GROWING IN PERSONAL PRAYER
EPH 6:12,18; LUKE
18:1; COL 4:2; 1THES 5:17.
It is no longer news that a Christian life is warfare,
an intense conflict. It is a battle, a lifelong contest. From the very day you
gave your life to Jesus Christ and renounce the devil and his activities, there,
your first sword was drawn against the enemy of your soul and the truth.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.” Eph 6:12-13.KJV.
It is a fight against
invisible foes who is always alert and ever ready to trap, deceive and damn the
soul of men and stop the believer. Many church goer and some believers got it
wrong by not taking time to know the character of this battle, its demand and the
potent weapon at their disposal. Today’s believer are almost ignorant of the
activities of this enemy and his agents he must keep in perpetual defeat if he
must serve God faithfully, live victoriously and make it to heaven eventually.
Every other weapon available to the believer is perfectly wrapped and sharpened
in one, which is PRAYER.
Living a victorious Christian life will be
difficult if you are not prayerful!
Prayer
therefore is the believer lifeline, his potent weapon and his assurance of
victory over spiritual foes. Prayer is the believer’s plug and adaptor to the
power source. If there’s any armory the enemy first aim at in the life of a
vibrant Christian, it is his prayer arsenal.
A believer once sent an SOS “my
prayer life is down and I’ m very weak spiritually. Things are not just working
in my life, spiritually, physically, materially, financially, etc.” I pitied him because there were spiritual
bruises all over him. He is not alone in this condition, there are several
others having the same challenge today. But the good news is that, there’s a
way out. You can rise from spiritual obscurity and defeat to a prayer giant and hero. You can actually
develop and grow your personal prayer life, it is possible…but, not without a life of sacrifice, discipline and dedication.
Can I hear you say, “But I
have been trying and struggling to develop and grow in my personal prayer life,
but all my efforts seems not to be working? I seem not to understand what does
hinder me each time I try?”
HINDERANCES
TO PERSONAL GROWTH IN PRAYER:
v Besetting sins: PS 66:18; ISA 1:11,15-16. JOHN
9:31; PROV 15:29.
Besetting sins dwarfs and out
rightly kills personal prayer growth, and left you with guilty conscience. A
man of guilt cannot stand confidently before God. Guilt demoralizes and
discourages you from talking to the Lord.
Rebellious and disobedient
child do not have that inner confident and trust to always come boldly before
the parent to make request. Their lifestyle always put them off.
v The social media: If you
don’t have any important things doing there, Social media will consume your
precious times and hinders you from cultivating and growing in communing with
the Lord. It feeds into your heart and
life prayer weakening information, images and videos.
v The TV: If you
really want to grow your personal prayer life, in turn grow spiritually and
make any appreciable impact in life and ministry, you must drastically cut and
regulate the time you spend before the screen.
v Talkativeness: PROV 10:19. Unnecessary talks, jokes
and conversations weakened the believer, drains the grace of God (spiritual
strength) in the believer and takes away his communing time with the master.
v Criticism: In this day and age, it is
very easy to always take the path of criticism.
The devil seems to win over you when you join others to criticize things in the Lord’s house. A person that specializes in criticism can scarcely find time to
pray, not to talk of developing and growing in personal prayer.
v Activities: MARK 6:30-32. The
damage done to many believers by too much activity is so alarming. Many, when
they started initially with the Lord, they did quite well. They were not
popular, but the Lord knew them in the secret. Then, they developed and grew a
personal private time with Lord. In their regular personal prayers, they had true refreshing, obtained fresh revelations,
personal insight into God’s depth, inflow of God’s power in them and through
them, etc. The grace of God was constantly having full expression in their
lives, which was easily noticed in the work they were doing for the Lord.
But today,
though they are very busy for the Lord, no time for personal prayers any more,
the only major time of prayer they have is when they come to religious meetings.
The same Jesus they claim to serve is patiently waiting for them where he used
to meet them privately for his revelation and instruction for both them and for
the people they are leading. Their place in the secret with the Lord is empty,
while they are very busy in the open. The Lord is saying, my son, my daughter, when
are you coming for a personal private time with me? Can’t you see dryness, I
want my image to truly form in you, where are you? He’s nowhere to be found!
STEPS TO
PERSONAL GROWTH IN PRAYER
v Having a conscience void of offense: Acts 24:16.
A clear conscience towards
God gives you confident and a right platform before the father. As the spirit
of God bears witness with your spirit that you are his child, this grant you
that needed trust to always throw your weaknesses upon him for his strength to
receive. When your conscience do not condemns you, it gives you that boldness,
that confidence and that inner longing to always approach Him.
A clear conscience towards
man also helps in your prayer growth, ISA
1:17-18. If you notice someone have genuine ought against you, or you have
stepped on someone’s toes, settle that immediately. Ensure that you are not
spiritually insensitive.
v Set up your personal altar: Gen 12:7; 26:24-25;
Ps 55:17; 88:13
Altar in our
dispensation is a place of God presence. Your meeting point with the Lord. Your
set aside time and place with the Lord. Prayer
is difficult to the man who lives in the flesh. It will take a deliberate
plan of action, discipline, dedication and sacrifice to grow in personal
prayer.
A man has two sons, one often
spends most of his times hanging out with friends and hardly have personal
private time with the father. In other hand, the second son often spends most
of his time discussing with the father. Because of the time he spend with the
father, the second son developed friendship with the father. The father loved
him and does always reveal his plans concerning them to him.
v Broken Altar: If yours is broken down,
build it back. 1 Kings 18:30.
v Do not join the critique: Don’t join
the group that specializes in criticizing things in the house hold of God, but
take those lapses you see to the Lord in your personal prayer time. Pray for
your ministers and the work of God in their hands. Pray for the church of God,
for in doing that you grow your personal your prayer life.
v Personal vigils: Have a personal
vigil once in a while, even though it is one hour. Call upon the name of the
Lord, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.
v Separate yourself: In your
personal prayer times you receives, Revelations, Anointing, Power, and Strength
to live victoriously. The enemy trembles before that man who
progressively grows in his prayer life. 1
Chron 4:10
Jacob had to
separate from the crowd to handle a matter of life and death through personal
prayer. Gen 32:24.
Brethren,
it is time to arise in prayers and confront those difficulties that challenge
your life.
Ø Brethren,
is there no balm in Gilead?
Ø Is the
name of Jesus no longer potent enough?
Ø Is there
no power in the blood of Jesus anymore?
Ø Is there
no more power in his word?
Ø Is our
God no longer a man of war? Exo 15:3; Ps 24:7-10.
Why
then, the demonic harassment and intimidation? Why then the Manipulations? Why
then, the limitations, oppressions, the closed doors? Why then, the spiritual
and physical stagnations? Etc.
You must
stop singing the Lord’s song in a strange land! You must shake yourself from
the dust, you must rise and sit down, you must loose thy self from the bands,
you must put on thy strength, and you must put on thy beautiful garment.
Arise and build back your personal altar.
May God help you.
