What is PRAYER? 1
Prayer is communication between man and deity. In the Christian experience, the deity is the unseen God, the Most High God Who is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This God is also the Father of all those who have believed in the Lord Jesus as their saviour and have accepted His atonement work on the cross as a personal and final sacrifice for their sins. Those who have purposed to live their lives like Christ and have decided to follow in His footsteps through the help of His Holy Spirit:
Psa.65:2
O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Eph 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Jn.1:12,13
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Ro.8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The beauty of prayer to our God is that it is a dialogue and not a monologue because He is a loving Father. When we talk to God, He will talk back to us in different ways which we shall look at in another study titled ‘’The Mysterious Land of Dreams and How to Profit there’’ That is why the Lord Jesus tells us to watch and pray; meaning, watch the Face of God to know His will over a matter and then pray in agreement to His will. These are the kind of prayers that get answers every time. This is why king David prayed like this to God at some point….
2 Samuel 7:27
For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
And God Himself promised us –
Isa.65:24
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
We can therefore conclude that prayer to the Most High God from the heart and mouth of His children is the mightiest force on earth! Beloved, all manner of communications with other deities (that is, prayer) take place every day, but hear what God said about that fruitless endeavour in Psa.115:4-9 –
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
So, Beloved, in these series of studies on prayer, we shall begin to learn how pray to our Father, the Most High God, and get answers every time! But, let us quickly note from inception here that God will ALWAYS give us the answers which He knows are BEST FOR US and AT THE TIME HE KNOWS IS BEST FOR US; but we can rest assured that HIS ANSWERS WILL TURN OUT TO BE THE VERY BEST EVER FOR US AND HIS TIMING WILL ALWAYS BE JUST PERFECT AS WELL!
Before we proceed, you have to be sure that you one of the Children of that God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; because naturally, they are the only ones who will pray and heaven will stand still and listen to their voices. You too can become a Child of God today because God has made adequate provision for your adoption simply because of His great love for you –
Jn.3:16,17
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Ro.5:6-86
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Jn.1:14
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
So, Beloved, please receive Jesus into your life today by praying this simple prayer, then begin to communicate with your heavenly Father –
Ø Mighty, prayer-answering God, I need You today! Please accept me as one of Your Children now. I realise that You have loved me even when I did not know You and You sent Your precious Son, Jesus The Christ, to die a painful death for me on the cross at Calvary 2000 years ago! Forgive me all my sins (take time to mention them, please) and wash me clean from all my unrighteousness with the Blood of Jesus. I accept Jesus Christ now as my Saviour and Lord and I turn my back on Satan today with all his evil works. Holy Spirit of God, I submit to You now, take over my life and teach me how to be and live like Jesus, in Jesus Name I pray. Amen. Thank You Father! I love You too!
Ø Precious Father, now that I am Yours, I have a few concerns that I wish to bring to You to help me to sort out. I have tried my best to work them out my own way but I have failed. You created me and all things, and You have all the power to repair and restore all things to Your original pattern no matter how broken and mangled and fragmented they are. I hand over, first my life and then those of my family members to You (mention their names please) and I ask You to take over our lives and redirect our lives and our ways onto the path that You chose for us when You created us, in Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
Ø Father, there is also the issue of…. Now feel free to take to God ALL that bothers you, talking to Him as you would do to a loving, trusted, responsible father and friend, being careful to give Him all due reverence as The King and Judge of the universe. Then expect Him to answer you in various ways – by speaking to your heart, through the Bible as you study It, through dreams and visions, through Preachers and other Ministers of God, through wise counsel from parents or trusted Children of God and so on. As you follow His instructions, solution will come. A case study can be found in 1Sam.30:1-20.
Ø Then prayerfully ask God to direct you to a Bible-believing Church where the focus is on the Lord Jesus and where the preaching is totally Bible-based and the Word of God is
preached and taught without embellishment and without diluting it with human wisdom.
Welcome into the Household of The Most High God, Beloved! Blessed be His holy Name for ever and ever. Amen and Amen!
