PRAYER RELEASES POWER

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

Last week, we started learning how to pray. Let’s continue to learn how to do it.

We learned that in order to meaningfully pray, we must focus on the Word and meditate on it. John 15:7 says that ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you’. Note the operative words – word, abide and answer to prayer. God wants us to meditate on His Word and let it sink deep inside our hearts. As we do that, we will begin to enjoy a beautiful prayer time with God.

Sadly though, Christendom sometimes makes us feel that our prayer life is inadequate. Some people claim that when they prayed the angel of the Lord came down and fellowshipped with them! Some others break out into passionate and spontaneous prayers and that leaves us feeling silly to be just ‘meditating on the Word and praying’. But it is a beautiful way to pray.

By no means am I saying that we should use this style of praying at our family devotions or before meals. This method of prayer is the best one for our private, individual prayer relationship with God.

Let me introduce you to some Bible personalities who have modeled this method for us.

1. DANIEL

in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Daniel 9:2,3

Today we have 66 books bound together as the Bible. But in the olden days, these books were maintained individually in scrolls. Daniel took the scrolls and pored over them. He and his fellow countrymen (Israelites) were in exile under the Babylonian kingdom. The Israelites were longing to return to their homeland. As Daniel reads the book of Jeremiah, he learns that the exile would last 70 years and at the end of it, when they sought God, He would hear them and take them back home. Strengthened by this knowledge, Daniel begins to pray.

I am sure you will see that Daniel’s prayer is a beautiful testimony of meditating on God’s Word, gleaning God’s truth from it, seeing God’s amazing character and being strengthened by it.

2. EZRA

 

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.  Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place.  So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.

Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.

Nehemiah 8:2, 3, 5-8, 13, 18

 

Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one–fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God

Nehemiah 9:2-3

 

Prophet Ezra read from the Scriptures and all the Israelites paid rapt attention. As God’s Word began to come alive in their hearts powerfully, the Israelites stood up and confessed their sins and worshipped the Lord their God.

 

For almost three hours continuously!

 

Then Nehemiah steps up and leads the community in prayer. What an incredible experience is this!

3. THE EARLY CHURCH

 

And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?

The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 4:23-31

Peter and John had done someone a mighty big favor – healed a lame man in Jesus’ name; a miracle you may call it. Instead of being wowed by God’s awesomeness, the authorities took them aside and sternly reprimanded them for using Jesus’ name!!

Peter and John returned to their friends and reported all that had happened. Trembling, they turn to God. They begin their prayer by worshiping Yahweh with some of King David’s Psalms. (Psalm 146:6 and Psalm 2:1). Clearly they had been spending time meditating on God’s Word. Their prayer then naturally flows into an earnest request for boldness. Guess what? God answered their trusting heart and blesses them with supernatural courage and boldness.

4. JESUS

 

Jesus Christ demonstrated it throughout His earthly life. At many instances, we see Him quoting God’s Word. For e.g – when tempted by the devil in the wilderness Jesus responded with God’s Word. Hanging on the Cross, Jesus cried out to His Father, ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’ That was from Psalm 22:1. Also, His final words ‘Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” was a reference from Psalm 31:5. In all these instances we see how the Word of God was deeply embedded in Jesus’ heart. As a result of it, He was able to see God in every situation and speak to His Father according to His Will.

From all of the above, we see clearly how important meditation of the Word is in order for prayer. Ephesians 6:17 and 18 say, ‘ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit’. We see an obvious progression here – the Word of the Lord leading into prayer. There are many Christian giants who led powerful and meaningful lives, and it was only because they spent an equally powerful and meaningful time in prayer.

Before we conclude, let me show you one more example of meditating on the Word and praying.

Psalm 25:1-11

1. Verse 1 – ‘To You, OLord, I lift up my soul.’ Let us think about that. The Psalmist says that he lifts up his soul to God; not just his hands, eyes or voice. But everything within him. Shall we begin our prayer with those words? Let us lift up everything within us to our Lord.

 

2. Verse 2 – ‘O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.’ O my God. Focus on those words. Let us think about it. There is an element of possessiveness. Let us pray to this God of ours. He is not just a random being somewhere out there. He is our God and we can trust in Him!

 

3. Verse 2 and 3 – ‘Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause’. David is praying that God wouldn’t let him be Like David, we can boldly ask God for our request. For e.g- If we have a family problem or a work problem, we can pray that God would sort it out so that we are not humiliated.

 

4. Verse 3 – ‘Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause’. The verse says ‘no one’. It is referring to everyone who is waiting on God. As we meditate on God’s Word, we can look above our own situation and remember everybody else whom we know are waiting. Let us boldly ask God for help on their behalf too.
5. Verse 4 – ‘Show me Your ways, OLord; Teach me Your paths’. We need to know God’s ways and paths for breakthroughs in our lives. Our ways and paths are not foolproof. But God’s are. As we ask Him for that, God will grant us wisdom and discernment to handle our problems and worries.

 

6. Verse 5 – ‘Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For Youare the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day’. Sometimes it is easy to get distracted by other plans, ideas and options. So like David, let us pray that God would teach us to wait on Him all day long. That He alone would be our trust and hope.

 

7. Verses 6 and 7 – ‘Remember, OLord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, For they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.’ David had committed many sins in his life. So have we. Sometimes unnecessary guilt worms its way into our heart and wedges itself there awkwardly. Like David, let us ask God to forgive us of our sins and to be free from the clutches of guilt forever. Let that not distract or condemn us during our prayer time.

 

8. Verses 8 and 9 – ‘Good and uprightis the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.’ – Let us also humble ourselves and seek God’s help.

 

9. Verses 10 and 11 – ‘All the paths of theLord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great’. Humbling ourselves also involves seeking God’s pardon for our sins.

Wasn’t that an incredible time of meditating on God’s Word and praying? A random, rambling prayer can be meaningless. But a prayer soaked in mediation of God’s Word can be amazingly effective.

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude this series on Prayer with the story of a famous man of God. George Muller lived in the 1800s. He loved God and wanted to spend time praying. Often he would wake up early and get on his knees. But he would struggle through his prayer time just to stay awake and focused. One day he changed his method. He whispered a short prayer. ‘Lord, help me to understand your Word’. He started reading God’s Word and meditating on it. Slowly that led him into a wonderful time of prayer. As he continued to delight in this renewed prayer life, one day he read James 1:27 which said, ‘Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.’ That verse jumped out at him. He gazed out of his window and the eyes of his heart opened. He saw many orphans wandering on the streets of Bristol. The Spirit of the Lord confirmed to his heart what he needed to do next. George Muller obeyed and started an orphanage. He experienced numerous miracles and was able to transform the lives of almost 10,000 orphan children by his ministry.

Stories like that are inspiring, aren’t they? These can be our stories too. As we meditate on God’s Word and spend time praying and hearing God, He can do amazing thing for His glory through our lives.

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

PRAYER RELEASES POWER Last week, we studied about the great wonder and glory of prayer. Now doesn’t that leave us wishing that we could experience this joyous prayer life too? So, today let us look at how we can begin praying. Before we start taking notes on the different body postures and terminologies to be used in prayer, let’s pause for a second. It doesn’t matter to God whether our eyes are tightly shut or our lips are constantly moving or we toss in a certain number of praises. You see, God cares about our heart posture. So we are going to learn about what is really involved in praying. 1.     FOCUS Here’s a familiar scenario. Husband watching television. Wife pouts and complains, ‘You don’t pay me any attention. The television gets more of your attention than me’. What would the husband do? He would turn off the television, set the remote aside, turn around, look at his wife and pay complete attention to her. (Ideally) Similarly when we are praying, we must look at God and give Him our complete attention. Looking denotes acknowledging. Sadly, many a time we start our prayer acknowledging God, but then begin to meander on a different tangent and then conclude with an emphatic, ‘In Jesus’ name – Amen’. Narration of our problems take up the chunk of our prayer time mingled with a few glances toward God. Instead, our prayer should be a time of focusing primarily on God and glimpsing occasionally at our problems. Let me hasten to add that it does not mean that God does not care about our problems or that they are trivial. But the beauty of the matter is that when we focus and see God’s glory and power, then our faith in God’s ability to handle our problems will arise. Trust will abound and our worries will fade. HOW DO WE FOCUS? That raises an important question? How can we focus on a God who is invisible? We can’t make eye contact with Him because He doesn’t have a body like ours. Now, some people attempt to get over this problem by closing their eyes and thinking of what they have heard about God. Some others gaze at the Nature and think of God. All these are helpful to an extent. In fact even the Psalmist acknowledges it in Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; Psalm 19:1-7 From verses 1 through 6, the Psalmist adores God by looking at the beautiful creation around Him. However, it doesn’t give a complete picture of the splendor of this God who loved and died for us at the Cross. Then what does? Verse 7 gives us the answer. The only thing that perfectly describes our glorious Lord is His Word. If we want to see God and focus on Him, then nothing can match the beauty of His Word. This is further evidenced in the following Psalms. The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. Psalm 12:6 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. Psalm 119:160 2.     MEDITATE The next step in praying involves meditating on His Word. Often many of us read the Bible superficially. We read through a few passages quickly and mumble our prayer. Reading the Word has in some ways become just a customary thing to do before praying. But in order to make our prayer more meaningful, we must read the Word and meditate on it first. Meditating means deep focused thinking, confessing, applying and imagining what our lives would be like if the Word came true. It’s a directed targeted thinking and speaking with God based on His Word. Only then will the Word really take root in our hearts. Let us compare it with a few real life examples. Think of a heavy downpour of rain. Well, the abundant rain will be insufficient if the soil is not raked and prepared for absorbing the rain. Or imagine that you feel like eating Chicken 65 late at night. You have two options. Either, hurry to the store, buy the chicken, rush home and fry the chicken or buy the chicken in the morning, marinate it with spices and fry the chicken after a couple of hours. We can be absolutely certain that the second option would yield a much tastier Chicken 65! The Word of God is like a marinade. As it sinks deep into our hearts, we will be able to focus on God. Let’s look at how Kind David applied this in his life. I cried out to God with my voice— To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.  In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah  And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.  I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God?  You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah  The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.   Psalm 77:1-20 In this Psalm, we see the Psalmist adoring and praising God. He remembers the glorious ways; God helped the Israelites in the past. Then at the end of verse 15, King David says, ‘Selah’. Selah means ‘Stop and think’. He does not run through the rest of the miracles. He pauses to dwell on God’s wondrous works. Often when we are troubled by problems, we find it quite difficult to dwell on God’s awesomeness. Well, we can definitely take a leaf from the Psalmist who says in Psalm 119:23 that, ‘Princes also sit and speak against me, but Your servant meditates on Your statutes’. Even though powerful people plotted against him, he decided that he would meditate on God’s Word instead. Do you think we can meditate on God’s Word similarly? Well, actually it’s not too hard. Our human minds are constantly meditating on something all the time. Here is an example. When our child is unwell, his sickness will be running through our mind through the day no matter where we go. So instead of worrying about it, we could meditate on God’s promise that He can heal our child. Let us try to meditate on one Scripture passage together. The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.  One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.  Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Psalm 27:1-8   The Lord – The Psalmist is talking about Yahweh. Jehovah. The same powerful God of the Old Testament who delivered the Israelites out of slavery and parted the Red Sea is alive even today. He is my light– Light was a precious commodity in the olden days. Often David and his men had to travel in the dark nights and they had no way of knowing who was hidden in the cloud of darkness. But David says, ‘It’s okay. I have the greatest source of light, God Himself. He will shine the light and show me where the enemy is hiding’. As we read this passage, we can take heart that this same God will shine light into the crevices of our lives. Salvation – The Lord also promises to be our Savior. We don’t have to fear anyone! Strength – We can rest in the truth that when our strength fails, the Lord would be our strength. Enemy army – King David faced many enemy armies. It was a normal thing in those days for nations to go to war. So he says that he would not fear, but be confident because the Lord was his light. Dwell in God’s temple – His heart desired to gaze upon God’s beauty and meditate on Him. He wanted to see how amazingly powerful and glorious His Yahweh was. Like David, if we can get a glimpse of that glory, then our enemies and problems will appear like Lilliput in front of Him. Hiding place –David knew that in times of distress and despair, God would hide him. Seeking the Lord – Our God wants us to seek His face. As we do that we will get a bigger revelation of God Himself. May I encourage all of us to meditate on God’s Word in a similar fashion, every day? HOW LONG SHOULD WE MEDITATE? Lastly, let me tell you one more thing. We must meditate until praise and thanksgiving comes automatically out of our mouth. In fact, that will be a testimony of the fact that we have seen God. When we get our first glimpse of the majestic Himalayas, wouldn’t our heart gush out in amazement? Only words of awe will tumble out of our mouths. Psalm 95:2 says, ‘Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms’. Praise is truly meaningful only when it comes out of our heart truthfully! So as we meditate on our God who created this world, holds it in place, loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins and is constantly worshipped by angels – how can praise not flow out of us!

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PRAYER RELEASES POWER: PRAYER RELEASES POWER – REV JEEVAN CHELLADURAI

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

Last week, we studied about how prayer releases power. Today, let’s look at the great wonder and glory of prayer.

WHAT IS PRAYER?

So, what do we think is prayer?

1. PRAYER IS DRAWING NEAR TO GOD

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8

Have you ever had the chance to see a celebrity up, close and personal? If you are anything like me, then you must have been ecstatic. Of course, the celebrity might not even have noticed your presence or the body-guards might have shooed you far away but you would have been floating around happily on the seventh cloud. Right?

Well, prayer is drawing near the most important celebrity ever. God, unlike people in tinsel town, God does not shoo us away. He’s more than willing to welcome us.

That doesn’t mean we can just waltz in to pray whenever it suits us. Prayer is not a mumble jumble of only our wants and needs. Prayer is a beautiful process that arises out of an even more beautiful relationship. Let’s take a quick look at what that relationship means.

Essentially, man is utterly sinful. But God is holy. Sin cannot be anywhere near God’s holiness and righteousness. We can fast and pray or do the most sacrificial thing, but we will still not be able to come anywhere close to God’s presence. The best example in this regard is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 18:9-14

The humble tax collector left the temple justified, not the proud Pharisee! The best human righteousness will not qualify us to pray.

Then what do you suppose qualifies us to pray?

Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:19-21 says, ‘Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God’. The perfect life, blood and righteousness of Jesus our High Priest qualifies us to pray. Because when God looks at us who are His followers, He sees Jesus. This gives us the privilege of drawing near to Him being certain that He will welcome us.

2. PRAYER IS TALKING TO GOD

 

It is almost completely unlikely to ever be able to chat up with a celebrity, especially if we don’t know them personally. But the God of Heaven and earth, the most important person ever says, ‘Draw near to me; I want to hear you and talk to you’. What a precious gift and privilege prayer is to us. Not only does our High Priest sympathize with our weaknesses as said in Hebrews 4:15, the Holy Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. Romans 8:26 says, ‘Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered’. Further John 16:26 says, ‘In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you’. The incredible thing is that the Spirit of God prompts and helps us to pray and also answers our prayer requests.

 

Now, prayer is not just about asking and receiving. Of course, that is certainly important. But it is not like just walking into the grocery store, nodding at the owner and getting our list filled. Prayer is real fellowship time with God. It is about enjoying God’s company. Let me share with you an example to elucidate this better.

 

My son is 2 years old. Recently, a friend visited us. She wanted to play with him, but he kept shying away. So, she pulled out a chocolate from her bag to get him to come to her. He timidly approached, grabbed the chocolate and ran away. Sometimes, we treat prayer like that. When God gives us something, we take it, mutter a quick thanks and run away. God, on the other hand, would love for us to sit back and spend time with Him and enjoy getting to know Him.

Not so sure?

Well, consider this. God is all sufficient. The Trinity completes Him. But He created us to share that love with us and enjoy a fellowship with us. Genesis 3:8 says, ‘And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden’. It was normal practice for God to hang out with Adam and Eve every day. After they sinned and ran away from God’s presence, God sent them out of the Garden. But He didn’t give up on them. He continued to seek them out to enjoy a fellowship with them. Not that He needed to, but because He wanted to. The Israelites disobeyed God and constantly ignored Him. But God continued to extend grace and mercy to them. He lived with them in the ark and then later in the temple. Then, finally He came physically in the form of Jesus. Jesus walked on the earth, died and rose again. He sent the Holy Spirit, and today we have the constant presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can talk to Him and enjoy fellowship with Him at all times.

3. PRAYER IS AN EXPERIENCE OF GOD’S ETERNAL PRESENCE

 

The Bible talks about a glorious Heaven. There won’t be any sadness or tears in Heaven because God will be present there. In God’s presence, there is only jubilation and celebration. Prayer is an activity that has been given to us on the earth to experience the presence of God. It is a foretaste of what will be our Heavenly experience.

Hebrews 10:19 says, ‘Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus’. Through prayer, it’s possible to enter and experience the joy of being in the most holy place – God’s presence. But unfortunately, many people look for joy and ecstasy in the wrong places. Drugs and alcohol are cheap counterfeits that will not only disappoint us, but also pull us deep down into the dumps. Our spouses, children and jobs will only satisfy us temporarily. But if we experience the presence of God, we will have great joy. Once we experience that, we will not want to have it any other way.

HOW CAN WE ENJOY THIS?

One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple

Psalm 27:4

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 42:1-2

How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 84:1, 10

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

 

Psalm 63:1-5

All these beautiful Psalms testify the glory of prayer. We can enjoy this glory by believing in it and desiring it. If we don’t have a desire, then God is more than able to grant us that when we ask Him for it. We need to do it for ourselves. Every great man of God will have rich experiences of a beautiful prayer time. You see, the greater thing for God is not to just meet our need but to spend time with us! Isn’t that simply marvellous?

THANKS: WWW.REVSAM.ORG

PRAYER RELEASES POWER – REV. JEEVAN CHELLADURAI

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

– Rev. Jeevan Chelladurai

Would you like to get together and spend some time in prayer?

In all likelihood, many of us might shift uncomfortably at that question.

Instead if we had been asked, ‘Would you like to get together and watch the cricket match on TV?’, almost all of us would jump at the invite.

Of course, prayer is quite an integral part of our lives. We pray before meals. We pray before going to bed. We pray in church. We even pray before every important occasion in our lives. We are all for praying! Yes sir!

But these styles of prayer are only scratches at the surface. Prayer is so much more than a hurried whisper sent upwards or a five minutes ritual of reverently bowing our heads and closing our eyes. Prayer is a beautiful conversation with God where we enjoy intimacy with God.

Not convinced yet?

Alright, let’s start at the beginning.

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT PRAYER?

Prayer releases God’s power and blessings in our lives.

God’s power and blessings are already in place. When we pray to Him about it, He releases it in our lives. Let’s note the operative word here – release. It is like water stored in a dam. When the outlet of the dam is opened, the water gushes out. It is also like a movie that has been shot, produced and readied. Unless the movie is released nobody can watch and enjoy it.

Similarly, prayer is the key that unlocks the door of answers.

Let’s consider some firsthand experiences in this regard.

1. Do you remember the time you decided to follow Jesus? Remember the prayer that you prayed? It must have gone something like this, ‘Jesus, I believe in you. Forgive me my sins. Thank you for dying for my sins. I want you to be the Lord of my life’. Now, God had done everything necessary up to that particular moment. He sent Jesus to die for our sins, resurrected Him from the dead, created us and saw us through, right up to that day when we were convicted of our sins. We had nothing to with all that preparation. But we experienced that Salvation only when we cried out that prayer from the recesses of our broken heart.

 

2. Have you heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit? It is the greater measure of the Holy Spirit’s power that a believer of Jesus experiences. Luke 11:13 says, ‘If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more willyour heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!’. God gives this gift when we prayerfully ask Him for it.

 

3. Have you ever been in a worrying situation where you experienced inexplicable peace fill your heart? Philippians 4:6 says, ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus’. When we boldly come to His throne of grace and prayerfully ask Him, God will grant us an ‘out of the world’ experience of peace.

RELEASE IS NOT FORCING GOD’S HANDS

Lest I am misunderstood, let me clarify that ‘release’ doesn’t imply grabbing something out of God’s grip. Some people think that we need to beg, plead and cry to get something from God. It kind of makes God look like a mean, old fellow with a clenched fist.

But the truth is that He is and has always been loving and full of mercy. Because of that goodness of His, He wishes to lavish His blessings on us. His goodness remains unchanged. Malachi 3:6 says, ‘For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob’. Psalm 102:25-27says, ‘Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed.  But You are the same, and Your years will have no end’.

The Heavens and earth will change, but our God will remain the same forever. His goodness, mercy and kindness will continue to abound. Sometimes when our children kick up a fuss or pester us with incessant cries, we might give into their demands out of frustration or pity. But we can’t think that we can con God into answering us by putting up a show of crying and groaning. He will bless us because He is a loving Father. Period. He has prepared everything for us. So why would He hold it back from us? He is simply waiting for us to enjoy the privilege of being His children and asking Him for it.

Now, you might wonder, ‘Why does God have to wait for us to ask?’ Let’s see why.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO ASK?

When I was in 6^th grade, I had an excellent Math teacher. Often he’d encourage us to reach out to him if we had any doubts or needed extra help. Interestingly, hardly anybody took up his offer. When the exams were held, many students flunked. He was really upset. He would scold and spank. Once again, he offered to help those who hadn’t done well. Funnily, even after all that, there were only a handful who accepted his help. It seemed that everybody was rather agreeable to facing the punishment. It showcases an interesting human behavior. We can’t really help somebody unless they ask for it.

So is the case with God. He is more than willing to help us. But unless we ask Him for it, He won’t force Himself on us. In John 5:6, Jesus asks a sick man, ‘When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”’. Jesus didn’t forcibly heal Him. He asked the man if he wanted to be well.

So you see when we ask and pray, we arrive at a position where we are able to receive God’s help. When we pray we are saying, ‘God, I need your help’. That reflects the posture of our heart. It shows our humility and our willingness to set aside our pride.

Martin Luther, the founder of Reformation once said, ‘Every day I make sure that I pray at least for an hour. Some days are very busy though. On those days, I go to all lengths to ensure that I pray for at least two hours’. It takes humility and faith to say that we need God’s help.

HUMILITY AND PRAYER

Well, let’s now see what humility has to do with prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, ‘If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’. James 4:10 says, ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up’.

Humility takes away self reliance and recognizes the greatness about the other person. When we pray humbly to God, a great change comes over us. We become stronger in faith and soon we will be released from pride and unbelief. It will mean saying, ‘God, I am not believing in my strength and abilities. I am placing my trust in Christ’s strength alone’.

1 Peter 5:6 says, ‘Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time’. We can humble ourselves by casting all our cares on God and trusting Him to take care of us. In the United States, I had the opportunity to help people move houses. Some of the other helpers were much stronger than I. They’d effortlessly cart huge boxes. I could just about hold on to one piece of luggage. But in order to put up a good front, I’d attempt to haul more than what I could manage. Well, before long my back protested in pain! Instead of putting on a false bravado, I should have humbly told the other guys that ‘I am unable to carry this load. But I know that you are able to, so I am going to count on you to carry more than me’.

Humbly and prayerfully, let’s cast our burden on the Lord.

CONCLUSION

In James 4:2, God says, ‘Yet you do not have because you do not ask’. Often, we don’t receive answers because we simply haven’t asked God for them. James 1:5 says, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him’. Like Solomon, let us begin by asking God for wisdom. Then let us ask for peace in our home, efficiency at work, increase in finances and a hunger to pray. This must be a daily process. Ephesians 6:18 says, ‘praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints’. Let us consciously put aside our pride and self reliance. Let us humbly go before Him in prayer for faith and grace for each day.

 

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