THE PLACE OF PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

Prayer is indispensable in Christian journey here on earth. A frue Christian must be a praying Christian. To be a non-praying Christian is a contradiction of terms. Prayer is the master key to unlock doors. Jesus, our perfect example, started His earthly ministry with prayer (Luke 3:21) and ended it with prayer (Luke 24:50). A Christian cannot walk with God without regularly engaging Him in a dialogue through prayer. That we may know that prayer is a very important aspect of our walk.

WHAT PRAYER IS (Ephesians 6:18-24)

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• Prayer is a crucial aspect ofa believer's life (Ephesians 6: 18).

There is no time we are safe without prayer. The devil and the flesh that we contend with never give up on us. We have no power of our own to overcome them. To be on the safe side, we must communicate regularly with God who has power over them.

Forum for us to be able to withstand temptations, we have to be prayerful. The temptation of Jesus was immediately after His prayer and fasting (Luke 3: 21 ; 4: 1 and that was why He could overcome all the temptations put before Him by the devil.

• We advance God's kingdom with prayer.
  The task before us is laborious and we have many adversaries that will hinder our progress. Only prayer can help us advance it.

• Prayer includes worship and communication with God.
  "All kinds of prayer" in Ephesians 6: 18 includes prayer ofthanksgiving, confession ofsin, petition, etc. Worshipping God includes singing to praise and adore Him, and requesting from Him.

• Acceptable prayer must be offered from a heart that is yielded to God
  (Ephesians 6:18). Only a spiritual man or woman can pray in the spirit. A carnal person whose life is dominated by the activities ofthe flesh cannot pray a triumphant prayer. To be in the spirit is to be in tune with heaven. It is to live a righteous life.

• Prayer targets the needs ofothers as well (Ephesians 6: 18b).

Most of our prayers today are selfish. Hardly do we remember to bear one another's burden in prayer. This is one ofthe major reasons why our prayers are not answered most ofthe time (James 4:3).

• Prayer strengthens God'speople (Ephesians 6: 19).
  We need to pray for one another to be able to excel in the various ministries God has committed into our hands. Only by prayer can we get empowered to do the work. We need to pray regularly for one another.

• Prayer needs to be specific (Ephesians 6:21 , 22).
  Hannah was specific in her request. She requested for a baby boy (I Samuel 1: 10, 11) and got a baby boy. Tell God in your prayer exactly what you need.

• Prayer brings God's will to fulfillment (Ephesians 6: 23, 24).
  The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6: 10) teaches us to ask for God's will. When we do, God is pleased and we are blessed.

WHY A CHRISTIAN MUST PRAY.

• Prayer is a channel through which God and man communicate with each other. How can you be a child that does not talk with his father? Only an illegitimate child will find himself or herselfin such a situation. Prayer is not a monologue but a dialogue between God and man.

• We experience and understand the love ofGod through prayer (Psalms 8:4; Ephesians 3: 14-19). God is willing to reveal Himself to whoever is ready to experience Him. He is ever ready to demonstrate His unfailing love to us. Through prayer, you can experience all these.

• We grow spiritually through prayer, as we build up our faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ (Jude 20).

• Prayer is a means of overcoming Satan and the forces of darkness. We possess no power of our own to overcome Satan. He has been on this planet earth before man was created. Only through prayer can we overcome him.

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• Throughprayer, we ask and receive our desiresfrom God (Matthew 7: 7, 8;James 4:2). Many examples are in the Bible of those who got what they requested from God. Mention some ofthem.

• By praying, we invite God to act on our behalf This is the primary reason why we pray to God as Christian. On many occasions, God acted on behalf of the Israelites, His children. Today, He is still in the business of acting for those who call on Him for help.

HOW TO PRAY

• Pray to God inathe name ofJesus Christ (John 14: 13). The only name given to us to pray with is the Name ofJesus. Any prayer not developed with this name is not to God.

• Pray in accordance with the will ofGod. You must add "according to the will of God" to all your prayer points. This is not convenient sometimes but you must add it to your prayer because we cannot compel God.

• Pray with faith, without doubting (Matthew 21: 21, 22; Mark 11 :24; James 1 : 5, 6). Most ofthe prayers we pray today are mere noise because no faith is found in us; and so, no answer can be gotten.

• Pray with the assurance that God hears and answers us at His own time. God gave Isaac to Sarah at His appointed time, 25years after His promise to h family (Genesis 21 : 1-6). God has drawn His own good time-table concerning yo life. You cannot rush Him.

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