Ministering: Princess Ojo Onogwu
Date: Monday 20th March 2023
Topic: ETERNAL LIFE: The Aspect of Prayer
Dear Spirit of God, we thank You for all You are to us and all You have been and will be to us, I ask that You touch everyone that reads this and will read this later,
I ask that Your light so shines upon them that all men may see and glorify You!
Glorify them as You have glorified me! Amen!
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I will start by reminding us that the anchor scripture for the eternal life series is John 3:13-17 and it says:
[13] No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.
[14] And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
[15]so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
[16] “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
[17] God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
[John 3:13-17 NLT]
We would be discussing our eternal life through the eyes of prayer. Without prayer, your life seems void of the instructions, and directions of the Father or the Holy Spirit, and without His directions, you live an unfulfilled life on earth.
Always remember that your eternal life started from the very day you gave your life to Christ Jesus.
The life you now live is no longer yours but of Christ. Your life has been nailed to the cross but Jesus Christ took that pain, was scourged, and died for you, therefore there was an exchange on the cross of Calvary; Christ gave you His life so you can live and He in turn took your life (you gave it to Him after all) and it was nailed up on the cross.
Now that’s love!
So what better way to live this life of Christ on earth than PRAY!
Pray to know how to live His life…
If you do not pray, you can not know!
So, what is prayer?
- Prayer is communication between a man and God.
- Prayer is also a communion between a man and his god.
- Prayer can also be communication between two people
- Prayer can also be defined as the earnest hope and wish of a man
Why am I giving up to four definitions?
This is because it is not only Christians that pray.
Almost everyone prays but to whom?
As Christians, we take the first and the last.
- Prayer as communication between man and God:
[1] Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
[2] Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
[Luke 11:1-2 NLT]
We see Jesus – whose life we are living now – teaching His disciples to pray and the first person He calls is the FATHER,
That means talking with your creator is important. You can not pray effectively without acknowledging him.
- Prayer as communion between a man and other gods or deities:
We all know that not everyone prays to God Almighty as we do, but as Christians, I wouldn’t want us to dwell here, let me get an example from the scriptures that vexed our God.
[35] They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!
[Jeremiah 32:35 NLT]
- Prayer as communication between two people or as a request from a man to another:
[5] Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,
[6] ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’
[7] And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’
[8] But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
[Luke 11:5-8 NLT]
- Prayer as an earnest hope and wish of a man
[16] Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
[James 5:16 NLT]
Remember as Christians we can hope and wish for something and it just happens without us opening our mouths to ask. Our mind is powerful, very powerful and it attracts things to it.
It’s like a magnet, whatever you think earnestly, wish for, or desire comes to you.
I remember when I needed new shoes, I had only two pairs when I came to Lagos and I looked at my shoe shelf and wished in my heart that I had more. A week after that, I went to a sister’s house who had just gotten back from abroad and she gifted me six new shoes! I was so happy and the Holy Spirit reminded me of that wish I made in my heart, it had become an answered prayer!
It is very important that only good things come to your thoughts as a child of God because your heart manufactures all things into reality.
That is why it is written concerning us:
[8] And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
[Philippians 4:8 NLT]
Manifestation of all you think of as a child of God is on a regular; keep your thoughts, wishes, and earnest desires pure.
OK! That said and done!
These are the basis/basics of prayer and if you can understand them then we take it further:
[1] Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
[2] Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
[3] Give us each day the food we need,
[4] and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
[5] Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,
[6] ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’
[7] And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’
[8] But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
[9] “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
[10] For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
[11] “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?
[12] Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!
[13] So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
[Luke 11:1-13 NLT]
Whenever people talk about prayer, they always refer to Luke 11 and how Jesus taught the disciples to pray.
Please let’s not forget that at this time that Jesus was talking to the disciples, they were still practicing Judaism, they were not Christians yet!
Jesus was still upon the earth, He had not died and they did not have the Holy Spirit at the time, so Jesus could not have taught them how to pray in the spirit, in tongues, or praying by groans.
The Holy Spirit hadn’t started His ministry at the time and Jesus was teaching the Jews!
Did you see that? I said He was teaching the JEWS. At the time that He thought them this…
Also, don’t forget that the Jews were religious lots that always upset Jesus.
Therefore, as Christians, we are not to pray in this manner or by repetition of these words.
This is just an example or guide, it is not something we should hold on to OR keep repeating as some people do.
Now, as Christians, how do we Pray?
The truth is that we do not even know how to pray or what to pray for, that is why the Holy Spirit was given to us to lead us into all truths and it is Him that teaches us what to say, how to pray, and what to pray to the Father.
Let’s not forget, in the beginning, I said, we must learn to acknowledge the FATHER when we pray!
It is Him we talk to and should talk to.
Yes!
Jesus is God (The Son or Word of the Father)
The Holy Spirit is God (The Spirit or presence of the Father)
God is God (The Father or the Almighty).
PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT
As Christians that live the life of Christ, let’s not forget that that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of us and it is Him who prays through us with deep groanings and intercession to the Father.
It is written:
[26] And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
[27] And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
[28] And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
[Romans 8:26-28 NLT]
So, How Do We Pray in The Spirit?
16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
[Mark 16:16-17 KJV]
- First, you must be born again, being born again is believing in Christ Jesus and accepting him as Lord and Saviour.
The Holy Spirit can not come upon you if you do not acknowledge that Jesus is the son of God, that He died for your sins, and that on the third day, He rose again.
As I said:
Jesus is God,
God is God,
and the Holy Spirit is God.
You can not believe in one and hate the other, or work/walk in the ministry of one without acknowledging the other.
- Secondly, the Holy Spirit comes upon you automatically when you believe in Jesus, He can also be dormant in your life if you do not “activate” Him by speaking in tongues…
Praying in the spirit is the deeper version of speaking in tongues.
So, you will have to do the speaking, as He takes you over when you pray.
But first, you will have to open your mouth and speak just the same way you opened your mouth to declare that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour.
Many people want to speak in tongues but they keep mum and expect the Holy Spirit to fall on them and automatically or somehow open their mouths to do the speaking…
While this is true and can happen, the Holy Spirit is a gentle Spirit, He mostly wouldn’t force anyone to do anything.
He wants you to desire it first, open your mouth to speak then He takes you over.
When you do the speaking in tongues, He broods within you and you begin to pray in the Spirit.
(I will elaborate more on this in part 3 and practical lessons).
So, the same way you opened your mouth to declare Jesus as Lord, you open that mouth to speak whatever comes into your spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to take you over while at it.
I hope you all have learned something today.
Please if you desire to be baptized in the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues, do well to reach out to us through this channel
When you reach out, we’ll take you on a practical session and Jesus would be glorified.
Part 2 and part 3 of this same topic would be taught in our next session, kindly follow the series to the end so we can grow in knowledge and have the totality of what God has in store for us, please.
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Let us pray!
Dear Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that You are Lord over all, I ask that You turn the hearts of men to read, know and understand these things which I teach as You would want them to, may they not misunderstand all I have written! Amen! Thank You Jesus for You always hear me when I pray!
Hallelujah!