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“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith” -(2 Thessalonians 3:1-2)

John Wesley, a great man of God, once said, “It appears that God will do nothing except we ask Him.” It’s no wonder that he was credited to have, through prayer, effected remarkable changes in his day, both in his own life and ministry and in the society at large.

In Luke 18:1, Jesus taught that men ought always to pray and not faint. It’s our priestly ministry as believers to pray for our brothers and sisters all over the world, that through them, God’s Word will be preached in the nooks and crannies of their nations.

Paul in his epistles, admonished believers to pray for his missionary work: “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds” (Colossians 4:3). This lets us know that we also must pray that the Holy Spirit will grant the saints all over the world utterance and opportunities to preach the gospel where they are. In the scripture we just read, Paul highlighted two important points: utterance and opportunities. You might have the utterance and not have the opportunity to preach the gospel, and vice versa; this is the reason we must intercede as admonished by the Spirit through Paul in Colossians 4:3.

If every Christian would pray with this consciousness, there will be a great change throughout the world. Also Paul said, “…that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:2). The Greek word translated “delivered” is “rhuomai”; it alludes to the rushing of a current or a flood. By implication, he’s saying that God will rush to deliver- get His people out of the clutches of wicked and unreasonable men, who are against the preaching of the gospel.

Get concerned about what happens to Christians in your nation and around the world, and let your concern drive you to your knees in prayer.

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for making me an intercessor, one to stand in the gap for God’s children all over the world! I live up to this call today, as I pray that you’ll grant utterance, boldness and opportunity to Christians, especially in places where the light of the gospel of Christ’s salvation is dim, to preach your Word with mighty miracles, signs and wonders, in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”- John 10:27

One question many Christians have sought answer for is: “How do I know when the Holy Spirit is talking to me?” The first and most important thing is to receive the Holy Spirit into your heart. When this happens the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within you and mingles with your spirit. The Bible says, “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit…”-(1 Corinthians 6:17), thus you become one with Him. Soon, you’ll hear His voice talking to you from your spirit. Romans 8:16 says the Spirit, “beareth witness with our spirit”; so you’ll have the witness in your spirit that He’s the one talking to you. He is the best One to teach you how to know His voice, so first you receive Him, then He’ll be the One to talk to you and teach you to recognize His voice.
Another important thing to do in knowing the voice of the Spirit is to learn the Word of God, for His voice bears witness with the Word. He never says anything outside the Word. Whatever He tells you is always in sync with the written Word, and consistent with God’s will for your life. John 16:13 says, “ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” If you’re acquainted with the Word, you’ll know whenever the Holy Spirit talks to you, for He always bears witness with the Word, and the Word will always bear witness with Him. His voice and the Scriptures are one.
The Holy Spirit is the Master Communicator and knows the best way to get your attention and talk to you when He needs to. The bible tells us for instance how He set a bush on fire to get Moses’ attention. The bush was burning all right, but it wasn’t consumed. When Moses moved closer to see the strange sight, the Lord spoke out of the bush, but said nothing about the fire. All He needed was Moses’ attention, and He got it. From then on, Moses never needed another burning bush to know when God was talking, for the Lord himself had taught him to discern His voice. He will do the same for you.

Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for sending your Spirit to live within me. I pay attention to him today and always as he speaks to me from your Word, and counsels me from within. And as I yield to Him more and more, I become better acquainted with His voice, in Jesus’ Name. Amen

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” – James 5:16

Many often chastise themselves for not being able to pray for long hours. What is the significance of long prayer times? You might want to ask. Well, God never said we must spend long hours in prayers for Him to hear us. He never told us how long our prayer should be and doesn’t demand from us many hours of prayers as the definition of time by some is. But if you spend long hours, that’s great. Remember, He lives in eternity; therefore, he’s not regulated by minutes and hours as we are in the earth. So, in a sense, the significance or essence of prayer is not in its protraction in terms of the number of hours spent praying. It’s not “how long” you pray that really makes an impact; it’s “how right” you pray.
Many spend long hours in prayer, saying the wrong things, hence their lives are unfulfilled, being void of the spiritual results and impact of prayer. They have missed the true essence of prayer, which is fellowship and communion with the Lord. That communion not only builds your relationship with Him, but also helps transform your personality from glory to glory.
What God wants is for you to spend quality time alone with Him, away from everything else. For example, you’d be amazed how much impact a fifteen or thirty minute time alone with the Lord, spent praying intensely in the Spirit, will produce in your life.
Of Course, it’s desirable and advisable to spend longer periods with the Lord in fellowship. All that’s required is discipline. You have to learn to stay at the place of prayer. For over one year, we’ve been observing intense moments of prayer regularly, as I notify those following on Yookos. And many who have been disciplined enough to participate in the prayer times have shared testimonies of how they were able to go beyond the regular fifteen minutes of prayer to twenty or thirty minutes, and some others to even an hour. This happened, not because they were hitherto doing it but because they found they had so much more to say to the Lord during such blissful atmosphere of fellowship.
The significance of prayer is therefore not its length, especially in the eyes of others; it’s the beauty of fellowshipping with the Most High, away from everything else. That fellowship enriches and strengthens your spirit, while improving your life in a tremendous way.

Prayer: Dear Father, I love you and appreciate every opportunity I have to fellowship with you in prayer. I thank you because those moments I spend alone with you are significant in improving my life and shaping my destiny as I get synchronized with your perfect will for my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen

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