Now thus saith the Holy Ghost: ‘he that
turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be
abomination.’
From time to time you see men praying here and there, but sad to say, many of
these prayers never reaches the ceiling not to talk of ascending to God. Why?
Because of the state of heart of those praying! Go through the scriptures and
you will discover that God heareth not sinners. My friend, how can you live the
way you like and expect God to hear/honour your prayers?
Prayer is one of the greatest, most satisfying adventures of the Christian faith. The more you pray, the more you know how to pray and the more you will like to pray.
To enter into a praying life, you must have a distinct place to pray in. Learn to depart into a solitary place to pray. Jesus Christ our Lord laid the foundation upon which every Christian must build on, he ‘‘departed into a solitary place’’ to pray (Mark 1.35). Your own solitary place should be a place where you know that you won’t be disturbed while praying.
Prayer is one of the greatest, most satisfying adventures of the Christian faith. The more you pray, the more you know how to pray and the more you will like to pray.
To enter into a praying life, you must have a distinct place to pray in. Learn to depart into a solitary place to pray. Jesus Christ our Lord laid the foundation upon which every Christian must build on, he ‘‘departed into a solitary place’’ to pray (Mark 1.35). Your own solitary place should be a place where you know that you won’t be disturbed while praying.
Daniel’s solitary place was a Chamber in his house (Dan. 6:10). Isaac’s
solitary was the field (Gen. 24:63). Cornelius’ solitary place was his house
(Acts 10:30). Peter’s solitary place was the housetop (Acts 10:9). God visited
Jacob while he prayed alone (Gen. 32:22-24). Jesus never joked with being alone
with God, he prayed alone on the mountain (Matt. 14:23).
There are benefits in being alone with God.
1. When you pray alone, you are not disturbed;
2. Your praying can’t be limited;
3. You can take any posture;
4. It gives you freedom to plan your prayer anyhow anyway;
5. There is freedom of conduct; and
6. It gives you freedom of expression.
This reminds me of a past incidence in a Church I attended in Lagos, Nigeria. When it came to prayer time, the man next to me felt burdened to pray, but he wanted to tell God certain things that he didn’t want me to hear. So he used his native language (which he knew I didn’t understand) to pray, and afterwards changed to English.
My friend, there are certain times that you want to tell God WORDS you don’t want other ears to hear. Praying alone gives you freedom of expression. If prayer is so important to your Christian Life then you must learn to pray at a time when you will be most effective. The time of prayer is important. And I tell you, the best hours of the day are the morning hours.
No wonder David said he ‘‘will awake early’’ (Psalms 57:8). God said they that seek Him early shall find Him (Prov. 8:17). God’s manna can be gotten only in the morning hours (Ex. 16:21). The Psalmist said ‘‘my voice shall thou hear in the morning… in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee (God)’’ (Ps. 5:1-3). God appoints to meet his servants in the Bible always early in the morning.
One of the things that determines whether you love God or not is the choice you make between your bed and seeking God.
Abraham had a custom of getting up early (Gen. 19:27). Prayer is a sacrifice (Ps. 141:2; Pro. 15:8) which Abraham did early in the morning (Gen. 28:18). Moses rose up early morning too (Ex. 9:13). The Bible says, ‘‘the upright shall have dominion over (their enemies) in the morning’’ (Psalm 49:14b). Early morning is a time to drive the Hagar in your life away (Gen. 21:14). Early morning is a time to command your Pharaoh out (Ex. 8:20) Let your fountain be blessed (Pro. 5:18). Let the beginning of your day be full of the riches of communing with God.
Inability to wake up early in the morning and commune with God is symptomatic and points to the fact that you have a sick spiritual life.
Most Ministers of God I know were early risers. John Nelson wakes up by 4.00 a.m. to pray William Bramwell wakes up by 5.00 a.m. to pray and prays at intervals between day time and 10 – 11 p.m. Hudson Taylor of the ‘‘China Interior Mission’’ was an early riser too. Bishop Arch Bury wakes up by 4.00 a.m. to pray. Bishop Kent wakes up by 3.00 a.m. John Wesley said ‘‘I count it to be indiscipline if I can’t wake up by 4.00 a.m. and spend 2 hours in prayers to God.’’ Martin Luther spent 3 hours of the early morning hours to pray to God. Dr. Judson said ‘‘Let the breaking of the dawn find you on your knees.’’ Jesus will never preach without having prayed, so he woke up early (John 8:1-3; Luke 21:38).
There are benefits in being alone with God.
1. When you pray alone, you are not disturbed;
2. Your praying can’t be limited;
3. You can take any posture;
4. It gives you freedom to plan your prayer anyhow anyway;
5. There is freedom of conduct; and
6. It gives you freedom of expression.
This reminds me of a past incidence in a Church I attended in Lagos, Nigeria. When it came to prayer time, the man next to me felt burdened to pray, but he wanted to tell God certain things that he didn’t want me to hear. So he used his native language (which he knew I didn’t understand) to pray, and afterwards changed to English.
My friend, there are certain times that you want to tell God WORDS you don’t want other ears to hear. Praying alone gives you freedom of expression. If prayer is so important to your Christian Life then you must learn to pray at a time when you will be most effective. The time of prayer is important. And I tell you, the best hours of the day are the morning hours.
No wonder David said he ‘‘will awake early’’ (Psalms 57:8). God said they that seek Him early shall find Him (Prov. 8:17). God’s manna can be gotten only in the morning hours (Ex. 16:21). The Psalmist said ‘‘my voice shall thou hear in the morning… in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee (God)’’ (Ps. 5:1-3). God appoints to meet his servants in the Bible always early in the morning.
One of the things that determines whether you love God or not is the choice you make between your bed and seeking God.
Abraham had a custom of getting up early (Gen. 19:27). Prayer is a sacrifice (Ps. 141:2; Pro. 15:8) which Abraham did early in the morning (Gen. 28:18). Moses rose up early morning too (Ex. 9:13). The Bible says, ‘‘the upright shall have dominion over (their enemies) in the morning’’ (Psalm 49:14b). Early morning is a time to drive the Hagar in your life away (Gen. 21:14). Early morning is a time to command your Pharaoh out (Ex. 8:20) Let your fountain be blessed (Pro. 5:18). Let the beginning of your day be full of the riches of communing with God.
Inability to wake up early in the morning and commune with God is symptomatic and points to the fact that you have a sick spiritual life.
Most Ministers of God I know were early risers. John Nelson wakes up by 4.00 a.m. to pray William Bramwell wakes up by 5.00 a.m. to pray and prays at intervals between day time and 10 – 11 p.m. Hudson Taylor of the ‘‘China Interior Mission’’ was an early riser too. Bishop Arch Bury wakes up by 4.00 a.m. to pray. Bishop Kent wakes up by 3.00 a.m. John Wesley said ‘‘I count it to be indiscipline if I can’t wake up by 4.00 a.m. and spend 2 hours in prayers to God.’’ Martin Luther spent 3 hours of the early morning hours to pray to God. Dr. Judson said ‘‘Let the breaking of the dawn find you on your knees.’’ Jesus will never preach without having prayed, so he woke up early (John 8:1-3; Luke 21:38).
My friend, don’t let anything choke your prayer life. The morning watch is a
legacy of Christians of old. In the early morning hours:
1. Your mind is fresh and there is no noise.
2. You have the benefit of breathing morning breeze that has not been contaminated (except for highly industrialized places where production continues through the early hours).
1. Your mind is fresh and there is no noise.
2. You have the benefit of breathing morning breeze that has not been contaminated (except for highly industrialized places where production continues through the early hours).
Sleep early if you have to wake up early. For example if you know that you have
to leave your house for work by 6.00 am, then go to bed early enough so you can
have time to pray before you go out. Sleep in a monster which every Christian
has to fight. Do not love sleep (Pro. 20:13). David said I will not give sleep
to mine eyes… until I find out a place for God (Ps. 132: 4-5) Learn to control
your sleeping habits. The more hours you sleep the more hours you spend
unconscious. Cultivate the habit of standing on your feet as soon as you wake
up.
I recommend kneeling down in prayer to God in your closet. This is humbling,
but rewarding Daniel did it (Daniel 6:10) Paul and the disciples adopted
kneeling down in prayer to God (Acts 20:36; 21:5). Peter knelt to pray too
(Acts 9:40). Jesus, our perfect example knelt down to pray too (Luke 22:41). So
why don’t you?
Pray revival down in the nation you are. The devil trembles as soon as you get on your knees… to pray. Why not pray now?
May the good LORD strengthen our prayer life in Jesus name. Amen.
All scriptures are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Pray revival down in the nation you are. The devil trembles as soon as you get on your knees… to pray. Why not pray now?
May the good LORD strengthen our prayer life in Jesus name. Amen.
All scriptures are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Bro. Adeyinka Adeyemo
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