Necessity of prayer in troubled times

Luke 18:1, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”

Prayer is the Master Key. Due to its efficacy, our Lord Jesus Christ started and ended in prayer. It is the medium through which God’s children communicate their heart desires to their Father. They are empowered through prayer. There is a common saying that a prayerless Christian is, indeed, a powerless believer. It is based on this essence of prayer that the Bible made a declaration in the lead scripture, that men should always pray without getting tired. Man is consistently confronted with challenges of health-related issues, hunger, financial difficulties, and different attacks of the Devil because of his faith in God, and even death. The only weapon to fight the Devil and his agents is prayer. God resides in heaven and has given the earth to the children of men. In times of trouble, the only strong power capable of checkmating the Devil and his agents is that of God. It is through prayer that God is given invitation for intervention into man’s affairs on this planet earth. And that is why God Himself advises that in time of trouble, we should call upon Him and He will answer, then we in turn will glorify Him. Prayer, therefore, is a necessity, especially in times of trouble.

The evidence of necessity of prayer was made manifest in the life of King Hezekiah of Israel during his reign, as recorded in 2nd Kings 20:1-6, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, 3 I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. 6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.”

The conclusion of Hezekiah’s death has divinely been made and Prophet Isaiah dispatched to deliver the message, but fervent prayer put God on the path of second thought and the decision reversed, hence 15 years more were added to his lifespan. This is indeed the proof of God answering prayers of His children and the need to pray in times of trouble. As long as we human beings are still here on earth in flesh and blood, we are bound to face challenges. The Devil, the arch enemy of the children of God, is ever working against God’s children to make them lose faith in God and His protection, so that he, the Devil will lead them to sin, with a view to making them go to hellfire at the end of their earthly life. It is not God’s Will that any one of God’s creatures should perish but to come to the knowledge of God to be saved. We should, therefore, always pray to commit our plans and prospects into the hand of God.

We will again witness to the power of prayer in 2nd Chronicles 20:1-4 saying,

“It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi. 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

Allied forces of three kingdoms have come to attack the Israelites and King Jehoshaphat has seen that militarily, the Israelites are no match to the enemies; hence the only option was to call upon God for His intervention. He, therefore, directed a national fasting and praying. In the course of praying, the answer for the divine intervention came in verses 14-15 saying, “Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; 15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” King Jehoshaphat recognised the fact that fervent prayer moves the hand of God to action. God actually fought the battle, as the Israelites did not fire any bullet. As they were singing and praising God at the warfront, the enemies faced themselves and started killing one another. God put confusion into their midst and they destroyed themselves. This is what faithful, fervent prayer can do.

In the face of any dangerous situation, prayer for God’s intervention is the next option because God answers prayer. Hence, in John 14:13-14 the Bible says, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” As Christians, there is privilege of directing our prayers through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray through Him, our prayers are answered. This knowledge should be registered in the mind and heart of every believer. Whoever makes his requests outside Jesus Christ is praying incorrectly. This must be avoided by Christians, otherwise, your prayer will not be answered. That is why the Bible says in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” It is important to know the direction and purpose of our prayer to ensure the fulfilment of our needs, when the answer comes. God is capable of doing all things. This fact should be at the back of our mind while praying. The Bible says in Mark 9:23, “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” He that believes in God should direct his prayers to Him, asking for all his needs and expecting answer at God’s appointed time. Nobody should suffer in silence. Commit your needs into God’s hands, and through prayers He will give answers to them in Jesus’ name.

Testimony Of The Lord’s Doing

No One Can Give Above God
MY name is Sister Blessing Ifeoma Onyia. I reside at Whitesand Isheri, Lagos. I joined The Lord’s Chosen in 2008. I thank God for saving my life from the enemy’s plan. One fateful night, I had a dream where I saw my husband and his pastor’s friend entering a car going to the East. I also saw a coffin in that dream. When l woke up in the morning, I noticed that my body system had changed. I called my husband but quickly remembered that he went for pastors and leaders’ vigil the previous night. Eventually, he prayed for me and cancelled the evil dream. I later prepared my children for school that morning.

When my husband returned home, he prayed with me again and still cancelled the dream. That week, everything about me changed. I started coughing and emaciating. My husband took me to the hospital, where the doctor examined me, checked my BP and shouted. He said my BP was 190/130. He did a thorough examination of my heart and all of that, and then referred us to go for E.C.G test and chest x-ray. We went for the test and after the result came out, we went back to the hospital. The doctor examined me again and said he was seeing hypertensive heart disease, asthma and BP issues. He referred us to another hospital to see a cardiologist. Initially, l was afraid because of the doctor’s report. I told my husband to call my General Pastor, but he said the General Pastor was in Taraba State for a crusade. Later, he called the Lagos State pastor, who counseled me and prayed for me. I felt greatly relieved that night. When our General Pastor returned from Taraba, my husband brought me here on a Thursday counselling and deliverance service. When our General Pastor mounted the pulpit, he started praying and tabled my matter to the God of Chosen. Immediately, after the first deliverance prayer, he sang this song three times: “There is Power in the Name Of Jesus.” Then he faced where I was sitting and said, “There is a woman here, let that song deliver you.” immediately, I fell under anointing and noticed that something left my body. I became relieved after the service and we went home. We had an appointment with the cardiologist the next Tuesday. On the D-day, we went to see the man. He examined the x-ray result and smiled, then said he was not seeing any heart disease in my body again. Praise the Lord!

I thank God for this divine healing upon my life. May His name be exalted forever in Jesus name.

Second, during the last combined September service, I was at the programme listening to testimonies, when our General Pastor came out and commented on a restitution of a sister. He said, “Many of you here made pledges and vow to God in this church and you are yet to redeem them. Come out and redeem your pledges.” Immediately, I remembered that I made a pledge of N50, 000 during our last crusade, titled: “God Has Sworn to Bless You.” So, I quickly called my husband and told him to help me withdraw N50, 000 to enable me redeem my pledge. He was happy I said that because he had already redeemed his own.

After the service that day, I redeemed my pledge with a short prayer thus: “God of Chosen, that which you have started in my life perfect it.” After redeeming my pledge, God blessed me with the N800, 000. I thank God for the grace to redeem my pledge and for the financial blessings. May His name be praised forever in Jesus name! I pray for our General Pastor and his family, Chosen pastors, leaders, workers and members, heaven at last in Jesus name.

Praise the Lord!

Sister Blessing Ifeoma Onyia, Whitesand Isheri-Osun, Lagos.