Bible Study: Acts 18, 23 to 28 and John
16, 23 to 28.
Sometimes when I hear Christians talk about prayer, I cannot
help but be amazed at our lack of faith in the power of prayer. We are yet to
fully understand that prayer is the greatest weapon we have in harsh times. We still
consider prayer as something that is equivalent to folding hands and doing
nothing. Prayer is not the same thing as doing nothing, to pray is to do
something, to pray is to work, to pray is to fight!
Maybe, we do not believe in prayer because we never take it
seriously. We just pray according to the way we feel like and we pray spontaneously.
At times, our minds are not even fixed on God while we are praying. We are just
saying things in our mouths and thinking about our thousands of problems. We even
skip prayer altogether at times because we see it as waste of time. Like children,
we have had to ask for certain things in the past and because we didn’t see
magic, because we didn’t get what we asked for immediately, we felt there was
no longer any need to ask.
How often do you pray? What is prayer to you? Is prayer
something you do last like the icing of the cake or do you consider it as the
flour inside the cake?
Truly, truly, I say to you, IF YOU ASK ANYTHING OF THE FATHER,
HE WILL GIVE IT TO YOU IN MY NAME. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name;
ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full…. In that day you will ask
in my name; and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for
the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me . . . John 16, 23 to 27.
Time has come for every Christian in this country to start
spending hours in prayer. Come to think of it, there is a certain religion that
demands its faithful to pray five times a day. And when it is time for prayer,
they leave everything they are doing, and get down on their kneels for prayer. Here
we are, we cannot even spend ten minutes in prayer in a whole day. Can’t we
start praying six or seven times a day? Can’t we Christians just develop some
discipline in prayer and not consider any activity as more important as prayer?
How come we can afford to spend a whole day pursing an activity
intending to bring us money, yet we consider spending one hour before Jesus in
prayer as a waste of time? Why do we rise very early to work every day so as to
beat traffic on the road and yet find it so difficult to wake up early each day
to pray so as to beat the traffic in the spiritual highway?
The key to appreciating prayer is to know that there is nothing
that happens in the physical without first settling in the spiritual realm. Nothing
can happen in the physical without first happening in the spiritual. If you
must win a physical combat, then start in the spirit. Prayer is not magic but
prayer is raw power and like anything hard, it requires repetition. That is why
Jesus gave us the parable of the woman and the unjust judge. We must need to continuously
and consistently knock on heaven’s door.
Know that prayer is more than merely ASKING when we are in need,
prayer is more often than not, a RELATIONSHIP. It can never be a once in a
while act, you must be a friend of God through constant prayer. God wants your
time, your energy and attention, he wants to listen to you talk and he too
wants to talk to you. See what Jesus says “. . . FOR THE FATHER HIMSELF LOVES
YOU.” God does not love us for nothing, his love is not an official loving that
is devoid of any attachment, No. God’s love for you is real.
In prayer we experience joy and peace, our activity itself is
sanctified and life makes sense to us while we pray. ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE
AND YOUR JOY WILL BE FULL.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit. May my
life be full of joy and happiness as I pray to you daily. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be
Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy weekend
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