Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord and Saviour is a God who hears our prayers and answers them. As He lives in our midst, it is our duty to thank Him. It is written in Matthew 7:8, “For everyone who asks receives ...” Dear Brother/ Sister, your prayer life establishes a relationship with the Lord. This blessed relationship forms the basis for so many benefits, blessings, and exaltations. This prayer life is necessary for spiritual blessings. We have seen the prayers of so many people. From the Bible we learn how we should make our prayer.
“And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.“James 5:15
Faith is the basis of our life. Prayer without faith will not yield the desired result. Disbelief is the reason for not inheriting the blessings. In the days of Jesus Christ, He could not work many miracles in the midst of such people of little faith. In our life also we need faith as a trait of significance for blessings. We should learn to pray with faith. James 5:15 says, “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” Not only that, there are many other benefits. As this element of faith is lacking in our prayers, we meet with difficulties and defeats and hurdles in life. How do we pray today? The Bible counsels us, “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17). Through this habit of prayer at all times, we would see transformation at all levels. We know about several children of God acting with faith and success in life. Elijah stood before the Lord always. Life becomes one of blessing to all those who are prayer warriors. So prayer life is significant, that too with faith. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. To grow in it we should meditate on the miracles of Jesus Christ. He performed a miracle in a wedding house at Canaan. He transformed water into wine. It was known only to a few. Those disciples who saw that happen grew in faith. Thereby they began to make their prayer with faith. We do need hearing the word of God for building up our faith. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Secondly, faith grows when we see miracles of Jesus Christ. Thirdly, we should be filled with His Spirit. 2 Cor. 4:13 speaks about this spirit of faith. As we live in faith being filled with the Spirit of God, all our prayers made with faith are answered. For this faith to grow we do need the gifts of the Spirit. Of the nine fruit of the Spirit, one is the gift of faith. As we grow in it, the life of prayer becomes fruitful. All that we ask with faith are answered by Him. Jesus emphasized faith: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” (Mark 5:34); “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). That is why we need faith. Prayer of faith is the way to the reach our goals in the presence of the Lord.
“So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.” 1 Samuel 1:7
Then there is the prayer made with tears. Hannah cried in the presence of the Lord for lack of a child. She poured her heart in the presence of the Lord. “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish” (1 Sam. 1:10). He hears prayer made with tears. The Bible says: ‘And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, ”Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years”’ (Isaiah 38:3-5). Most of the time we observe the enormity of the problems we encounter and live in anguish and depression. But when we pray to the Lord with burden and tears, He hears and does miracles. Dear Brother/ Sister, you may be shedding tears right now. Stop worrying. Look to the Lord for a solution from the Lord. He sees your tears. He will do a miracle in your life and wipe away your tears. In your tears, turn to Him. You are weeping, wailing, and worrying. Have faith in Him who is almighty and merciful. Would you pray with tears to the Lord of steadfast love? How long do you pray?
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” 1 John 5:14
You should know the will of the Lord. If we do not know His will, we will continue to make mistakes. We do make prayers that are against His will. That is why we do not receive any answers to our prayers. We should be wise in this regard. Paul in the Bible warns us: “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:17). We should pray according to His will. As we pray without knowing the will of the Lord, we have problems in our prayers. In everything that we do, we must have clear understanding of the will of the Lord. Whether it is buying a house, or arranging a marriage, or studies, we should take time to examine the will of the Lord in the matter. Only when we sit at His feet and know His will, and work accordingly, we would have easy access to Him for our needs. We can then enjoy success without any impediments or troubles in the way. As we do things against His will, we meet with failure and loss. So let us know His will and do according to it. Let us commit our way to Him. Once a railway official deposited all his retirement benefits in a bank without knowing the will of the Lord. It was a private bank. He thought that the enormous interest that the bank paid would be enough to lead a good life. For the first month he received the interest, but the very next month the bank wound up its business and left the place. He was disappointed. Then he realized that it was not the will of God and was greatly troubled. If we pray according to His will, He will answer our prayers. In Matthew 8:2-3, we read about a leper who came to Jesus Christ with the request: ‘And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ”I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” If we do so, He will do a miracle in our lives also. Dear Brother/ Sister, if you humble yourself before the Lord knowing His will and pray accordingly, you would have answers to your prayers, and joy and benefits would abound.
“...Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies” Nehemiah 9:28
The Lord answers prayers made with a repentant heart. Our sins are the barrier between us and the Lord. They stop our access to Him. With a repentant heart plead for your sins to be forgiven by the washing of the blood of Jesus Christ. Then, you would be cleansed and the barrier between you and the Lord would be removed. We get reconciled to the Lord. Now we enjoy free access to the Lord who answers our prayers and does miracles. Today, Dear Brother/ sister, confess all your sins and iniquities that the Lord detests and give them up. The Bible says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13). Take some time to examine the reason for your prayers not being answered. Examine your sins, the wrongs you have done. Repent, confess and commit your life to the Lord to be acceptable in His sight. He will definitely do a miracle. David makes a clean breast of his sins in Psalm 25. He remembers his sins and pleads with the Lord with repentance: “Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me. . .” (Psalm 25:7). So his prayers were heard and answered. Let us also do likewise. Let us examine ourselves to know what hurts our Lord. Let us humble ourselves before Him acknowledging our sins and pleading for His mercy and forgiveness. If you do so, the Lord God with steadfast love will forgive us and do miracles. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins. He does not forsake anyone who comes to Him. He will do a miracle according to His faithfulness. As we are convicted of sins, let us repent, confess to the Lord and turn to Him for help. He will hear our prayers and answer them in a miraculous way.
“...praying in the Holy Spirit.” Jude 20
We should pray in the Holy Spirit. Mostly we do not do so. As we pray in the Spirit, the presence of the Lord descends on us. We experience joy and spiritual encounter with the Lord. In my ministry I have seen the Lord working wonders when I prayed with a family in the Holy Spirit. As you meditate on these words, dear Brother/ Sister, give place for praying in the Spirit. The Lord will multiply blessings in you.
The Lord will give only when we ask for blessings. This is a privilege. Go to His presence and make your needs known to Him. Then you will be blessed.
“Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24
In the presence of the Lord, ask in the name of His Son Jesus Christ. Then He will fill you with joy. Joy is needed in life. Without it, the spirit is broken. “…But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13). For inheriting this joy, you should pray with faith and repentance according to the will of the Lord. Philippians 4:4 encourages us, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” The basis for rejoicing is prayerful life. The time of prayer is rejoicing in the Lord. Once a teacher received a large sum as his retirement benefit. Another teacher who worked with him and resided in his area borrowed money from him. As he was his friend, he gave him the money. After a few months, he needed the money and so he approached him to get back the money. But that man became ferocious and denied having taken money from him. I was invited to his house. I told him to him to pray in the name of Jesus Christ to get out of the worry and that the Lord God would change his heart and he himself would come to him with the money. What happened? As he started praying in the presence of the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ, a miraculous thing happened. The person who borrowed the money came after a few days to his house with the money and asked for forgiveness. Prayer can transform our worries into joy.
“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.” James 1:5
Many people lack wisdom. Wisdom is of different types. The Lord God gives this liberally. We have to ask and get it from His presence. That is the basis for a life of prosperity. Daniel and his three friends were prayerful. The Lord gave them special wisdom. For Daniel He gave the wisdom to interpret dreams and visions. Today you may be troubled that you have no wisdom. You may lack the wisdom to talk to others, the wisdom to do anything or your job. Dear Brother/ Sister, when you pray to the Lord with faith, the Lord will crown you with wisdom that would exalt you. As Daniel had this wisdom, he was raised to a place next to the king as an officer. Wisdom pitched him there. The Lord God gives this wisdom. He is the wisdom: “ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1:30). This Lord God of love would give this wisdom liberally to all those who ask for it and would bless them.
“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.” Isaiah 38:5
King Hezekiah was diseased and was about to die. He prayed to the Lord and as a result got the wonderful healing. As we pray, a wonderful life of health blossoms. When you pray, fasting, you would have a healthy life. As we lack this prayerful life, we live in constant affliction. Mostly we are not bothered about healthy living. I can share with you many testimonies. In diseases and different accidents, because I was in prayer, the Lord had mercy on me and saved me, and leads till now with health. Not only do we have health in us through prayer, but also in others when we pray for others with faith. He hears the prayer we offer in His presence and saves us from evil spirits and spirits of infirmity and makes us live healthy.
“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Our prayers should be accompanied by thanksgiving. Thus we can have peace in life, and our mind and heart will be protected. We will not be subjected to vain thoughts. Some stumble and stagger with no peace in life and even detest this life and take wrong decisions. Dearly beloved in Christ, Jesus Christ came as the Prince of Peace. He gives peace in our boundaries. He prevents all those troubles that come from children, and makes them channels of peace for the parents. Thus He encourages us. We can see peace in our children through His teachings. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. He is the cause of peace in our lives. He lives in our midst even today.
“So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” Daniel 6:28
The Lord God helps us to run a race of victory. Daniel daily sought the Lord in prayer. Throughout his time he had victory through prayer. Prayer brings us victory. It gives victory over our enemies. Elijah always stood before the Lord and therefore the Lord gave him a plan. The Lord wanted to demonstrate that He alone was God before the prophets of Baal and so taught him and guided him. As he did according to the plan that the Lord gave him, his prayer before the prophets of Baal was answered by the Lord - He sent fire and everything on the altar was burnt up. Prayer not only brings answers but also victory over our enemies. Dear Brother/ Sister, as you meditate on these words, understand that prayer gives a victorious life. If you need success in life, or health or peace or joy or wisdom, resort to prayer. Whoever asks receives. According to the word of the Lord, offer your prayer to the Lord who hears and answers. He will do a miracle. So, let us offer our prayer before the Lord of love and receive miracles.
May the Lord bless us!
In the service of Christ,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.