THE STRUCTURE OF PRAYER (Matthew 6)
Jesus the son of God often withdrew to solitary places to have some lone time with His father and people would be looking for Him. At the beginning of His ministry, He was sent in to the wilderness for a forty days fasting and prayer and that's when His ministry commenced and He was empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out wondrous and mighty works destroying the works of the devil. When His disciples noticed this? The interest in prayer grew and they wanted to learn how to pray from their master. Jesus gave them a model of Prayer and our everyday prayer should complete this model not necessarily word for word but using it as a structure.
Our Father in Heaven
Often prayer is defined by many to be conversing with God, meaning it consists of talking and then listening to what the other person saying, though there is more to prayer but this is adequate for now. In the world it is always important to know whom you are conversing with to ensure that the other party is not offended and hence result into undesirable consequences. Therefore it won't be of a surprise to you that classification is made normally of age, hierarchy etc... Basically the higher these go the more formal it becomes. This sort of mentality produces a few problems already because God is Supreme, The ultimate Power and Authority, The highest in hierarchy and He existed before time itself. Therefore getting to understand that This supreme God does not only want but also would love and is looking forward to spend some time with us becomes a difficult concept to grab and have people end up saying things like, 'I look at God as the director of a big multi-billion corporation and hence I don't have to waste His time.' and some say, 'He is busy dealing with more important things like running the universe.'When it comes to prayer though one should understand a relationship with God as a relationship with the a perfect father but unlike the perfect father God will always be there for you and with you to listen to what you have to say and support you in all your doings. He will give you what you ask of Him but first He is looking for that relationship with you which starts by accepting Jesus (that is not to say that He doesn't hear the prayer if you have not made a decision for Christ, for we all do know that He is merciful and sends rain on the sinners and the righteous). Jesus says if you abide in me and I in you then you will be able to ask for whatever you want and it will be granted by my father.It is not just a coincidence that the Lord started this prayer like this, it is powerful and a great witness of our Faith, remember it is impossible to please God without faith because those who come to Him must believe that He exists (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore every time we say 'Our Father who is in Heaven' you accept His existence, the ministry of Jesus and the Power of God to bring Him back to life because it is on this concept that our faith hangs that is in Christ we were adopted as sons and daughters (John 1:12) of the most supreme Being and we are able to cry out 'Abba' Father. Christianity is the only belief that classifies their God as Father not even Judaism classifies Him as such, because this came with Jesus as He proclaims that you are no longer servants but my friends and those who do the will of God are basically my family. Therefore if we believe in Jesus we are children of God and we are then able to approach His throne with boldness for we know that He is a father of mercy ( John 1:12, Hebrews 4:16). He loves us so much that He gave His most precious possession that a relationship with us might be restored. He is longing for the fellowship that was distracted by the sin in our lives. Therefore prayer is much more that just talking at God but it is having fellowship with Him, and when you have fellowship with someone you get to know them better and experience their love.
Hallowed be your name.
This constitutes a very important part of prayer but we tend to leave it out and jump straight into asking for our daily needs or wants. God knows our wants today and in fact He has declared that even before you call, He shall answer you (Isaiah 65:24). Praise is a powerful tool in prayer because it will show God that you truly have Faith as you remind Him of His greatness and what He has done in the past which also helps build up your confidence that He can't resist but to be moved to performance in your life. God doesn't want to share His glory with any man or flesh and when you praise God it shows Him that when the thing has been provided for you, you will by all means praise God and no flesh not even yourself.When the Moabites and Ammonites came to make war against Israel, Jehoshaphat the king declared a fast and prayer in the whole land of Israel. They brought their petition to God and He was moved by the sincerity of their hearts and was going to answer them but said something unlike on other occasions this time He ordered them to worship Him. They moment the people started to sing to the Lord and praise Him for His splendour with sounding of trumpets, the Lord Himself sent ambushes against armies and the Israelites just came to collect plunder. The Lord had made that battle His because with a broken hearts the people seek ed for God's help but when they started to praise Him, He moved to action (2 Chronicles 20:1-25).When Joshua was about to lead the men of Israel to overcome Jericho, a commander from the Lord appeared to him and proclaimed that the Lord had given the city unto their hands but they should be strong and courageous. They had to march around the city once for six days and seven times on the seventh day and at the sound of the trumpet the people had to give a shout of Praise. When they had given that shout of praise the walls of Jericho came tumbling down and down, then the Israelites were able to go straight in there and claim what the Lord had promised them already (Joshua 6). Also after the death of Joshua, the people enquired of the Lord, 'who shall go first to take possession of the land of their allotment and the Lord said, 'Judah!' Judah means praise and hence the Lord was literally saying that praise shall go first in to this battle (Judges 1:1-2). The Psalmist also declares that I will enter His coats with praise and also the Lord inhabits the praises of His people and we all know where God is, He will arise and all His enemies will be scattered (Psalms 100).God has promised and indeed He will fulfil what He has promised but sometimes He requires you to give a shout of praise that will show that you are convinced beyond doubt that He is able to accomplish what He has promised. Some of the battles that we persist fighting in our petitions and trying to bash the devil, claim from the word of God are battles that the Lord has already declared to be His and all you need is to praise Him.
Your kingdom come
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
God's kingdom is good, that is why the word says every good gift is from the Lord. The bible also has many promises of a life in abundance. Many of us have no problem with the first part, in fact we are able to claim many of these promises by heart,' No weapons forged against me shall prosper, I am blessed in the city and out of the city, I am the head and not the tail, I shall not die but live and proclaim the goodness of the Lord, I shall see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living, my enemies will come in one direction but flee in seven etc...' and all of us were good at some time or still are good in saying, 'your will be down on the earth as it is in heaven.' Do we understand the depth of what we are saying? This means total submission and surrender to the will of the Father. We can not have too wills operating at one time, if the Father's will must be done here on earth then it requires that man should give up his will and not just part of it but the whole of it. The reason why this is the hardest part for most of us today is that we do not know who the Father is, how faithful He is, His unchanging nature and that He has plans not to harm us but to bring us to an expected future. He is God and knows all things and in Him all things consist and that is why the Bible says that for we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called for His purpose (Number 23:19, Jeremiah 29:11,Romans 8:28). It is much easier to surrender your will unto Him if you know Him and its not just part but it is surrendering all to Him. This is a true act of worship that with a humble heart and a contrite spirit we offer our bodies each and every time in prompt obedience to Him then we will be able to see God's greatness and goodness. When Peter submitted to the will of Christ, They were able to catch a multitude of fish that nearly sunk two boat in the same lake where they had toiled all night and caught nothing (Luke 5:1-11).
Give us today our daily bread
This is the best part of the model for us all I bet as it allows us to bring our petitions before the Father. We definitely have no problem with this part but can be at it for hours, in fact I used to come before the father to pray and all I could do is ask, by the time I finished with the petitions two hours would have passed and I was tired to do the rest of the prayer. I feel like I should not dwell much on this part of prayer as we can use the same strategy or approach that we use with our parents when we want to ask for what we want with our heavenly Father. It has already been stated that there must be that father and child relationship between God and us and so if I want to ask Him for something I will try to please Him first as I do with my earthly dad. If I really want something from my dad I will work really hard in school and bring good results to him, At that time when he is pleased with me I can ask Him for anything and He will give it to me almost guaranteed (in fact after next exam sitting I will be asking for a car lol). The heavenly father is also the same, He is please with the child that abides in Jesus and Jesus abides in that child and whatever the child wants and He will give it to him (John 15:7, psalms 91:15). The heavenly father also wants you ask Him for the things that you want as you do with your earthly dad (John 16:23-28, Matthew 7:7-11). He is different from the earthly dad though because He already knows what you want and unlike your earthly father He is able to fulfil your needs according to His riches in glory and also able to do exceedingly abundantly and above all things we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) but He wants you to ask so that when it happens its attributed to Him alone not flesh or fate. Therefore when you come before Him do not use repetitive words and trying to make your prayers long but make them straight to the point and be yourself when you pray, don't imitate another person. When you pray make sure you are honest with God as well because unlike your earthly father He knows what is in your heart (Matthew 6). This is not to say that you should not be persist in your prayers as Jesus Christ talks about the parable of the widow who obtained justice from the wicked judge because of her persistence but unlike the wicked judge God desires to give us good gifts and will be happy to do more so to His children who seek for Him diligently (Luke 18:1-7).
Forgive us our debts
As we have forgiven our
Debtors
Paul when writing to the Romans says that owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves has fulfilled the whole law (Romans 13:8). The forgiving of one another's wrongs is an act of love though sometimes it is painful but we should not struggle to forgive as this is God's very nature that whilst we sinners that He gave Jesus and offered forgiveness to all (Romans 5:8, John 3:16). The scripture continue to say by this shall people know that you are truly my disciples if you love one another (John 13:34-35). God is love and all that are His simply must love and all who profess to be His will forgive anyone for anything they have done to them no matter how painful it is.
Therefore everyday we have a debt that we must pay in order for our relationship to be right with God and that is to love and forgive them that have wronged us. When we fail to forgive not only are we failing to pay this debt but God's love can not operate in our lives remember the parable of the unforgiving servant, after the master forgives his debt which was bigger he went out to do the opposite to his fellow servant and threw him in prison. The master was forced to throw him in jail and act harshly towards him (Matthew 18:23-35). Therefore do not throw people who have wronged you in jail by holding grudges against them. When you forgive not only are your relationships able to be restored but you set yourself free from unnecessary pain as every time you see the people the pain of what they have done is made flesh again but to the people they are eating chocolate and enjoying themselves lol. When you have unforgiving in your hearts do not waste your time thinking that your praises are received by God. He has already denied them in His word and says makes amends with your fellow man before you can come to the alter and offer you sacrifices of praise. In high school I fell out with one of my cousin. She spoke so rudely to mean in front of many people that instead of people laughing they all felt sorry for me. As I was getting to the hostels I had her number deleted out of my phone and wanted nothing to do with her ever again. I was asked to preach that night in one of our prayer session. I had the perfect message for it and I went out with lots of verses. When I started preaching I could not believe that all those verses would go within ten minutes instead of thirty. The preaching I think was rich but very dry, I said lots of things but it seemed like it didn't make sense to any one. God intervened and brought back my friend, thank God for Talumba on that night, and helped me preach. I was so mad with God that I went back to my room and started asking, 'why? Why did that happened because you have promised to be there with me when I start proclaiming your word.' He started speaking and showed me a verse that says,’ when you come to the alter and you remember that you wronged another or another wronged you go and try to make amends before offering that sacrifice because it won't be accepted unless you have made amends or at least tried and the other could not be convinced of his wrong.'(Mark 11:25-26) I started to laugh and went out to forgive her and all was restored.
And lead us not in to temptation but
Deliver us from the evil one.
The Lord is God and the bible says He does not tempt anyone nor can He be tempted with sin. When we are tempted it is by our own evil desires and weaknesses that grow ripe up into temptation and when we give in to this temptation it produces sin. This is all common to men but when we are tempted He will provide a way out and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13-14, James 1:13-17).
Praise God today for our High Priest knows our weaknesses and sympathizes (Hebrews 4:15) with us and produces a way out each time and if we ask like in this prayer, our very steps will be ordain and will not have to face the temptation. The prayer works and I have definitely seen it operate in my life. In high school (ooh no! Here we go again lol. . But praise God I learnt lots at the time that mattered most before He comes and am still learning lots) hugs used to fly around like no one can imagine but sometimes this hugs could lead to other kinds of temptations mostly of touching, touching . I started praying this part of the prayer with a sincere heart and I can bear witness that for a few weeks I could see the temptation passing on the other side just because earlier The Spirit said turn here, and praise God that by the time I got to the hugging again there was no more temptation there. I overcame, Praise God!! Some may say that it is impossible to live without sin but that will be arguing with the Power of God to ordain the steps of the Righteous because the bible says that the steps of the righteous are ordain by him and surely He will not ordain them into sin. This is a whole different topic and so will allow the Spirit of God to reveal and clarify the truth to you.
Amen. Let it be so, as said, we agree etc...
This is just a model of Prayer that the lord gave to us as an example. Before He left He said some things you might not understand now but I will send you a counsellor who will help you understand and even to this day He the Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers( Romans 8:26). Now when this model or structure becomes too ritualistic the power of the prayer itself can be lost as you feel 'it’s a must'. The whole of this model is what a complete prayer possesses but the time you lock yourself up in a room and wonder where do I start from you must not be obliged to a pattern but allow The Holy Spirit to lead you. You are meant to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5: 17) but the time you have locked yourself God may just want you concentrate on a particular area in the model.
If you are having troubles listening from what the Spirit is saying maybe because you are coming from a rushing world and your mind is unsettled just try to calm yourself up and start saying 'Our Father who is in Heaven' in order to recognise who you are talking to and what He means to you today. I believe the Holy Spirit will take it from there because all these parts of the model are linked up.
Example when you realise that you are talking to the Father then you are reminded that He is a Holy Father and He says that be holy for I AM Holy and you start repenting your sins. When you acknowledge who you are talking to then you will remember that He is so great that the heavens are His throne and the Earth His footstool and He reigns on high, when you think of this it should be very easy to praise Him. Then you will be thinking this great God loved me so much whilst I was a sinner and hence I must love and forgive all who wrong me. He reigns on high huh..? He knows the beginning from the end and so I should surrender my will because He has plans to prosper me. If He gave up His own son for my sake how can He then hold out my daily bread lol? Remember we are meant to pray at all times so prayer is not limited to that closed closet, Amen.
The Importance of Prayer.
(Take a short break please. I have the faith that each part of this article can change your life forever and I don't want you scheming through it lol knowing its long)
Praise God you are back!! Or maybe the Holy Spirit edged you to read on lol. Okay then!!
And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. Then a voice came from Heaven, 'you are me beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.' Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.' (Mark 1:10-12)
Prayer Gives You Direction.Jesus often withdrew to solitary places as stated earlier in this article. When He had just been baptised in the river Jordan the Holy Spirit lead Him in to the wilderness where He spent forty days and nights praying and fasting. He commenced from there and knew exactly what the father's will concerning His ministry was and He was bold and courageous in carrying out that will. Therefore prayer helps you understand the Father's will upon your life or any situation that comes your way. In prayer we allow the Holy Spirit who reveals the secrets of the Father to reveal those to us. Definitely in order for us to surrender to the Will of the Father we have to know what that will is to begin with and prayer offers that channel. David had gone out to help a king in battle but when he and the army return to their camp they found it deserted and all their wives and children were kidnapped. The soldiers were frustrated and were ready to stone David but he turned to the Lord and enquired of Him. The Lord told him to pursue and He was victorious in that conquest that nothing was lost. David kept enquiring of the lord even if the situation seem the same and the Lord would tell him a different strategy to deal with that war situation and he was victorious. The Church at Antioch were busy living godly lives that it was here that believers were first called Christians because of their Christ like character, one of which was withdrawing themselves for a time of Prayer. During one of these times of Prayer the Holy Spirit spoke to them to separate Paul and Barnabas. Out of their obedience to the will of the Father that was revealed to them in Prayer the gospel was preached to the gentiles, Praise God! (Acts 13:1-4) When you are given to much prayer you become accustomed to the voice of the Holy Spirit as was Phillip whom the Lord said to go down to the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. Phillip obeyed the voice of God and as he came to the road he saw a chariot and the Spirit said to him to join himself to the chariot and he didn't protest because he knew how was speaking to him. Many times I find myself asking was that the Spirit and that opportunity to witness to a saw goes just because I was not sure if it was His voice. When Phillip joined himself to the chariot the gospel go as far as Africa. When he had just the baptised the Ethiopian eunuch the Spirit led him somewhere else to preach (Act 8:26, 29, 39-40). When you are prayerful, you become hot and the devil can't play around with you anymore. Every decision you make is inspired by the Holy Spirit that is why Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane, 'watch and pray, lest you fall into temptation.'(Mark 14:38) In life you face decision everyday but if you are a prayerful person you need not to worry because the very nature of God in you will help you make those decisions. I have seen servants of God been hesitate and saying, ' My spirit does not agree with men.' Now that is what happens if you are stepping away from the will of the father.
Prayer Empowers a Person
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit in to the wilderness where He spent time in prayer and He was empowered by the Holy Spirit that when He emerged from there He said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.' (Luke 4:18-19). The four gospels basically carry this message of how Jesus destroyed the works of the devil and made known the Will of His Father known to us but He did this because the Power was present for Him to carry out miracles (Luke 5:17). Now the Power that was present every time He perform a miracle was the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is also behind the greatest wonder of all, Jesus Resurrection, and on this greatest wonder our faith in Jesus is also established that because He resurrected from the dead then He is also able to raise us up on that last day. The Holy Spirit is behind every thing God does right now; He is the one who has fellowship with us. At the creation the Holy Spirit was hovering on the waters of the Earth, At the birth of Christ Mary was told that the Spirit of God shall overshadow you, the miracle of your salvation also happened because He was present and the Bible actually proclaims that if you don’t have Him then you are not a child of God (Genesis 1:2, Luke 1:35, Romans 8:9, 11). You might be wondering why am busy talking about the Holy Spirit? This is because He is the Power behind the Trinity. He is the one that will empower you to preach the gospel and gives you the boldness and courage even the words to say at that particular time, He is the one that will equip you for the with Spiritual weapons of welfare and He will give you Gifts and allow you to operate in the five folds of ministry weather as Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, teachers or Evangelists that you should make known the manifest wisdom of God to all principalities in the heavenly place ( 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, Ephesians 3:10-12) . How does it happen? It is spending time in prayer and getting to know the Holy Spirit and recognise His voice. The bible records that at the day of Pentecost the disciples were gathered in one room and were of one mind in prayer then there appeared what looked like tongues of fire which rested on all of them and they spoke in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them to speak. HE came when they were serious in prayer (Act 2:1-4). Peter and John had just being threatened with a death sentence if they would continue to preach about Christ. When the news got the other believers they were shaken and afraid but they resorted to prayer and the bible records that the place which they were at was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word with boldness (Acts 4:29-31). Even the church at Antioch having received to the command to set Paul and Barnabas aside they prayed for power and anointing upon them (Acts 13:3). Now what Jesus said when He emerged from the wilderness summarises the Work pf the Holy Spirit in empowering the children of God so that they should not be with fear (Romans 8:15).
PRAYER ALLOWS YOU TO FUNTION AS A CHRISTIAN.
Prayer allows you to intercede 'stand in between' God and the people. God declared long time ago that He is looking for someone who will be able to stand in between Him and the people who are rebellious to His voice but not only them but on behalf of everyone (Ezekiel 22:30-31). Moses was one such person and he stood between God and the people of Israel. Many times the children of Israel sinned against God and He wanted to destroy the whole nation and start a new but Moses came in between and they were spared from harm. Abraham having learnt of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah interceded for his nephew Lot and the Lord spared him from that destruction. Now prayers offered on behalf of others are not meaningless but they are powerful and effective and make a difference in those people lives. Herod had just killed James and this pleased the Jews. When he saw that it pleased many He went on and arrested Peter with the same intention of killing him. But the church was shaken up and they gathered and stood in prayer. The bible records that Peter was sleeping in the cell during this time but I just can't help think what was on his mind, ' oh that time has come when I should lay down my life for Christ.' But this time the church was praying earnestly for him. That was the difference between his life and that of James, prayer, as God sent his angel to set him free. He was sleeping but the prayer the church saved him from death. It is sad that the church is dormant and has become gossips as well, when you have heard about the problem of a man servant instead of praying earnestly for him so that the he may not fall and raise so many questions about the gospel, you sit down to analyse the faults. Its time we use that powerful weapon of prayer again and carry the burden of the brethren that are struggling (Galatians 6:2). And again and again the word says that we are to pray for all the saints and Paul in each and every letter he wrote demonstrates the important praying for all saints as he says God is witness of how we labour mentioning you in our prayers. It is God's own desire that you should pray for all the saints around the world (Ephesians 6:18). You should not be selective in your prayers of the people you will be interceding for as God says that prayers should be made for all people even you rulers (1 Timothy 2:1-4). This is also good that the decisions made by the leaders should not be a hindrance to your relationship with God. God desires all men to be saved and hence those prayers should be offered for everyone, do not judge and think this one is far gone but do as God commands. God says that you must pray without ceasing and there is no other option in this matter (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Jesus said peace I leave with you but not as the world does for in this world you meet lots of trouble but take heart for I have overcomed the world. A Christian's life is meant to be one full of joy irrespective of what the situation looks like. We are a free people that are carrying a lighter load, Jesus takes care of our heavy burdens every time we surrender them to Him (Matthew 11:28). When you meet tribulation you may become anxious and your mind might not be settled and it is Prayer that allows you to surrender your anxiety, burdens, hurts and whatever concerns you today before Jesus and He in return gives you a peace and joy that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6).
Prayer Can Change Your Destiny Forever
Prayer is a powerful tool in the hands of a Christian. God has given you the privilege of ruling with Him here on earth and that is why He says ask anything in My name and it shall be done so that the Father should be glorified. When things are not looking up your way you can come before God and argue you case. The cases that you can argue with God and win are those that concern His promises that He has made about you in His word and you can call Him to remember because He has esteemed His word higher than Himself.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Now Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, 'because I bore him in pain.' And Jabez called on God of Israel saying, 'oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!' So the Lord granted him what he had requested.
This prayer is one of the good examples of how your destiny can be changed forever. The name 'Jabez' as states in the verse means pain and during this time names carried much signifies as they were a way of predestining you in a path. Whatever he would do would cause pain to people and he was tired of that and wanted change. Most of us would give up and say maybe that was the way it was meant to be or I can't change that. The promises of God in Deuteronomy 28 are of blessings when you follow God's commands and the bible say that 'now Jabez was more honourable' this signifies that he led a righteous life before God and I would say that he followed every command in the book but his life remain the same until the moment he cried out in prayer unto God, 'ooh God if you would bless me indeed.' Now the strings of his past life could no longer hold him down, his name could no longer hold him down because a greater Being now declared him blessed. Instead of pain he became a blessing in the community, his destiny changed forever because of prayer.
2 Kings 20:1-5
The king received word from the prophet Isaiah saying put your house in order for you will not recover. We know that a prophet is from God if what he says comes to past. The king definitely heard about the Prophet Isaiah and knew he was definitely a messenger of God. Now most of us if we heard this report would be utterly hopeless, the man of God has spoken, but Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and cried out to God. This is what I mean to argue your case before God according to His promises, 'Remember now, O Lord how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart,' now the Lord promises longitivity to them that serve Him with honest hearts and Hezekiah argued that convincingly and laid his case before God and God because of that prayer said to the prophet before he left the house of the King, 'I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; surely I will heal you.' When a man is reduced to tears then you know how much he means what he is saying. Hezekiah had no time to waste, it was no point crying to the man of God but turned to the source and stated his case before Him for He is willing to listen and take it into consideration. He was meant to die but prayer changed his destiny forever.
Genesis 27
Now Jacob had got hold of the promise by outwitting his brother and fooling his father Isaac. Esau was enraged and wanted to kill his brother for taking that right of being first born. Now after a long time and Jacob had served Laban he planned to return back home but that thought was always with him, 'My brother might still be mad with me and kill me.' Many of us get to this place when we are troubled beyond compare and we just don't know what will happen next but here is a perfect example because Jacob cut himself out from everything including family and crossed the river jordan to pray. He was there and said to God I aunt leaving this place until you bless me. All night he was there before God and said that from today your name will be Israel. The Lord had no choice but to bless him because he was persistent. Now because he had wrestled with God and God had declared Him blessed he got up and walked towards his brother fearing nothing and the brother just had to bless him too because a God had declared him blessed. Now the two were meant to be rivalries for ever but because of prayer destiny was changed and the two were brothers again.
Esther.
The whole of the Jewish race was on the verge of extinct because of an old rivalry with Hamman. Now when a King had signed his document with the ring on his hand that command would not be taken back not even by the king himself, it had to be performed. Haman being very crafty and wishing that he would destroy the whole tribe of the Jews managed to gets the king to sign the document sentencing all Jews including the queen herself unto death. At this time the King was in his court and no one would go up to him not even the queen unless they were summoned, if they were not summoned the King would sentence them to death if he so wished.
Esther was afraid to approach the King because she was had not beind called by the king but Mordecia made her understand that doing nothing was not an option because she would be killed as well. The queen declared a three days fast for the Jews in the land, no food nor water.
The king would not sleep at during the night and had the book of records read to him. now because the people had be fasting and offered their prayers unto God earnestly, God took away the sleep of the King and it was discovered from the book of records that something must be done for Mordecia for he saved the King from an assassination plot. The Lord also granted that Esther would find favour in the eyes of the King that he said, ' anything you want until half of the nation.' This was the beginning of the fall of their greatest rivalry Hamman as the lord causes him to honour the servant of God, Modercia, in the king's robes and on the king's chariot. Hamman was then hanged by the king on the same gallons which he had prepared for Modercia and the queen. Doesn't that sound like a promise in God's word? No weapons forged against you shall prosper and your enemies will fall in the traps they had set up for. Now the Jews were destined for destruction but because they prayed God cause the queen to have favour before the king and then made the enemies for in their own traps. The destiny of the whole race was changed because of prayer.
Now I could go on and state of how barren women like Hannah and Elizabeth were blessed with a prophets, how Jonah was restored back to ministry from the belly of the fish, and how one of the wickedest nation of Nineveh was saved from destruction, how one man Elijah would shut and open the heaven and would also receive fire as an answer to his prayers, how a man like Joshua could command the sun to stand still for a whole day, and how the lord would declare a battle His like in the days of Jehosophat and the army would not lift a sword and it would be a blessing I know but it would be repetitive because the thing that makes them similar is the very fact that they with sincere hearts offered prayers unto God and He never turned them away and those who searched for Him whole heartedly He never casts away but He is found by them.
How To Make Prayers Powerful and Effective.
1. 'Therefore bear fruit worthy of repentance' John the Baptist declared for those who wanted salvation but now the concept remains true with prayers offered unto God. He is so Holy that He can't cast His eyes on sin. Therefore repent of your sins and come before watched clean with the blood that was shade for you and the word actually declares that a prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16). Now God is faithful and just to forgive all unrighteousness the word declares but you must also be forgiving otherwise His love and forgiveness can not work in your life either. Let go of the grudges and set people free from you heart and don't let the root of bitterness to grow in your life (Mark 11:26)
2. Find the promises that God has made about you in His word. Declare those promises everyday and proclaim them to your situation and life. What he has promised He will fulfil and will not change His mind (Numbers 23:19). And you must also know where and in which situation He expects you just to command change because He has also given you authority of all principalities so that they should know His manifold wisdom and you get Him surprised and I think the devils stand there just laughing at you (Ephesians 3:10-11, Luke 10:19).
3. The most important thing is where you stand with your God, how is your relationship with Him because He looks at the heart and when He is pleased with you then you will get your answer. He wants to know what you treasure most in your life and what you enjoying doing. The word declares that seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness then all these thing shall be added unto you and it also declares that delight yourself with the things of God and He will give you the desires of your heart (Matthew 6:33, Psalms 37:4). God is looking for people whose major concern is building His house and don't worry about the things of the world and these people he blesses then even with the riches of the nations because He know He can trust them.
4. The word declares that when you ask the God for anything He will give it you without finding fault but you must have faith and if you doubt you should not even be bothered to try because God is pleased with those who have faith and confidence in Him. 'Anything is possible to them that believe' Jesus Christ declared to the man whose son was possessed by a demon, ' and if you have faith as small as a mustard seed them you can say to this mountain be thy removed and be casted into the sea and it would be so (Mark 9:23, 11:23-24).
5. God is looking for people of humble hearts to approach Him and has already declared that if the people who are called by His name humble themselves and pray then He will hear from heaven and heal their land ( 2 Chronicles 7:14).
6. God gets very interested when people unify and agree on a matter and has actually declared Himself present when two or more people gather in His name. Therefore gather together and make known to God what are your desires for your church, nations, families and lives (Matthew 18:18).
7. Be yourself and don't try to imitate someone else. If God wanted you to be like Him, He could have made you like him for sure but He made you unique that you should fulfil a certain purpose that you alone can accomplish and no one else can do better at that ( Jeremiah 1:5).
8. Ah there is one more, I chose to make them eight so that you should know there is no pattern to this prayer but the more you pray the better you become. The eighth thing you must do is to PUSH. Yeah pray until something happens.
As I come to a close the last thing you must do is to give thanks always (1 Thessalonians 5: 18). God bless
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