SELFLESSNESS IN THE PLACE OF PRAYER // BY: Ogunsuyi Opeyemi & Yaroglah Oluwadamilola

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Vol. 16.2.11

Haven been privileged to attend several programs at different gatherings of believers over the years; one cannot but notice some consistent trends among all; from the Orthodox to the Pentecostal, house fellowships to crusades, gathering in twos to cathedrals with  one thing is common-Prayers. We all pray and we all need to pray; as a matter of fact, being a Nigerian and living in Nigeria can qualify you to become a "prayer warrior". It is not that some really wants to but the economic imbalance in our society is a major factor. While some gatherings delight in classical style of prayers, others prefer to go rough and crude. All the same, it is he that wears the shoe that knows where it hurts.

Prayers are quite important as this is our means of communication with our God. Prayer is so important that our Lord Jesus Christ started his earthly ministry with a comprehensive 40 day and night prayers, sandwiched with fasting (Matthew 4:2), and he also ended it with prayers even with prayers intermittently  (Luke 22:39-46, John 17). No wonder we are charged to pray at all times (1Thessalonians 5:17). To be candid, a prayerless Christian as they say is a powerless one. For now, as long as we still remain on earth, there is no alternative communication line to God except through prayers routed through the name of Jesus Christ preferably guided by the Holy Spirit. So if you attend a gathering today where they offer alternatives to prayer, you might want to rethink!

Have we come to school ourselves on prayer here? Of course not. Don't mind the elaborate exploration on prayer-it’s inexhaustible! Therefore, back to the issue at hand. First, we can no longer ignore but to notice that many churches teach members what can be called "the self-centered style of prayers". From opening prayers to benediction, it’s all about them; prayers for breakthrough, for deliverance, for provision, for promotion and so on. Many never remember to intercede for their government, the leaders and the land. Not even pray for missionaries on the field. However, it will not be fair not to acknowledge the many a few churches, organizations and group of believers that do so even on a regular basis.

This brings us to the second observation. It has become glaring these days that Christians’ approach 

to personal prayers are often intense and aggressive, while intercession for nations, governments and missionaries are often taken as inconsequential while some don't even see the need to. For both levels of observations, it is good to state that there are far more reaching implications of our actions and inactions than we can imagine. To start with, haven't we come to the understanding of why Apostle Paul gave this injunction?

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior: who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity-the man Christ Jesus (1Timothy 2:1 NLT)

If only we know the importance of the need to intercede for our land and the government, then we will do it willingly. Let's take for example, inability to pray for the land could breed bad leaders and bad leaders often lead to bad government and bad decisions; corruption hence, becomes the order of the day. Assume the millions of money stolen were used in building health centers which are well equipped, then the pregnant woman may need not panic about safe delivery, while the sick will need not trouble his pastor for purely medical issues. If part of stolen funds are used in building industries, then the unemployed will need not cry day and night in prayers for job as there will be one for all. If we pray for leaders and they do things right, then there will be economic development which will bring peace as Apostle Paul opined. Obviously, if we pray for good governance over our land, some of our prayer requests would have been taken care of. While we understand the presence of principalities and power and wickedness of this world whom we need to fight with non-canal weapon through prayers (Ephesians 6:12, 2Corinthians 10:4), we must never forget to understand that many other things can be simply met through doing the right things.

Furthermore, intercessions for missionaries have almost gone oblivion. There is need to remember the great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[NLT] Mark 16:15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

While we may not all be able to get to the interior corners of the world, the creeks and deserts, the fault lines and war zones, the friendly and foes, we are duty bound to support them in prayers and supplications as well as our resources. Contributing to spreading the gospel is a great and commendable thing which we must not all forget. While we wake up freely and openly profess our faith here, never forget there are some somewhere who hide in caves and holes to do the same. They need our prayers.

Therefore, shall we borrow the love of Moses (Exodus 32), the passion of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1), the curiosity of Daniel (Daniel 9), the prowess of Joel (Joel 2) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37) and the doggedness of the Apostles (Acts of Apostles 4:7-21, 7:54-60, 14:1-22) to pray for our nations and those risking their lives to spread the good news of Christ. Then I wonder if the good of the land and blessings of soul winning will not be unto us

Selah!!!

Author information: Ogunsuyi Opeyemi (opeyemiogunsuyi@gmail.com)

                                              Yaroglah Oluwadamilola  (oluwamautin@gmail.com)

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The Quiver is the Official Bulletin of The Change of Taste Group (a non-denominational mission intercessory and support group) ©2016