New Creation Prayers (25)

Good morning Divine Perspective Readers. Hope you had a great weekend? Today, we draw the curtains on the New Creation Prayers Series. It’s been a delight walking us through the Pauline Prayers in Ephesians 1 for the past 12 weeks thereabouts, and I trust that you have been able to learn a few things here and there. What I perceive God is laying on my heart to round off this series with is found in

1 Kings 18:41-46(KJV) And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 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, 43 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. 44 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. 45 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. 46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

It’s a familiar portion of scriptures with a lot of significance. I was meditating on this passage and was shown a few things about prayer from the passage, which I will be sharing with you in the succeeding lines of thoughts. There was no rain in Israel due to a prophetic declaration from the mouth of Elijah, series of events played out afterwards and it all culminated to the acceptance of all the people of Israel that God is indeed Lord, vs 39. Then Elijah told King Ahab authoritatively that there is a sound of the abundance of rain, but in actual physical fact, at that time there was nothing like the sign or sound of rain. It was after Elijah had made this declaration of Faith that he went up the Mount and started praying. His prayer posture was such that his head were between his two knees, what a posture! You bet God had to answer his prayers… such postures beg urgent answers, they are emergency prayer postures… Hehehe. So Elijah prayed and asked his servant to go check for any sign of rain, the servant had to go about 7 times before seeing the most eccentric and unusual sign; a little cloud, like the hand of a man. After a while, eventually the clouds turned black and windy and it became obvious to everyone that it indeed was about to rain. At some point, all that characterized the rain was a little handy cloud, but after a while they could all see the visible sign in the cloud that rain was about to downpour and pour real heavy. That transformation was engineered by the prayer of a man.

1 Kings 18:45(KJV) 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 wen to Jezreel.

Between the handy cloud and the heavy rain, there was a period called MEAN WHILE. We are not told how long this “while” was, but the most important thing to note was that the abundance of rain did not come immediately after the Faith declaration of the sound of rain. Eventually, the handy cloud will become a heavy downpour but we must believe in the God we are praying to. We must believe Him to make the handy cloud become a heavy rain. For many people, because all they see is the handy cloud, they stop praying and start complaining. They asked for a job that pays in 6 figures but they got the one that pays in 5 digits, and they start complaining and whining… judging God as unfaithful. The little hand will soon stir the oceans and cause the abundance you seek. Never despise your little hand in your prayer process. What you’re praying about is getting answered, but you will need to be patient and trust God to bring about the abundance of rain in its due time. Don’t uproot the effects of your prayers by doubt, unbelief and a bad attitude. Prayers have always worked, they work and will continue to work, but many people doubt in the process of Faith and truncate the process.

James 1:6-7(KJV) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

If the answers to our prayers come immediately, then there will be no risk of wavering since the answer will come immediately. There is a potential risk of wavering in prayer because answers don’t always come immediately, and we would have to stay in faith and believe that God is at work even when we can’t see a tangible expression of answers. God is at work within us and always seeks to use His power on our behalf. God answering our prayers has to be on His own terms, and not on ours else it wouldn’t be prayers anymore, but self-help. Let’s learn to trust God in our prayer life. He loves us and wants the best for us.

1 Kings 18:44 (KJV) 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.

Another very salient thing God showed me from this passage of scripture is that “Prayer” in itself is not the hand of God, but the hand of man. Believe me beloved brethren, God has done EVERYTHING He will ever do concerning your blessing, healing and all round prosperity. He concluded it on the cross of calvary, all that is left is for you to take possession of it with your hands. Your hands are your receiving agents. In the realm of the spirit, your prayer are symbolic of your hands. Your prayers make available in your life, what God has made provisions for. If a born again Christian dies of sickness, it is not because God did not provide for his healing, it is because he did not REACH OUT by faith through prayer to get it into his life. Many people pray so that God will move, meanwhile God expects us to pray so that we can move towards what He had already provided for. God will not do for us what He has told us to do, and He would not do again what He has already done. The one He did the first time is still working and potent, why should He do another one. Let’s quit seeing PRAYER as a God-moving mechanism designed to change God’s mind and move Him to do what we please. Prayer is man’s hand to receive all that God has made available in redemption, and that is why prayer must work by Faith, and Faith is inactive without the foundation of the Word. If it is not made available by redemption, it is not receivable through prayer. You cannot pray for God to answer a prayer that negates the tenets of redemption. If Grace did not make it available, Faith cannot make it assessable.

Eph 6:12a (KJV) For we WRESTLE not against flesh and blood…

In conclusion, we must also realise that our prayers (hands) are used to wrestle in the spiritual realm. We must love all men including our supposed enemies. The devil is the arch enemy not another man, therefore we MUST also wrestle principalities and powers, because we are not ignorant of his devices. God admonished us to RESIST the devil. To Resist is not a calm, casual, and mild word, it means to firmly stand against, to withstand the actions or effects of a person, thing or influence. Prayer is not an activity you engage whenever you need something and neglect whenever you receive your answer. The devil is never on vacation and we must always resist his activities and influences in our lives through a fervent and effectual prayer life. Not because we are fighting to see who conquers, but because we already know that we are more than conquerors through Christ. In this Kingdom, we don’t fight to see who wins, we fight because we already know the winner, that’s why it’s a good fight of faith. A prayer life that is not subject to change in our economic status, educational pursuit or bliss. An ever red hot fervor is what God desires of us and I pray that we receive the Grace to engage the power of Prayer this new year in Jesus name. It’s been an amazing series, which has blessed me and many more around the world. Thank you for following through… of course, the subject of prayer is very wide and I can’t possibly cover the syllabus even if I took a whole year, but I believe we have gained a few things from this series. We might not start a new series immediately after this, but one is brewing in my spirit already… hehe. I love you and a blessed week ahead. See you on Friday 🙂