not only confess but repent and turn away from that sin. God cannot hear our prayers when iniquity is prevalent in our hearts. (Isaiah 50:1-2)

What would you say to the person who’s tried prayer before but struggle to believe that it works?

Like in any relationship, communication takes effort. If your heart is repentant and you are praying in faith to God seeking His will. God hears your prayers. (Psalm 37:4)   His answers may not be what we wanted, or in the time frame we desire, but God’s perfect timing is ALWAYS best. We must trust Him. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

What is the key message you would like readers to take away from this book?

One of my favorite quotes from the book is,

“Your prayer life is a reflection of your relationship with God.”

Think about this; are you prioritizing your time talking with God? Do you thank Him for the evidence of Him working in your life…seen or unseen?

My second favorite quote is,

“Prayer is about having purposeful and intimate conversations with God.”

As I mentioned earlier, prayer is personal. Over the years, I have seen God answer prayer in not only my own life but the lives of others. I want to daily share with my Savior the desires of my heart and seek His will for my life. I hope that the reader will see how much God loves them and desires to commune with them.

It’s my sincere hope that the readers of this book will be inspired to pray with purpose, persistence, and perseverance as they seek God’s will. To take a quote from my book, “Prayer is the conduit by which we can access God’s power.” Are you ready to unleash God’s power in your life?