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PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT SERIES
FREQUENT MENTIONING
IN PRAYER
In this message, we want to study the
frequency of mentioning prayer items before the Lord. How often should we pray
over certain items? That has been a puzzle to many Christians. Of course we know
that there are different types of prayer. In the prayer of faith we realize
that we ask once. But then after that you still give thanks. So the question is
how often must we remind God or give thanks to God for those requests. Even in
the prayer of faith we have a question of how often should we keep at it? So we
want to see first in the book of James 5: 16 Confess
your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.
The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Fervent,
persistent and continuous prayer of a righteous man avails much.
He illustrates it with the life of Elijah.
James 5: 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. And he prayed
earnestly that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three
years and six months. He prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth
produces its fruits
One thing to pay attention here is the
fact that he didn't ask once. He didn’t ask twice. He asked more than that. We
can see the very example in his asking for rain. In the book of First Kings 18:
41 Even though there was no rain yet Elijah said to Ahab go up eat and drink
for there is the sound of abundance of rain. Ahab went up to eat and drink.
Elijah went up to the top of
Let's not apply the principles of the
prayer of faith where it is another type of prayer. This was a different area.
You can only apply the prayer of faith in areas where it does cover the
promises of God. Now here he has to undo something that he has done in the
realm of stopping the rain. He was controlling over the forces of nature.
Whatever he did and however you look at it, he did it seven times. Seven times
that was persistent. Elijah was not praying the prayer of faith because the
prayer of faith does not depend on sight. Elijah was moving into the realm of
the spirit and through his persistence. According to the
James 5:17 it is effectual and fervent prayer. He was moving the forces
of nature to bring about a visible manifestation. And when the visible
manifestation came forth, he knew the rest was on the way. See he was seeking
for that sign. When the sign of one tiny cloud appeared he knew that was the
sign he was looking for. How do I know he was looking for a sign? He sent his
servant out. You are looking for something when you ask somebody to look for
it. He prayed seven times.
How long are we to pray for something? God
had shown me how this spirit world is in darkness. Unbelievers are all in the
dark. But those who are believers are like little light bulbs that shine in the
darkness of this world. I realize that Jesus says that you are light of the
earth. He did not meant it as a teaching but that was
literally the scene in the spirit realm. And there are different degrees of
brightness according to each person's walk with God. The astounding thing that
I saw was that the earth was covered by a thick cloud of darkness. And I
realize that those must be the wicked spirits in the high places that Paul talked
about in Ephesians 6. But from time to time wherever groups of Christians were
there praying, there were lights like laser beams that float from the
Christians right up to the throne of God. And from time to time this spiritual
light that looks like laser beam hit that cloud of darkness. And where so ever
it hit there was a big gap. It broke through the darkness. Then there was a
reciprocal light that flows to and fro wherever it broke through as if there
was an open window. Sometimes it is just a single slight sometimes it’s a great
huge light. The light that I saw in the spirit realm was the prayer of God's
people reaching to the throne of God. And from time to time it broke through
the heavenlies and it brought an open window. That's
when they began to receive the answers to prayer and the manifestation of God's
power or promises over their life.
The light that we have right now that
shine is just artificial light and it consists of many different wavelengths.
We see as white but it consists of many colors. But these lights cannot be used
to cut paper or do operations like the laser beams that cut through metal. So
this light is only good for lighting up. But if we could just isolate just one
wavelength that would begin what we call the process of a laser beam. See a
laser beam is light flowing at the same frequency. If we could isolate just one
type of wavelength and get it all into one wavelength we are beginning to form
what we call a laser beam. So the first quality of a laser beam is what I call
purification of wavelength or similarity of wavelength. All the wavelengths
must be the same. The second quality of a laser beam is what we call intensity.
You must have it intensely. That is in great volume and in great outburst of
light.
Now
that's the comparison of it in the spiritual realm. All prayers whether they
are prayers of dedication, prayers of faith or prayers of intercession have to
have intensity and purity. You can call it similarity and intensity. And it
must be pure enough and intense enough in order for it to have any effect in
the spiritual realm. You want to use light beams that are in the form of laser
to cut metals or to do operations. We would need it in its pure wavelength and
in great intensity to be useful in the natural.
In
James 5 notice the two words that are used here. Verse sixteen, confess your
trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. The two words that
are used are effectual and fervent. Of course the word fervent
conveys intensity. When we talk about being fervent we talk about how intense
and how much that object or the answer to prayer have
overtaken every other desire in your life. I could greet you lightly or I could
greet your fervently. So intensity is greater.
The word effectual ties to the
previous sentence that talked about cleansing, confessing of your fault. Something that is pure right from the depths of your heart.
And notice he is also speaking about the prayer of faith in verse fifteen. Look
at verse fifteen, and the prayer of faith. Generally most Christians know that
in intercession you keep doing it and doing it because the freewill of the
person you are interceding is involved. And they do know the dedication you
must have to keep doing it and doing it. It is something that you have to keep
dedicating your life to God all the time.
But
the prayer of faith involves a certain purity and intensity but in a different
sense. If you repeat something out of fear and doubt it is bad. A bad thought,
repeatedly thought becomes a mental habit. And the mental habit gradually
becomes a part of your character. Then it becomes a part of your life. And it
is hard to get rid of. It starts in your thought. But the positive is true.
There are certain things that you have to keep repeating it. Basically it is
not the repetition that is at fault. But it’s the doubts present that cancelled
it. Some people pray again and again because they didn't believe the previous
prayer. They have gone into doubt.
When you pray the prayer of faith you pray
and you believe. Mark 11:23-24 When you pray
believe that you have received and you shall have them. Notice the three
tenses there. When you pray, that is present tense. Believe that you
have received, that is past perfect tense. And you shall have them,
that is future tense. So there is a present, a past
and a future. Between point A the time you pray that
is past and to point B the time you shall receive which is the manifestation in
the future you have to keep doing something. And some things that we do in the
prayer of faith is to combine with the prayer of
thanksgiving. You thank God that it is done. And as you are walking close to
point "B" you say thank you God that it is done. You keep on thanking
God that it is done. So even in the prayer of faith you repeat. But you repeat
in faith not in doubt.
The question is how often should we keep
at our prayers? As long as you have the time to concentrate on those things, we
need to do it until it comes to pass. Whether it is a prayer of faith and later
combined with thanksgiving to continue in a right way, or the prayer of
dedication or the prayer of intercession, we need to continue frequently in it.
We need to continue building in our purity, in our inner change and in our
intensity volume. So we have both quality and quantity in prayer. The quality of your prayer and the quantity
of your prayer plays a role to bring the manifestation in whatever category it
is.
The reason why I talk on the prayer of
faith so much is because here you get the impression that you should not repeat
your prayer of faith. But the other ways you repeat it is through the prayer of
thanksgiving. For example you have prayer for a supply to your needs and you
have the assurance in your heart. You know and you know that it is done. You
have no doubt in your heart. And from that moment onwards you keep giving
thanksgiving until it comes to pass.
God has made us in a finite and limited
way that we cannot do all things at once. Even if you have to do many things
you have to do it one at a time. Try doing Math's and Geography at the same
time. Your mind cannot handle it. And in our lifetime there are so many things
that we could pursue. But if you want to pursue something, you have to
concentrate on that one field. But with proper spacing of time, in one lifetime
you could earn many things because you have spaced out one day to do each one.
For example you could be in a university earning your Bachelor of Economics and
at the same time you started late in music but apportion two hours a week to
music. You may have taken four years in university. During those fours years
you have apportioned two hours a week or one hundred and four hours a year.
Four year is four hundred and sixteen hours in music. You would also learn it
at the same time as learning Economic. But yet you reached a point that you
cannot do all. And in music it is very difficult to learn everything at once. I
want to learn the organ. I want to learn the piano and the violin and the
guitar all at once.
In
prayer you cannot concentrate on ten twenty things at one time. There is a
certain law involved in that. You can only pray through on certain things
perhaps about three or four major items and the rest are kept in the
background. But you take it up and you deal with it. It is just like if you are
in the business you have fifty potential clients. You don’t try to build all of
them at one time. You concentrate on making a sale on perhaps two or three a
day. So to be really successful at prayer you must prioritize your items.
Remember sometimes one long well aim shot is more economical and powerful than
a wild gunslinger that wastes bullets all over the place. You may have one
thousand items to pray but in an overnight prayer meeting you concentrate only
on two or three and you pray through. So that is why I say prioritize
our prayers in order to bring the best results. We could do better with our
time. I am sure you heard the story of a
person who has so many things to do. He tried to do everything and ended up
with doing nothing. You pick two or three and do it well and better than the
other guy who tried to do everything at one time. It is the same way in
prayers. We got to prioritize our items.
Part of the prioritizing comes from our
sense of urgency. If the doctor told you that you got two days to live and you
have been praying for a washing machine. I would say it is better to spend your
time to pray for healing during the next the two days than to pray to get the
washing machine. If tomorrow the third warning of your rental payment is due
and you are just about to be moved out of the house. You know that is
"D" day. I would say that is the area you should concentrate on. Like you are given two days to live. Get healed and then get
the washing machine later.
Now the other side of prioritizing is what
we call the leading of the spirit. Where the Spirit can pick up certain things
and pressed it in form of a prayer burden upon our lives. These may be things
that are not regarded as priority. But the Spirit picks up certain things and
impressed it heavily upon you. Then He is telling you prioritize these items.
So we need to concentrate on certain things. And what we need to learn from the
Holy Spirit is this: to concentrate on praying for those things until they come
to pass. Until the manifestation come to pass.
So in other words if you are praying for
your husband or wife to be born again. I will say that is a priority because
you see them everyday. You suffer the consequences of an unbeliever in your own
family everyday. That would be a top priority. And I would say that too many
give up easily. Even in intercession there is a point where you enter from the
realm of petition to thanksgiving. But we have to be so persistent with a
bulldog grip on those prayers, that you hold it fast
and you will not let it go.
I
am talking about things that the old Pentecostals have learned in the early
days. John G. Lake speaks about how there are times certain prayer burden grips
him or he grips them that he would not let go for days. I mean for days he
prayed for nothing else but that item. In his book he speaks about how there
was one time a plague in the region where there were missionaries in. There was
one intercessor praying in the bushes. And
Modern Christians have lost this art in
prayer. We are trained in the art of prayer of faith but we forget that prayer
of faith is not against intensity and volume. And we need to learn how to focus
on certain items at a time and give it all you got. And if it is so urgent that
you pray through. I mean it doesn't matter how long it takes or how often do
you pray. You pray and pray until it leaves off from you. Certain items may
leave off temporarily. Then the next day it comes on again and you have to go
on it again. Certain items you realize you could not pray through yet. You got
to keep continuing. Successful prayer is prayer that is effectual and fervent.
It has purity. It concentrates on certain item and bring
it through all the time. Before a mission trip, for months I prayed for nothing
else but that.
You can only prioritize certain things at
a time. We are limited in time and in form. So we cannot be doing a thousand
things. We are not omnipresence. We need to prioritize certain items. And we
have to flow with the Spirit of God that He may lead us and guide us in our
priority of certain things. This is Elijah with all his fierce tenacity. I
would reckon if the servant didn't see anything on the seventh time he would
remain there. If the servant didn't see anything for the fortieth time he would
still remain there. He would wait until that rain come to pass no matter how
long it takes. Praise God.
It is just like casting out demons. When
you new in casting out demons The demons sometimes are
quite reluctant to obey you. They could sense that you are a freshie. When you say, "Come out in Jesus Name,"
they will have a closer look at you first whether you mean it or not. When they
see that this guy is serious then they will come out. But as you are
experienced in that they sort of know you. They recognize you. Before you could
say come out. They come out because they know you just as the demons recognized
Paul. You become more effective with the one command.
In the same way, as we become more
experienced in prayer, we may not take quite as long as we need to when we
first started. When we first started and learned this secret of purifying our
prayers and concentrating them and then intensifying them, it may take us quite
a wrestling in the Spirit to get through something. But if you could over come
one thing with this principle, it becomes easier to over come
the second thing and the third thing. Until your ability to be effectual and
fervent to have purity and intensity to have quality and quantity becomes so
well trained that all you do like a laser beam. You just focus and it will just
focus. For some of us our crystals are a little bit out of line and our voltage
is a little bit too low. So when we try to focus our laser beams, it sometimes
goes out of line. Sometimes it has a little bit of impurity inside. But as we
train ourselves in the spirit, we could become so well trained and we could
perfect it. That all you have to do is just concentrate on one item and
intensify it and they run. So we develop
the skill in effectual prayer that the bible teaches us to do so.
And so remember to focus on certain item intensely. Certain items you may need to pray very long before you began to taste the effect of it. But it is concentrated prayer in an item and tasting the benefits that will encourage it. Its just like if you try to learn ten musical instruments at one time. It can be quite discouraging because you are finding it hard to perfect all. But if you just take your time and learn perhaps two or three and then you perfect it, you get the satisfaction of learning something. Then you go to another thing. You get the encouragement. But if you try to concentrate on so many things and you are not succeeding on anything yet, it can be quite frustrating. Nothing taste better than answered prayer. The joy of answered prayers put spark into your spiritual life that you are more intensified to other things. So when you pray don’t try to focus on too many things. Check what is urgent in your life. And let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you. There could be just one or two items that you continually pray as a good habit. But then you got to be opened to the Spirit.
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