Prayer and the praying believer (2)

E.M Bounds (in his book: the power of prayer) says “No learning, no earnestness, no study,no gift can replace the lack of prayer”

A believer must be a man of prayer, he must learn the very art. Prayer works more on you, it can change your desires, it resets your focus and aligns your thoughts with the one with whom you fellowship with.

See the attitude of the early church towards prayer:

Acts 13:1-2
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

No prayer point, yet they prayed. The key thing is that they ministered to the lord. In prayer, you carry God’s ‘burdens’, the things that affect God starts affecting you, every other thing becomes shadows.

Philippians 4:5-6;
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

For a church in persecution, Paul admonishes moderation. The prayer is for you.

Jude 1:20;
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

1 Corinthians 14:4;
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

Prayer edifies, it builds the believer. The power of prayer affects the person praying, our very lives change in prayer.

Jude makes us understand that we can contend for the faith in prayer.

In prayer, we stay at the centre of God’s will. Again, what should drive you in prayer shouldn’t be your needs but what God wants.

Give yourself wholly to a life of prayer, let it consume every other desire, in prayer we fellowship with the father.

Apostle Paul over and over again in the epistles kept assuring the saints he prays for them [Eph 1:15-16, Philippians 1:3-4, Colossians 1:2-3, 1Thess 1:2, 2 Tim 1:3, Philemon 1:4], he uses words like ‘ceaselessly’ ‘always’, they suggest diligence and consistency in prayer. And in the same vein, he instructed the church to pray for him and all those who preach and teach the word. [Romans 15:30-31, Ephesians 6:19, Colossians 4:2-4, 2Thess 3:2]

It suggests to us the importance of prayer, such that the early church and Apostles never joked with it, for it is not guess work, it is labour for the believer, it hits the target. Hallelujah

Anyone can talk, it takes a man of the spirit to pray in the spirit.

So, yield, pray.

Daily Bible Reading Plan
Gen. 21-23

TEACHING OF THE WEEK
https://www.ghcmedia.org/how-to-have-a-fruitful-year/