PRAYER: WHAT IT IS
TEXT:
"Pray without ceasing." (1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17)
“ … men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” (Luke chapter 18 verse 1, King James Version)
We need to understand the basic purpose of prayer, or else, we miss it altogether! The art or process of prayer has been given to us by God to help us to reach unto Him, basically for our benefit. According to Leonard Revenhill, "Prayer is not an argument with God to persuade Him to move things our way, but an exercise by which we are enabled by His Spirit to move ourselves His way” I agree with him! Once you are able to know God's will for your life and you "click" on it, you become immediately borne on the powerful Wings of the Almighty!
So many have missed out on the noble benefit of the process of prayer principally because they fail to understand the basic principles governing its exercise. Once you understand these principles and you apply them, the result becomes tremendous and encouraging.
Firstly, we need to get it deeply settled in us that God is Sovereign and that all things are programmed to move in line with His will and purpose. Whether we see or experience good or evil, it is a settled fact that God has not lost and never will lose control of events of life. All things work according to His plan! As His children, we are called upon by Him to accept all things that come our way and to thank Him for same (see Ephesians chapter 5 verse 20 and 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 18), for He has so programmed ALL THINGS (whether those we consider good or bad) to work together for our good (see Romans chapter 8 verse 28).
If God has planned ALL THINGS to work together for our good, we can understand better why He forbade Adam and Eve from eating of the tree KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL (Genesis chapter 3 verse 17). This is a clear indication that God does not wish that man should have the capacity to pick and choose that which is good or evil from events of life. He wants us to trust Him as a Loving God to give the best to His creatures. It's no surprise therefore to see God turn what men adjudge "evil" to be the channel through which, in His infinite wisdom and power to work out His wonderful plan for man. Joseph, for instance, loathed the idea of his captivity in Egypt, but through the same, God worked out His will for his life! What about David in the wilderness? Through his experience from cave to cave when his life was threatened by Saul, he came to acquire the superb experience that made him the best King Israel ever had; aside from the Psalms which God gave to us through Him. And many more examples abound!
When we pray therefore, it is to seek to move according to His determined will and purpose. PERIOD! Anything short of this will miss the mark!
How do we get there? How do we know His will or pray according to His will? By His Spirit of course! "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit ... maketh intercession for us ... " (see Romans chapter 8 verse 26). As we learn to yield to the Holy Spirit and to employ His intercessory ministry, we discover that we receive answers to our prayer requests more than we experienced prior to now. We ought never to give up on prayer, no matter what the circumstances of life are.
Happy new month! The month of March has been decreed for you to be a month full of new things that will call for celebration, in Jesus name.
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, I'm grateful for the opportunity to commune with you in prayer. Thank you for helping me by your Spirit to align with your will for me in life through prayer, in Jesus name.