The Power Of Prayer
By Evangeline Unity Esaaba Folson
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek’ and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
The bible says the prayer of a righteous person has great power (James 5:14-16) Meaning prayer gives results; prayer can move mountains or help you overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.
Matthew 19:26 says
…………..with men it is impossible but with God all things are possible.
This implies that God can do all things once you call upon him through prayer. The passage quoted at the beginning of the article says and confirms that once you bring your requests before God, and trust Him to move on your behalf, He will.
Asking, seeking and knocking repent diverse ways of prayer:
- You ask, when you need something almost immediately
Jeremiah 33:3
Matthew 6:6
- You seek through prayer when you need clarification
Numbers 23:19
Ephesians 6:18
- You knock through prayer when you experience delays
Habakkuk 2:3-4
1 Thessalonians 5:17
You ask when you need something almost immediately
Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
In the verse above, Christians are being asked to call unto the Lord at anytime, anywhere and as many times as necessary
God will answer.
Prayer or calling unto the Lord can be simply defined as talking to God just as you talk to a friend, a family relation, co-worker etc.
The Oxford English Mini Dictionary defines ‘ask’ as say so to get an answer. In other words, when you ask you have an intention of getting an immediate answer.
For example, you can ask God for food when you are hungry or have a headache etc.
Matthew 6:6-7
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.
But when ye pray, use not vain repertories, as the heaven do for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
The passage above indicates that there is no need to make so much noise to let everyone see you are praying, neither should you ‘beat about the bush’ go straight to the point. Ask for what you need. When you read further on, you can
find a sample prayer pattern Jesus gave to His disciples. Popularly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
When you pray!
- Then you move on to your physical needs (Matthew 6:11)
- Then your spiritual needs
(Matthew 6:12-13a)
- End with thanks and declaration
(Matthew 6:136)
You seek through prayer when you need clarification on issue
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Sometimes you need clarity on an issue. In such tunes you need to seek direction on how to pray from the bible. When you pray according to biblical direction that God will fulfill His promise concerning the issue as staed above. God cannot lie.
A good example of seeking through prayer is the story of Gideon in Judges 6 to Judges 9
Judges 6:13
And Gideon said unto Him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites Gideon knew what God could do, therefore he was surprised at how much the Israelites were suffering. If He delivered them from Egypt why can God not save them from the Midianites who were terrorizing them.
He was seeking answers from God through prayer.
It was just like having a conversation with a friend or Father. Then the Lord said, you are the man I am going to use to deliver Israel. You believe and know what I can do.
He talked to God till he found answers and God indeed used him to deliver Israel from the Midianites.
That is what all Christians and answers on issues like choosing a career, developing your gifts, fulfilling your ministry as an ambassador of Christ etc.
Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there unto with all presence and supplication for all saints.
All the verse above is trying to say is that, keep seeking through prayer till you receive all the directions and answers you need.
You knock through prayer when you are experiencing delays
Habakkuk 2:3-4
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
The passage above is trying to say that some of the things we request from God are for an appointed time. Like Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time for everything.
It might look like there are delays in response to your request but God is preparing you for the appointed time.
Persist in prayer and thanksgiving till you receive an answer or keep knocking until door is opened.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
Someone said, this verse means, pray until something happens.
Never get tired of praying because prayer has the power to move mountains. It heals the sick, delivers the oppressed, release those in bondage etc
The songwriter said
Prayer
Miracle working prayer
Answer to it all, problems
Great or small
Oh, if you believe
You will receive
All the blessings
God has for you.
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