Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ!
I welcome you to our column „Daily Word for Spiritual Strength”!
If you remember, for several weeks now we have been talking about prayer. We have been talking about three callings in the life of a believer:
- Just as prayer was a priority in the lives of the heroes whom the Bible speaks about, prayer must become a priority in a believer´s life.
- Prayer must come prior to anything we do. Before we begin to do something, we need to pray. In particular, it refers to the spiritual ministry, because the strength is not in us, but the strength is with God! And God gives us His strength through prayer! We can say beautiful words and wise prayers, but only God gives life and strength to what we say and do. We can be active, but if all our actions are not covered with God´s power, they will have no life. Prayer is what gives our lives and all that we do the heavenly aroma.
- Prayer must be practiced daily. We will not be able to become masters and professionals in what we do not practice every day. If we do not practice prayer, we will not know how to pray properly. Again, I would like to emphasize one truth we spoke of last time. In the life of each of us, there comes a time when more than anything we need prayer. But if we do not practice prayer daily, we will not be able to ask and receive the necessary assistance from God at that particular time. May this not happen to us.
Prayer changes us and the things that are around us; it changes our world. Everyone can find that prayer is power; it is a privilege for a believer from God Himself.
This week I gave my children a lesson. My wife put her purse somewhere and could not find it. We were looking for the purse with our children, but we could not find it. Then I turned to my children and asked them, “Do you believe that God answers prayer?” They replied, “Yes, we do.” I asked, “Are you sure about that?” They replied, “Yes.” So I said, “Go and pray, and find your mother’s purse. But once you find it, tell me about it.” That was a challenge. I did not tell them, “If you find it,” but said, “You will find it as you pray.” They prayed, searched, but did not find it. We often pray and believe that everything should happen instantly. But if it does not, we think that prayer does not work. My middle son Thomas then told me, “I walked into the kitchen and thought that Mom came from the store with that purse, and usually she immediately goes to the kitchen.” These thoughts came from God! Do you remember, we were talking about the fact that prayer is a two-way conversation? When we pray to God, we must leave space so that He can speak to us. Thomas told me that after the prayer, he went to the kitchen, and as soon as he was there, his eyes gazed directly at the place where Mom´s purse was located. Until then, we all had looked there, but did not find it. But as soon as the children had prayed, thoughts came from God; the children followed these thoughts, and the purse was found. Imagine how great their joy was. Thomas called me and said, “Daddy, we found the purse!” I told him: “Good job! You see, prayer works, it works! You must always pray!” I used a moment to give my children a lesson about the importance of prayer. And I believe that they will remember this. I recommend you also do the same, because what we have learned ourselves, we must pass on, and God will help us in this. And even if the children understand everything in their own way, in a childlike way, it still works; it works. Let us remember that prayer – it is a two-way conversation. Prayer should be the priority in our lives.
We will continue tomorrow!
May the Lord bless you!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
