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“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 RSV
Prayer is one of the greatest privileges the High and Lofty God has given mortal men. Sadly, only a few people avail themselves of this privilege.
Some believers are praying and not receiving answers to their prayers and becoming frustrated because they are praying according to human wisdom, traditions, and beliefs, not according to the Scriptures (Matt. 22:29).
In the first part of this piece, we began to contrast the truths in God’s Word with common assumptions about prayers.
First, the Believer’s Spiritual Power or Authority is not proportional to his Prayer Life.
Your spiritual power or authority in Christ does not fluctuate with your prayer life. It is constant. Therefore, praying long, loudly, or repeatedly does not give you more spiritual power and authority.
Second, the efficacy of prayer is not determined by its volume, loudness, duration, frequency, location, repetition, or gestation.
Third, the Power of Prayer is not proportional to the Population of People Praying.
Let us now examine more misconceptions about prayer.
Fourth, Prayer is not Wrestling with God:
There is no reluctance or unwillingness on God’s side to answer the prayers of His children. We are the ones who are slow to receive from God because of our unbelief and ignorance of the things that have been freely given to us in Christ (Matt. 7:11, Romans. 8:32).
Sadly, due to wrong teachings and beliefs about prayer, many believers today consider prayer a means of wrestling with God or prevailing upon God to bless, heal, or deliver them.
The carnal mindset of seeing prayer as grappling and wrestling with God presupposes that God is reluctant to answer the prayers of His children or that God is very callous and insensitive to the plights and problems of His children.
Consequently, like the ungodly judge mentioned in Luke 18, God needs to be bothered, begged, persuaded, or motivated with vain repetitions, plenty of words, or prolonged fasting before He can be moved to hear, consider, answer, or respond positively to His children’s cries.
- What a slander and terrible picture of a Loving God!
- What a travesty and mockery of the fatherhood of God!
The Scriptures portray God as a Loving Father whose love for His children is infinite, absolute, perfect, unconditional, everlasting, and sacrificial. Was it not when we were ungodly that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins?
Paul queries, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans. 8:32 NKJV).
Fifth, the Ultimate Purpose of Prayer is Fellowship with God.
It is a carnal mindset to make your prayers about yourself what you desire, want, or need. The primary purpose of prayer is fellowship, communion, or intimacy with God.
In the Garden of Eden, where and when there was no need or lack to ask God to supply or meet, and where and when there was no devil, sickness, or evil to pray against, yet the first man was in constant communion with God (Gen. 2:19, 3:8).
That reveals that the primary purpose of prayer transcends receiving something from God. The primary purpose of prayer is fellowship with God beholding His glory and relishing His love and presence.
Sixth, Praise is an Integral Part of Prayer.
It is often said in our churches today, “If prayer fails, try praise.” This notion or belief presupposes that praise is entirely different from prayer and more powerful than prayer. That is a fallacy!
It is unscriptural to separate praise, worship, or thanksgiving from prayer, for praise is an inherent or integral part of prayer (Psalms. 100:1-5). When the early Disciples of Christ asked the Lord to teach them how to pray, He taught them to start their prayer with praise, worship, or adoration and end their prayer with the same (Matt. 6:9-13).
In obedience to the Lord’s teaching on prayer, the early disciples always included praise, worship, adoration, and thanksgiving in their prayers (Acts 4:24, Ephesians. 1:15-16, Phil. 1:3-4, Col. 1:3, 1 Thessalonians. 1:2). If we separate praise from our prayer today, we are either ignorant of the Lord’s teaching on prayer or disobedient to the Lord’s teaching on prayer.
Seventh, God has answered all our prayers in and through Jesus Christ:
As a born-again believer, you are now an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ (Romans. 8:16-17). Therefore, you now have unlimited access to all God has through Christ. Everything you need or will ever need has been richly and freely given to you in and through Christ (Ephesians. 1:3, 2 Pet. 1:3).
You don’t need to pressure God or motivate God to do anything for you through your prayers. God has already moved in love and in your favor through Jesus Christ to make all things available freely and abundantly to you.
Beloved, quit seeking to use your prayer and fasting to compel, motivate, or pressure God to give you anything or to do anything for you. Instead, begin to see your prayer time as not a time to wrestle with God for blessing but as a time for intimate fellowship or communion with your loving Heavenly Father to behold His glory and relish His love and presence.
Prayer:
This Year, I see my prayer time as a time for intimate fellowship and communion with my loving Heavenly Father to enjoy, experience, and relish His love and presence in Jesus’ name. Amen.
our mandates is to preserve the faith of the Apostolic Generation.
Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi.
AWH, Blogs.
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