Luke 18: 1-8. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.
1 Samuel 1: 9-18.
Prayer is a two-way communication between God and man, in which the lesser, man is dependent on the higher, God for answers to requests, supplications, and other demands made by the lesser in Prayers.
The point must be made that the relationship between God and man is an unequal one because, whereas man depends on God for fulfilment, peace and salvation, God on the other hand, is Complete on Himself. Man needs God to be complete. Jesus drove this truth in John 15: when He said we can do nothing without Him.
Prevailing means to be insistent, to have mastery over, to be steadfast, consistent, reliable and continuous on what you are asking for until a result is achieved. To be capable of doing a thing in a dogged manner, not fainting or wavering. An action that is unrelenting, a demand to be heard or vindicated or approved to let go. A prayer is prevailing when it’s carried out logically to a conclusive end with tangible result to show. When a prayer is done without giving up until an answer is received .You prevail when you win . And those who win don’t quit. So, prevailers don’t quit. Those who quit can’t prevail in prayer. This is the difference between Esau and Jacob. Or between Lot and Abraham. Or between Cain and Abel. Prevailers build Altars of prayer where they constantly, continuously and intentionally approach God in prayer, worship and Thanksgiving.
Therefore, to be consistent in prayer is to pray as many times as possible. To pray without ceasing. To be regular in prayer.To be persuading, purposeful and penetrating in your demands,requests and supplications. To be untiring. To be unwearied in prayer. To remain steadfast, unwavering and convinced that you will get an answer as the importunate widow in Luke 18.
What are the Ingredients of Prevailing Prayers?
1. Dependence on God. John 15,:1-5.
Yes the number one thing we must recognize if we must prevail in prayers is that we must depend on God. Dependence on God is simply to acknowledge the reality of the Personality who will answer your prayers. And to depend on Him to do so. Prideful people find it difficult to acknowledge their NEED for help. Don’t be that naive. God is supreme and desires to help man. You are God’s target for help. Seek His help.
2. Faith. 1Chronicles 4:9-10.
It is possible that those who were before Jabez had bad times too. But they didn’t do anything about it. Perhaps, they accepted their conditions as it were.
Remember high Priest Eli and how he simply replied young Samuel’s prophetic declaration thus: He’s God, let Him do what seemeth right unto Him. And God wiped out his lineage and generation in just one single battle. Put faith in God and in His capacity to turn things around for you, as He did for Jabez.
The Bible tells us that those who come to God must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who trust in Him diligently. Prevailing Prayers give you that leverage to trust God completely. Hebrews 11:1-6.
3. Patience. Hebrews 10:35-39. 2 Peter 1:5-8.
The widow in Luke 18 was patient. She could have gone back home complaining that the judge didn’t answer her. But she tarried in asking, pushing to get an answer. And she did. Consider Daniel who kept praying for 21 days, even though the answer was despatched on the first day of asking. The Bible says that we have need of patience, after we have done the will of God…
So, we must learn patience in prayers.. Patience keeps us on the knees longer to receive an answer. Patience encourages us not to complain, but to keep praying. Patience emboldens you and strengthens you to have faith in God and His ability to do what you are asking for. Abraham stayed for 25 years to receive Isaac. The woman with the issue of blood was exploited for 12 years before she encountered Jesus for her healing. You too can persevere.
4. Blameless walk with God. Genesis 17:1.
God doesn’t deal with crooked people. Think of Gehazi, Annanias and Sapphira. They lived in crookedness. God abandoned them to their own ways. When you are a prevailing prayer person, you must necessarily shun sinful, dishonest and evil ways because God is Holy and those who worship Him must do so in truth and in spirit. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:1-2 : We have renounced all hypocrisy, all cunning and all unwholesome living. God is holy, He demands holiness from His servants. He told Abraham, I am the Lord Almighty: walk before me , and be thou perfect. Let’s strive unto perfection before God. His grace can always be sufficient for those who truly believe.
5, Understand the nature of the Battle or Warfare.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-6. ,2 Thessalonians 3:1-2. Psalms 140: 1-5.
When you understand the nature of the Battle before you, you will be better prepared.. Most parents fail because they don’t Know that Satan also wants to rule their children. Rather than stay awake to pray for their children , and to know what the children are doing, they faint and sleep at the place of prayer and watching. They use carnal and sinful weapons to wage spiritual warfare. And the result is rebellious upbringing.
The nature of the Warfare is diverse, indeed in many ways including the fact that you are dealing with:
Unreasonable men and WICKED people. Violent and evil men.
People who do not fear God..
Unseen forces.
When you are keenly aware of these evil ELEMENTS and Satanic forces around you, then you are challenged to make Prayer a prevailing habit.
Those who are surrounded by ENEMY FORCE’S don’t sleep. So, why do you sleep all your sleeps when enemy forces are all over you? And why do you eat all your MEALS in the face of these enemy forces? Eternal vigilance, they say , is the price of liberty. Be vigilant to prevail in Prayers.
6, Pray in the Power of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 1:8.
You cannot maintain Prevailing Prayer life when you cannot pray in the Holy Ghost. That fire power MUST be there to energize you.
The fact that Jesus ordered His disciples to wait to be filled with the Holy Ghost before reaching to the world says it all about the Holy Ghost. Unbelievers can resist your person, but they cannot resist the Holy Ghost inside you. Therefore, get filled with the Holy Ghost. In Acts 10:38, the Bible testifies that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and power , and He went about doing good, delivering them that were oppressed and healing them that were diseased. Paul also said that the preaching of the gospel is made more effectual by the power of the Holy Ghost.
7. Fast to Prevail in Prayers.
Mark 9:29. Isaiah 58. .
Given that some forces will not leave except under severe spiritual pressure, we must add fasting to our prayers for that additional spiritual pressure in winning the battle. Fasting makes you gain deeper insight into divine and heavenly issues. Fasting makes you lighter to perceive and to understand what God is saying. Fasting enhances your spiritual grace to linger in prayer, despite being physically weak sometimes. Fasting is the icing on the cake for Heaven to take you very seriously over a matter in contention. When you consistently pray with fasted lifestyle, the heavens above you will surely open for a resounding approval that indeed” You are a man who can stand in the gap so that the people will not be destroyed” Ezekiel 22:30. Isaiah 58:12.
8, Make a vow. .1 Samuel 1:9-18.
There are certain demands we must make vows to convince God that we deserve to be answered. Hannah had always gone to Shiloh annually to worship. But on this particular instance, she didn’t just pray, she chose to make a vow to God if God should answer her. And God did by giving her Samuel. And she in turn handed Samuel back to God to serve Him as a Priest all the days if his life.
The man called Jacob also made a vow when he was escaping from his brother Esau in Genesis 28:10-22. He had vowed that he would build God an ALTAR at Bethel if He brings him back to Bethel , and to also pay Him a tithe of all his goods. In Genesis 32, when God brought him back from the East, he paid his vows. Vows are solemn declarations to God , made in demand to answer to prayers. Vows help our faith. It stretches us to keep believing God that it’s possible. We rely on vows to help our faithlessness. God values vows made in integrity and sincerity of heart.
Learn to add it to your prevailing prayers.
9, Be convinced of Him who answers Prayers. Psalms 119:89. Genesis 17:1a.
Exodus 3:14 . 6:3. Daniel 2:21.
Job said, even if He slays me, yet will I trust in Him.
The three Hebrew kids told Nebuchadnezzar, even if our God refuses to deliver us, we will not worship your man-made god. Prevailing prayer demands rugged faith. Unwavering faith. The kind of faith that doesn’t accept anything else than the voice of God.. whether it is: Yes, No or Wait. But certainly, there is a God who answers when men are ready to prevail in prayer. . James 5:16-17. 1 Kings 17.
Prayer is meant to be answered. Therefore, if you are doing prayer, be convinced, be persuaded that you are talking to a God who answers Prayers. Revelation calls Him the Alpha and Omega. Genesis calls Him the Almighty God. Hebrews says He’s the Consuming Fire. If He’s the God of your Prayers, be sure you will not miss an answer.
10, Don’t be selfish in your prayers.
In Acts 10:38, the Bible says that JESUS went about doing good and healing them that were oppressed and diseased. Jesus used His anointing to deliver others. He was not anointed to seek His own. Many seek God’s greater grace for their own and their families. As believers, we must begin to prevail in prayers for others more importantly. Those who stand in the gap for others, always see God standing up in their defence. Think about Esther who declared: If I perish, I perish. And she never perished. God bless you.
Happy Sunday.
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