Where the People and Friends of Africa Mingle

Power of Prayer - 1

5 comments

Posted by: Omotaylor on April 1, 2008 Under: Discussion Lounge, Faith & Spirituality, United Kingdom



At oft times in the life of a Christian, we are subjected to abuse, problems and a general feeling of depression. On individual and communal levels we come across situations that make us feel that the world has gone mad, and this affects our sanity. Also many times we find that things are just okay, and at the odd times feel that everything is super cool. Whatever the feeling we may have or whatever it is we are going through, I write to remind all children of God that PRAYER IS THE KEY.

This topic was recently discussed at the CCC (Elephant & Castle) Women Council and Prayer Fellowship, at the Galilee outing on Easter Monday, which took place at Brighton, England. Here is my submission. As you read it, I pray that it gives added value and the love of God to your prayer life in Jesus name.

THE POWER OF PRAYER

Jesus began His ministry in Galilee to fulfill the Prophecy of Isaiah which is recorded in Matthew 4:15-16:
“ The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”[f]

This same Jesus ended His ministry at Galilee and gave a promise as recorded in Matthew 26:32 saying:
“But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”Hence the Galilee meeting is in accordance to the scriptures and observed by many Christians worldwide. Jesus during his worldly sojourn taught us so many things in order for us to live a principled and Godly life, and very distinct in these teachings is the Power of Prayer. This dates back to when the disciples approached the Master and begged him to teach them how to pray hence the famous “Our Lords Prayer.”

Prayer is a very powerful instrument which the Christian ought to use always and without ceasing for, ~Adoration, ~Confession, ~Intercession, ~Supplication and ~Thanks. And among the essentials of Powerful prayer are:
1. Purity of Heart – hence David sang in Psalm 66:18-19 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer”

2. Faith, Belief and Trust (I treat these three words as synonymous). Matthew 21:22 tells us that “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

3. The Name of Jesus Christ – This is the most powerful name on earth and no one can profess to be a true Christian if he/she does not believe this. Hence the saviour promised us in John 14: 13-14 that “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask[c] anything in My name, I will do it”.

4. The Will of God – Whenever and whatever we petition and ask of the Father in the name of Jesus must always be according to the Will of God. Our ways are not always His ways and our thoughts are not always His thoughts hence 1 John 5:14 tells us that
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

EFFECTUAL PRAYER
For our prayers to be effectual, we need as Christians to observe and have the following: Simplicity of Heart; A Forgiving Spirit; Humility; A Repentant Heart; Pray collectively in Unity i.e. with one mind and love; Pray Intensely; and above all according to 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”.

We must at all times avoid anything that would make our lives unrighteous for God to hear our prayers. Examples of these are Sin; immorality; selfishness; deceit; doubt; pride; disobedience; laxity; and impatience.

Prayer is a reality for all Christians; it must be diligent and fervent. All Christians are advised to have an energetic prayer life, and their prayers must be kindled in the Fire of God. Have you considered becoming a prayer warrior? If so, be reminded that the key words to a powerful prayer life are, FAITH, BELIEF, TRUST, HOLY DESIRE, FERVENCY, OBEDIENCE, VIGILANCE AND THE WORD OF GOD.

THE POWER OF PRAYER REALISED
Through the power of prayer we as Christians are able to:

1. DO THE IMPOSSIBLE. We all know that with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). There is nothing too great for our God to do, if we seek Him we shall find Him, If we ask we shall receive, and if we knock, the door shall be opened unto us (Luke 11:9-10). The book of John 15:7 promises us that ” If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”.

2. MOVE GOD TO ACTION. The name of Jesus is the powerful name that we as Christians call to move God to action. John 14:12 - 14 buttresses this “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask[c] anything in My name, I will do it”.

3. REMOVE OUR MOUNTAIN: This is His promise hence Mark 11:23 tells us that “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says”. Remember that Faith, Trust and Belief are embedded in this promise.

THE WORD OF GOD
The word of God releases the power of prayer and render it more effective. As the church is considered a House of Prayer, so is the Bible, the Book of Prayers. The Word of God is a great help in prayer and our powerful prayer is dependent on it. John 15:7 tells us this “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Abiding in Jesus is abiding in the Word of God. Jesus is the Word who from the beginning was with the Father – John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”.
Psalm 119 is a very powerful psalm of prayers and relevant to every aspect of our prayer life. Our powerful prayer draws life from the Bible and assists us lead a righteous life, hence David again declares in Psalm 119:11 that “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You”.

May the good Lord teach us how to pray (Amen).

To be continued in Part 2

These posts may have related contents:

Site Tags: ,

5 comment(s)

  1. Misi | Apr 2, 2008 | Reply

    My only question is: How do we know when to stop praying about a matter and believing or having faith that it is done?

  2. Omotaylor | Apr 16, 2008 | Reply

    Hiyya Misimi, I have been away hence my delay in responding to your question. I will want to believe that if a particular prayer is for a particular request, then when the request is granted you will know and then offer prayer of thanks for having your petition granted. Nevertheless I will advice that although you have recieved what you pray for, you dont stop praying for we are advised to beware the wiles of the devil and pray for everything hence you keep praying (not to ask for what you have recieved, but to have the best of what you have recieved and fortify yourself from evildoers who may want to tamper with what you have recieved. E.g if asking for money, a child, a life partner, permanent stay in a country etc etc, after receipt,you pray for hapiness and success from that which you have been given. You dont ever stop praying per se. Faith without works is void. Yes it is done for God is a God of possibilities, but you dont want what has been done to go wrong or be regretted. “pray without ceasing” - 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

  3. Misi | May 15, 2008 | Reply

    I said I was going to revisit this issue because I feel you haven’t really answered my question.
    To quote you “I will want to believe that if a particular prayer is for a particular request, then when the request is granted you will know and then offer prayer of thanks for having your petition granted. Nevertheless I will advice that although you have received what you pray for, you dont stop praying for we are advised to beware the wiles of the devil”—- what you are saying to me is that you keep making your prayer request until your request is granted. However, if that is so, then where does faith come in, that is when do you start believing or having faith that God has answered your prayer come in? And when does giving thanks in anticipation that God has answered your prayers happen even though in the physical your request has not yet been granted.
    Also in relation to your answer, how will you explain Mark 11:22-24 which says: “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
    I would love to hear your explanation for the last line of that verse in relation to my question and your response.

  4. Omotaylor | May 16, 2008 | Reply

    @Misimi, the answer to your first question is already in your question i.e. the word FAITH. Yes you keep making your prayer requests until granted just like Hannah did when she kept on petitioning ~God for a child (see 1 Samuel 1) until ~God answered her prayers. What is your understanding of the word ~FAITH? Please read Hebrews 11. This same faith will make you praise and thank ~God in anticipation that you have received even if it has not physically manifested and this BELIEF moves God to grant your request in his appointed time and when he knows it will be of benefit to you. For example, a brother in the US prayed God for papers so that he could visit his parents as he was homesick. He got the papers, travelled to Nigeria and was killed by armed robbers! Did he ask amiss? Do you blame God for answering his prayers? Was he destined to go this way? If God has delayed for a reason, would you still not blame God? WE CANNOT BLAME GOD for He knows the hows and whys of everything and this is the faith and belief we as Christians have to accept.
    In trying to answer your last question (albeit not too clear to me what the question is), I will say this. Jesus says faith can move mountains. Yes, for when Abraham was told to sacrifice his only son, that he waited almost a hundred years to get, he obeyed. But God is not evil and gave him a substitute for passing the test (Hebrews 11 explains this). Abraham in his heart would have asked ~God to spare him the ordeal of sacrificing his only son, and his prayers were answered for he had faith. “whatever you ask for” must be in line with what you should be asking from God, for it to be granted. For example if a woman desires another woman’s husband and asks for this man in prayers, God will not answer that prayer for God is not an Author of confusion, so the man will not be hers. If she tries other means outside the will of God to get the man, she will suffer for it, either here on earth or in life hereafter. The Bible cannot be taken or interpreted literally. We ask the Holy Spirit to expose the things of the Lord to us in reading, understanding and effecting the words of God. David explains this in Psalm 37. So I firmly say that “Though it tarries wait for it and it shall come to pass” i.e. if it is God’s desire. If it is not the will of God, accept in faith that God has a reason for withdrawing it from you.

  5. Omotaylor | May 16, 2008 | Reply

    Oh by the way, outside the bible, I share a lady’s experience. She met a man of her heart’s desire, wanted this man for a hubby, but man showed no interest in her. She did not stop believing that this man would be her husband. Man even dated other girls while she was waiting for she was not the usual type the man will go for. She still prayed and waited on the Lord for this man, in spite of her friends making jest of her saying it was “fatal attraction”. In the end the man noticed her, appreciated her real essence, not the outward appearance, and loved her so deeply and they are still married to date. Meanwhile it was because the man had dated beautiful girls with no character or moral values, girls that were so proud the man saw hell, girls that could not even keep a home etc, that this man finally saw the values endowed on this woman. The waiting period for the woman was about 5 years. If she had her prayer answered in the first year without the man’s experience with these other beautiful world class girls, she may have married a man who will not value her, who will think there is something missing and play the field after marriage etc. God knows best.

Post a comment