SCRIPTURES
Luke
8:46 "And Jesus said, somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that
virtue is gone out of me."
2 Kings 1:13 "The third captain of fifty went up,
and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto
him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy
servants, be precious in thy sight."
KEY
STATEMENT
Our
God and Father is the prayer answering God. Throughout Scriptures it is an
indubitable fact that God indeed is the God who answers prayers. However, how one comes to God
determines what the outcome of his prayers
1st case : The woman who was bleeding for 12 years
The
woman in this text never made any prayer to Jesus but came to him in a way that
caused a virtue (a supernatural power and energy) to go out of Him and terminate
12 years of plague in her life.
2nd case : The officers
who came to arrest the prophet Elijah
In 2 Kings chapter 1: 9-13, we read the
story of a king who sent 3 officers to arrest Elijah who was seated on top of a
hill.
All three officers who came to Elijah
called him "man of God" because they all knew who Elijah was. But
their attitudes to him were very different.
The first two officers were very proud and
came proudly to arrest him. As a matter of fact, according to the way they came
to the man of God, the outcome was that fire came from heaven to burn all
them.
But the third officer was genuinely
humble. He urged Elijah to be merciful to him.
In 2 Kings 1:13, the Bible says
"The third captain of fifty went up,
and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto
him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy
servants, be precious in thy sight."
He did not try to order Elijah to do
anything. Instead, this officer asked Elijah to save the lives of himself and
his men. The outcome was that for him, Elijah did not command fire to burn
them.
We understand therefore that the outcome
of our prayer is function of the way we come to the altar.
How acceptable we
come to the altar secures and guarantees how effective the outcome of our
prayer will be.
HOW TO COME ACCEPTABLY ?
1. Come with thanksgiving and praise (an attitude of gratitude)
Psalms 100:4 ENTER into his gates WITH THANKSGIVING, and into his courts WITH PRAISE : be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
2. Come boldly (not with hesitation, not with doubt but with confidence)
Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore COME BOLDLY unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
3. Come with humility and godly respect (reverence,...)
James 4:8-10 "DRAW NIGH TO GOD, and he will draw nigh to you [...] HUMBLE YOURSELVES in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
4. Come with a true heart (not with hypocrisy, not with pretence but honestly and sincerely)
Hebrews 10:22 Let us DRAW NEAR WITH A TRUE HEART in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
5. Come in full assurance of faith (absolute conviction, trust and confidence in God's power)
Hebrews 10:22 Let us DRAW NEAR ... IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH, ...
6. Come with a pure conscience (no guilt, no sin,...)
Hebrews 10:22 Let us DRAW NEAR ... having our HEARTS SPRINKLED FROM AN EVIL CONSCIENCE, and our bodies washed with pure water.
7. Come with thirst (with expectation, desperation, determination, perseverance, eagerness, ...)
Isaiah 55:1 Ho, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, COME YE to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
MY PRAYER TODAY
1. Father, grant me the grace to have an attitude of gratitude
2. Father, by your Spirit, help me to get rid of doubt. Endow me with the grace of confidence and boldness
3. Father, baptize me with the spirit of humility and godly respect (reverence,...)
4. Father, give me a true heart. Deliver me from any trace of hypocrisy and pretence. Like Christ, cause me to be honest and sincere.
5. Father, fill me with fulness of assurance of faith
6. Father, cleanse my conscience from guilt and sin. Create in me a clean heart
7. Father, cause me to be permanently thirsty and hungry of you
🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃
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Pastor T.D. KASUKU K.K.
The Word Of Life Church International
Nairobi/Kenya
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