RAISING OUR LAND (EPISODE 11: PRAYING WORKS)
RAISING OUR LAND
“Thus says the LORD, In an acceptable time have I
answered you, and in a day of salvation have I helped you; and I will preserve
you, and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate
heritage…”(emphasis mine)
Isiah
49 vs 8 (Hebrew Names Version of The Holy Bible)
Welcome to today’s
episode.
I would like a hundred people or more to join me in praying this prayer, based on the scripture that says “And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. Lev 26:8”
The enemies we need defeated in our
lives presently are: the veil which may be over our eyes: as it prevents the
light of God’s word to enlighten and be sown in our hearts; and those obstacles
that prevent our hearts from being good soils. Our swords are our words of
prayer.
Therefore, the prayer goes thus:
Therefore, the prayer goes thus:
We pray that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto us the spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: that our minds may be opened
to see and receive his light, so that we will know what is the hope to which he has called
us.
We also pray that God should by His Holy Spirit prepare our hearts by making it a good soil for the word of God which when planted in our hearts will grow and prosper and yield forth good fruits just as a seed would in good soil. And that by the Blood of Jesus, we clean every heart from whatever may be present within which would negatively affect the growth and prosperity of the Word of God in our lives in Jesus Name, Amen.
EPISODE 11: PRAYING WORKS
We will be continuing
from what we discussed yesterday, especially the importance of praying to the
Father. Praying is an act that cannot be over
discussed, it is
an act of fellowship with the Father. Nobody should actually relinquish the
opportunity to pray to God to someone else, not even their Pastors. However, it
is good doctrine to pray WITH people.
The Father wants
us to come and speak with, to get to know and understand him, to feel His love
and Joy and Peace. Even Jesus said “At
that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say NOT unto you, that I will pray the
Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me,
and have believed that I came out of God. John 16: 26 -27.
Imagine wanting
to have a relationship with someone, wanting to receive from that person, but
refusing to speak to same person. How can that be possible? This is so with our
relationship with our Father, all that He has promised us as revealed in His
laws and judgments are unlocked when we go to Him to speak with Him and request
them from Him.
It is important
to note that to fully see the manifestation of all that we, as the redeemed of
the Lord have in Jesus Christ, we have to pray to God in the Name of Jesus. The
bible says: “Jas 5:16 …The effectual
fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much. It also says: “John 16:23
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”
A narrative that
helps us understand why we must pray to receive the benefits of being in Christ
is in 1kings 17 and 18.
“1Ki 17:1 And
Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As
the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word.”
Here we see
Elijah stating a curse on the land of Israel, but the curse must have come as a
consequence of the sins of the Israelites because it is recorded that they were
worshipping other gods.
“1Ki 18:1 And
it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in
the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon
the earth.”
It was time for
God to restore rain unto the land of Israel, based on His mercy, so He called
Elijah to action. Now what Elijah did, which must have been based on an
understanding of redemption, was to first offer a sacrifice for the remittances
of sin by the shedding of the blood of an animal. This is not stated expressly,
but we see that Elijah, in the process of making a burnt offering unto God,
first had to kill the bullock and shed its blood.
1Ki 18: 30 – 37 And Elijah said unto all the people,
Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the
altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones,
according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word
of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he
built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar,
as great as would contain two measures of seed.
And he put the wood in order, and
cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four
barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he
said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do
it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round
about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass
at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet
came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known
this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I
have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this
people may know that thou art the LORD God,
and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
After the
shedding of blood, instead of lighting a fire for the burnt offering, Elijah
poured water three times on the animal, and prayed for fire to come from God.
It is interesting to note in the prayer Elijah said: “that God had turned the
heart of the people back again” – and he said this even before the fire came
from heaven for the burnt offering because he understood the effect of the shed
blood on the people. But God did not send the fire after the people’s hearts
had been turned back to him, he only sent it after Elijah prayed. Making it
clear that redemption doesn’t automatically bring about the manifestation of
God’s promises to us; we must pray to see the manifestation.
1Ki 18:38 - 39 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and
consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and
licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he
is the God.
This proves that
it is only through prayer that we will see the miraculous and God’s name will
be glorified. If this miracle does not convince you about the role of prayer,
in seeing the miraculous as a redeemed of the Lord, let’s take look at how the
rain was restored:
“1Ki 18:41
And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a
sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah
went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put
his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the
sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go
again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said,
Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he
said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the
rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was
black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went
to Jezreel.”
Pastor Poju
Oyemade said when you want to see the manifestation of the promises of God in
your life, you do not go and start eating and drinking, you have to act like
Elijah did and pray until you see the result of your prayers (paraphrasing).
The Apostle Paul said: “Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink
…” Elijah, even though it was God that told him: ‘I will send rain upon the
earth’; He still prayed seven times and did not stop until he saw the sign
(little cloud out of the sea like a man’s hand) that the rain was coming.
Another
narrative that so sweetly shows how we receive from God through prayer is that
of the story of Hannah. Hannah had no children, while Peninnah, the second wife
of Elkanah, her husband had children. And Peninnah, acting like a ‘Troll’ would
shade and provoke Hannah, to make her fret, because she had no Children. Hannah’s
heart became sad and grieved. So she decided to pray to God on the matter. See:
1 Sa 1: 9 – 18 So Hannah rose up after they had
eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat
by a post of the temple of the LORD. And
she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And
she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the
affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid,
but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the
LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. And
it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her
mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice
was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto
her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah
answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have
drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but
have poured out my soul before the LORD. Count not thine handmaid for a
daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I
spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou
hast asked of him. And she said, Let
thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat,
and her countenance was no more sad.
Hannah did not
even bother getting into an argument with Peninnah. She went straight to God.
She did not get to God to begin to accuse and judge Penninnah, No! She went and
presented her case and poured out her soul before God. The interesting thing is
that even before birthing the child she prayed for, she was already in joy, her
countenance was no more sad. This joy I believe was her sign (just like Elijah’s)
that her
Prayer is
answered and that she would see a manifestation. See:
1Sa 1:20
Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had
conceived, that she bare a son, and
called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
She got what she
prayed for, and in the name she gave him – Samuel - echoes all that prayer is,
for Samuel means: Because I have asked him of the Lord.
Dear reader, if you are going through a grieving situation, or if God has already given you his word about something, why not take time out to talk to him about it. He is more than eager to have a conversation with you, to wipe away your tears and turn your mourning into dancing and fulfill all that He has promised you.
Thank
you for reading, join me tomorrow, 19th November, 2016 for Episode
12.
Also,
You can Download this FREE e-book - RAISING OUR LAND by 'Ladi Obidairo, which is a compilation of all the episodes. Click on link below.
Raising Our Land. by 'Ladi Obidairo
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I pray that we all begin to cultivate and nourish our relationship with God, for He is our strength and our righteousness, laying at his feet all that grieves us to receive from everlasting joy in Jesus Name, Amen.
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'Ladi Obidairo.
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