SEEING VISIONS IN PRAYER
I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions_ … ( Acts 2:17).
God loves to show us visions when we pray. If you’re going to have extraordinary results in life, it’s important that you learn to catch the visions that the Spirit of God brings to you. When I pray, I see; I relate with divine visions; I’m lifted above this world; I receive ideas from God and get directions for life. Some people don’t see visions when they pray.
To be visionless is to be stagnated. But one sound idea from God can transform your life forever. This happens as you shut out the world and fellowship with the Holy Spirit in prayer. Then He shows you the future and helps you know the next vital step to take, and how to take it. As you give yourself to the Word of God and yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit in prayer, He’d show you things to come, such that you don’t walk in darkness.
Jesus said in John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Being born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, you can know something of your future.
You should never find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to do next in your life. In John 8:12, the Master said, “...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Knowing this, you don’t have to worry about tomorrow; you can take His light and set it into your future, and your path will be illuminated to know and walk in His perfect will for you. Hallelujah!
PRAYER: THE NEW TESTAMENT WAY
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you (John 16:23).
Some folks don’t understand why they’re praying and there seems to be no answers. They’re so used to praying without answers that they now lack the confidence to
pray. You can pray a whole lifetime without praying the right way, but that’s not what God wants for you. You should have results every time you pray. He asked us to pray because He wants to answer our prayers; but we must pray correctly.
In the New Testament, we pray in the Name of Jesus. We don’t ask Jesus for anything; we don’t pray to Him. You can tell Him how much you love Him, and give thanks to the Father, in His Name, but we don’t pray to Jesus, in the Name of Jesus; that’ll be wrong. When we pray, we stand in the place of the Master; we’re taking His place. So, we can’t be praying to Him in His Name, or while standing in His stead; that won’t make any spiritual sense.
Furthermore, in the New Testament, we pray the prayer of the righteous; we pray knowing who we are in Christ—the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. James 5:16
(AMP) says, “...The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working] .” So, you see, prayer in the New Testament isn’t a religious monologue; it’s geared towards effecting changes.
We’re not at all helpless or stymied in a corner when we face challenges. We can make power available in prayer—power for change! We can be definite enough to effect definite changes in the realm of the spirit through prayer, to our advantage. That’s why Jesus said, “...men ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). That means pray always, and don’t give up, because when you pray, you make power available for the works of righteousness.
KEEP PRAYING!
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1).
Someone once lamented, “As much as I pray for my country, it appears that the wickedness, especially from the political leaders, keeps increasing. Can God still
intervene? Is there need for me to keep praying?” The Word of God admonishes us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In Luke 18:1-8, the Lord Jesus emphasized the importance of persistence in prayer. This is because being the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, you can change anything through prayer. The divine power necessary to cause that change is in you; it was deposited in
you the moment you received the Holy Spirit into your life (Acts 1:8).
Moreover, James 5:16 (AMP) says, “…The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working] .”
Continue to pray for your country. The Lord is the God of all flesh, and there’s nothing too difficult for Him to do (Jeremiah 32:27). He’s the God of possibilities, and He’s given you the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus and effect the changes you desire. Therefore, in praying for your country and other nations of the world, let these thoughts be in your mind.
The God to whom we pray, reigns and rules in the affairs of men: “... to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth
it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17). Consider what He did to King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled his kingdom with absolute power. The Lord deposed him from his glory, and drove him out from among men, to dwell in the wilderness. God also restored him to office after he repented. God has power over every nation and sets in authority anyone that He chooses (Romans 13:1). When He tells you to pray for your country, it’s because He’s given you the authority to decree a thing and have it established (Job 22:28). Intercede for as long as it takes for peace, continued progress, and stability in your country. Pray as though it depended on you alone to effect changes in your nation, and the truth is, it does; because you’re the salt of the earth.
STRIVING IN PRAYER
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers…(Colossians 4:12)
The phrase translated “laboring fervently” in the scripture above is “agonizomai” (Greek), and it doesn’t translate into mere labouring; it means to strive. In fact, the first synonym is “to fight”; it also means to struggle or contend with an adversary. The same word is what we have in 1 Timothy 6:12 which says, “Fight the good fight….”
Now, Paul, by the Spirit, tells the Christians in the church in Colossae that Epaphras was always “fighting” for them in prayers. He was contending with satanic forces in their behalf. That’s part of what you do in interceding for others. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Here, we see why we must strive in prayer for the souls of men.
Perhaps you have family members and loved ones, friends, colleagues and neighbours you’ve been witnessing to and they’ve refused to heed the call of salvation; God’s Word shows what the real problem is: Satan—the “god of this world” —has blinded their minds! For such people, you must contend for their souls in prayer; you “agonize” in intercession for them. You declare, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus, you evil spirit of darkness that has blinded their minds, I break your influence over them!”
But you see, you don’t stop there; you continue in intercession; it’s called prevailing in prayer. You travail in prayer over their minds, that their hearts be opened to the Lord, and be guided to the Word of God, in the Name of Jesus. You pray that the light of the glorious Gospel shines in their hearts, and they embrace the grace of God for their salvation; the presence of God mantles their hearts and God’s Word prevails in their lives. Hallelujah!
Pray like this for your friends or family members who aren’t yet born again, and you’ll be amazed at the result. Praise God!
BE A MAN OR WOMAN OF PRAYER
"Wherefore also we pray always for you, that God would count you worthy of this calling..." (2 Thessalonians 1:11)
I'm always inspired when I read the words of the old songwriters who talked about the bloodstained banner of Christ. Those songs are about men and women like you and me whose passion in life was to take the message of salvation around the world. They were passionate in their commitment to God to the extent that the lives of those they desired to reach were of greater value to them than their own lives. They took the Gospel to Africa and penetrated Europe and other parts of the world with the message of salvation. These were warriors for Christ. No doubt, these men and women were moved by the Holy Spirit because it takes the anointing of God's Spirit to achieve all they did.
Did you ever read of Jonathan Edwards? This man couldn't even see but still had an amazing release of God's anointing upon his life. The lenses of his glasses were so thick and still he had to put the Bible right in front of his eyes before he could read; but he was full of power. As he read the Scriptures men screamed for their lives and trembled because they were overwhelmed by the presence of God.
May God make you a man or woman of prayer. This is my earnest prayer for you today and that's the best prayer I can offer for you. If God can make you a man or woman of prayer, you would see results in your life. This is what makes you a warrior for Christ! If your knee would bend in prayer as often as it should, you would see the glory of God everyday of your life. The Apostles and other great men and women of God we read about were folks who spent countless hours on their knees in prayer, because they knew the power was not in the shouting, neither was it any external factor but in the Spirit. It truly is "...Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit..." (Zechariah 4:6).