The Importance of prayer #4
By Pastor George Lehman
Many times, we pray for more things than what we are going to be willing and obedient to work and commit to.
(We have promised and committed so much to God, but never really did much about it…)
We need to be Passionate about prayer.
James 5:16b (Amp) – The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].
In our rapidly changing times, so many people are desperate to know what the future holds.
With all these changes taking place – economically, astronomically, in meteorology, geologically, theologically, people want a peak into the mystery of tomorrow.
They run to fortune tellers, astrologers, psychics who all claim to know the future. These people can’t better their own futures and yet so many people run to them…?
Christians must realize that God condemns this demonic, fleshly probing into the unknown.
He called His prayer warriors not to wonder about the future but to create it through the knowledge of His Living Word and Prayer.
Our Father gives us access to the future right now. You ask, “How do we know what to pray?”
Jesus gave us answer:
Matthew 6:9-10 (Amp) – 9Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. 10Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We can look at the conditions of this world and be in fear and faint or look at the possibilities of God and be strong, courageous and take faith.
Jesus calls us to pray for God’s Kingdom to manifest* (made clear; obvious to eye or mind) itself in our world today.
How will tomorrow look if God answers the prayer Jesus gave us?
Just read the gospels. What we see in the life and power of Jesus Christ is a faith picture of God’s Kingdom.
Jesus is our example of how the Kingdom looks and works.
When we pray by faith, we can be absolute certain of our future.
Remember:
Romans 8:11 (NIV) – And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
The strength of God Almighty is attached to our prayer lives.
If the devil challenges your prayer, remind him that you are seated with Christ.
Ephesians 2:6 (Amp) – And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Ephesians 1:21-23 (NLT) – 21“Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”
Do you believe this? It will revolutionize your prayer life.
Notice: Christ is the “Head” of the “body” and put all things under His feet. This is such an amazing understanding of our role.
What the head, Christ, has attained, the feet of the church walk out.
As we passionately begin to pray, the authority of His Kingdom enters our
now-prayed-for-world.
The devil knows that if he can keep our prayer lives silent,
he keeps God’s hand distant.
When we pray for someone, we give God legal access to the life of the person we pray for and the devil cannot do a thing about stopping the answer.
Luke 18:1-8 (NLT) – “1One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
6Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
Jesus was saying “that if we don’t pray, we will lose heart”. It’s not about quick, emotionless, empty prayers.
He wants for us to persist in prayer – to be a prayer warrior.
Isaiah 65:24(ESV) – Before they call, I will answer, while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
God sees the heart, while you praying.
Many Christians pray like wimps and brag like warriors. The truth is that real spiritual warriors are Christians who pray.
Prayer warriors are the most powerful, demon-chasing, world-moving Kingdom advancing people on earth.
Prayer is stronger than kings and mightier than armies or diseases or principalities or powers. Does this stir an excitement in you?
Prayer is the most powerful force on earth. Prayer anchors us in God’s strength for our battles. We know prayer works.
NB! You are saved today because someone else prayed for you.
Luke 21:34-36 (Amp) – 34But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [the business of] this life, and [lest] that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose; 35For it will come upon all who live upon the face of the entire earth. 36Keep awake then and watch at all times [be discreet, attentive, and ready], praying that you may have the full strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape all these things [taken together] that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man.
Jesus is not talking about the rapture!!! He is talking about us standing before God in a position of anointed authority.
Prayer will keep you standing strong as the days become dark and evil. The Lord our God in the midst of us is powerful.
Stop thinking of yourself as unable to pray. That’s a lie out of hell!!!
You are a prayer warrior!
Now it’s your turn to make the decision to be a life changing, Kingdom building, future creating prayer warrior.
It’s time to be passionate about prayer.
