Accessing light through prayer (3)

by Pastor Faith Oyedepo, Week 4, October, 2006

Hello Reader,

Welcome once again to this column. We have been exploring the ways to locate light for the journey through the end of this year. So far, we have discovered that any journey devoid of the input of someone who knows the way is fraught with all manner of avoidable challenges. The Bible says: “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him” (1 John 2:10). That means, when you walk by the light, you have no occasion to stumble or fall. So, I see you make it through, stumble-free, in Jesus’ name. We have also seen that it takes the tool of prayer to access the light that is available to you in the Word of God.

Today, we shall continue by looking at The Wonders of Prayer. Prayer has diverse benefits for the believer. As the issues and circumstances of life vary, so also does prayer address the various needs of man. The Bible enjoins us, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). This implies that there are different kinds of prayer, and they accomplish different things in the life of a believer. We shall examine some of them.

Prayer Provokes Help From Above:

Without the help of God, we are helpless on the earth. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”. The enemy is fierce. He knows his time is short, so he is out against the children of God with full force. The wickedness on the earth is intense, but we have access to help from heaven to overcome them all through prayers. Every blessing and accomplishment in life comes as a result of the help of God. In Psalms 121:1-2 the Bible says, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth!” Who do you look unto whenever you need help’ It is better to go to God for help than to go to man because no man can help you except God helps you. The Bible expressly says: “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; … When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together” (Isaiah 31:1 & 3). The Psalmist knew this secret. In Psalm 60:11-12, he prayed: “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.”

The Bible also tells us the secret of king Uzziah’s success: “And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. And God helped him against the Philistines,a and against the Arabian that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunmis” (2 Chronicles 26:1,5,7).

Prayer is not just telling God your needs, because He already knows them (Matthew 6:32). It is getting Him to intervene in your situation on the basis of His Word. God is your heavenly Father and He knows your needs, but you require His help to overcome the enemy. Therefore, what you do in prayer is to take your accuser to the court room of heaven for judgment. Once you are justified, the help of God is released to you. When God becomes your helper, you enjoy ceaseless breakthroughs and stand out among your peers.

Prayers Provokes God’s Mercy:

Mercy is one of God’s profound ways of helping His people. Hebrews 4:16 says, “That we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Certain things may be responsible for where we find ourselves and we may not know what they are. But the mercy of God will always answer for us, when we cry unto Him in prayers. There is a need to understand the place of God’s mercy in our lives. What you are fighting against may not be the devil, or witches and wizards as you have thought; it could be something you have done.

May be, a curse was placed upon one of your forefathers, which you inherited without knowing. Some people have so much money but can’t account for how it is spent. They have no land, house, or anything to show for all the money that passes through their hands; yet they are heavily indebted. Some don’t even know what next to do with their lives. They just keep wandering about. They invest in all manner of businesses and never realize anything out of them. For some people, the things or habits plaguing them are like ancestral curses. They discover that things such as poverty, failure, marriage spell, immorality, drunkenness, lying, etc run through all their family tree.

If you find yourself in any of such predicaments, you can cry out for the mercy of God to deliver you from them. You can say to God, “Lord, I don’t know the cause of this thing, but You know all things. Whatever I may have dabbled into through carelessness or ignorance and which has brought this affliction in my life, Lord, have mercy! Whatever may have come on me through the wrong doings of my natural background, let Your mercy prevail for me!” You can plead the mercy of God against that mysterious affliction in your life and it will give up, and you will be free.

Remember, God is a merciful God. In Matthew 9:13, Jesus said, “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy.” Mercy is God’s nature. When three nations came against Judah in battle, Judah went out against them singing of the mercy of God; and the Bible says, “God set ambushments against their enemies” (2 Chronicles 20:21-22). The Bible says: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22).

Prayer provokes Angelic intervention:

This is another aspect of God’s help, and it is provoked by prayers. When Peter was held up in prison awaiting death, the saints prayed for him continually and God sent an angel to rescue him. Angels are our security agents and they excel in strength (Psalms 103:20). They are there to ward off all evils and plagues from us. They are the fire fighters of heaven, God’s rescue agents. Their job is to intervene in the midst of trouble and rescue the believer. They also ensure that only God’s will is established in the life of a believer.

In case you are not yet born again, this is another opportunity to do so today. If you want your prayers to be heard by God this year, don’t miss this golden opportunity: 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.