- James 5:17 “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit”.
Elijah prayed earnestly, earnestly means being very sincere; putting forth genuine effort. Elijah prayed that it should not rain and the rain ceased for three years and six months, what an audacious move by a man! The bible just told us he was a man, a man subject to like passions as we are meaning a man with the same feelings just like us, he was not an angel because angels don’t pray but he prayed because he was a man. He prayed seriously with an intense conviction in his heart, having an assurance that the God that he prays to is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that he ask or thinks and for three years a man lock up nature and the bible says he prayed again and open up the heavens; the rain came, this is a demonstration of the mighty power vested in prayers.
God has given us tremendous authority on this planet. Spirits even the Holy Ghost cannot operate effectively on this planet without a man, until a spirit takes a bodily form it cannot influence the realm of the earth. God wants to influence our world with His ideas, His will, His word and His Spirit, without the corporation of a man with God in the place of prayer God will not be able (not that He can’t) to do much. He will not because there’s no man to stand in the gap for Him to do, God will not violate the principles that He has laid down on the earth, Spirits/Demons cannot operate without the intelligent involvement of a man and also without the body of a man. Your situation is not going to change except you align yourself with God; you are the changer of the situation through God. You CANNOT if God is absent but you CAN if God is present, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me (Philippians 4:13). He empowers us so that we can do the impossible in this life. Men are the channels, through which divinity intervenes over the affairs of another man, when a yielded vessel is available in the place of prayer it means divine intervention is possible. You don’t need to wait for God because God is always present, the bible calls Him the present help in times of need (Psalm 46:1) also “…for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6b). God is present, He is NOW! The bible says He WAS and He IS…so we don’t wait FOR God but we wait ON God in prayers so that we can operate like the one we are waiting for. Nothing happens on the earth without mans permission, Jesus while teaching his disciples how to pray taught that we should pray Gods will be done on earth as its in heaven, meaning if we don’t pray that Gods will be done on earth, in your business, in your marriage, in your environment, in your economy then heaven will be waiting for you until you pray.
The day we wake up to seek His face that is the day our shinning begins, the ball is not in the court of heaven but rather the ball is right here with us in the planet earth, you are the major determinant of what your life shall becomes; whatsoever you permits that’s what shall happens. The devil can speaks negative things against your life but you are in charge of your jurisdiction, it is you that have the final say not the devil, God said take dominion and replenish the earth, whatsoever name you name them that is what they shall be call, I declare to somebody reading this: your name shall be call prosperity, your name shall be call power, your name shall be call grace, your name shall be the head and not the tail in the name of Jesus – Amen.
God is not in charge of the earth but men are in charge, He has made you His ambassador, He has given you the right to operate in His name, by His name and on His behalf, you have a delegated authority, He said…`Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you’ (Luke 10:19), I would to God that you will pray like Elijah, that you will pray with all your heart, pray with conviction, pray with faith and power, pray with assurance and authority!
Prayer is not punishment but prayer is what we do, it is our life. To maintain fellowship with the father we must pray, as long as the spirit man which came from God still dwells in this body then we must pray. We must learn to dwell in the secret place of the most high, in every fellowship there must be a relationship and what enhances and sustains a relationship is communication. Every relationship without communication will die off; it is in the place of communication that the parties involved pour out to each other.
Luke 18:1b – …that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. The Bible specifically use the word `always’, we have an obligation to always pray, always communicate with our father with all kinds of prayers and supplications in the Spirit, because you breathe always then you must pray always, it is a continuous thing we do every day, everywhere, every time, every moment `…that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands… (1 Timothy 2:8).
Isaiah 56:7 – Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. God wants His house to be call a house of prayer, in the Old Testament it was a physical structure but in the New Testament the house of the Lord is your body, it is the dwelling place of the Holy Ghost, you are now to offer prayers through the house that God is dwelling which is your body; you are born to pray and you are born for prayers.
Psalm 23:6 – Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. When you juxtapose this scripture with the New Testament it means you dwelling in the presence of the Lord forever because you have become the carrier of divinity, God lives in you and you are in Him and together you have become one, you are inseparable with Him that gave birth to you through His word, you are his home address on this earth, when they are looking for God they should come to you because you house God.
God does not dwell in physical structures; the presence of God is only evident in a place because you are there, because you’re the carrier of God and anything you bless becomes bless, anything you touch in the name of the Lord becomes God’s property, anything you posses becomes holy because the carrier of the Holy one has posses it, no weapon form against you or your properties shall prosper because they belong to you and you belongs to God and automatically its God’s property.
Seeing you are the house of God, you are to remain in the place of prayer, praying always in that habitat of prayer; if you remove a fish out of water, after a while it loses it life because it can only survive in its habitat, it is the same with us, you cannot survive outside the place of prayer, when you are taken out of prayer you become a weak Christian, you become a decaying Christian and you become a carnal and unholy Christian. Do you want to leave a holy life? They answer is `pray’, start and remain in prayers. Do you want to lose you holy life? The answer is stop praying! Holy living and prayers are inseparable. When you see a Christian struggle with his/her prayer life it is a sign that they have fallen into sin, it is a sign that their mind is wrapped up with sin. You can only live and express yourself fully when you abide in the place of prayers ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1). You are under the influence of the Almighty, He influences every area of your life and becomes your leader that is impacting you with His blessings and when He is your leader you shall not want – ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want’. You must learn to abide in the place of prayer.
WHY MUST YOU PRAY?
Because you have been called into a relationship with the father and the medium through which the relationship is develop is through prayers: Acts 2:42 – And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 1cor. 1:9 – God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3 – That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
We have been called into a beautiful fellowship with God, to participate in the divine life of the father, as He is so have you become in this world and if you want to start manifesting the fruit of the Spirit who have called you then you must learn to pray. The development of your spiritual life from a child to a son is vested in prayers, without prayer it is impossible to violently lay claims on all God has destined for your life, in other words to enjoy your life to the fullest you must learn to maximize the fellowship of the Holy Ghost through prayers.
Next week I shall continue to give you deep expository knowledge in the benefit of prayers – why you must pray.
I pray that the grace to pray and prevail rest upon you today in name of Jesus, receive the grace to remain in the place of prayers in the name of Jesus – Amen.
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