The Christian faith is very easy to practice. The Lord will never ask anyone of His children to be doing, what they can’t get done. As the Apostle Paul said:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13 NKJV
The ability of any Christian to be able to do exploits with his faith is dependent on him alone. To be effective in practicing the Christian faith, each one of us must be able to know the will of God in all situations and be willing to submit to them. God’s Spirit lives in you to lead you and to guide you into doing all things. All things are not difficult to do, if we are yielding to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
The Prayer life of a Christian is an important part of the practice of his Christian faith. Nothing new happens in the life of a child of God without prayer. Jesus taught us to never give when praying. He said:
“So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. … If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Luke 11:9-10, 13 NKJV
Jesus is the One Who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. And to be able to pray effectively it is important for the believer in Christ to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit opens us up into the world of the supernatural, where all things are possible with our faith.
As an example, every Christian parent knows how to give good gifts to their children. How much more will God the Father not give us whatever we are asking for in our prayers to Him.
Persistency in prayer is the key to getting our prayers answered. That’s why Jesus said we should keep asking, seeking and knocking until we get the answers to our prayers.
A lot of people normally quit once they had said “Amen” in prayer. However it’s from the moment when we say the “Amen” in prayer, that the work of faith begins. Some are looking at their surroundings, instead of them to keep on looking on to Jesus – the Author and Finisher of their faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The best way to stay in faith as we keep on asking and knocking is to stay in love, while praying more often in the spirit and by the Spirit. We keep on praying until the Lord begins to give us the revelation into the answer for the prayer.
This was why Jude advised us:
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,”
Jude 1:20 NKJV
Your most holy faith for the answer to the prayer has to be built up, by praying in tongues or in the Holy Spirit. Just because you had asked and knocked does not mean that, you have to quit building up your faith. We develop in our faith every day so as to be exactly like God. Praying in tongues helps us to understand the mind of God towards us, concerning our prayers to Him.
God will never withhold any good thing from us as His children. If whatever you are asking the Father for has scriptures to support it, you will definitely receive what you have requested in prayer from Him, if only you will not give up.
That was why Jesus said we should keep on asking and knocking until we get our petition granted by the Lord. Praying in tongues keeps your focus stronger on what you are believing the Lord for.
If your child asks you for something, you do know that your own child will keep on reminding you of it; especially if you have promised to buy it for him. God’s written word is His promise to us. And He will definitely do what His written word says He will do, because He loves us more than we do love our own children.
The Psalmist says:
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.”
Psalms 84:11 NKJV
The Lord God will freely give you what you are asking for in prayer. Prayer without faith in God and in His written word is meaningless. It won’t produce any result.
Watch out for the invisible enemies
There are however invisible enemies all around you on this earth and in the heavens, who don’t want you to practice your faith before the Lord through prayer. The devil and his cohorts will do everything possible to stop you from praying, most especially if you are not being aggressive enough in your prayer life.
And if they can’t stop you from praying at all, they will do everything possible to hinder the answers to your prayers. They will bring all kinds of temptations across your pathway, because they wants you to sin against your Heavenly Father; and eventually they will use those trespasses to hinder the answer to your prayer.
It’s just as your child may forfeit the promise that you gave to him, by doing what he knows that he is not supposed to be doing. When your child does something bad, you may insist on an apology and correction of his bad behavior, before fulfilling your promise to him. You will do this because, you want him to grow up into maturity about handling that issue.
The Lord treats you as you are treating your own children. He wants us to be walking uprightly before Him, so that we won’t keep on falling into the temptations of the enemy. The Lord is more interested in building a strong character in us, that will make us to be just like Him.
A godly character development is more important to the Lord, than the things that you are believing Him for. He of course wants to give it to you, but your spiritual life in eternity is more important than those things. Everything in this world will always depreciate with their value, but the things of the spirit don’t ever depreciate. They are eternal.
The Lord knows everything about the invisible enemies, who are hindering the answer to your prayers. He sees what the devil and his cohorts are doing against you as a child of God. He alone can guide and lead you to be praying more effectively, so that you can be making the necessary progress to prosper in your Christian life. And you do need the Lord always on your side, to be successful against every plan of the enemy.
Your prosperity in life therefore has to be matched up with your Christian character. You do need a godly character to be able to carry the prosperity anointing over your life. The lack of godly character will destroy you, and make you unfruitful with the blessing of the Lord.
The Lord will never put unnecessary burdens in your pathway in life, that may prevent your prayers from being answered. Sicknesses and diseases are examples of unnecessary burdens from the devil.
Poverty is also a curse from the devil and his cohorts. God does not make people sick or poor to teach them a lesson. These are the lies and deceptions of the devil to hinder your prayer life. But unfortunately, there are many who do believe in these lies and deceptions of the devil.
The Lord wants you to enjoy and not endure things
We pray to God, the Father in the name of Jesus, who had already told us emphatically:
“And in that day, you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
John 16:23-24 NKJV
According to Jesus in these scripture texts the reason why we do pray, is so that our joy may be full and complete before Him. The Lord wants us to be full of joy always when we come into His presence. He loves to see you full of joy, as you receive the answer to your prayer.
And you can be joyful at all times because the Holy Spirit, who gives joy lives inside of you. You have to be praying in the Holy Spirit, so as to be able to continually stir up the Spirit of joy within your heart.
Joy is spiritual, while being happy has to do with your feelings and emotional state. Joy comes from the bottom of your heart, but it has to be stirred up. You may feel happy, but being joyful is deeper than that.
Praying in the Holy Spirit therefore gives you joy. This is important for positioning yourself for the answer to your prayers. You receive the answer to your prayers with joy, instead of sadness. God does not want to see you in sadness of heart. Especially when you do know that your answer is already guaranteed, based on what the Bible says.
Why is the confession of your faith important?
The essential part of prayer that makes the devil to fear you most is your confession of faith.
The Apostle Paul once repeated God’s command for us in prayer, as primarily delivered through Moses to the Israelites in the Old Testament. The command of the Lord can be found in Romans 10:6-13. When we are practicing what these scripture texts says as New Testament Believers, we will become unstoppable by the devil and his cohorts.
And none of these words of command and instruction are hard at all to do. The most important part of them all is this:
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:10 NKJV
You have to believe with the heart, before what is believed in your heart can begin to overflow through your mouth by confessing it. What you believe in your heart has nothing to do with your feelings. Faith is of the heart and not of the head.
Your brain and the mind may struggle to initially get adapted to what your heart believes. But as you continue to renew your mind, by meditating on what you do believe with the heart, you will be surprised to find out that you are no longer interested in your sinful pasts. Meditating on God’s word every day has a way of transforming your mind, to start thinking and talking like God.
This is how people who are struggling with addictions can overcome them. It’s not going to happen overnight, but eventually it will happen. There is no addiction in life which can’t be overcome in this way.
The confession of the promises of God through the mouth of the believer, is part of the demonstration of his faith. A silent Christian is not demonstrating anything at all. Faith is demonstrated by speaking God’s word that is believed with the heart. We release our faith in prayer through the confession of what is believed with the heart.
God’s word rules in the spiritual world from where the invisible enemies operates. God’s word overrules everything that the invisible enemies are doing in the spiritual realm against you.
Keep your eyes on God’s word
The best way to start seeing results in your prayer life, is by paying attention to God’s word, instead of your life’s circumstances. King Solomon said:
“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.”
Proverbs 4:20-27 NKJV
To incline towards something is to be paying particular attention to that thing. God’s word is what needs to be the center of our attention, as we are waiting for answers to our prayers.
Whatever is going on around you is a distraction to the workings of God’s word in your life. The world around you is always changing, but God’s word is unchanging. His word can change everything that you are praying about, if you will incline your heart to it.
That’s why Paul said:
“So, then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17 NKJV
Faith comes through the entrance of God’s word to the heart of the believer in Christ. The mind or head needs God’s word also to get renewed. But the mind or the head can’t produce biblical faith. The mind is vulnerable to being affected by what is going on around you.
Faith in God is never reliant on your circumstances at all. Faith focuses on what God’s word says. God’s kind of faith is reliant on what God’s word says. And that’s why it’s important to be paying attention to it as you are praying.
God will never change His word to fit into the feelings of men. And the answer to your prayer will come through His word to you. You will need to stop paying attention to your feelings and those worldly viewpoints, for God’s word to reign over all your circumstances.
God’s word is believed with the heart, but the confession of faith is always through the mouth.
Hold on fast, and don’t waver
That’s why the writer of the book of Hebrews says:
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
Hebrews 4:14 NKJV
The inability of many to keep holding on to what is being confessed before the Lord in prayer is a hindrance to receiving their answers.
A lot of Christians are holding on to their circumstances. And as long as they are holding on to their circumstances, their circumstances will never change. The devil will make sure that they are not holding on to what they had confessed before the Lord.
Circumstances are meant to be laid off at the feet of Jesus. He alone is the burden Carrier, Who can get rid of the circumstances for anyone.
Just because you have said “Amen” in prayer does not mean that God’s presence is not with you anymore. He is always with you everywhere you go. You need the eye of faith to be able to see the Lord at work around you, after saying the “Amen” to your prayer.
The Lord sees everything that you are doing with the eye of faith alone. He believes everyone of your confessions before Him. And He expects to see your actions matching up with what is being confessed. Don’t let the devil push your eyes away from focusing on God’s word.
We hold on to the confession of our faith by focusing on God’s word:
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV
The boldness of any Christian in prayer is demonstrated by holding on to the same thing, that is being confessed before the Lord in prayer without wavering. Some people can’t hold on to the confession of their faith, because they are wavering with their confessions.
They will say one thing with their confession before the Lord; but as soon as they leave the place of prayer they will start wavering in their faith.
Apostle James advised us that when we pray:
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:6-8 NKJV
A double-minded person is wavering in faith before the Lord. Such a person will confess the right thing in prayer, but he will start speaking like the non believers, who are in the same circumstances around him after praying.
If you are not sure of what you ought to be saying after you had prayed, it’s better to keep the mouth shut. Some people don’t know how to keep quiet, until the Lord gives them the answers to their prayers. They will run their mouth so wide before their enemies, until the evil forces will begin to change their confessions for them.
We need to be bold in declaring what is believed before the Lord at all times. We also need to be bold against the devil. The Bible says:
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16 NKJV
The Bible also says:
“The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.”
Proverbs 28:1 NKJV
Spiritual boldness is essential for any Christian to be holding on to with the confession of faith. The devil flees in terror of who you are, with your spiritual boldness against him in prayer. He is irritated and uncomfortable with bold Christians. He likes the Christians who are lukewarm and compromising with their faith in prayer.
And you shall be established
These are some of the essentials of the prayer life of a Christian. The world around many Christians is being manipulated by the devil to make them compromise their confession of faith, as they’re praying.
They are quick in turning to the world so as to start speaking like the people of the world, after confessing something else before the Lord in prayer. Then they start wondering why their prayers are not being answered.
The Bible says that we should:
“Pray without ceasing,”
I Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV
Prayer and intercession never ends. After you had said “Amen” you have to continue without ceasing, to make the good confession of your faith. You do this without ceasing, until you receive the answers. And after receiving the answers you must continue with the same confession of faith to keep your miracles.
Don’t let the devil steal your miracles. You will have to leave this world, if you don’t want to be praying anymore. And the devil will make sure that it happens. He is the thief who has come to steal, to kill and to destroy.
That’s why it’s impossible to understand Christians who can’t be praying, even when everything around them points to the fact that they should be praying more and more often. There are manifestations of evil works all around them, but they are not praying.
The Bible says to pray without ceasing or without breaking away from the attitude of faith in prayerful confessions. This is the right attitude in everything that we are doing as Christians.
Attitude is everything in the practice of the Christian faith. What is your attitude towards prayer as a child of God?
What is your response to the prayer requests from the pulpit of your Church? Do you see it as a burden? Or is it a requirement for you in demonstrating your love for the Lord and His people?
You ought to be praying for others also, instead of seeking the deceitfulness of the world through prayer. The devil is more concerned about your prayer life, because of the dangers that you are posing to him.
The enemy knows that God is touched and moved by your prayers and intercessions.
This is what the Bible says is happening when you come before the Lord with prayer and intercession:
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”
Hebrews 12:22-24 NKJV
All of Heaven’s resources are made available to you, when you are purposed with your heart to be prayerful. Anything can happen at any time when you are praying. Pray without ceasing!
The new year is yours and yours alone to lose to the enemy. Don’t allow the enemy to steal your joy in prayer. Keep your eyes on God’s word and keep on praying in the spirit, as you continue with the good confession of your faith. Victory is guaranteed for you this year. You are an overcomer! Be steadfast in faith. Hold on to your confession of faith.
