Sunday Message Summary, 08 November 2020
The LORD Jesus had a habit of prayer. This is the same Jesus who changed the course of history eternally in 3 and a half years. Prayer was one of His secrets for success. Similarly, the early church in Acts continued steadfastly in the teaching of Scripture, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayer (Acts 2:41-43). How then can we venture to do otherwise and expect an answer? When the church in Acts prayed, everyone was in attendance. This is a symptom of a church well taught, and well trained in the school of prayer, and it is this model that we must follow in our churches. For the church to walk in the will of GOD, we need to be constant, steadfast in prayer in one accord, praying the will of GOD. When we seek the will of GOD, there is no way GOD won’t answer (2 Chronicles 7:14). For this reason, GOD wants ALL His children to pray.
Prayer is of GOD, not of man, so when we pray, we pray not our will but the will of GOD. The prayer that has an answer is ONLY the prayer that is offered according to the will of GOD. A prayer offered according to the will of GOD will ALWAYS receive an answer. The will of GOD is thus at the centre of prayer. Prayer is where we submit/surrender/ lay down our own will and take up the will of GOD (Luke 22:42). With that said, we do not know nor understand the will of GOD fully by ourselves, and none of us can claim nor be confident that we know exactly what we should pray for. It is the Holy Spirit who searches all things of GOD, knows, and understands the will of GOD fully, making intercession for believers according to the will of GOD (Romans 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit must teach us how to pray.
The devil hinders Christians, servants of GOD and the church. Satan opposes, hinders, and resists the will of GOD, which is why Satan opposes prayer. When we come under satanic, demonic attack we must commit ourselves to prayer for the will of GOD to come to pass. When the will of GOD is resisted, we need to give ourselves to prayer as led by the Holy Spirit. After Peter and John were met with resistance, they ran to the church. When they got to church, the church began to pray and GOD answered their prayer in approval, which was instant answer to prayer (Acts 4:18, 21-24, 29-31). When the devil asked for Peter that he may sift him as wheat (Luke 22:31), Satan was challenging the Word given to Peter (Matthew 16:17-19), to oppose and hinder the will of GOD. To counter this challenge, Jesus prayed for Peter (Luke 22:32). We have to pray! Prayer counters the resistance of the devil.
It is the will of GOD that we offer all manner of prayers for all nations. GOD wants us to pray for all man, both born again and not born again. It is the responsibility of Christians and the church to pray for our government, leaders, and presidents (1 Timothy 2:1-2). For people to be born again, the church must be in prayer (1 Timothy 2:4), because salvation will come about only when we begin to pray. Furthermore, servants of GOD need prayer to be used by GOD according to the will of GOD (Colossians 4:2-4). No one is above the need for prayer by the church. Even the church herself needs prayer because a prayerful church cannot be defeated by the devil. If there is something that according to the will of GOD has to happen through us praying, it will not happen any other way. Why does it take someone to pray? Right here is the mystery of prayer…
A prayer offered according to the will of GOD will ALWAYS receive an answer.
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