a.
Prayer
The second
part of the covenant the saints have covenanted with the Lord by sacrifice is
the sacrifice of prayer which, in the true sense of the word is communication
with God and making a request of God. King David in one of his psalms wrote; “LORD,
I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice” (Psalms 141:2).
Saints
have been admonished to pray for one another especially for growth and
development of each other and for the growth of the ministry as demonstrated by
the apostle Paul who wrote; “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in
the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks
for you, making mention of you in my prayers:” He also advised the saints to; “pray
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this
end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians
1:15-16; 6:18).
We have
been admonished saying; “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders
of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will
raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 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. 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. And he prayed again,
and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James
5:14-18).
Prayer
therefore, is an integral part of the covenanted sacrifice the saints have
covenanted to offer to the Lord and should be executed effectively by
implementing ten general requirements namely:
·
A
forgiving spirit
Jesus Christ taught His disciples
saying; “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar,
and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer
your gift…For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 5: 23-24;
6:14-15).
·
Simplicity
Jesus Christ again instructed His
disciples saying; “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward
(which is the glory of men).
But you, when you pray, go into
your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the
secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And
when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that
they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them.
For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew
6:5-8).
·
Humility
and repentance
To illustrate this point Jesus
Christ gave a parable saying; “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with
himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men --- extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give
tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would
not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be
merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:10-14).
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To be continued
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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