Again I will like to write about prayer since next
week we will be praying from the 16-20 November. Someone may ask questions like
how can there be enemies of prayer. Of course there are so many enemies of
prayer, some of these enemies may have been our friends in the past but today I’ve
identified them as enemies. The good news is, we are parting ways with these
enemies for good. Many times because of these enemies in our prayer lives we
have unintentionally denied the integrity of God’s Word.
Wrong Confession is our first enemy:
Romans 10:9 tells about believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth
the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Mind you, I’m not talking about confession of sin;
nope. Believe and rest on the finished works of Jesus Christ. Many times, you
hear believers say things like ‘my life is such a mess’ or ‘I’m under a curse’
or ‘I have this illness as punishment for my sins’ etc. Jesus became all that
we were in order for us to become like Him. Ephesians 1:3 puts it in the best
way ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ’. Man is a tripartite
being; man is a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. You have been
blessed with every spiritual blessing which now affects your soul and is made
manifest in your body. You have the life of God in you and so refuse at any
point in time to speak words of defeat, weakness, ill-health, lack etc God gave
you everything in Christ Jesus!
Hope is another enemy: Those
who hope live in the future but those who have faith believe in the ‘NOW’. When
you use a future tense in your confession, it means there is something you need
that you don’t have yet and so someday it will come to you. Romans 8:32 says ‘He
who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not
also, along with Him(Jesus), graciously give us all things?’ You have
everything you will ever want in Christ Jesus and so your life should be one of
thanksgiving. In the Old Testament Abraham hoped against hope, that I know but
we are the new creation and we have the incorruptible life of God in us. Why
would Jesus say you should ask and it will be given to you by His Father?
Because you are a co-heir with Him and so you have an unshakable inheritance in
Him! You have God’s ability at work in you and so you have everything, don’t
hope because you have it.
Mental assent is another wild enemy:
It can be described as a state where you read something from the Bible and
shout ‘Amen’ and the next minute you’re questioning if it is for you. Take for
example, you pray with a brother/sister who is sick acknowledging his healing
in Christ Jesus, they shout amen and before you leave their bedside they’re
telling you they will check if they’re healed. You just prayed in the Name of
Jesus and you know by the stripes of Jesus he was healed and listen to what he’s
saying. Many Christians do that, some even say when you prayed the disease left
but it came back after you left. Let’s train our minds towards acknowledging
who we are in Christ and who God says we are; acknowledging every good thing in
Christ in us (Philemon1:6).
The aspect of Claiming/Receiving
something: When most believers are in an evangelical gathering
and the preacher is saying things like ‘before the end of this year you will
see the hand of God upon your life’ and the believers will shout ‘Amen’. I will
dwell on this example for now but there’s more. Some go as far as claiming it
in their prayer closet; you don’t claim what is yours in Christ Jesus! God is
ambitious about your success than you are and so He has commissioned countless
Angels on your behalf (Luke 4:10). God knew from the foundation of the world
that you will always need someone to guide you and so He sent Jesus to pave the
way and He dwells in you through the Holy Spirit. To receive from God is to acknowledge
all that you have in Christ.
There is so much more but let us dwell on these ones
for now. Dare to act on the Word of God, refuse to accept what is not of God,
Study the scriptures and speak in Tongues as often as you can. Let God be true
and let every man be a liar (Romans 3:4a).
You're Blessed!!!
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