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Prayer Ways

Much has been said about the subject of prayer in the Christian faith with the major aim being to inspire believers to spend more time in prayer before God. When we pray, we recognise the fact that God can help us and provide answers to our requests (Ps 65:2, John 16:23-24). When you fail to pray, there will be nothing for God to respond to as God does nothing except in response to prayer. In other words, if there is no asking there will be no receiving. When you fail to pray, you leave God jobless and with nothing to do on your behalf! Prayer in this context is an expression of your dependence on God. It is a way of showing that you need God badly and can do nothing without Him. The Why of Prayer Why should we bother to pray? The Bible enjoins us to pray without ceasing which means to be always in a state of absolute dependence on God (1 Thess. 5:17). Prayer is good for all things and all situations and circumstances (Phil 4:6). It is a spiritual exercise that we must all engage irrespective of our feelings, emotions and mental state (Luke 18:1, 1 Tim 2:8).Prayer is not only about physical alertness but also involves spiritual alertness. It involves taking a spiritual inventory of any situation and making specific and targeted requests. That is the aspect called watching and praying (Col 4:2, Matt 26:41). Jesus Christ is our perfect example and role model as He came to give us a pattern for living life as we ought to (Romans 8:29). If Jesus himself was a man of prayer then we have no excuse not to pray except of course we have another example to follow (Luke 6:12, Mark 1:35, Hebrews 5:7). God's blueprint for prayer can be found in 1 John 5:14-15 where it is explicitly stated that anything we ask for according to His will will be given to us. We also have the assurance we need to go before God in prayer that if we can only believe God we will receive whatever it is we ask from Him (Mark 11:24). The summary of praying according to God's will is that He has a will and it is our responsibility to pray that will into reality. God is only interested in answering prayers that are in accordance with His will. Sometimes we may not know what the exact will of God is which is why we

have to test and approve it (Rom 12:2). When you do not know what God is saying exactly, at least you have the Scriptures to refer to know His will. When you pray, your prayers must align with the central theme of the Scriptures so always look to the Scriptures for guidance. Prayer is also a form of worship to God because it connotes total dependence on God for everything. When the four living creatures and the 24 elders present bowls of incense before God, will your prayers be there (Ps 141:2, Rev 5:8, Rev 8:3-4)? The How of Prayer An important concept in prayer is praying in the Spirit so what does it mean to pray in the Spirit? In Jude verses 19-20, we see something very interesting; we can infer from this Scripture that those eligible to pray in the Spirit are those who have the Spirit and do not merely follow their natural instincts (1 Cor. 2:12). The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God's will even as He helps us in our weaknesses. The Spirit only helps those who attempt to pray so His help only comes when you start praying (Romans 8:26-27). When we do not work at cross purposes with the Lord we are better able to understand what the Spirit of God wants us to pray about (1 Cor. 6:17). The Spirit of God knows exactly what God wants, which is His will, and He thus helps us to pray according to that revealed will by giving us prayer burdens and telling us what to pray about (1 Cor. 2:9-12). In Eph. 6:18, we are enjoined to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. In the preceding verses, the Scriptures talk about putting on the full armour of God and mention the components of that armour. A close look at the entire reference goes to show that for you to be able to pray in the Spirit, you must have the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from preaching the gospel (Eph 6:10-18). That is all you need to be able to pray in the Spirit! A good number of people interpret praying in the Spirit to mean praying in tongues but that is not what the Bible teaches, as praying in the Spirit can be either in tongues or in a language that you understand. The Bible clearly

makes a distinction between praying in the Spirit and praying with your spirit (1 Cor. 14:2-16). Thus praying in the Spirit is praying the mind of the Spirit according to the revealed will of God. There is a time to pray and a time to wait for the answer to manifest (Ps 5:3). This time is called your waiting period, it is not easy to wait but God knows best and He is never late (2 Peter 3:8). We cannot talk about prayer without mentioning intercession, which may sometimes hold the key to your own prosperity (Job 42:8-10, 1 Tim 2:1-4). Sometimes, your breakthrough is tied to taking responsibility for the burdens of others after all that is what Jesus came to do for us. The When of Prayer As believers we need to set apart times for prayer as regularly as possible (Ps 55:17, 1 Thess. 5:17). Great men and women of faith all over the world have been people who not only understood the importance of praying regularly but also spent great amounts of time in prayer. Remember if you do not pray, what you are saying is that you do not need God and are self-sufficient and independent. If you know you need God, then you will find time to pray. The cure to not praying is simply to make out time to pray. If prayer were to be food, how fat would you be? Authors note: This message was first preached at the Parish Youth Chapel, Church of the Pentecost (Anglican Communion), 21 Road, Festac Town, Lagos on Sunday, 26th June 2011 and Sunday 3rd July 2011 (10am service) in my capacity as Coordinator.

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