As a Child of God, one of the duties you must observe is prayer, you cannot do without it, as long as you are a Christian, in your Christian journey on earth, there will always be the necessity to pray and to stand before God at all time. Jesus Christ is our perfect example, he prayed at all time and so; we cannot afford to be prayerless, if truly we desire to be like him on the earth.
Prayer does a lot to our body, soul and spirit, we dominate, take charge and control the outcome of event when we are found in the place of Prayer, and this is so paramount. It is my prayer that as you read this epistle on prayer today, you will receive the baptism of the spirit of Grace and Supplication, which will put you on your feet always to command things to happen in prayer. It is very awful to see how the enemy as defeat so many Christians all because they are not praying, infact; many will tell you, they are tired, frustrated and want to quit on their dream and passion simply because there seems to be a resistant that is always standing and hindering their progress, this is not the will of God for our lives. He wants us to do exploits (Dan 11:32), he wants us to command signs and wonders (Isaiah 8:18), he wants us to defeat the forces of darkness, but the prerequisite that makes this a possibility is prayer.
I know many people are praying and have not gotten the answer, but that is not enough a reason to stop praying, because if there is a man to pray, there is a God to answer, the Bible speaking in 2 Chronicles 7: 14 says; If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land. So God promises to hear when we pray, there is yet another promise he made in 1 John 5:14, the bible says; this is the confidence that we have in him, that when we pray according to his will, he heareth us. So all through scriptures, God promise us answers when we pray, and for this reason we must never stop praying, we are to pray without ceasing, we are to continue praying, even when it is not easy.
Today, I will share some of the benefits of prayer with us, which I strongly believe will help us, impact and transform our prayer life.
10 Benefits of Praying
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- It provokes Open Heavens, Yes! When we call upon the name of the Lord, the heavens is open, what does it mean for the heaven to open? It means the release of help, divine help, it also means the release of the spirit and Power of God, into situations, individual, circumstances, which have the capacity to transform things, for instance, in Matthew 14: 19, Jesus gave Thanks, and the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes multiplied tremendous and fed 5000 people, that is the sign of an Open heavens, (Am sure you know that giving Thanks to God is a kind of prayer on its own). So if you need open heavens in your life, Business, finances, and anything, go ahead and pray to the Lord.
- It brings Divine Presence: This is another benefit of praying to God, it brings down the presence of God, especially when you pray intimately and passionately, focusing on God and praying in the spirit, it invokes divine presence, which has the capacity to break yokes and chain and destroy the works of darkness. In the book of Acts 12: 5 -17, Peter was held in the prison by King HEROD, but the bible says, prayers were made for him by the church without ceasing, and in response to the prayers of the church, the Lord sent an angel to peter in the prison, this angelic presence shined a light upon him, immediately this light was shun on him, his chains fell off from his hands, the prison doors open on their own, so prayer brings divine presence and that presence, brings deliverance, liberation and liberty, no devil can stand that mighty presence of God.
- It Brings Healing Power : Prayer brings the Power of God to heal, not just to heal a person, to bring healing and restoration to a situation, circumstances and hopeless cases, if only we will pray in the name of Jesus and invite him to come on the scene, hopeless situations can be healed. God’s presence most often time is enough to bring the desired transformation that we envisaged. In Acts 3:6, Peter encountered a man at the beautiful gate, he said unto him, silver and gold, I have not, but such as a I have, I give, in the name of Jesus, rise up and walk, and the man began to walk, that is a practical demonstration of the power of God made available to heal through prayer, but in another instance, let’s see what happened, John 11:43, Lazarus has been dead and buried, yet Jesus came and call him forth, and lazarus came back to Life, this is a very hopeless situation, yet the prayer of Jesus brought the dead back to Life, and Jesus said, the work I do, ye shall do and even greater works than this also, shall ye do, so we are to bring the power of God into anything to heal and undo the works of the enemy, through prayer.
- It Brings Divine Direction: As believers, one of the greatest need we could ever have is the need to know what to do per time, this is something that everybody on the earth need, every now and then, we are faced with various situations that needs an intervention of divine direction, prayer is the way to open yourself to divine direction. Many people would not have fallen into traps, if they got into divine direction, if God truly led them into that marriage, that Business and endeavors. In Jeremiah 33:3; call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not, so God direct and guide and reveal things in prayers, if only we will pray and wait on the Lord, direction for life and destiny will be revealed.
- It Brings Alive the Word of God: This is another major benefits of prayer, most Christians don’t know that some of the things we read in the scriptures are meant to be duplicated in our lives today, mighty things that God did in those days are meant to be done in our lives and through us today, the bible says, the word became flesh and dwell among us ( John 1:14), so the word of God can become flesh and be seen in reality. I remember sometimes ago, I lost a business account with some dollars inside and I was so baffled and depressed due to that situation, but then, I remember the word of God to Jeremiah, and then, like he did, I also commanded my Business account restored in Jesus name, lo and behold, 15mins after I got a mail and my account has been restored with the money inside it, intact, that is the power of prayer, it makes the scriptures real, it bring to life the word of God in you. If many believers know this, they won’t be down and depressed again, they will rather pick the word of God and declare it into their situations.
- It impacts Divine Authority and Command: Yes! If you are a Prayerful Christian, you will not be an ordinary Christian, your words will carry power, this is true. I have experienced it many times, while others believe that the power of God is only meant for pastor and preachers, this is not true. The bible says; If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven (2 Chronicles 7:14). The nature of God is authority, and when you spend time before God in prayers, his nature come upon you, thereby causing you to walk in unusual authority and power. This is evident in the life of Elijah, he was always before God and by so, he had access to authority and power, he declared that, there shall be no rain for 3 and half year and it was so, this is what prayer can do to a man, it brings you to the realm of Faith, where all things are possible unto you.
- It Destroy the Works of the Enemy: This is one of the greatest effect of prayer in the lives of believers, and I really want every Christian to come to the realization of this truth, because the bible says, ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free ( John 8:32). In John 1: 4 -5, The bible says, in him was life and that life was the light of men, the light shines in darkness and darkness could not comprehend it, This is talking about dominion over the forces of the enemy, a situation whereby you are not afraid of principalities and powers, but they are afraid of you, whereby they are not in charge of your life event and endeavors. This Life that was in him, is made manifest in us when we pray, that is why darkness and forces of the enemy does not like the church, this is also another reason why the evil ones around you does not want you to pray, because immediately you begin to pray, you are destroying the forces of darkness, their charm and enchantment is been destroyed, that is why if you ever sensed an operation of the enemy in your life, finances or even at your workplace, report the matter to God by taking it to the place of prayer. That enemy will leave you alone or the arrow will back fire, we are not meant to live as a prey to the wicked as believers, we are God’s battle axe and we can invoke the hand of God in prayers for victory always.
- It Activates the Blessings of God: Do you know you can access supernatural provision by prayer? The bible says, is anyone afflicted, let him pray ( James 5:13), many people are suffering from one affliction or the other in their homes, finances and businesses, immediately the hand of the enemy is released, the blessings of God will flow, I have seen this happen in the lives of many people we pray for during various session and church services, the enemy could tie down the prosperity of people to witchcraft coven, but as the fire of God is ignited in prayer, the coven catch fire and the people are set free. Also, as a Child of God, who has given his life to Jesus Christ, you are qualify to ask God for the blessings in your life, destiny and family, The bible says,; Give us this day, our daily bread (matt 6:11), so you can make demand for God’s blessing, because he promise to do so, in his word. Remember, praying according to the word of God is praying according to the will of God, when we do so, he heareth us (1 John 5:14 ). < li>
It Brings about the Opening of the Eyes:
- There are many things we need to know and see in other to make the most of our lives as Children of God on the earth, especially when it comes to knowing what God is saying and destroying what the enemy as done, is doing or plan to do. For example, there are people who are praying to God for his blessings upon their live and their endeavors, but they are doing the wrong thing, some are in the wrong line of business, and due to that, they are unable to access the blessings of God, you need to understand that your wealth and prosperity is tied to a location or an industry, not everywhere, that is why you cannot do what everybody is doing, because you are to be led by the spirit as a Christian. When you are consistent in prayer, God begins to open your eyes, and your ears to hear and to see. Any believer who does not see or hear from God will fall victim of many assaults of the devil. I pray for you, you shall not be a victim in Jesus name, Amen! Give yourself to prayer, ask God questions, make enquiry, and he will show you what to do, or what is to come, when peter was to go to the house or Cornelius, he had a vision that described to him, what he is about to do next and when it was time, he understand well, because it has been revealed to him, I pray that your eyes shall be open today in Jesus name.
- It Help you to live a Life pleasing unto God: Prayerfulness impacts you with the fear of God, the ability to live above sin, to live in Holiness, righteousness and good character. This is possible because the nature of God is imparted to you in the place of prayer, God is Holy, God is righteous and God is powerful, his nature is released upon you in the place of prayer, many people who fall into sin easily, suffering from one form of addiction or the other, smoking, drinking alcohol and living a reckless life, is because of prayerlessness. If you are prayerful, the nature of God will come upon you and the desire for unrighteousness will die, this is very important. Prayer facilitates your relationship with God, because prayer is communication with God, communication is what enhances relationship, when you are in touch with God consistently, your life takes a new turn and you will begin to inspire others to live for God and do his will like you are doing, this way, your life is bringing glory to God.
I pray for you, may your life brings Joy to God in Jesus name, I pray that the Grace of Prayer and Supplication is released unto you right now in Jesus name.
The Lord bless you and keep you, cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, Amen!
Written by Pastor Matthew.
