IF YOU ARE NOT EXPECTING GOD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYER, DO NOT BOTHER TO PRAY
WHEN THERE IS AN ABSENCE OF ANSWERS IT IS A MALFUNCTION OF THE PRAYER ALTAR
GOOD PRAYERS CAN ONLY BE IDENTIFIED BY TANGIBLE ANSWERS!
EVERY PRAYER POINT SHOULD HAVE AN ANSWER POINT.
WHEN THERE IS NO ANSWER POINT KNOWN IN PRAYER, THAT PRAYER POINT CONTINUES WITHOUT CEASING!
IF YOU ARE NOT EXPECTING AN ANSWER, THERE IS NO REASON TO GO FOR PRAYER!
THANKSGIVING IS ONE OF THE VITAL PROTOCOLS FOR EXITING GOD’S PRESENCE ON THE ALTAR OF PRAYERS WITH YOUR DESIRED ANSWERS.
IN THE MIND OF GOD, EVERY ‘ASKING’ SHOULD EQUAL ‘HAVING’ ON THE ALTAR OF PRAYER.
DON’T COME BEGGING IN PRAYER, COME BOLDLY!
YOUR EXPECTATION AND YOUR POSITION IN PRAYER DETERMINES YOUR DELIVERY OF THE ALTAR OF PRAYER.
-Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr on ‘HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY PRAYER HAS BEEN ANSWERED?’ || Covenant Hour of Prayer || 26th January, 2023
-Our Father, this morning we have come to give You praise and glory. You have done all things well. Your Mighty Hands has been at work in our midst. The evidence is in the various testimonies we have continued to hear in the morning, evening and night time. Church Gist. We have never lacked the evidence of Your Hand and for these we say thank you! Our eyes are upon You yet again, speak in our direction and let Your Word transform our lives and let Jesus be glorified in our midst. We thank You because it is done in Jesus’ Precious Name we have prayed.
Praise the Lord! I’m finally on the Covenant Highways of life! Congratulations! Amen!
Our line of exhortations in the Covenant Hour of Prayer all through this week has been, ‘HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY PRAYER HAS BEEN ANSWERED?’ And we have been able to establish so far that God has not called us to seek Him in vain Isaiah 45:19. Church Gist. This means that the altar of prayer is ordained as a platform for answers Jeremiah 33:3. Therefore when there is an absence of answers, it is the malfunction of the prayer altar- Something is wrong when answers are absent.
The Bible makes us understand in Matthew 7:7-8, Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find… This is why the Word of God boldly declares that you have not because you ask not. In the mind of God, every asking should equal having. Where asking does not result in having, there is something wrong with the asking. So there must be an examination of our position on the altar of prayer in order to ensure that our satisfaction is not just in the exercise but in the outcome. It is not enough to engage the altar of prayer, it is vital enough that we secure our answers in prayer. Church Gist. Until the answer is secure, the protocol or cycle of prayer is not complete. That means it is not enough to say that I have prayed well. In other words, good prayer can only be identified by tangible answers!
It is not in the language or volume of the prayer but in the tangibility of the answers- This is so important. And that’s why the Bible tells us in the Book of James 5:16… The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much. So what is an effectual prayer? He then gave us an example in James 5:17 and 18… And Elias prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Church Gist. What was the evidence that the prayer was effectual? And it didn’t rain! James 5:18. The answer was the validation of the potency of the prayer. So what validates the effectual nature of prayers is in the securing of the answers!
Therefore, it becomes important for us to ensure that we know what it takes not only to pray effectively but to secure answers. Effectual prayer is not only in the offering of the prayer but in securing the answers. And all through Scriptures, we are meant to see that it is possible for individuals to stand in prayers but not secure answers. The Bible tells us for example in the Book of Acts 12:5 where it gives us a picture of how it is possible for an individual to stand in prayer- Church Gist. They are calling upon God for something but they don’t even know when their answers arrive.
Now take note of this in Acts 12:5, the Church made prayers for Peter without ceasing. The Word of God calls us to pray without ceasing but He never tells us that any prayer point was without ceasing. Every prayer point is expected to have an answer point. Church Gist. The Bible says in the Book of Proverbs 23:18, Surely there is an end… There is no end to praying but there is an end to prayer points. Every prayer point should have an answer point- The answer point is the ending point of that prayer point! So when there is no answer point known in prayer, that prayer point continues without ceasing! That’s what happened in Acts 12:5.
Can you imagine someone praying for healing without ceasing? What does that mean? It means that the prayer continued to the point where the sickness eventually killed the person. That’s not our God! Every prayer point has an ending point because it is ordained to have an answer point. Church Gist. So the question is, how will I know when I get there? Because we were told in Acts chapter 12-13, that they prayed and the angel of God went and opened the prison and Peter came out.
And when he got to the door, Rhoda came to tell them, ‘The answers we have prayed for (The release of Peter) have arrived’. And what did they say to Rhoda, ‘You are mad, we are still praying’! Acts 12:14. And they continued the prayer and Peter continued to knock and they began to hear a sound on the door and said, ‘Okay maybe you (Rhoda) are not so mad but it cannot be Peter, it must be his angel Acts 12:15. Church Gist. And Peter continued to knock again at the door and they came and opened the door and said, ‘Ah! Ah! Peter you are here? But it’s you that we are praying for! And we are praying without ceasing’! Acts 12:16. Which means they would have prayed and prayed until Peter would remain in the prison and until Herod gets up and kills Peter finally!
But here comes God teaching us a very simple principle that the altar of prayer is ordained to be the altar of answers! If you are not expecting an answer there is no reason to go for prayer! But the question is, how do I know? Church Gist. What are the pointers that show me that indeed my prayers have been answered? Three things we would look at quickly this morning:
- When you have prayed confidently. One of the things that you would discover about prayer is that your entry determines your exit. How you come determines what you go with! Your approach determines your collection! Your expectation and your position in prayer determines your delivery of the altar of prayer. What do I mean? Hebrews 4:16…Come boldly! So your approach is vital! When you come with confidence, you depart with your desires. How you come matters Hebrews 10:35. So the outcome of our prayer is usually determined by our confidence in praying 1 John 3:20-21. Church Gist. So our confidence is a potent requirement on the altar of prayer. That is why you must not come before God beggarly and expecting to depart with the desires of your heart. He didn’t say, let us come beggarly! He said let us come boldly! What belongs to you must be demanded by you with boldness! With confidence! This is so critical and important!- The place of prayer of confidence!
And if you look all through the Scriptures, you will see examples of potent confidence. Jesus came one day and looked at the fig tree and went to it expecting to see fruits and saw nothing on it but leaves and the Bible said that Jesus looked at it and said, ‘No man will eat any fruit of thee again! Church Gist. And He turned back and went on His way! And the Bible said that when the disciples saw it, they took note and said, ‘How can a man talk like this?’ By the time they came back, they saw that the fig tree was withered away from the root.
And Peter said, ‘Master! The tree that you spoke against has withered from the root’! And Jesus said, ‘Have faith in God, I didn’t expect any less than that! When I spoke, I expected it to die! Matthew 17:20. And then He turned it to the place of prayer in Mark 11:24…Whatever you desire, believe and you shall have them! So Jesus was saying, ‘The way I was confident talking to that tree is how you must be confident talking to God in prayer’! Church Gist. Don’t come begging in prayer, come boldly to prayer! That’s why the Bible says to us, ‘Ask of me concerning my sons and the works of My hand, command ye Me’! Isaiah 45:11. There is a commanding tone to effective prayer.
You and I both know that Elijah was not beggarly when he was demanding that the Heavens be shut up neither was he beggarly when he was demanding that the Heavens should open up! Neither was he beggarly when he was demanding that the fire should come up! Every one of the prayers was done with a command of confidence! Church Gist. That’s why you find the man Elijah mocking the fire of baal not that his own fire has come down yet but he was too sure that it will come down. Those ones have been praying from morning till the time of the evening sacrifice! And he was there mocking them not that his answers had come but he was too sure that the answer could not but come! That is why sometimes people who are effective in prayers look like they are boastful and arrogant because they are too sure.
I have shared before in 2008, the Apostle over this Commission (God’s Servant) looked at me one day and said, “David, I know God hears me when I pray!”- That statement sank into my heart because I have been praying from time to time but it was not my posture at that time. Church Gist. As at that time, I thought that when you pray that you are supposed to get answers but when there is no answer, there is no problem. But he said, ‘I know that God hears me when I pray’!- That is the confidence factor that must be injected into potent prayer!
I charge each one of us, don’t waste these four days left! In this season of prayer and fasting, engage boldness! God didn’t say, come and beg Me My children, He said, ‘Come boldly to Me My children! That’s why the prodigal son was not rejected. He came boldly and said, ‘My father, give me what belongs to me’! Church Gist. Then the father said, based on this kind of boldness, I cannot reject you! He divided his inheritance and gave him his portion! Come boldly!
-I see grace coming upon us for this!
- When you have prayed with thanksgiving! Philippians 4:6. You see thanksgiving is one of the vital protocols for exiting God’s Presence on the altar of prayers with your desired answers. In the Book of Psalms 100:4, enter into His gate with Thanksgiving… In other words as you are entering, appreciate Him and as you are exiting appreciate Him. When you receive something, one of the pieces of evidence that you have received it are the two words, ‘Thank you’! So if you have not concluded with thanksgiving, you have not yet taken delivery! Church Gist. So saying, ‘Father, I glorify You! I give You the praise’! Is not just punctuation in prayer! No! It is the conclusion of the delivery of the prayer! So we must ensure that we must engage with Thanksgiving!
- When the Holy Spirit bears witness with our Spirit Romans 8:16. As you pray, there are times when there is an internal knowing, you have not seen what you are asking but you know that it has been answered! It’s just inside of you! That is what we call witness of the Spirit! When you pray and you receive that witness then the prayer point just becomes a point of appreciation- You are celebrating Him. I believe that within this season many of us have received such things when you just know inside of you that the prayers have been answered. Church Gist. You just know that it has already happened- You just know that the miracle has already taken place! The change has already come! You are just aware inside of you! That is the witness of the Spirit!
-No one here will pray barren prayers again!
———PRAYER———-
-From this day, no prayer shall be barren again! Every prayer that you pray will secure swift answers in the Name of Jesus Christ!
- For you in the remaining four days of this season, there shall be no prayer disappointment.
-Every prayer that you offer in this season, you will begin to see Elijah-order of swift answer in the Name of Jesus Christ!
Speak to your day right now, make your declaration concerning your day. As you decree, God delivers! Do it in faith confidently and wholeheartedly!
——-PRAYER———
-According to every Word that you have declared right now, the day answers on your behalf! Church Gist. It will be a day of visitation and encounters in the Name of Jesus Christ! So shall it be in Jesus Precious Name, Amen!
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