Saturday 9 July 2011

Some things I have learnt about prayer...

What do you do when things go horribly wrong or when there's a lot coming at you at d same time and you feel overwhelmed or you are just plain... dare I say it... scared?

Cover yourself in prayer... it seems pretty basic but you'd b amazed how many times the enemy talks us out of praying either by trying to make us feel guilty for getting scared or we just get plain lazy or are too busy worrying...

Friend get ye praying...
Get thee to a good old holy roller prayer meeting where there are brethren praying & you can be lifted up... A wonderful woman of God used to tell me 'Sister Lara as long as you can still sit, get yourself to a prayer meeting' and if there is something I learnt from this woman of God and her Pastor husband it was the power of prayer...

There seems to be a lot I'd like to share on prayer, so I'll post this message as a series...

There are several types of prayer and there are several ways you can feel when facing difficulty, my goal is to share scripture and truth on how we should address each situation...

I was reading 2 Chronicles 20 today, it's one chapter that I really like because it encourages me and because Jehoshaphat was so plain. "Brother Jeho" did not form, he was not a "former". Those not familiar with this Nigerian Urban English... to form means to pretend, to hide who you are, to give an impression other than what is. 

The bible says in verse 3 that 'And Jehoshaphat feared...'  However he did not just stop at being afraid, he went beyond himself, he went beyond fear (we can all get scared though we don't always have to but we can). The bible goes on to say that he 'set himself to seek the Lord'. Jehoshaphat ran to God, he humbled himself and prayed, he told God 'for we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You' verse 12b. Jehoshaphat knew he could not face the multitude on his own and he acknowledged that before God, he knew he was afraid and yep he ran to Daddy...

Neither did he let satan beat him down with the fear, he went to the only place where fear can be turned to faith...he went before God. The bible says in Proverbs 25 vs 26 that 'a righteous man who falters before the wicked, is like a murky spring and polluted well.'

Two things Jehoshaphat did: he did not retreat before the enemy and he sought the Lord where the fear was dealt with, God said 'do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you' 17b

There is a point where fear has to end and faith start, however you may not reach that point until you get on your knees before God in prayer like this... Father I am overwhelmed & afraid but O God is it not You Who created the heavens, the moon and all the stars, my eyes are on You, I am here before you waiting to see what You will do for me, I will wait on you, I will come here everyday and kneel before You and wait on You...

Next time lets talk about how to unlock that faith in the place of prayer.....

4 comments:

Mbabazi said...

i aim to seek God in all times through prayer especially with hard times. its hard sometimes but i keep trying and its worth it in e end
thanks lara. keep up the blog

Lara said...

Always good to hear from you Mbabazi, keep on keeping the faith. I hope you will enjoy the next two posts after this one, it delves a little bit more into prayer & faith.

Caleb Abas said...

Thank you, beloved sister,for your insight on prayer. Indeed the word of God is new every morning. That is exactly what revelation does - bringing light and fresh perspective to ever abiding word of God. I have always seen prayer as the bonding language, (divine in its nature) between God and His children. To be a child of God, and not able to pray, is like being a fish which has difficulty swimming. Strange you will say.

Lara said...

Pastor Abas, it's so great to read your comment on the blog so much I have learnt about prayer & it's power - I learnt from you and Aunty Joke. Thanks for being such a blessing!