Home of Zionians

·         DON'T BE TOO LAZY TO PRAY!

Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly

(1 Thessalonians 5:17 AMP).

For the child of God, prayer is a compulsory spiritual activity. We discover many times from the scriptures that the Lord Jesus separated Himself from the people to pray. He also used several parables to teach on prayer. For example, Luke 18:1-8, where He emphasized that men ought always to pray and not to give up. Throughout the scriptures, much emphasis is placed on the importance of prayer in the life of the Christian.

Every time you pray, you're actually mounting pressure on the adversary. Too often, many wait until the pressure comes to them before they pray. I discovered that the reason some Christians go through terrible ordeals in their lives is that they don't set themselves to pray early enough. You don't have to wait until the devil meets you on your dinner table before you deal with him. Counter his advances ever before he gets to your doorstep.

The challenge with some people is that they're too lazy to pray. A man ran into church crying hysterically for help. "Please pray for my wife," he said, "she's in the labor ward!" He had nine months to pray but he didn't pray. Now he wants emergency prayers. This is why many go around looking for "success formulas," "healing formulas" and several other "instant" formulas. It's like the student who had five months to prepare for his exams but failed to prepare. Then, on the night before his exams he began praying to God for help.

We're living in an age where everybody wants everything fast. There are fast-foods, fast-cars, jet planes, super-computers and so on. Now, we want to put God into the same fast-lane and so we inadvertently pray 'fast prayers' for quick results. All we want to know is how to push some buttons and have God respond quickly. That's wrong! Get serious with your prayer life today and make the right changes for your spiritual development.

·         GOD DELIGHTS IN YOUR PRAYERS

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight (Proverbs 15:8).

What makes the prayer of the righteous delightsome to God isn't just its content but the one who's praying. You see, no father will be happy to see his child go to a stranger to ask for money, food or clothing. It's the delight of every good parent to meet their children's requests. Likewise, it's the delight of your heavenly Father to answer you when you present your requests to Him through prayer. He doesn't want you looking up to your spouse, your business, or the government for your needs; He's the One Who supplies all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

It's important, however, that you recognize that your requests or the content of your prayers should change as you mature in God's Word. As a child, I'm sure you wanted to have virtually everything you saw. You saw a dog passing and you wanted one; you saw a train and you wanted one too. Many of those things you didn't get because you weren't mature enough to handle the responsibility connected with possessing them.

But as you grew, you put away that childish attitude. You must also get to a stage in your spiritual life where you no longer need to ask before your needs are met. All you do is praise and thank God, having become convinced of His unfeigned and unconditional love towards you.

There may have been a time when everything you said in your prayers was only about you: "O Lord give me this; give me that." "Keep the devil away from me; don't let the devil trouble me anymore." But as you grew in God's Word, you began to say, "God, give me souls; help me win more people to you." You started praying more for others than for yourself. Your vision expanded; you became more concerned about the vision of your heavenly Father for the world.

The Prayer Of Agreement

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19-20).

The Bible teaches that there are different kinds of prayer. The prayer of agreement is one of them. The prayer of agreement usually involves two or more people coming together and deciding to pray concerning anything in particular that they desire. If, for instance, you want to effect a change in your job, family, health, or anything at all, you may call up someone whom you consider to be stable in the Faith to pray in agreement with you.

The prayer of agreement is an effective way to share burdens in prayer. But be sure to follow the rules. Firstly, the Scripture says "if any two of you shall agree"; that means it must involve two or more people. Then it says "as touching anything that they shall ask"; that means you must be specific. In other words, the parties involved in the prayer must come together and spell out the points for which they'll be praying. Finally, you must pray in faith and in line with the Word.

Having done all that, you can be certain that your prayers would be answered. The Bible says, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us" (1 John 5:14). The next time you want to effect a change in any situation, follow the rules of the prayer of agreement; it's a sure way of praying and getting results.

·         Prayer Produces Miracles!

For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18)

God’s purpose for His children is for them to live in the realm of the supernatural always. Miracles are the acts of God. God demonstrates His love and closeness to us through such displays of the miraculous-His supernatural manifestation in our lives.

How do you explain people praying everywhere to a God they don’t see and expect answers? Doesn’t that show you the depth of man’s desire to communicate with the supernatural? Every answered prayer is a miracle; it doesn’t matter what it is you prayed about; that you received an answer is a miracle. God even demonstrates His sovereignty sometimes by performing a miracle for you when you’re not expecting it or when you think you don’t deserve it. He shows up on your behalf because of His love for you

People who profess to be Christians but condemn miracles and preach against it shouldn’t have any business praying to God and expecting answers, because answer to prayer is what a miracle is. That is, God doing for you what nobody could ever do for you. If anybody could have done it, then there would be no need asking God. People, irrespective of their religious beliefs, pray and expect answers because it’s wrong to pray without expecting results. Your expectation of an answer is faith; and when He answers, that’s a miracle

That’s why I wonder at Christians who ask, “Why should we always expect miracles?” Meanwhile, they pray! It’s a bundle of contradictions. Expect God to answer your prayers today. There’s a miracle for you right where you are, receive it! Receive that healing for your body; receive that divine intervention you need in your business, in your family and in your ministry, in Jesus’ Name.

·         LEARN TO PRAY EARNESTLY!

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working] (James 5:16 AMP).

The earnest prayer of a righteous man produces results. Elijah was like any other human being who had feelings and affections. The Bible says he prayed that there would be no rain and the earth went without rain for three-and-a-half years. He prayed again and the heavens supplied rain. How was he able to do it? The Bible says in James 5:17 that he prayed earnestly.

Some good definitions for the word "earnest" are "to be intent and direct in purpose," "to be zealous or fervent, marked by a deep feeling of conviction." The Amplified version of the Bible goes further to explain it as "heartfelt" and "continued." In other words, an earnest prayer is a sustained kind of prayer that is marked by a deep feeling of conviction. You don't just pray it once and stop, you continue seriously or earnestly with a deep feeling of conviction, until you get the note of victory in your spirit.

Not very many people pray this way, but many expect to get the kind of results Elijah got. You need to learn how to pray earnestly in private so that you can have the power of the Holy Ghost working on your behalf publicly. Before Elijah proclaimed to King Ahab that there would be no rain in the land, he had already talked to the Lord (James 5:17). He prayed earnestly and continued in prayer until he got the answer.

Have you been earnest in your prayers? Don't give up until you achieve your desired objective for praying! Learn to pray earnestly, for the earnest prayer of the righteous man always works!

·         THE BENEFITS OF PRAYING IN OTHER TONGUES!

He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself…(1 Corinthians 14:4).

Praying in tongues is an effective spiritual communication with God. It's a heavenly language that transcends the natural mind or intellect (1 Corinthians 14:14). When you pray in tongues, you're stirred; the anointing wells up like currents within your spirit. That anointing, impacts your physical body and
rejuvenates you. It works on your mind, such that you're able to pick up some of the finest signals from the realm of the spirit, and you're transported to the higher realms of glory.

The Living Bible tells us that the one who speaks in tongues "helps himself grow spiritually,” which means, for you to experience serious spiritual growth, you must pray in tongues consistently. The Bible says, when you pray in other tongues, you're building up yourself like an edifice: "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 1:20). Through praying in tongues, you embolden your spirit; you charge yourself up like a battery.

Praying in tongues is a tremendous blessing for God's people. The Weymouth translation of 1 Corinthians 14:4 says, "He who speaks in an unknown tongue does good to himself." I love that! You do good to your spirit, soul and body when you speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is not optional for the child of God. If you want to be healthy spiritually, mentally and even physically, then you must pray in tongues often.

This was one of the secrets of Apostle Paul's success in ministry. He said, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (1 Corinthians 14:18). If you're born again and have received the Holy Spirit, then you can and should pray in tongues as often as possible. You don't need to wait for special prayer times; wherever you are, you can quietly speak in tongues under your breath. It will renew, refresh and vitalize you. It will programme your spirit to receive God's Word.