DIMENSIONS IN PRAYER
(First part)
Memory verse (Mtt7: 7): “ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you ".
Prayer is a spiritual journey. Prayer is the expression of ones heart towards God. It’s written that what fills the heart, the mouth speaks. Prayer is a heart-activity that finds its true expression through the mouth. What comes out of the man’s mouth has a lot to say about what is happening in his heart. The contents of a man’s heart flows out through his mouth, and prayer is born in the heart and flows out of the mouth (Luke 6: 45).
Your prayerfulness is determined by your spirituality, i.e. the depth of your spirituality determines the depth of your prayer. Spirituality has dimensions, even so is prayer. As a man is so is his prayer. A natural man prays natural prayers, a carnal believer prays carnal prayers, and a spiritual believer prays spiritual prayer. Your prayer life can never go beyond your spirituality.
The flesh can only produce fleshly prayers and the spirit produces spiritual prayers. Believers have different dimensions of spirituality, there are spiritual babies, spiritual little children, spiritual young men and women, spiritual sons and spiritual fathers. So, the level of your spirituality determines the dimension of your prayer life (Jn3: 6)
God’s will for every one of his children is to grow in our prayer life from glory to glory, from one dimension to another, from power to power, from one dimension of experience to another, from fleshly prayer life to spiritual prayer life, from fruitless prayer life to fruitful prayer life, to much fruitful prayer life, from selfish prayer life to self-less intercessory prayer life. From prayers that change your circumstances to prayers that change your life, people around you, your family, your community, school, work-mates and nations. From prayers that touch you to prayers that touch men, God and shake hell’s gates.
It’s high time you started your prayer journey. If you’ve already started your prayer expedition, then it’s time to get to the next dimension of prayerfulness. You have not arrived yet until you have seen Jesus face to face.
Tomorrow’s subject: “ The prayer of asking ”.
(Second part)
Memory verse (Mark 11: 24): " Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them "
Asking is the most elementary level of prayer for every believer. This kind of prayer enables a believer to receive from God all things that have been made available to us through Christ. In this dimension of prayer, you need to know your rights as a child of God and the things that God has freely given to us through Christ (1Cor 2:12, 1Pet1: 3-4).
The parable of a prodigal son reveals to us some one who knew and understood well what it meant to be a son and the right of sonship. He knew that he was a son and understood that everything the father had belonged to him. So he went ahead and asked with confidence and he received. So many believers don’t understand who they are and what their rights are as children of God and they miss out on all that God has for them. The only problem the prodigal son had was that he had evil intentions in his heart and he didn’t know the value of his relationship with his father. Many believers don’t receive because they don’t ask and others don’t receive because they ask with evil and fleshly motives (Jam4: 2-3)
Jesus taught about this prayer of asking and he said, “ Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full ” (Jn16: 24). It’s the joy of our heavenly Father to give us all things that are beneficial to our lives and fulfillment of our heavenly assignments in the earth. Jesus said: “ if your evil fathers have the ability to give their children good things, how much more would our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask ", other translations, say: “ How much more would our heavenly Father give good things to those who ask.” (Luk11: 13). You ask what is rightfully yours. We ask because whatever our heavenly Father has is ours as children of God, (Jn1: 12, Rom8: 16-17). Because we are sons, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Beloved, perhaps until now you had not asked, ask and you will receive. Ask through the name of Jesus, ask by faith, ask with pure and kingdom motives. Ask, ask and ask. Ask all things that pertain to your life, family needs, ministry needs, marriage needs, financial needs, children needs, business needs etc. All of us believers we have needs in different areas of our lives, mature or immature, so our Father expects us to ask.
Tomorrow’s subject: “ The dimension of knocking ”
(Third part)
Memory verse (Mtt7: 7): “ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you ".
There is a place where you get in prayer and feel as though all ways are shut up, heaven seems to be closed over your life, prayers seem like bouncing against a metallic wall. Have you come to a place in life and you feel unsatisfied by where you are, your level of preaching, your level of worship, you feel that where you are is not where God wants you to be. You sense that there is more that should come out of your life and ministry; you sense that there is a better dimension where God wants you to be, you sense that God has created you for something bigger and worthwhile?
You look at your life all you see is unfruitfulness, you feel limited in everywhere. I don’t know whether am talking to someone out there. You feel like someone in the prison, you feel a great and mighty wall all around you, with impenetrable and unbreakable doors and roof. Are going through a life where you seem to see no way out? I have news for you: It’s God who brings to that kind of feeling. God wants to take you somewhere but he has to make sure you are disgusted with your current situation and condition.
I remember way back in 1996, when the Lord called me into the ministry. My prayer life was just dead. My eyes were opened to see another place where God wanted to be. Then I made a decision, and I started to pray. I began to wake up to pray every morning by myself, but I tell you what, for days, months… I felt like someone in a prison house trying with all my strength to break out. There was no breakthrough but I refused to give up, I persisted year after year until Jesus began to open the heavens and began to pour his Spirit upon my life. Bless God am free now and enjoying flowing in the river of God.
Jesus has the keys of David (Rev3: 7-8), as you keep on keeping praying constantly, consistently, with hunger and thirst, with a vision to get to another level, He will open a door before you and no devil in hell will be able to shut it. He promised to go ahead of you and he will open the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron asunder. Knock, knock, he is just about to open for you. Your breakthrough is nearer than you think.
Tomorrow’s subject: “ The dimension of intercession ”
(Fourth part)
Memory verse (Ezek22: 30): " So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one ".
In the journey of prayer we start from outside going inside God’s presence. The tabernacle of Moses is a good illustration for this. The journey began outside where the offerings were killed, then they proceeded into the outer courts where the priest washed up, they proceeded into the holy place where there were the lamp stand, the showbread and an altar and finally in the Holy Holies where God’s mercy seat was and where only the high priest entered once a year to offer the blood for atoning of the sins of the nation.
We start the prayer journey in the flesh then into the Spirit. As we go from the flesh into the spirit, God’s presence begins to soak us with his love. As we move away from the flesh and go deeper and deeper in the Spirit, we stop seeing our selves and begin to see other people. We cease to see our needs and begin to see other people’s needs, we begin to be burdened by other people’s burdens, and troubled by other’s troubles, we begin to weep with those who weep. We begin to carry burdens of peoples, cities, families and nations to God in prayer. The intercessor bridges the gap between man and God. In intercession we close the separation between Man and God. In intercession we connect men with God. Abraham stood before God for Lot and his life was saved. Moses stood before God for Israel and pleaded with God for Israel and God had mercy on them. Intercession averts God’s judgment, intercession brings God’s purpose to pass for the people and nations, intercession brings God’s intervention, intercession brings revival upon nations, and intercession destroys Satan’s hold over nations and cities.
God wants to bring you to a dimension of prayer that is so fruitful and fulfilling, i.e. when you start to pray for others needs. You begin to get great joy as you see God move in other people’s lives and circumstances through prayers. Until you begin to live for other people you will never know the joy of life. God’s purpose for the church, i.e. for you and me is to receive life and give it out to others (Jn7: 37-38), but the world’s philosophy of life is give and take. It’s time you get out of your way and begin to intercede for others.
Tomorrow’s subject: “ The dimension of Thanksgiving ”
(Fifth part)
Memory verse (Phil4: 6): " Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God ".
Prayer is like a cake; it takes a lot of ingredients to make it complete, healthy and delicious. Our prayer life needs to iced and creamed with thanksgiving. Thanks giving spice-up our prayers and make them a sweet aroma unto our heavenly Father.
As the Spirit of God leads us deeper and deeper in the river of his presence in prayer, our hearts are flooded with joy, peace and presence of God; the Holy Spirit draws us nearer and nearer to God. The closer we get to God, the more his presence permeates the deeper fibers of our lives and this brings healing of our emotions, body, our minds are renewed and we become more aware of God more than ourselves. The more you lose sight of yourself and see God more and more (2Cor3: 18), the more you lose sight of your needs, problems and conditions. Then worship begin to flow out of your heart unto God, this dimension of prayer is full of praise, worship and thanksgiving.
When you see God for who he is, you directly realize that he is all you have ever needed. The more you draw near to God, you lose sense of time and space, you just want to stay there forever Matt17: When the glorious presence of God enveloped Jesus and the his disciple i.e. Peter, James and John, Peter said: “ Lord it’s good that we stay here ”
The deeper you get in God’s presence the longer you stay there. The deeper you get in God’s presence the deeper his impact in your heart, and the deeper his work in your heart the greater the dimension of joy that flows out of your heart, and the greater the joy the greater the thanksgiving that flows out of your heart to God. Thanksgiving is not faked but it’s the direct product of the impact of God’s presence in your life. Beloved saints, the Spirit of the Lord is beckoning us to allow him to draw us deeper and deeper into God's presence. There is another place in God where everything in this world lose meaning to you and God becomes your precious treasure. God wants to bring you to that place full of life and joy i.e. full of thanks. God wants you to get drunk of the Holy Spirit and you will be bananas for Jesus!!!!
Tomorrow’s subject, “ Dimension of seeking God’s face ”
(Sixth part)
Memory verse (Ps27:8): " When You said, seek My face, my heart said to you, your face, Lord, I will seek ”
The deeper you get in prayer the closer you get to God (Jam4:8) and the closer you get to God the more you lose sense of who you are (Ex34: 29). There is a place where you get in prayer and discover that being in God’s presence is more vital to you than ministry, preaching, prosperity, and all the things that God can give you or use you to do.
Moses was a man whom God used in amazing ways, no man in the old testament was used by God in wonders, signs and miracles like him, but Moses came to a place where he felt a greater hunger and thirst for something greater. Every meaning servant of God could have thought that Moses had arrived, but Moses felt a dissatisfaction for something more than miracle, something more than the wonders, more and more, he cried out to God: “show me your face” (Ex33: 13-18). In fact , God spoke with Moses face to face (Ex 33:11) . The destination of prayer is the place where we can speak to God face to face, i.e. intimacy. God wants to take you from tele-prayer life to intimate-prayer life. God created us to live with him, walk with him and work with him. Being with him is all we were created for and forever we will be with him (1Thess4: 16-17). Jesus promised to come back and take us to be with him where he is.
All we do for God must come out of our being with Him. Our relationship with God must be prized above our service for him. Today many dear saints are only chasing God’s hands. They seek God for what he can give them or do for them. This is not sin, it is okay and it’s scriptural, but the problem is that many see salvation as a mean of getting all they could ever dream of from God. Brothers and sisters, there is a high place in prayer and high purpose for prayer, in fact prayer is not about what you get from God, the prime purpose of prayer is to get you into the presence of God.
God getting you into his presence is more important than what you get out of God’s presence. God commanded David: "seek my face". I believe God is speaking to someone out there to begin seeking his face. I know the Lord care about you and he will take care of all your needs, but you need the Lord more than all the things he can ever give to you. Seek him, seek him, seek him…………
NICE SEEKING THIS WEEKEND!!!!
