Hello! A blessed and refreshing day to you my dearly beloved! I welcome you to ARISE Devotional for today, Friday the 8th of November 2024 on the platform of the Builders Forum.
I am Abraham Olufemi Ojeme. Today is the fifth day of our devotional series for this week with the topic, ENGAGING THE KINGDOM CULTURE IN RUNNING THE RACE OF DESTINY.
Let me quickly refresh our minds with how far we have gone on this topic since the beginning of the week as follows; We defined culture as the predominating attitudes or behaviors of a people or organization and that it is a way of life. As a church, we have a culture that is peculiar to us by which we are identifiable and that makes us a kingdom.
A kingdom is defined as the domain or jurisdiction of a King. Depending on the power of the king, the kingdom is a place of influence and for us believers, the kingdom is within us and Jesus is the presiding King. We affirmed that there are indicators for the culture of this kingdom.
We have looked at three of these indicators. These are, the apostles doctrine, fellowship and the breaking of bread. We listed out different acids tests as checklists for each one of them.
These check lists are characteristics of these indicators. May I request that you please listen to the all earlier editions of the week again and again. Hallelujah! Today, we are looking at the fourth indicator of the culture of the kingdom and that is PRAYER.
Take a listen again to our scriptural text in Acts. 2:42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Note, that just like the other indicators, they continued steadfastly in prayers. This is not jumping on God anytime you have a need. Prayer is a relationship issue. If you check the earlier chapter in Acts. 1:14. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. You will see the same word prayer used here, but it is stated that it was also done continually.
Oftentimes when prayer was mentioned in the book of Acts of Apostle, it was done continually. Even when there was distraction as a result of population explosion, it was prayer they resorted to.
Take a listen to Acts. 6:4. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And look at it again, it was not a quick-fix prayer. It was an issue of again and again. It was a lifestyle.
The word prayer above is proseuchomai in Greek and it means to make a supplication. The word prayer as far as the early Christians were concerned, was a judicial term just like communication between a lawyer and the Judge in the court of law.
It was discussions based on standards, familiar to both parties. As a matter of fact, they had a reference and language that both parties understood very well. Prayer for them was not talking from emotions but making submissions from the constitution.
And our constitution as believers is the Bible. That is our reference standard. Take a listen to Apostle John in 1 Jn. 5:14-15.14 – And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 – And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
There is a proviso here. Before you begin to pray, you must know His will concerning the issue you want to pray about. As a matter of fact, Jesus taught us to only pray His will and nothing else in the Lord’s Prayer template in Matt. 6:9-10. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 – Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Except it is in line with His will in heaven, don’t expect it to be done here on the earth.
Remember that the purpose of the kingdom is to replicate heaven here on the earth. So, if prayer must make sense, the inquiry we make must be in line with His will in heaven.
But how do you know His will in heaven concerning the issue you are praying about? This is where the Holy Spirit comes on the prayer altar. As a matter of fact, the Bible makes it clear that we don’t even know what we need to pray for as we ought to.
Take a listen to Rom. 8:26-27 and please permit me to read AMP translation. “In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
The Holy Spirit is your connection to the will of God. You cannot assume, you must crosscheck with Him. My friend, prayer doesn’t begin with you just pouring out your heart onto God. Prayer begins with knowing the will of God for your life concerning that situation. That is why Jesus mandatorily instructed us to depend on the person of the Holy Spirit when it comes to knowing the will of the Father.
Take a listen to Him in Jn. 16:12-13. and please permit me to read the CEV translation. 12 – I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. 13 – The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen.
Dependence on the Holy Spirit in prayer was a lifestyle issue for the believers in the early church. Take a listen to the language of the apostles in the early church in Acts. 15:28 – For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; They were believers who reasoned with the Holy Spirit in arriving at conclusions.
Isn’t that what prayer is supposed to be my friend? It is coming to conclusions on matters, not based on emotions and feelings, but on the will of God as revealed to you by the Holy Spirit? Hallelujah!
This is what makes the prayer room a place of pleasurable communion with the Godhead. Take a listen to Jer. 33:3- Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. The word CALL above is qârâ in Hebrew and it means figuratively to address God familiarly by name.
There are names you will call somebody, that indicate a particular level of intimacy. That is what God requires of you in prayers.
He wants you to communicate with Him on the platform of your Calvary relationship with Him. And Jesus said we are not to do this once in a while but to do it always without fainting. Take a listen to Lk. 18:1 and please permit me to read the ISV translation – Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray all the time and never give up.
My friend, prayer must be a lifestyle but then, how can you always pray and not be weary without the Holy Spirit? You see, prayer is not just bombarding God with our requests. It is about fellowship with the Father by the Holy Spirit to receive revelation and strength on a continuous basis for the journey of life.
You cannot have this kind of lifestyle and have a dull moment as a believer. This lifestyle of prayer was a life-wire for the believers of the early church. Let us also imbibe this same kingdom culture.
Trust me, it is always a wonderful experience in the Lord. From today, you will never have a dull moment on the altar of prayer. Amen!
Please, I look forward to you joining me as I minister at the JESUS OUR HEALER 2024 CONVENTION of the PHD ministries in the UK tonight and tomorrow.
The details of the program will be posted again later today on our social media platforms. See you there!
Please let me pray for you. The prayer altar will no longer be place of frustration for you. Be baptized with the spirit of grace and supplication today for a glorious experience with the Holy Spirit on the altar of prayer.
No more fire-fighting for you in the prayer room. From today, prayer becomes a lifestyle of revelation and strength. From today, your prayer room becomes a show room. From today, all your presumptions are converted to precision. I decree that every of your confusion is replaced with direction. You will not be weary in the journey of life. Receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit in every details of your life.
Welcome to a life of fulfillment. Congratulations. Amen and amen. Peace!