THE TRAGEDY OF UNOFFERED PRAYER
Genesis 25:21.
"Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant."
1 Samuel 12: 23 (NKJV)
“Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you.”
Prayer is one subject the church has talk, preach, and wrote so much about, but practised the least. But now, God is calling us to pray. Prayer is so important that Jesus Christ said, "my House shall be called a House of Prayer."
This subject of prayer is very deep and mysterious that it will take eternity to fully comprehend it. God does nothing without prayer.
What Is Prayer?
1. Prayer is the act of offering reverent petitions to God.
2. It is to beseech.
3. Prayer is the process of communion with God.
4. It is the act of making entreaties or supplication to God.
5. Prayer is to make requests.
6. It is to address God, expectant of a reply, solution, intervention or change.
7. Prayer is to commune with God and recognize His presence.
8. It is a two way communication between God and man.
9. Prayer is an opportunity to demonstrate our trust in God.
10. It help us to conform to the image of Christ.
9. Prayer can also be described as:
a. Calling upon God-Ps. 17:6
b. Calling upon the name of the Lord-Gen. 4:26.
c. Crying unto the Lord-Ps. 3:4.
d. Lifting up one's soul unto the God-Psa. 25:1.
e. Seeking the Lord-Isai. 55:6.
f. Coming boldly unto the throne of Grace-Heb. 4:16.
g. Drawing near to God-Heb. 10:22.
10. It is spreading out our helplessness to God.
11. Prayer is a high form of worship.
12. It is the highest energy within the reach of man.
13. Prayer is the key to the storehouse of God's treasures.
14. It is the greatest power outlet. It releases the energy of God.
15. Prayer is a weapon in the hour of conflict and trouble.
16. It is the arm of God.
17. Prayer is the key in the hands of faith to open the doors of heaven.
18. There is no substitute for prayer.
Prayer empowers the fulfilment of prophecies. It cancel evil prophecies and birth the good ones. Prayer can turn a hopeless situation around. It activates the power of God. Prayer made the sun to standstill. It brings fire from the sky. Prayer turned the counsel of Ahitophel into foolishness. It is a weapon against the forces of evil. Prayer forces us to wait for God's will. It opens our spiritual eyes. Prayer enables us to move forward. It builds us up spiritually. Prayer releases power for ministry. It enables the believers to receive spiritual gifts. Prayer releases the healing power of God. It brings the lost to Christ.
Prayer can be done silently or aloud. It can be done by groaning. Our prayer should be offered in deep respect for God. It should be offered with humility and sincerity. Prayer should be done with deep concentration. We can pray in our words or use the words of Scriptures. It can be offered in the Spirit or in tongues. Prayer must be said, confessed, spoken or offered. Our Lord Jesus commands us to pray.
Jesus Prayer Life:
1. He believed that prayer works-Mark 7:7-11.
2. Jesus was aggressive in His prayers-Matt. 26.
3. He balanced private and congregational praying.
4. Jesus got alone to pray-Matt. 14:23.
5. He prayed before meals-Mark 6:41.
6. Jesus prayed the prayer of thanksgiving-Luke 10:21; Matt. 11:25.
7. He sang some prayers-Mark 14:26; Matt. 26:30.
8. Jesus prayed before making important decisions-Luke 6:12-13.
9. He prayed for His disciples-John 17.
10. Jesus still prays for us-Romans 8:26-27.
What Then Is Prayerlessness?
1. Prayerlessness is not praying at all (Luke 18:1).
There are many believers who don’t pray at all. They do everything else except pray. Some don’t pray because they don’t know how to communicate with the Lord in prayer. Others don’t pray because they’ve had a bad experience when they felt their prayer wasn’t answered.
(In reality, God always answers the prayers of His children; however, the answer may not be what you are expecting. For every prayer offered, God will answer in one of three ways: He will say yes, or no, or not yet.
2. Prayerlessness is not praying enough (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Many people pray on only two occasions. First, they pray to God when in group fellowship, say in church. Second, they call upon God when they are in trouble or distress. However, they forget to pray when they don’t have any challenges in their lives or when they are not participating in corporate worship.
3. Prayerlessness is not praying according to God’s will (1 John 5:14).
Many pray, but they might as well not bother because they are praying amiss. They are not praying according to the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures. An example would be somebody asking God to kill his spouse so he can marry somebody else.
What Happens When We Refuse To Pray?
1. There will be strife in families. A family that prays together, stays together.
2. When we refuse to pray, we missed blessings God had for us.
3. Failure to pray is sin. We're sinning against God by refusing to pray.
4. It does those around us a disservice. People desperately need our intercessory prayers.
5. When we refuse to pray we disobey God.
We are commanded to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1); “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).
6. Failure to pray reveals our unwillingness to let God work in our life.
Jesus, in the flesh, did not want to go to the cross. He knew what it would be like. He would not only face the physical and emotional pain of the cross, but God’s wrath and separation from the Father, with whom He had experienced fellowship with throughout eternity past. He wrestled with the Father in fervent prayer and fully surrendered to His will. (Luke 22:41-44).
When we have a consistent prayer life, we are constantly giving God the opportunity to work in our life. It’s only then that true surrender takes place.
7. Prayerlessness is to neglect a divine privilege purchased for us at a great price.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Are we neglecting this divine privilege purchased for us at Calvary? Sadly, far too many of God’s people are guilty of being negligent of this great privilege. Isaiah cried out saying, “And there is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee” (Isaiah 64:7).
When you consistently spend time with the Father in prayer, you are taking advantage of this great privilege of entering God’s presence and experiencing a touch and glimpse of His glory. “By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).
8. Refusal to pray demonstrates our independence.
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The Psalmist said, “Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
Not spending regular time with God in prayer demonstrates we think we can handle things on our own. Spending regular time with Him in prayer shows we are completely dependent upon Him. Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).
9. It reveals our unbelief.
The Bible says, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed” (Romans 10:14a).
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
“This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have desired of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
Not to spend time in prayer reveals we don’t really believe God will hear and answer our prayers. We all struggle with unbelief, but if we are spending time daily with God in prayer, it reveals at least a degree of faith or we wouldn’t be praying.
10. Prayerlessness opens the door for other sins.
When Jesus came to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, He told His disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40). He then withdrew Himself to pray alone. After praying a while, He returned to find them asleep and said, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:46).
We're commanded to pray so that we would not be tempted. Not to pray leaves us wide open to temptation, sin and failure. Spending regular time alone with God in prayer minimizes temptation and failure.
11. It hinders revival.
Just before the day of Pentecost, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14) and three thousand people were saved.
Just prior to a lame man being healed and another two thousand being saved, “Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer” (Acts 3:1).
After being threatened not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus, “they went to their own company” and “they lifted up their voice to God with one accord” (Acts 4:23-24). As a result, “the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
As a result of praying, “There came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4).
Hence, when we refuse to pray, we hinders revival, but constant praying helps to usher in revival.
12. Prayerlessness proves God isn’t first in our lives.
Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:24, 6:33).
God demands to be number one in our life. Failure to spend regular time with Him in prayer reveals He isn’t first in our life.
13. The judgment of God is poured out when we refuse to pray.
Obstacles To Effective Prayer?
1. Unconfessed sin.
2. Unbelief.
3. Belief in fate.
The concept of fate is contrary to the Scriptures. Many people wrongly assume that both good and bad occurrences are predetermined, unavoidable, and unalterable. This is not true.
4. Unforgiveness.
5. Broken down altar.
Your progress in life depends on the power of your prayer altar. And, if you don’t rebuild your altar, you’ll become a victim of an evil altar.
When your prayer altars are polluted, sick or damaged, prayers cannot be answered.
6. Absence of personal prayer altar.
7. Wrong motives.
8. A heart that is not right with God.
9. Demonic interference.
Daniel and the prince of Pasha.
10. Ignorance.
Conditions For Effective Or Result Oriented Prayer:
1. We must have a sincere heart. Genuine repentance is a must
2. Our prayer must be offered, said and made, in the Name of Jesus. John 14:14.
3. We should pray according to the will of God. 1 John 5:14.
4. We must not only pray according to God's will, we must be in God's will for prayers to be effective.
5. We must pray according to the Word.
6. Praise and thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is appreciation in anticipation of answers to come.
7. Set aside a time and place for prayer daily. Learn to withdraw.
8. Gather Scriptures promising what you need and meditate upon them.
9. Pray fervently. Pray specifically. Pray consistently.
10. Pray with persistence. Persistent prayer is violent prayer. Persistence means not giving up.
11. Pray for divine wisdom in any situation for find yourself. Pray that the power of God should move in the situation. Pray regularly for the lost. Pray for opportunities to share the Good News. Pray for the right words to say. Pray for responsive hearts. Pray for a spiritual awakening.
12. Pray with passion.
13. Pray with thankfulness.
14. Exercise violent faith. Faith and prayer moves mountains. James 1:6.
? Feed your faith. . .through the Word
Read your Bible. Meditate on it. Feed on the Word daily.
? Exercise your faith. . .by your actions.
? Speak to your faith. . .to make it grow.
Your boldness will open doors of opportunity for you.
? Free your faith. . .from negativity and doubts.
? Believing the impossible as possible. Luke 1:37.
? Share it with others
15. Fast often.
It puts the flesh under control to increase spiritual antenna and sensitivity. People fast in different ways: some abstain from food while others refrain from various activities. The period can vary as well. But, the focus is to seek God and to know His will.
16. Forgiveness is a must. Mark 11:25.
This is necessary for getting your prayers answered.
If we are not prepared to forgive, our prayer will not be acceptable to God.
17. Have a right motive. James 4:3.
18. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Jude 20.
19. Discernment - prayer without revelation will lead to frustration. Be spiritual sensitive.
The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayers but unoffered prayer.
Beloved, it is those who travail in prayer that will prevail in life! God is calling us to pray.
Thank Him for the things that are yet to be completed in your life. Thank God for dreams that are yet to become reality. Thank Him for answers to your prayers that you are yet to receive. And get ready for mighty testimonies. Don't stop praying. Don’t give up! God's working on your prayers behind the scenes. You will SURELY testify, in Jesus name.
Your story is not over. Your night of weeping will soon be over!
"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5: 16.
PRAYER TO REBUILD YOUR PRAYER ALTAR
1. O God, i thank You for the awesome powers in prayer, in Jesus name.
2. O God my Father, forgive me for the times I have fainted when I ought to have prayed, in Jesus name.
3. Father, let every barrier and obstacle to praying, in my life be uprooted now, in Jesus name.
4. O God, let the spirit of prayerlessness in my life be consumed by Your fire, in Jesus name.
5. O Lord, release upon my life the prayer anointing, in Jesus name.
6. My Father, give me the grace to pray without ceasing and until my joy is full, in Jesus name.
7. Henceforth, let whatever I decree in prayer be established instantly, in Jesus name.
8. O Lord, please, revive my prayer life and fill me with the spirit of supplication, in Jesus name.
9. O God, from now on, help me to see prayer, as a sure solution to all my problems, instead of seeing it as a burden, in Jesus name.
10. Let every door that I knock, from now on henceforth, be opened unto me, in Jesus’ name.
11. Holy Spirit, empower me to pray, to resist and terminate Satanic operations in my life, family and Your church, in Jesus name.
12. Any satanic manipulation, assigned against my prayers, fail woefully, in Jesus name.
13. Power to pray and to receive instant testimonies, envelop my life, in Jesus name.
14. Spirit of delay and frustration, programmed against my prayer, die now, in Jesus name.
15. Thank God for answering your prayers.
