Prayer and God’s Purpose
Prayer is more than presenting requests to God—it is a lifestyle of fellowship, faith, and continual dependence on Him. In the previous message, we saw from the life of Paul that God sometimes allows certain struggles not to destroy us, but to position us for grace. We saw that his “thorn in the flesh” did not stop God from hearing his prayers, but revealed something deeper about God’s purpose in prayer and weakness.
This understanding leads us further into a deeper truth about prayer itself.
We put a demand on the anointing by faith. You need that faith. That is why the Bible says that only faith pleases Him. It means there is nothing you can do with Him without faith. By faith, we put a demand on the anointing of God.
Faith and Access to the Anointing
When it is a time like this, it is time to pay attention, attention with devotion. You have to be in an attitude of prayer. To pay attention with devotion is to be in an attitude of prayer.
A word has been anointed for a long time. “Take more of me, give me more of You, more of Your holiness, purity, faithfulness, kindness.” Oftentimes, “In the name of Jesus” is saying words, not praying prayer. It is not everybody that says, “In the name of Jesus” that is praying. Many are saying words.
You can have that faith that moves mountains if you pay attention. Christianity says you must have faith to pray. If you don’t have faith and you are praying, by what authority will you put a demand on the anointing?
Citing Mark 5:34 shows that faith releases healing anointing. Faith releases blessing anointing. Faith releases deliverance and breakthrough. What you are looking for, faith releases it. We all regard faith as heavenly currency. The more currency you have, the more heavenly resources you purchase.
Are you praying with your heart? “Take more of me, give me more of You.” This is to fortify you, to overhaul you. “Take more of me, give me more of Your holiness, more of Your righteousness, more of Your purity.” Continue that, and the Lord will take it up and be saying it for you. Then your faith will begin to grow.
Faith is a vacuum that draws the anointing from Jesus.
Your Heart Is the Prayer Room
We don’t just listen to the Gospel. We listen to the Gospel by being in an attitude of prayer. Your heart is the prayer room. Your heart is the temple of God. You want to see visions. You must see with your heart. You must create time for yourself. Anywhere can be an altar. The altar of God is everywhere.
You begin to pray. Satan cannot catch you unprepared because the situation we face today, Satan keeps catching people unprepared. Look at your life. At a time you want to shout Jesus, Satan has already moved ahead. Start it now.
“That is the secret of my life. As I’m talking to you, I’m praying. When I’m eating, I do pray.” — T.B. Joshua
When you have a certain time that you pray, Satan will catch you before that time. He has his own strategy and tactic and he uses it.
When you start today, it will be very, very difficult at the beginning, but know that you have played your role before Jesus comes to play His own. Do not give up.
A Life of Continuous Prayer and Dependence
The best faith builder is what you have started, prayer in the Spirit, “Take more of me, give me more of You.”
Even self-healing will happen to you. You will be very surprised that the sickness you have been talking about suddenly you wake up and find out that it is gone.
We have to make a covenant, a promise to God. Are you praying now? By the time you start this, very soon, you cannot stop it.
The way blood runs in your body, that is the way prayer will run in your heart. Jesus always wants to give us what we don’t know how to do, so that He can teach us.
If you know when Jesus will answer you, you will only pray at that time. He is always giving us what we do not know how to do so that He Himself can teach us.
Your genuine willingness is needed. No matter the miracle and blessing you receive, to maintain them, you need Jesus. Anybody can receive miracles, but not everyone can maintain them.
You move with the Kingdom of God, you move with Heaven, but you do not know. You keep asking for Heaven, but Heaven is with you.
Living in Continual Dependence on God
This is the continuation of the same revelation from the life of Paul, that God’s grace is not only seen in deliverance from trials, but also in learning to live in continual dependence on Him.
That dependence becomes real when your heart becomes the prayer room, and prayer becomes the atmosphere of your life.
This is where prayer moves from being something you do, to the life you live before God.