Monday, March 23, 2015

Praying Your Desires To Reality

PRAYING YOUR DESIRES INTO REALITY

Mark 11:12 “And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Prayer is the integral part of the Christian fellow that sustains his existence on earth, in total reliance on the power of GOD Almighty to keep him throughout his missionary and pilgrimage journey on the earth. Prayer is the food that nourishes the Christian which bring about his spiritual maturity and growth in exercising the divine nature and ability of GOD in the realm of the spirit. Without prayers, no true Christian and follower of JESUS CHRIST will succeed nor prevail over the forces of darkness in this wicked world Matthew 26:41. Hence the Bible says “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” 1 Corinthians 10:3-6.

As the physical body cannot live nor survived without physical food, so the spirit of the true Christian cannot live nor survive without prayer which is the spiritual food that propels his growth with studying the word.  1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”  Therefore when you cultivate the acts of prayers, you will discover that nothing is actually impossible before you because prayer is faith Matthew 21:21. Faith is believing that all your petition presented to GOD in prayers will be given answers when they are prayed aright without vain repetition nor asking amiss Hebrews 11:1. James 4:2 “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

The earthly ministry of JESUS CHRIST was hugely successful as it was built around prayers. Before embarking on His earthly ministry when He came in the flesh, He underwent a forty (40) days of fasting and prayers which helped Him to overcome the temptations that Satan presented to Him just shortly after the conclusion of that spiritual exercise Matthew 4:1-11. The Bible likewise gave account of JESUS CHRIST rising up a great while before the day’s activities to soak Himself into prayers so that His ministration for each day would record successes, and to the glory of GOD, His ministry was successfully run when He was on earth because he never neglected the place prayers. Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

Prayer is NOT an automatic ability in the Christian life. It is a habit that thrives effectively when developed and given proper attention without any divided approach or mind-set. This is the reason that the disciples of JESUS CHRIST were all prayerless fellow when they were appointed by the LORD JESUS to be His followers. One day, they confronted their Master that there was something amiss in their lives because they saw the disciples of john the Baptist praying, a thing that they themselves don’t know nor do as disciples of the LORD himself, hence they asked their master “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1. This then led JESUS to teach them ‘how’ to pray. Matthew 6:9 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

You must be taught how to pray as a new convert to Christianity because GOD only hears one form of prayer – a prayer prayed out of a ‘pure heart’ 2 Timothy 2:22. We must not confuse ourselves with all kinds of prayers prayed today in the church by all kinds of people with dangerous attitudes and behavioural lifestyles to guess that GOD is hearing all of such prayers as prayed. No, GOD is a holy GOD 1 Peter 1:16, and He can only hear and identify with the prayers of holy believers because the prayers of saints (holy brethren) are delight unto GOD, why the sacrifice of sinners are abomination to the LORD. Proverbs 15:8 “The sacrifice (prayers) of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.”  In fact, as holy and righteous believers lift up their voices to GOD in prayers around the world, it usually ascends into heaven as incense. Psalms 141:2 “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

If there was anybody that needed not to pray, it was JESUS CHRIST because He is GOD John 1:1. But despite being GOD who was in human flesh in the world, he prayed unto Him that was able to save Him. His last moments on earth were dedicated to prayers hence He was able to bear all the wickedness of man against Him the moment He was arrested shortly after intensed prayers to GOD. This teaches us that despite our commitment to prayers, oppositions will still mount on our way but one thing is certain; victory is sure if we ‘faint not’ Galatians 6:9. Are you ready to pray? There is a GOD that heareth and answereth prayers. Hebrews 5:5 “So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 7 WHO IN THE DAYS OF HIS FLESH, WHEN HE HAD OFFERED UP PRAYERS AND SUPPLICATIONS WITH STRONG CRYING AND TEARS UNTO HIM THAT WAS ABLE TO SAVE HIM FROM DEATH, AND WAS HEARD IN THAT HE FEARED; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.”

From the foregoing therefore, there are lots of supposed Christians today, though some are praying amiss and others using vain repetitions which often stalls their prayers, some however are merely ‘wishing’ and never praying. Wish is not prayer. You have to pray your desire into reality hence the word ‘PUSH’ that is often used to mean prayer – Pray until something happen. Brethren, a woman at travail in the cause of delivering her unborn child must PUSH until the baby is delivered. Why then does it appear extremely difficult that at the verge of joy and happiness, intense pains, discomfort and groanings always precede? It is because nothing good comes easy. It is because the darkest part of the night is towards the dawn. It is because no pain, no gain. When you therefore desire anything in this life to be accomplish as a Christian, win and receive the crown at the place of prayer. Hence it is often said, ‘a prayerless Christian is a POWERLESS Christian’, while ‘a PRAYERFUL Christian is a powerful Christian’, and this is nothing but the truth.

Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Because prayers are not automatic in the Christian faith as we have to learn how to pray, as you grow in the things of the LORD, the HOLY SPIRIT will also become your teacher both in ministry and in prayers. This often is the outcome of the intercessory prayer points and requests you do present as the HOLY SPIRIT lays them in your heart. When JESUS said we should not think on what to say when we are brought before the council, He was teaching us that the HOLY SPIRIT will put the word to say in our mouths at the appropriate time when we have developed that strong bond, relationship and fellowship with Him (HOLY SPIRIT). Matthew 10:19 “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.”

Prayer is the master key to unlock every locked situations and things in the spiritual realm and bringing them to physical manifestation. The intensity and consistency of Daniel in prayer saw him getting his desires delivered to him after it has been withheld by demonic forces in the realm of the spirit for twenty one days Daniel 10:10-14. The warfare that the true Christian is involved in the spiritual realm has prayers as ‘THE SHIELD OF FAITH that QUENCH ALL THE FIERY DARTS OF THE WICKED’ Ephesians 6:16. We do sing this song:

Prayer is the key
Prayer is the key
Prayer is the master key
JESUS started with prayer and ended with prayer
Prayer is the master key

If you therefore know the efficacy of the power of true and sincere believers in prayers, you will never joke with prayers in your Christian ministry. We must however understand that apart from vain repetition and asking amiss that stalls our prayers from being answered by GOD, we must equally know that putting people and holding them up in our mind without forgiving their trespass against us is the most deadliest prayer killer. Friend, you must free your mind from all grudge and evil thought if at all your prayer will be answered by GOD. We must not allow the pain and injury melted to us by our fellow human being to become the basis of our prayers. Our ability to forgive others will also propel GOD to forgive us our own sins when we stand in the place of prayer.

Mark 11:25 “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Stephen was praying when he was being stoned to death. In that agonising situation he found himself in the midst of his killers, he still prayed “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” and shortly after those words, Stephen died Acts 7:60. Stephen was just following the footsteps of our LORD and Master, JESUS CHRIST, who has passed that same wicked treatment in the hands of the same people He abandoned His glory in heaven and come to this earth in other to save them from their sin. He cried on the cross “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” Luke 23:34. All the apostles of the LORD died devastating deaths in the hands of their persecutors, but none of them ever prayed that the ground should open and shallow their enemies, which is at variance with the saints of today who in their place of prayers bring their supposed and imagined enemies before the altar of GOD and slay them. Is this the teaching of JESUS CHRIST in handling our enemies in the place of prayer? Surely GOD will not hear nor answered such ‘selfish and wicked’ prayer request. Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

As you cultivate the acts and habits of prayerfulness in your Christian ministry and work with GOD, may the grace of GOD be made available unto you, so that we will not damn ourselves in the place of prayers in JESUS name. Amen.

Moreover, we must equally know that any form of prayer said and prayed outside JESUS CHRIST is an exercise in futility. No matter how ‘religious’ those forms or types of prayer may appear, they are never made unto the GOD that created the heaven the heaven and earth. Only the name of JESUS CHRIST every knees bows to. So if you are praying unto any other thing outside, you are surely wasting your time and energy for nothing because just as Baal refused to hear his 450 prophets in 1 Kings 18:19-29, you as well will never be heard when praying to a dead god. Surrender your life to JESUS CHRIST today and only then will your prayers become effective and your desires will be accomplish. Philippians 2:9 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Every shackles of prayerlessness in your Christian life and ministry, I command, break in the name of name of JESUS CHRIST. Become effective and effectual in your Christian life and ministry in JESUS name. Amen.

GOD bless you.

Shalom!


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