Accessing light through prayer
by Pastor Faith Oyedepo, Week 1, October, 2006
Hello Reader,
Congratulations. We have entered into the last quarter of this year and with it comes a new opportunity to make life count more for you. God is set to do something more glorious in your life and family this last part of the year. Forget about all your past failures, your past prayerlessness, weaknesses and spiritual laziness etc. The Word of God says, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold! I will do a new thing” (Isaiah 43:18-19). However, you need to position yourself for new things and as you do that, the new things of God will not pass you by in Jesus’ name!
The beginning of a journey through an unfamiliar terrain is usually accompanied by some form of apprehension particularly, if you are travelling alone. This is because you do not know the state of the road, the number of hours it will take you to arrive at your destination, the kind of people you may be travelling with and so on. But when you travel with someone who knows the way and has been on that same route several times, you are comfortable just knowing nothing could possibly go wrong. This is true also for every new phase of life. You have never been through the last quarter of this year before and, therefore, may be a little apprehensive of all that it holds in store for you. But if you will journey on this road with He who knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:11), you are confident of one fact, it shall be a very glorious end. That is why, this month, I shall be teaching on Accessing Light through prayers.
The Bible says, Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12). You need light to walk through darkness so you don’t stumble. Jesus is the light and He is also the Word of God (John 1:1). To access the light, you need the Word of God, and to access the light that is in His Word, you need the tool of prayers. Therefore, we shall be looking at how to access light from the Word of God through prayers.
What is prayer’ Prayer is one of the most powerful tools in the hands of the believers. We can simply define prayer as our communication link with God. It is a covenant tool that God has given to us as believers and it is important for us to be able to use it effectively so it can deliver maximally in our hands.
In Ephesians 6:18, the Bible says: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication …” So, it means there are different kinds of prayer. Praying all prayers and then, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3) and I say humorously adding to that scripture “but which I ought to know.” God is saying: “Call unto me in prayers and I will answer you. Use the covenant tool in your hands and I will answer but, I won’t stop there, I will also show you in my Word great and mighty things which thou knoweth not, but which you ought to know.” When you study the word of God, you find out that the Word and prayer are usually put side by side. For one to be effective, the other one must be in place. For instance, the Bible says in Acts 6:4, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
Why must prayer come first before the ministry of the Word’ When you lay hold on the tool of prayer, and you use it effectively, it gives you access to the ministry of the Word. It causes the Book to be opened and until the Book is opened, weeping continues (Revelation 5:3-5). But once the Book is open by making use of the tool of prayer, it means every form of weeping will cease. That is why I know, among other things, that every form of weeping, whether in secret or public, all tears in your life will be permanently terminated. For the Book to open, one of the covenant tools at your disposal is prayer, linking up with God as your Creator. What a joy! The Bible says, O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come (Psalms 65:2). He is the God who answers, He does not collect prayers, He does not store prayers, His ears are not deaf, when we call upon Him, He answers us. He says: “Ask and it shall be given unto you”(Matthew 7:7). Ask in prayer for light, access, entrance, and illumination into His Word and they shall be given unto you. I love the way Jeremiah 29: 12 puts it:, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.”
So, when we are talking about prayer, it goes far beyond, “Lord, give me bread, Lord, give me water, Lord, don’t forget tea and add butter to my bread. Give me car and give me shoes.” All those ones are meant to be additions. The real thing we need from God is light, because when light comes and the book is opened, every other thing that the Gentiles seek after shall be added unto you.
All through scriptures, we find men who gained access into things behind the veil by using the covenant tool of prayer. Daniel in captivity with three other Hebrews boys were faced with a challenge and the king was going to kill all of them. They went to the Lord in prayers and “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision” (Daniel 2: 19). That revelation not only saved their lives, but also promoted them.
Another notable example was the case of Peter and John. The man at the beautiful gate had just been healed and the authorities warned them not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore. Instead of bemoaning their situation, they went back to their own company and lifted their voices in prayers. The Bible records, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4: 31).
The end of every year is usually loaded with all that you will ever desire to have. The Bible says, “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness” (Ps 65:11).But, your only access will be by the light you gain from the Word of God. So, employ the weapon of prayer, asking the Lord to show you that which you know not, that you may obtain that which He has in store for you this year.
The Bible says, “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth” (John 9:31). If you must access light from God’s Word through prayer, then you need to be born again. If you would want to, then pray this simple prayer with me: Lord Jesus, I come to You today, I believe You died for me and on the third day You rose again that I might be justified. I accept You now as my Lord and Saviour. Cleanse me from my sins and make me a new creature. Thank You Jesus for writing my name in the Book of life! Now, I know that I am born again.