Dear Esteemed readers,
with over 300 reads, this article was the most read from The Quiver' in 2017. Therefore,we believe it deserves republishing in order to bless more souls. Undoubtedly, the aspect of prayers cannot be exhausted nor overemphasized.
Shalom
Ogunsuyi Opeyemi
Editor-in Chief
Vol. 18.03.35
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Mathew. 7. 8.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. - Bible Offline
- ASKING PRAYER.
Asking prayer means to inquire, to make demands, to receive. This level of prayer is for those who just appear before the Father when they have needs. They are getters, they are those who see prayer as a means of submitting their numerous list of needs. They are easily frustrated when there's delay in answer in respect to their request. Asking prayer is for ‘babies in Christ’ who ask and ask and ask. You often see them in prayer meetings, the only time they appear before God is when they are in need of something. They see God as a giver and they are the type you see on December 31st. The Bible says, it is more blessed to give than to receive, but these people are receivers only. However, because of the faithfulness and love of God towards men, He gives them when certain conditions are met. Jesus placed a low level of importance on this prayer; if the only time God sees your face in His presence is only when in need, you need to step up to the next phase of prayer.
- SEEKING PRAYER
And He That Seeks Find. Finds what? I once read Tommy Teeny’s book titled: 'Prayer of a GOD CHASER'- Who is a God chaser? A God chaser is a God getter, seeking God when He can be found. This talks about time, I have discovered there are two best times to find God according to the bible, early in the morning and in the cool of the day. This is a level of prayer for those who are hungry for God. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness..... THEY SHALL BE FED, those who will not be stopped or stop at nothing until they come into fellowship with God. Those who will give it all it takes to be in the circumference of His presence. Those consumed with burning hunger and dry thirst for God, those that have transcended from getting the GIFT to getting the GIVER. Those who do not see prayer as a medium to submit their endless list of request but a way of honoring divine call to fellowship. Call to the father of Lord Jesus Christ, the father of Glory, to the enumerable company of angels. The heavenly Jerusalem, the same place Moses entered and communed with God forty days and forty night; the ‘askers’ (the crowd) were at the base of the mountain , but the ‘seeker’ (Moses) was called up to the mountain, in the smoke where God is. Those askers had to wait until the seeker came back with results. I wish your prayer henceforth will be ‘Lord I no longer want to appear before you all because of the gifts you have to offer me but because there is a need for me to fellowship with you (God)’.
I feel the urge to talk about this a little more. For one who wants to know the original plan of God for man, let him go to the book of Genesis. We were never created to be askers but for fellowship. God told me something, He said ‘I did not call man up for fellowship, but I God came down to man to fellowship with him. God came in company of His angels to the garden to FELLOWSHIP with man. When we lost it, we became askers. We became short of that glory. How many of us know that the commandment of God that the day man eat of the forbidden fruit HE SHALL DIE is not about physical death, but it is ‘A SEPARATION FROM GOD’? Man became separated. God never came down to him anymore but thank God redemption restored the fellowship, then we have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, be with you all.
It is a kind of prayer in which we appears before God in ministering to Him. We read in our Bible that the apostles were ministering to God, singing praises, worshipping him, forgetting their many problems, enjoying the communion and God asks, son, daughter, ooh! You are here what can I do for you? You replied, father, I just came to worship you, to tell you how wonderful you are and He says, OK, I also have some wonderful packages for you when going; these when opened, is multiple fold of what your brain could have ever asked in prayer.
For further study on SEEKING PRAYER, read Psalms 42:1 and Jeremiah 29:12-13
- KNOCKING PRAYER
This prayer means praying out our burden. This directly addresses the matter of PRAYING EFFECTIVELY and PRAYING EARNESTLY. The most important ones or the highest order of levels of prayer is KNOCKING PRAYER. Going back to our text in Matthew 7:7 and verse 8, ‘for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened’. And to everyone that KNOCKS, IT SHALL BE OPENED, What shall be opened? Doors and/or windows. I will use the phrase ‘knocking prayer’ and ‘earnest prayer’ interchangeably. Sometimes, I have had to leave what I was doing and RUN to my gate to see who was knocking. I mean I RAN not walk especially when you have some impatient visitors at your gate who came knocking tirelessly. No man feels comfortable under a pressing and persistent knock on the door, you cannot try to pretend it is not affecting you. You cannot pretend to be having a nice sleep when someone is banging hard on your door.
Knocking prayer will cause God and arise and even His angels to rush down when someone rightfully applies it, Jesus explained this with a parable to show how significant it is.
Luke 11:5-8
5. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6. For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8. I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. - Bible Offline.
From the above passage, it’s a question and answer
He goes to his friend at what hour of the day? Midnight hour talks about a time of Rest
Remember, Jesus said the day is for work, the NIGHT COMES WHEN NO MAN SHALL BE ABLE TO WORK. That same hour when no man should work was when the man came. He was not qualified for attention. Now, what was his request? Loaves of bread. Was his request genuine? Yes.
But his time of request. Was it right? NO. We know that when a good thing is done wrongly, it automatically becomes wrong. What was d normal answer the man should give him, I mean the owner of the house, according to the text? It is late, Heaven has closed, Angels are resting, and Gabriel is snoring. He worked all day, everywhere is shut down. I CANNOT RISE UP AND GIVE THEE. Let's read verse 8 now, I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. - Bible Offline.
Look at it closely, I love the first sentence. Though he will not rise up because of friendship, that they are friends is not going to make him stand up, it is not only to be a friend of God as far as this matter is concerned. Then what will dis man consider? Look at how this version puts it, ‘I tell you this--though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence’(Holman Christian Standard Bible). I love my bible than any other book in the world. No book is as interesting as it.
I tell you, even though he won't get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend's persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
He now says, but because of HIS PERSISTENCE
He keeps knocking and knocking to the point he becomes a disturbance, and God says, come, if we do not answer this guy, we will have no attention to attend to other matters. Please, what exactly does he need? -because of his continuous, tireless and persistent knocking, God will have to respond. We need to see what Gods response will be like, He will give him AS MANY AS HE NEEDS.
I am talking about a generation of people that will not give up praying until so meting happens, until heaven responds, men that will not lift their head until God says, sit, eat and cheer up, the answer is here. Men that will wrestle with God all night until there is a question of TELL ME YOUR NAME. Men that will press hard on heaven door until the anointing is poured out, that will hold the peace in heaven until there is a physical manifestation of God's response on the earth. Praying hard until something happens, knocking hard until God sees your determination. Banging hard until God comes and respond to your call. EARNEST KNOCKING PROVOKES OPENING OF HEAVEN DOORS. Everybody prays but only a few pray earnestly. Some give up at the verge of God's response, some allow heaven to rest with their 'If it is thy will' prayer. I tell you today, if you need healing, it is the will of God, knock for it, you need prosperity, it is His will knock for it, don’t stop praying and believing God until it becomes evident in your life.
Luke: 22. 44. ‘And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground’. - Bible Offline.
He prayed MORE EARNESTLY being in agony, MORE EARNESTLY, MORE INTENSELY. He intensified the knock, the more the agony, the more he prayed.
Elijah stilled not only rainfall, but DEW also. I tell you that was the power of an earnest prayer.
1 kings 17 only tells us Elijah said by my word but by revelation, God revealed in James that Elijah did not just achieve that by mere saying but He prayed EARNESTLY THAT THERE BE NO RAIN AND HE PRAYED AGAIN AND RAIN FELL. James: 5. 17. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. - Bible Offline.
Happy Easter
Author
Harrison Nejo
harrisonnejo@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 ©2018
Edited-in-Chief: Ogunsuyi Opeyemi B. (opeyemiogunsuyi@gmail.com)
