PRAYER

Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the  Lord , the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by My word."  

Wow! What a man! Elijah went down to the king's palace and decreed famine in Israel and it was so.... But in reading up on that story, you'll realize that it is not where it started.. In the New Testament, in one of my favorite scriptures, James, inspired by the Holy Spirit, shows us how Elijah could have this kind of results...


Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly(fervently in Prayer) that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. James 5:17 NKJV


We've heard a lot about prayer... And for want of time, I will not go in depth into the teaching of prayer. Right now, I just want to stir us to take action on what we already know... It's time to get into our prayer closet guys.... Jesus, and afterwards His Apostles, emphasized and lived a life of prayer... They were able to get the results they got because they were in constant communication with the Father.... Prayer is the lubricant of Christian life...By yielding to the Holy Spirit in the place of prayer, you can work possibilities on the earth that many never knew existed... Pray everyday.. Pray unceasingly.. It will not only change your life, It will save it..


Many times, the enemy has made attempts on my life, sometimes by bizarre incidents like when the fan in my room which was at top speed suddenly pulled out of the ceiling and fell next to me as i lay on my bed, or by direct attacks of demon spirits that I could see... In both occasions, amidst many others..... In those times, it was prayer offered up in faith before or during the events that saved me...


Prayer is also a way to show and build up our faith.... One translator goes on to say that He that prays in an unknown tongue (Praying in the Spirit) enhances his spiritual progress... And make no mistake about it, Progress in the physical is merely a demonstration of what has occurred in the Spirit realm.... The physical realm reacts to events in the spiritual...It is in the spiritual that everything is decided, the physical just plays it out...A life of prayer is a life of humility before God... It's basically you saying that you know you can't handle your affairs on your own...and that you need God's help... If that's the case, Prayerlessness depicts the exact opposite.... A life of consistent apathy to prayer is a life of pride, a pattern that says you are supremely competent in handling your affairs and you don't need any help from God...


And yes, if you have the time and capacity  to worry,  you have the time and capacity to pray.. In mark 10:23-24, Jesus would highlight that the way we get our desires granted by the Father is to first get into prayer.... Years later, Paul would reiterate that when he said "Be not anxious for nothing, but in everything, with Prayer, Supplication and thanksgiving, make your requests known into God"  Substitute sorry for prayer and see the difference that makes.


We are the generation of people who will unveil unknown dimensions in God to the world...but we'll never do it if we never stay in study and meditation of the Word and Prayer... In the New Testament, anytime something of note happens, it first happened in prayer.... The outpouring of the Spirit in the Upper room, the first miracle at the beautiful gate, the escape of Peter from Prison, the sending of Ananias to Paul, Jesus walking on the sea, the first conversion of a gentile, and many more.... Countless possibilities were unveiled because people dared to pray.... 


It's not always pleasing to the flesh, but if you'll maintain a consistent prayer life, you'll see your life change before your eyes.. And that change will affect everything and everyone around you...and the world at large.... That's what happened to Jesus, the Apostles and God's Genesis that we read about....That's what God wants to happen to you too..


Thank you for coming to my TED Talk...