Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people) (Ephesians 6:18-20 - Amplified).
Religious ideas block the importance of prayer. The ones I’m speaking of are the ones that tell you that God is in control of everything. And yes, in His sovereignty He is in control of the full scope of things from beginning to the end. But for now, because of Adam’s failure, he has ceded control to us. Adam’s dominion (Genesis 1:26) was given to Satan when Adam failed. Satan became the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 14:30; 1 John 5:19), which means for a limited time in the scope of eternity, Satan has a legal right to steal, kill, and destroy.
Due to Adam’s disobedience and subsequent transfer of legal, God-given authority to Satan, God must obtain legal permission through prayer to invade our circumstances. It’s obvious that God’s will is not being carried out in much of life. It’s not His will that divorces occur, that children are abused, that people are maimed or killed in wrecks and disasters, that wars ravage a nation, that churches split, that people are murdered, that crooks steal, etc.
Prayer is our invitation to the Father to once again invade our circumstances and bring change. Prayer is us using our legal authority in Christ to invoke God’s help in the intricacies of life. Prayer is giving God legal permission to work in a situation or individual. Without our asking in prayer, God is hindered in providing help.
So don’t buy into the religious notion that God is in charge of everything, so just let it happen! In prayer ask for His aid and help in every circumstance you encounter! We are laborers together with God!
Because praying in faith and praying in the spirit are such powerful weapons, the enemy seeks to keep the saints from praying. He usually does this by making them so busy that they just don’t fit prayer into their schedule. Don’t buy into this! Make time to pray!
I’ll leave you with some random quotes from E.M. Bounds' book The Weapon of Prayer, pages 7 -12:
He rules the world as He rules the church, through prayer. When the church is in the condition of prayer, God’s cause always flourishes, and His kingdom on earth always triumphs. When the church fails to pray, God’s cause decays, and evil of every kind prevails. God works through the prayers of His people, and when they fail Him at this point, decline and deadness follow. Praying saints are God’s agents for carrying on His saving and providential work on earth. If His agents fail Him, neglecting to pray, then His work fails. Praying agents of the Most High are always forerunners of spiritual prosperity. How we estimate and place prayer is hoe we estimate and place God. To give prayer a secondary place is to make God secondary in life’s affairs. When Satan can keep us too busy to stop and pray, he has effectively disarmed us!
Friday, March 27, 2009
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Pastor Mitch, Do you pray about the weather? Such as if the weather people are predicting nasty storms coming our way do you pray about that? And if so do you take authority over the storm or speak to the storm or what do you do?
ReplyDeleteGod has promised me supernatural protection, bottom line. If a storm is threatening, I take authority over it in the name of Jesus, and i I tell the enemy to leave my stuff and my family alone!. I thank the Father for the angels of God that surround me and my family and my property.
ReplyDeleteA few times in the past, I've felt led by the Lord to command a storm to dissipate or I've asked the Lord that ti cause no damage or personal harm to anyone.
We're living in a different time right now. Some things will begin to happen that are attached to this time period just before "tribulation." And you just have to get the mind of God as to how to pray about it.
Thanks Pastor Mitch. Helpful advice.
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