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I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made
for everyone |
We must pray for those who are perishing and for
those who persecute us
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Paul wrote
to Timothy: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for
all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4). |
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Brothers,
we who have known God through Jesus Christ are bound to pray for those who
don’t know the truth, so that God might save them by His grace. The apostle
Paul, speaking of those who were Jews by birth, said to the saints who were
in |
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Jesus
Christ said: “Pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew |
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We, as
sons of God, must pray to God for our enemies who persecute us so that God
might give them life and not that God might put them to death. Someone may
say: ‘Why then under the law were there some men (such as David) who prayed to
God that He might destroy their enemies?’ Because under the law was in force
the commandment which said: ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy’. Jesus
confirmed that when He said: ‘You have heard that it was said: You shall love
your neighbour and hate your enemy” (Matthew |
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But now,
under grace, is in force the commandment which says: “Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew |
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However,
even under the law there were some men who prayed for their enemies; one of
them was Moses. The Scripture says that after the twelve spies sent by Moses
to spy out the land of Canaan returned to the camp, when the Israelites heard
ten of the spies say: “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land
that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of
great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the
giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in
their sight ….We are not able to go up against the people, for they are
stronger than we” (Numbers 13:32-33,31 – NKJV), they complained against Moses
and Aaron and wanted to stone them with stones. When God heard their
grumblings, He said to Moses: “I will strike them with the pestilence and
disinherit them ….” (Numbers 14:12 – NKJV), but Moses prayed for them, who
wanted to stone him, (as it is written: “Therefore He said that He would
destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to
turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them” - Psalm 106:23 – NKJV); Moses
prayed for the Israelites in this way: “Pardon the iniquity of this people, I
pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven
this people, from Egypt even until now” (Numbers 14:19 – NKJV), and God
answered the prayer of Moses for He said to Moses: “I have pardoned,
according to your word” (Numbers 14:20 – NKJV). The answer of God shows the
effectiveness of the prayer on behalf of those who persecute us. Those who
don’t know God say: ‘What would we gain by praying to Him’, but we who know
God know that it is useful to pray for those who persecute us, for it is
written: “He who respects a command (in this case the command which says:
“Pray for those who persecute you”) is rewarded” (Proverbs |
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We must pray for the governing authorities, who are
appointed by God
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Among
those for whom we must pray are even the governing authorities, that are
appointed by God. God said to the Israelites who had been carried away
captive to |
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In the
book of Ezra we read that king Darius commanded the governor of the region
beyond the River and his companions certain things concerning their way of
acting toward the elders of the Jews who were building the temple in |
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Let us pray for one another
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Besides
praying for those who are still slaves of sin, and for those who persecute
us, and for the kings and the governing authorities, we must also pray to God
for our brothers because this is the will of God for us. Someone will ask:
‘What should I ask God to do for my brothers?’ Let’s turn to the Holy
Scripture, which is God-breathed, because it teaches us how to pray also for
our brothers. |
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On the
night our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, He prayed to God for His disciples
(that is, His brothers, as it is written: “He is not ashamed to call them
brethren” Hebrews |
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The Lord
Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, said to Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold,
Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have
prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren” (Luke |
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Now, let’s
see how the apostles prayed for the Churches, because they left us an example
in this also. Paul wrote to the saints who were in |
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Paul wrote
in the same epistle: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That
he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19). As you
can see, Paul prayed God that He might strengthen those saints in their inner
man (besides having an outward man, each of us has an inner man), and that
Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith. Why did Paul pray to God in that
way? That those saints, being rooted and grounded in love, might be able to
comprehend with all saints how wide and long and high and deep is the love of
Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that they might be
filled with all the fullness of God. Brothers, we’d better pay attention to
all these sentences beginning with ‘that,’ which are present in the prayers
of Paul, because they show us the things Paul wanted the brethren to know and
to do. |
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The desire
of Paul was to present every man perfect in Christ, and that earnest desire led
him to say those prayers to God on behalf of the believers. Nowadays it is a
very rare thing to hear believers pray for one another in the way Paul did;
the reason is that many believers prefer to read and study these prayers
rather than say them; I believe that if Paul considered those prayers useful,
we also must consider them useful and thus we also should pray in that way. |
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Paul wrote
to the saints in Colosse: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it,
do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the
knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye
might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might,
according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with
joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:9-12).
Brothers, know this, that we also need to be filled with the knowledge of the
will of God so that we may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord; therefore let
us pray for one another in this way. Now, with regard to the knowledge of the
will of God, I tell you this; Jesus Christ said: “This is the will of Him who
sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40 –
NKJV), and we, having believed in the Son of God, have done the will of God,
but the will of God for us consists of many other things which we have to do
in order to please God. However, in order to do them we must know them first,
and to know them we need to pray to God; that’s why we must ask God to fill
us and our brothers with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding. Someone may ask: ‘Is it really necessary?’ Yes,
brother, it is; if it were not necessary, Paul and his fellow workers would not
have prayed for those brothers in that way. Someone else may ask: ‘Why should
I be filled with the knowledge of the Will of God in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding?’ Well, the reason is that you may walk in a manner worthy of
the Lord and thus please Him in everything. The Scripture states that we must
please God rather than men, therefore we must see that we walk as wise, that
is, in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, causing no offenses, so that
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified and His doctrine may be
adorned. Instead, if we walk as fools – that is, if we live in a manner unworthy
of the Gospel, being devoid of the knowledge of the will of God in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding, the children of this age will say to us, ‘After
all, you are not different from us’ or ‘You claim to be Christians, yet you
are worse than us!’ and thus the name of the Lord and His doctrine will be blasphemed
because of us. Therefore, in order to please God, we need to understand what
His will for us is; but if we don’t understand what His will is and we are
not able to distinguish between good and evil, and we have fellowship with
the unfruitful works of darkness, how shall we be able to please God?
Brothers, know this, that if you walk according to the flesh you will not be
able to please God for it is written: “Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So
then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8 – NKJV). If
we become friends of the world and lovers of the world, we can’t please God.
On the contrary, if we are ready to do every good work, if we grow in the
knowledge of God, if we are strong in the grace of God, if we show the
meekness of Christ to all men, if we are patient in tribulation, giving
always thanks to God for He has qualified us to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in the light, then we will please God and His name
will be glorified in us. |
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The
apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians these words also: “I want you to know
how much I am struggling for you and for those at |
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Epaphras
also, who was one of the fellow workers of Paul, prayed for the Colossians, as
Paul said to the Colossians: “He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that
you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured” (Colossians
4:12 – NIV). These words confirm that when we pray for our brothers we
wrestle for them. For Epaphras wrestled in his prayers that the saints in
Colosse might stand firm in all the will of God. He left us an example;
therefore, let us follow it wrestling in our prayers for the saints. |
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Paul said
to the Corinthians: “Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong”
(2 Corinthians 13:7 - NIV). What we learn from this prayer is this, that the
apostle Paul and his fellow workers wanted the saints to perfect holiness and
to abstain from every form (or appearance) of evil. |
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Here is
how Paul prayed for the saints in Philippi: “And this I pray, that your love
may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may
approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without
offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness
which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians
1:9-11 - NKJV). Brothers, our love must abound in knowledge and all discernment
in order to be able to discern what is best and to be pure and blameless at
the coming of the Lord. Now, if we consider carefully this prayer of Paul we
will come to the conclusion that we also need to pray for our brothers in
this way. Why do I say this? Because, today, the love of many believers lacks
knowledge and discernment. For when we speak of love with these believers, we
perceive that their love doesn’t abound in knowledge nor in discernment, and
consequently it is necessary for us to pray for them so that it may abound in
knowledge and discernment. They think that to rebuke a brother when he sins
means not to love him as one should do, or that tolerating the evil workers
and their evil deeds is a manifestation of love toward them and the Church.
However, the Scripture does not teach such things, for it teaches that “love
…. does not rejoice in iniquity” (1 Corinthians 13:6 – NKJV) and that God,
who is love, rebukes and chastens those who sin, and does not tolerate evil
workers. So true love rebukes the brethren who sin against us, and does not
tolerate evil workers. |
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Paul wrote
to the saints in Thessalonica: “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that
our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good
pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to
the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians |
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Paul wrote
to the saints in Galatia, who were troubled by some who wanted them to be
circumcised and to keep the law of Moses, the following things: “But now,
after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again
to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in
bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of
you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. ….. My little children, of
whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. I desire to be
present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you” (Galatians
4:9-11,19-20). The believers in Galatia had been begotten in Jesus Christ by
the apostle Paul, but while Paul was absent they began to observe the days
and the months and the seasons and the years of which the law of Moses
speaks, which are all “a shadow of the things that were to come” (Colossians
2:17 – NIV), for some imposed these things on them saying that in order to be
saved they had to be circumcised and to keep the law. When Paul heard that
the Galatians had been troubled, he began to pray for them that they might
come to their senses and obey the truth of the Gospel. The apostle Paul told
them that he labored in birth for them again until Christ was formed in them;
that is to say, he was wrestling in prayer for them that they might come to
their senses and know the truth, from which they had strayed. Just as a woman
is in labour before giving birth to a child, so Paul also, when he heard that
the Galatians had been bewitched, was again in the pains of childbirth, and
he began to pray for them with groanings which cannot be uttered (in other
words, he prayed in the Holy Spirit), and his pains would end when Christ was
formed in them. Brothers, Paul showed us what we must do if some of our
brothers are bewitched like the Galatians. |
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What the apostles exhorted the saints to ask of God
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Let us now
look at some exhortations of the apostles concerning prayer, which show us
what we must ask of God. |
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Paul, in
speaking about the whole armor of God which we must put on in order to fight
against our enemies, said: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may
open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am
an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak”
(Ephesians 6:18-20). The apostle exhorted the saints to pray always in the
Holy Spirit (I remind you that to pray in the Spirit means to pray in other
tongues), and to be watchful to this end with all perseverance and
supplication for all the saints, and for him as well, that God might enable
him to preach the Gospel with boldness. Paul knew how the Gospel must be
preached and thus he exhorted the saints to pray for him, for he was
persuaded that the saints, through their prayers, could help him to preach
the Gospel as he ought to preach it. Someone will ask: ‘How should the Gospel
be preached?’ The Gospel should be preached with power, with the Holy Spirit
and with much assurance, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
You may say: ‘Can the cross of Christ be made of no effect then?’ Yes, it is
made of no effect (because it is emptied of its power) when it is preached
with words of human wisdom. Know this, that all those who have been called by
God to preach need our prayers, therefore let us pray for the servants of the
Lord who proclaim the way of salvation, so that God may enable them to
proclaim the Word of the grace of God with all boldness. |
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Paul wrote
to the saints in Colosse: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it
with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a
door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in
chains” (Colossians 4:2-3 – NKJV). Now, when the apostle wrote these words he
was in prison and exhorted the saints to ask God to open a door to him and to
his fellow workers for the Word; this teaches us that God can open a door for
the Word even in prison, because the Word cannot be chained; the ministers of
the Word can be chained, but the Word cannot be chained. As you know, the
Word of God bears fruit when those who hear it understand it, but it is
necessary for God to open their hearts that they may understand the Word.
Remember |
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Here are
some other passages of the Scripture which confirm that the apostles believed
that the saints could help them through their prayers (keep in mind that the
following words were written from prison): |
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“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer
and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ ….. But I trust in the Lord that
I myself shall also come shortly” (Philippians |
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● “But,
meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your
prayers I shall be granted to you” (Philemon 22 - NKJV). Paul, while in
prison, told Philemon to prepare a guest room for him, because he was
confident in the Lord that he would be granted to him in answer to his
prayers (that is, the prayers of Philemon). |
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● “Pray
for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things
desiring to live honorably. But I especially urge you to do this, that I may
be restored to you the sooner” (Hebrews |
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In
addition to this, brothers, I want you to know that because of the answer of
God to the prayers you make for the ministers of the Gospel, many believers
will give thanks to God. Therefore your prayers on their behalf produce many
expressions of thanks to the glory of God. Is it not amazing to know that we,
through our prayers, cooperate in spreading the Word of God because we help
the ministers of the Word to preach the Gospel with all boldness and we cause
them to be delivered from wicked and unreasonable men? |
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It is
written: “And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans |
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The
apostle John wrote: “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not
lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those
whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am
not saying that he should pray about that” (1 John |
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The
apostle James, the Lord’s brother, wrote: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let
him pray” (James |
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James
commanded the elders of the Church to pray over the sick, for he wrote: “Is
any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer
of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he hath
committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James |
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The Lord’s
brother says also: “Pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James |
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Some of the
circumstances on which the apostles prayed
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Let us see
now some of the circumstances on which the apostles prayed in order to
understand how much important was prayer to them. |
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The apostles, together with other brothers, prayed to God when they chose a
successor to Judas Iscariot. With regard to this, Luke says that (after Peter
said to the brothers that of those men who had accompanied them all the time
that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them, beginning from the baptism of
John to that day when He was taken up from them, one of them had to become a
witness with them of His resurrection) they “proposed two: Joseph called
Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said: ‘You,
O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen
to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression
fell, that he might go to his own place’. And they cast their lots, and the
lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts |
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● In
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Paul and Barnabas founded some churches during their missionary journey, and
“having appointed to them by vote elders in
every assembly, having prayed with fastings, they commended them to the Lord
in whom they had believed (Acts |
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Peter and John prayed for the Samaritan believers “that they might receive
the Holy Spirit” (Acts |
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Peter prayed before raising Tabitha from the dead, as it is written: “But
Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he
said: ‘Tabitha, arise’ And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she
sat up” (Acts |
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Paul prayed before healing the father of Publius, as it is written: “Paul
went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him” (Acts
28:8 – NKJV). |
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● At
Philippi, after Paul and Silas were beaten with rods they were thrown into
prison, and there they prayed as it is written: “But at midnight Paul and
Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening
to them” (Acts 16:25 – NKJV. What they did is the fulfilment of what James
says in his epistle: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray” James 5:13
– NKJV). |
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● At
Miletus, Paul prayed with the elders of the |
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How the early
Church prayed on two particular occasions
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Let’s turn
again to the Holy Scripture to see how the early Church prayed on two
particular occasions. |
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Luke
wrote: “And being let go, they [Peter and John] went to their own company,
and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And
when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and
said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and
all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did
the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth
stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against
his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child [servant] Jesus, whom thou
hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the
people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their
threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may
speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and
wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child [servant] Jesus” (Acts
4:23-30; Psalm 2:1-2). |
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In this
prayer we can notice that those believers first of all reminded God who He
was (it is a right thing to remind God who He is, for God says: “Put me in
remembrance: let us plead together” Isaiah 43:26 – so let’s follow the
example of those believers), then they reminded God of what He had said
through David about His Anointed One and how what He had said was fulfilled
(therefore, it is correct, when we pray, to quote some passages of the
Scripture). After that, they asked God to enable His servants to speak His
Word with great boldness and to stretch out His hand to heal and to confirm
His Word by signs and wonders. Someone will ask: ‘Was that prayer answered by
God?’ Yes, it was, for it is written: “And when they had prayed, the place
was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with
the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31),
and also: “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders
wrought among the people” (Acts 5:12) and again: “There came also a multitude
out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them
which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one” (Acts
5:16). Brothers, today we must ask God for the same things, for His Word
still needs to be spoken with great boldness and the testimony of Christ
needs to be confirmed by healings, signs and wonders. In order to see people
converted to the Lord, the Word of God needs to be preached with boldness and
there must be the manifestation of the Holy Spirit; therefore, let us raise
our voice and pray to God that He might bear witness to His Word both with
signs and wonders, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Our desire is to see the
Gospel preached with boldness as in the days of old, and also to see our
great God confirm the Good News of the peace of God. Today, in this country,
as well as in many others, the faith of many people is based on human wisdom
and not on the power of God, for the Gospel is not preached with that power
which marked the preaching of the apostles, but with words of human wisdom.
This, beloved, should lead us to ask God to enable His servants to preach His
Word with boldness. |
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I want to
say another thing, which is this: the reason why many don’t fear God and
don’t tremble before His Word is that they have never seen the true
manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Someone may say: ‘Why do you call it the
true manifestation of the Spirit?’ Because among the people of God certain
things which are nothing but a counterfeit manifestation of the Spirit are
passed off as the true manifestation of the Spirit in the eyes of the simple
and of those who are unstable in all their ways; many mistake suggestion for
the manifestation of the Spirit, and the manifestation of physical strength
(displayed by some who preach the Gospel) for the power of God. Many
preachers of the Gospel say to the crowds: ‘Concentrate, imagine now that you
are healed and no more sick!’ as if a sick person can be healed by an intense
mental concentration or the power of suggestion that they are able to exert
on the simple. And many other preachers push the sick down on the floor and
then they claim that it was the power of God who caused them to fall to the
ground!!! And the time would fail me to speak of all those evangelistic
meetings where the Gospel is preached with words only, without power and deep
conviction, and where the deafening amplification gives the impression that
the preacher is preaching with power. And I want to say also that there are
many preachers who proclaim that God has healed many sick people (after they
prayed for them), but afterwards, when one goes to talk with those who claimed
that they were healed by God he finds out that most of them, or even all of them,
are still sick. We are tired of hearing about healings which have never occurred,
which are told by many unscrupulous preachers to attract people to their
meetings and to become famous and rich. We long to see the sick healed, the
blind see, the dumb speak, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the dead raised, the
demon possessed delivered from the power of demons, the lepers cured, so that,
seeing the mighty works of our God, sinners might believe and the faithful
might fear God. |
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Luke
speaks of another circumstance on which the church prayed to God and that
prayer was answered; I refer to the imprisonment of Peter. He says: “Now
about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the
church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because
he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also.
Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him,
he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep
him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter was
therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by
the church” (Acts 12:1-5 – NKJV). As you can see, when Peter was put in
prison the Church did not forget him, rather the Church began to pray for
Peter. Now, even though Luke does not say what the Church asked God to do on
behalf of Peter, we can deduce it from some words Paul wrote to the saints
while he was in prison, which are these: “For I know that this will turn out
for my deliverance through your prayer and the supplication of the Spirit of
Jesus Christ …..” (Philippians |
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Brothers,
we are the Church of the Living God and we must pray for our brothers who are
in prison (and treated as criminals) so that God may comfort them, establish
them in Christ, and deliver them from prison. Of course, it is true that some
of those who are put in prison because of the Gospel die in prison, however
this happens because God wants them to die in prison and not because God
cannot deliver them from prison. One day we will know why God did not deliver
them from prison, but in the meantime (while we are waiting for the hidden
things to be revealed to us) let us continue to remember the prisoners,
offering constant prayers to God for them because God wants us to pray for
them, as it is written: “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them ….” (Hebrews
13:3 – NKJV). |
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On what conditions
our prayers will be answered
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Our God
has promised to answer our prayers on the following conditions: |
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● If
we pray in faith. Jesus said: “If you believe, you will receive
whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew |
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James, the
Lord’s brother, confirmed the words of Jesus by saying: “If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and
tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the
Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). Note
that first it is written: “Let him ask of God” (James 1:5) in faith, and
then: “It shall be given him” (James 1:5). As you can see, in order to
receive wisdom from God, we must ask for it in faith, with no doubting. For,
while on the one hand he who prays to God in faith is heard; on the other
hand he who prays doubting is not heard. He who doubts is like a wave of the
sea, blown and tossed by the wind, and that man should not think he will
receive anything from the Lord. The words of James are hard, yet true. |
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One day
Jesus said to His disciples: “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you,
whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and
does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be
done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:22-23 – NKJV). I would like to
dwell upon these words of Jesus in order to explain to you what it means to
pray in faith with no doubting. Note that Jesus said: “And does not doubt in
his heart” (Mark 11:23); now, out of our heart spring the issues of life,
therefore we need to keep it with all diligence, because if we pray to God
not believing with our heart that we will receive what we have asked of Him
(because we say in our heart that what we have asked is too hard for the Lord
and He can’t give it to us), we will not receive anything from the Lord, we
will get nothing but reproaches. When we pray, our heart must be firm, it
must trust in the Lord; then we will receive what we have asked of God. When
we pray, we must believe not only that God can do what we ask Him to do, but
also that He will do it, for it is written: “Believe that you have received
it” (Mark 11:24 – NIV) and also: “[Whoever] Does not doubt in his heart, but
believes that those things he says will be done” (Mark 11:23 – NKJV). To
explain to you what it means to believe that those things we say will be
done, I will mention an event which happened in the days of Jesus, at |
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● If
we keep His commandments. Jesus said: “If you abide in Me, and My
words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for
you” (John 15:7 – NKJV). Also in these words of Jesus we find a ‘if’ to which
we need to pay much attention, because it shows on what condition God will
give us what we have asked of Him. Now, what does it mean to abide in Christ?
To abide in Christ means to keep His commandments, as it is written: “Now he
who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him” (1 John |
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Many teach
that God will hear our prayers even if our conduct is not holy; however I
will show you from the Scriptures that the prayers of those who walk
according to the stubbornness of their heart and don’t want to listen to the
Lord are not heard by God, and thus these teachers are deceiving themselves
and others. |
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The
apostle Peter says: “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them [your wives] with
understanding, giving honour to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as
being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be
hindered” (1 Peter 3:7 – NKJV). This means that if a believing husband
despises his wife, he is unfaithful to her, and hates her, mistreating her
and beating her, God will not hear his prayers because of his shameful
behaviour. Beloved, God is holy and righteous, and thus He cannot tolerate
evil. |
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Remember
what happened to Saul, king of Israel; the Scripture says that when the
Philistines came and encamped at Shunem to fight with Israel and he saw the
army of the Philistines he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly “and
when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams
or by Urim or by the prophets” (1 Samuel 28:6 - NKJV). Do you know why God
did not answer him? Because Saul had not kept the commandments that God had
given him through the prophet Samuel; God became an enemy of Saul and when he
found himself in a distress and he inquired of God, He did not answer him. |
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Now,
listen to the words God spoke to the rulers of the house of |
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Here is
what Wisdom says to the scoffers: “Then they will call on me, but I will not
answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they
hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, they would have none
of my counsel and despised my every rebuke” (Proverbs |
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Do you
know how the Israelites conducted themselves in the days of Isaiah, Jeremiah
and Ezekiel? In this way: they treated father and mother with contempt, they
oppressed the stranger, they mistreated the fatherless and the widow and the
poor, they slandered, they committed abomination with their neighbour’s wife,
they lewdly defiled their daughters-in-law and violated their sisters, they
took usury and increase, they lied, they stole, they killed, they knelt down
before idols and offered sacrifices and burned incense to them; yet, they had
the cheek to come to appear before God in His courts to pray to Him. But God
said to them: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear …. For your
hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have
spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity” (Isaiah |
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When the
Scripture says that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man, avails
much” (James 5:16 – NKJV), it means that the prayer of faith made by a person
who keeps God’s commandments avails much, because a righteous man is not only
a person who has been justified by the grace of God, but also a person who
does what is right in the sight of God, keeping His commandments. Listen to
what God said through the prophet Ezekiel: “But if a man be just, and do that
which is lawful and right, And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither
hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath
defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath
spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath
covered the naked with a garment; He that hath not given forth upon usury,
neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity,
hath executed true judgment between man and man, Hath walked in my statutes,
and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live,
saith the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 18:5-9). In reading these words, we have come to
the conclusion that a righteous man is a person who abides in Christ, and in
whom the words of Christ dwell, therefore the following words of James: “the
effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16 – NKJV)
confirm fully the following words of Jesus: “If you abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”
(John 15:7 – NKJV). Of course, if on the one hand we must proclaim that the
effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man, avails much, on the other hand
we must proclaim that the prayer of those who refuse to obey God’s
commandments avails nothing. |
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Brothers,
let us examine carefully our ways and “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians
7:1 – NKJV). Let us speak truthfully to our neighbour, let us do good
clinging to it, let us help the poor sharing our material things with them
and let us love one another sincerely, let us rid ourselves of all hypocrisy,
and then we will have the assurance that God will hear us and will give us
all the things we have asked of Him. |
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● If
we ask what is according to God’s will for us. John says: “And this
is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to
his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we desired [have asked] of him” (1
John |
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Brothers,
when Jesus said: “You will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”
(John 15:7 – NKJV), He did not mean that no matter what kind of things we ask
or no matter why we ask certain things, we will surely receive them. For you
must understand that in order to receive the things we have asked of God they
need to be according to the will of God for us. |
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James says
to those who are not heard by God because they cherish sin in their heart:
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on
your pleasures” (James 4:3 – NKJV). As you can see, when our requests made
known to God are not according to His will, they are not heard. Now, God
wants us to ask good things, but if He sees that we ask amiss (that is, if He
sees that we ask certain things with wrong motives), then He will not hear
us. I am sure that if you fear God and tremble before His word, and you make
all efforts to rule your own house well, bringing your children up in the
training and admonition of the Lord, and one day one of your children comes
to you and says to you: ‘Dad, give me some money because I want to go to the
cinema’ you will not give him what he asks, rather you will rebuke him
severely. Why will you not give him the money he wants? Because he asks
amiss, that he may spend it on his pleasures. Let us suppose now that while
you and your wife are walking near a jeweller’s shop your wife says to you:
‘My dear, I want to wear some jewellery to please you more; please, buy me a
golden necklace and some golden earrings’, what will you do, if you who are a
God-fearing man and know that God does not want your wife to wear those
things? Surely you will not grant your wife her wish, not because you hate
her, but because you love her as Christ loved the Church. Now, if you who
fear God don’t grant the members of your household certain wishes, why should
God, who is holy and just, grant some members of His household certain
wishes, which are not according to His will? Those who ask and don’t receive
because they ask amiss that they spend it on their pleasures, are those who
love the world and the things in the world, who have become enemies of God
because they follow the lusts of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and have
become proud but God resists them. |
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It must be
said also that there are some prayers which are not heard because God has
decided to work differently, and thus those prayers are not according to His
will (even though they are made in faith and sincerely), and not because he
who prays is unjust, lover of pleasures and haughty. The Scripture teaches us
that Jesus Christ, while He was in the Gethsemane, before being arrested,
prayed to His Father saying: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.
Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will”
(Mark |
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The
apostle Paul wrote: “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the
abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For
this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he
said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians
12:7-9). In this case also, since Paul asked God to do something that God did
not want to do, he was not heard by God; however, God acted in that way for
his good, so that he might remain humble and might not become conceited. Dear
brothers, when we say: ‘The Lord's will be done’ we mean that we are willing
to do the will of God even if it does not agree with our will. Therefore when
we receive from the Lord a ‘negative’ answer or an answer that does not come
up to our expectations, let us not complain; rather let us accept it with
thankfulness and submission, knowing that God is wiser than us and He knows
perfectly what is the best for us. |
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One day,
Moses, while he was reminding the Israelites of the things which had happened
during the journey in the wilderness, said: “And I besought the LORD at that
time, saying, O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness,
and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do
according to thy works, and according to thy might? I pray thee, let me go
over, and see the good land that is beyond |
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The
prophet Elijah was not heard by God on one occasion, for it is written: “And
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all
the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah,
saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as
the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that,
he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to |
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King David
on one occasion was not heard by God. The Scripture says that after David had
committed adultery with Bath-sheba and killed her husband with the sword of
the people of Ammon, God sent Nathan to David to announce to him His
judgments against David and his house. Among other things, Nathan said to
David: “The child also who is born to you shall surely die” (2 Samuel |
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What shall
we say then after citing these examples of prayers which were not answered by
God? Shall we say that God is unjust and merciless? Certainly not. We know
and proclaim that God is righteous and full of compassion not only when He grants
us our request but also when He doesn’t grant us our request. |
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God wants
to give us good things, we are sure about this; however, He wants also us to
ask them of Him, for Jesus said: “Ask …..” (Matthew 7:7 – NKJV) and also: “If
you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask
Him!” (Matthew |
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Some have
asked God for the Holy Spirit and received Him and thus in them it was
fulfilled what Jesus said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13 – NKJV); some, after receiving the
Holy Spirit, have prayed to God that they might interpret the words they spoke
in other tongues (as it is written: “Therefore, let him who speaks in a
tongue pray that he may interpret” 1 Corinthians 14:13 – NKJV) and God granted
their request; some have asked for other gifts of the Holy Spirit and God
heard them giving them the desire of their heart; some asked God for wisdom
and God gave it to them, as it is written: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will
be given to him” (James 1:5 – NKJV); some who were sick prayed to God that He
might heal them (as Jeremiah did when he said: “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall
be healed” Jeremiah 17:14 – NKJV) and they were healed by God through their
faith, and it was fulfilled in them the Scripture which says: “Then they
cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their
distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their
destructions” (Psalm 107:19-20 – NKJV) and also the Scripture which says: “By
His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 – NKJV); some wanted to get married
and so they asked God for a prudent wife and God granted their request and thus
it was fulfilled in them the Scripture which says: “God maketh the solitary
into families” Psalm 68:6 - Darby). Beloved, know that a “a prudent wife is
from the Lord” (Proverbs |
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Brother,
when you ask God for a particular thing, you should never say: ‘This prayer
is not according to the will of God because I don’t know any member of the
church I attend who has ever made it!’ or: ‘This prayer is not according to
the will of God because the pastor of the Church I attend has never said that
he has ever asked God for such a thing’, or: ‘This prayer I am making cannot
be according to the will of God because this or that famous evangelist has
never made such a prayer’, or: ‘According to the statute of my denomination I
am not allowed to ask God for such a thing’. It is not in this way that you
will understand whether the prayer you are making is according to God’s will
or not. First of all, search carefully the Scriptures to see if in ancient
times someone asked the same thing or something like that, and if it is so
keep praying and waiting for God’s answer. Furthermore, know the following
things: perhaps no member of the Church you attend has ever wanted the same
thing you are asking; perhaps no member of the church you attend has the same
measure of faith God has given to you. And maybe the other brothers, not
knowing the Scriptures, consider your desire to be a wrong desire, and regard
you as a strange person; however, brother, fear not, pray to God in faith,
keeping His commandments, continue in prayer without paying attention to all
those voices that would like to silence you. Remember that when Bartimaeus,
the blind beggar, heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he began to
cry out and say: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ (Mark |
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Now let us
consider some prayers made by those of old, which might have seemed ‘not according
to the will of God’ to someone, yet they were answered by God because they
were made in full assurance of faith and were according to the will of God. |
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It is
written: “Elias 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” (James 5:17). Someone may say: ‘What! A man
prayed that it might not rain and God answered his prayer? How could such a
thing be? Obviously it is easier to hear that someone prayed that it might
rain than it might not rain; yet, Elijah, who was a man of God, made that
prayer. In order to understand why he made that prayer, we need to see what
the Scripture says about the conduct of the King of Israel as well as of the
people of |
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There was
another prophet who asked God to do some particular things on a specific
occasion; his name was Elisha. The Scripture says that when the king of |
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Now let us
see what Gideon asked of God. The Scripture says: “And Gideon said unto God,
If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put
a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it
be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save
Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early
on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the
fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger
be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee,
but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and
upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was
dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground” (Judges |
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Brothers,
it is not a sin to ask God for some signs in order to be strengthened in a
particular work we are going to do to the glory of God. Some who teach the
word of God speak in a way which is not clear and furthermore it reveals
their unbelief in certain things and their dislike for these things. They
don’t want to talk about visions, dreams, and signs, as if the Scripture called
these things ‘useless things’ or ‘things which we should not dare to ask of
God’ or ‘evil things of which we should beware’. |
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The truth
is that many believers have never experienced certain things, also because
they have never attached importance to these important things: that’s why
they speak against these things and want to deceive the other believers into believing
that these things were useful to the ancients but they are no longer useful
to us, who are ‘modern’. Many judge wrongly the particular prayers of some
faithful and sincere brothers and sisters because they don’t have the same
measure of faith as they have or because they think that God is not able to
grant them their request or because they think that God has ceased working
certain things He did in ancient times. But God in due season has showed some
of them that He has not changed and that “the desire of the righteous will be
granted” (Proverbs |
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Beloved,
believe in the holy and faithful promises of God, and not in the empty words
of some who don’t walk in the Spirit. |
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How Jesus taught
to pray
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Let us see
now how Jesus taught His disciples to pray. He said to them: “And when you
pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they
will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your
Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8 -
NKJV). |
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First of
all, Jesus has commanded us not to use excessive words (that is, vain repetitions)
when we pray, as those who don’t know God do. One of the characteristics of
the prayers of those who don’t know God, is their excessive length; they pray
for many hours repeating mechanically the various prayers which are written
in their books, and we can see this in this country also. What induces so
many people to pray in this way? The conviction that they will be heard
because of their many words. Now, Jesus said: “If you believe, you will
receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:22 – NIV), and not ‘if
you use many words when you pray, you will receive whatever you ask for in
prayer’; I say this so that no one among you may think that the more words he
says to God the more possibilities of being heard he has. “Your Father knows
what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8 – NIV), said Jesus; therefore
we don’t need to use excessive words when we pray to God in the midst of our
distresses. David said to God: “For there is not a word on my tongue, but
behold, O Lord, You know it altogether” (Psalm 139:4 – NKJV), which shows
that our God knows perfectly what we are going to ask of Him, even before we
speak to Him. Whereas on the one hand Jesus told us how we should not pray,
on the other hand He said to us how we should pray, as He said: “After this
manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give
us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew
6:9-13). Brothers, keep in mind that this prayer was taught by Him who was
with the Father in heaven before He came into this world. We know that the
Son spoke to us the things which He had heard from His Father, therefore
these words also are Word of God. Do not underestimate this prayer because its
efficacy, when it is said to God with a pure heart and in faith, has not
decreased over the centuries. |
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I want to comment
briefly on this prayer. First of all, when we pray to God we must call Him
‘Father’ and not ‘Daddy’. I say this because some call Him ‘Daddy,’ not
showing the proper fear of God and the proper reverence toward His Holy Name.
You see, some think that since we are sons of God we have the right to call
God ‘Daddy’. However, I think that we should not call Him in this way, that
is to say, in this familiar way, even though He is our Heavenly Father, the
One who gave us birth through His word. On the night Jesus was betrayed, when
He prayed to the Father, He called God ‘Holy Father’ and ‘Righteous Father’.
It grieves my heart to see some Christians using this improper familiarity
with God. However we are not surprised to see this, for we know that many
have forgotten who God is as well as the Scripture which says: “Therefore,
since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful,
and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming
fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29 – NIV). Jacob called God “the Fear of Isaac” (Genesis
31:42 - NKJV; Asaph called God “Him who ought to be feared” (Psalm 76:11 –
NKJV); while some call Him ‘Daddy’! I think that these people with the
passing of time will become like those children who call their father ‘little
daddy’ and they play with him thinking that they can mock their father! They
call God ‘daddy’ and in the meantime they are dressed in a odd and indecent
way; not only this, when they pray, some of them pray with their hands in
their pockets, and some of them refuse to kneel down before God. I ask you
this question: ‘Why do they behave in that way?’ Is it not because they don’t
want to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling? I am sick at
heart in seeing that the heathen who bow down before their dumb idols show
more reverence and fear toward their dead works than some believers toward
the living and true God. Judge for yourselves what I say. |
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We, as
sons of God, want the name of God to be hallowed through us. For God said in
the law: “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the
people I will be glorified” (Leviticus 10:3). Now, so that the name of God
may be sanctified, we who are near Him (we once were far from God, but now in
Christ Jesus we have been brought near God by the blood of Jesus Christ) must
keep His commandments. Therefore, if we say to God: ‘Hallowed be your name’,
but at the same time we refuse to obey Him, we lie to God. |
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According
to the Scripture, one day the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of
our Lord and of His Christ, and we will reign on the earth. All this has not
yet taken place; however we know that day is coming quickly; yes, we want the
Kingdom of God to come, that’s why we say to God: ‘Your Kingdom come’. |
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In
addition to this, we want the will of God to be done on earth as it is done
in heaven. What do the holy angels of God do in heaven? What do the righteous
do in heaven? They do the will of God, for they praise and serve God. Are not
they doing what we must do on earth? We say to God: ‘Your will be done’
because we want Him to accomplish His will in us. |
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“Man shall
not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3 – NKJV); this means that we need to feed
on bread as well as the Word of God, and we feed on the Word of God by
hearing it and keeping it. Now, we need to eat bread to live; God knows that,
and He wants us to ask Him for it. Jesus said: “Ask, and it will be given to
you” (Matthew 7:7 – NKJV), therefore when we ask for our daily bread God
hears us and He gives it to us. The Psalmist says to God: “These all wait for
You, that You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they
gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good” (Psalm 104:27-28 –
NKJV). Consider the goodness of God! He cares for all the birds and the fish
giving them the food they need. If God does not neglect animals, how could we
think that He will neglect us who are His sons? We are “of more value than
many sparrows” (Matthew |
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Beloved,
“we all stumble in many things” (James 3:2 - NKJV), that’s why we are bound
to ask God to remit our debts. The sins we commit are called debts because to
break the word of God is to get into debt toward God. But thanks be to God
because when we come to Him and confess our debts to Him asking Him to
forgive us our debts, we obtain the remission of them. Isn’t this a clear
manifestation of the faithfulness of God? However, besides being faithful,
God is also righteous for if we don’t forgive our debtors (that is to say, if
we don’t forgive men their sins), neither will God forgive our debts,
therefore let us take heed to ourselves and let us forgive men their sins, otherwise
God will cause us to pay all our debts! |
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We know
that the devil is the tempter and as he tempted the Son of God in the days of
His flesh, so he tempts us. It is impossible for us not to be tempted by the
devil, however, we can bear the temptation, that’s why we need to ask God to
lead us not into temptation but to deliver us from the evil one. You should keep
in mind that God allows us to be tempted (consider that God allowed His own
Son to be tempted also), but He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what
we can bear, for Paul says: “But God is faithful, who will not allow you to
be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make
the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 –
NKJV). Therefore, God has promised that when we are tempted He will provide the
way of escape that we may not fall into temptation. Bear in mind, however, that
the fact that God will provide the way of escape so that we may bear the
temptation does not mean that God does not require any effort from us lest we
fall into temptation, otherwise Jesus would not have said: “Watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation” (Mark 14:38 – NIV), and again: “Pray
that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40 – NKJV). We often forget
that in order not to fall into temptation, we must not only watch but also
pray. |
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Let us pray
instead of being anxious
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Brothers, if
we want to live a tranquil life we must pay attention to the following exhortation
delivered by Paul to the saints in |
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Let me
comment briefly on these words. First of all, our Lord is near to us and not
far from us, this is something which comforts us in the midst of every
distress and affliction. David says that “the Lord is near to those who have
a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18 – NKJV) and also that “the Lord is near to all
who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18 – NKJV);
therefore, beloved, in the midst of all your distresses remember these words,
because they comfort the afflicted soul. Now, since the Lord is near to us,
we must not be anxious; why should we worry about the future when we know
that God is with us and for us? You see, when we become anxious for something
our soul is filled with anguish and agitation, which take away from us the
peace of God, which is the result of our firm and unshakeable faith in God;
that’s why the devil tries to cause us to disobey the command of God which
says: “Be anxious for nothing”. However, we are not ignorant of the devices
of Satan; therefore, beloved let us not become anxious for anything lest we give
place to fear and doubt, which would destroy us. |
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Whereas on
the one hand we must be anxious for nothing, on the other hand we must present
all our requests to God, for Paul says: “Let your requests be made known to
God” (Philippians 4:6 – NKJV). Therefore there is not a single need in which
God is not interested or about which it is useless to pray to God. No matter
what we need, God wants us to cast all our care upon Him, and not just a part
of it. How must we make known to God our requests? “By prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving” (Philippians 4:6 – NKJV), says Paul; this
means that as we pray to God about our needs we must thank Him for everything,
yes, because we must be vigilant in prayer with thanksgiving (Colossians
4:2). If we obey this exhortation, we will be greatly blessed because God
will cause His peace to reign in our hearts and in our minds, and this peace
will protect our hearts and minds from all the wiles of the devil while we
wait for the divine answer. |
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Praying with one
accord
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Brothers,
when we pray to God together we must be with one accord in order to be heard
by God, for Jesus said: “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth
concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in
heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there
in the midst of them” (Matthew |
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In the
book of the Acts of the apostles there is an example of prayer which was made
with one accord; it’s the prayer that the early disciples said to God when
Peter and John came to their own companions after they were threatened by the
Sanhedrin, for it is written that “they raised their voice to God with one
accord” (Acts 4:24 – NKJV). In that prayer they asked God that He might grant
to His servants that with all boldness they might speak the Word of God and
He might stretch out His hand to heal, and that signs and wonders might be
done through the name of His Holy Servant Jesus Christ, and that prayer was answered. |
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When we
pray to God together with other brothers (as well as when we pray alone) we
must pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ. The following verses of the Scriptures
attest this: |
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“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my
name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask,
and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John |
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“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye
should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John |
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“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son” (John |
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“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John |
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Remember
that Jesus Christ is the High Priest of our confession and that He is at the
right hand of God and He makes intercession for us. Jesus prays to God for us
because He is the mediator between God and us, that’s why we must pray to God
in the name of Jesus Christ. If we prayed to God in the name of Paul or Peter
we would not be heard by God, because Paul and Peter, even though they are
with the Lord in heaven, cannot mediate between God and us. They cannot hear
our prayers and pass them on to God, therefore it is absurd and vain to rely
upon their mediation. Many people all over the world believe that Mary, the
mother of Jesus, makes intercession for them before God; the devil has
deceived them into believing a lie. Mary cannot hear men’s prayers and thus
she cannot pass them on to God nor to Jesus because it is written: “There is
one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy
2:5 – NKJV). By the grace of God we have the privilege to come to God, the
Almighty, in the name of His Son, and we have the confidence that He hears
our prayers. To God be the glory forever. Amen. |
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Praying in the
Spirit
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There are
some passages of the Scripture which speak of a particular prayer, which is
the prayer made in the Spirit. Here are these passages: |
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“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit ….” (Ephesians
6:18) |
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“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in
the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 20-21). |
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He who
prays in the Spirit prays to God in an unknown language (which he never
learnt, thus he does not know the verbs nor the words, nor the syntax nor the
phonetic of that language). The following Scriptures attest what I have just
said to you: |
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“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we
should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows
what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints
according to the will of God” (Romans |
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“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding
is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray
with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing
with the understanding also” (1 Corinthians |
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Now, one
of the things a man does not know is what he should pray for, as Paul says
that “we do not know what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26). Why
does Paul make this statement? Because we, as human beings, when we pray, are
not able to express ourselves adequately with our own words (that is to say,
we run out of words). Is it not true that many times we would like to say to
God many things we feel inside we should ask of Him, but because of our
weakness (remember that our body is weak) we are not able to say these things
to God? That’s why we often say to God in prayer: ‘Lord, I don’t know how to
say it to You!’ In addition to this, we don’t know what our brothers (those
brothers we don’t know) need urgently at a certain time and in a particular
place. But God, knowing the limits of our body and our mind (that is to say,
knowing our weaknesses), has sent the Holy Spirit to help in our human
weaknesses. How does the Spirit supplement our lack of knowledge and adequate
and exhaustive expressions? By prompting us to pray in tongues, that is to
say, by praying through us. The Spirit knows everything (thus all the needs
of every saint who lives on the earth) and thus He knows what to pray for.
While we do not know everything and we do not know how to totally express our
hearts’ worship to God when we speak to God because our language is
inadequate, the Holy Spirit, having an infinite knowledge and not running out
of words, is able to pray for all the saints. Oh, how marvellous are the ways
of God! The Holy Spirit enables us to pray beyond our understanding, and thus
God uses us to work His purposes in the lives of others. |
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Praying and fasting
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Several
times in the Scriptures of the Old Testament prayer is mentioned together
with fasting (I remember you that to fast means to abstain from food and
drink for a certain period of time). |
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● In
the book of Ezra, with regard to the return of the Israelites from Babylon, it
is written: “Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we
might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us
and our little ones and all our possessions …. So we fasted and entreated our
God for this, and He answered our prayer” (Ezra |
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● It
is written in the book of Nehemiah that when Nehemiah heard that the
survivors who were left from the captivity in the province were there in
great distress and reproach and the wall of Jerusalem was also broken down
and its gates were burned with fire, he prayed and fasted: “When I heard
these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and
prayed before the God of heaven (Nehemiah 1:4 - NIV). God answered the prayer
of Nehemiah, for King Artaxerxes, whom he served at the time, granted him to
return to |
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These are
some examples taken from the Scriptures of the Old Testament which show how
under the law, on some occasions, prayer was accompanied by fasting. |
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Under
grace also it is right to pray and fast. The Scriptures which confirm this
are the following ones: |
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● In
the book of the Acts of the apostles it is written: “Now there were in the
church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had
been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the
Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and
laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:1-3). |
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The Scripture says that Paul and Barnabas “had elders elected for them in
each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord in whom
they had put their trust” (Acts |
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Paul, before receiving his sight and the Holy Spirit through the laying on of
the hands of Ananias, did not eat or drink anything for three days, and when
he had that vision in which he saw a man named Ananias come and place his
hands on him to restore his sight he was praying (Acts 9:1-13). |
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When Cornelius had that vision in which an angel of the Lord appeared to him
and told him to send men to Joppa and call for Simon Peter, he was praying
and fasting. Here is what he said to Peter: “Four days ago I was fasting
until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a
man stood before me in bright clothing” (Acts |
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Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Do not deprive one another except with
consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer ….” (1
Corinthians 7:5 – NKJV). |
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As you can
see, there are several Scriptures which attest that under grace it is right
to fast and pray before God. |
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One can have a
vision while he is praying
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Brothers,
know this, that while one is praying God may visit him and give him a
heavenly vision. For the Scripture teaches us that in ancient times various
men had visions while they were praying to God. |
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The prophet Daniel says: “And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and
confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea,
whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the
vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the
time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and
said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At
the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come
to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter,
and consider the vision” (Daniel |
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Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had a vision in the garden of Gethsemane while
he was praying, as it is written: “And he was withdrawn from them about a
stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be
willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be
done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him”
(Luke |
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Saul of Tarsus had a vision while he was praying in the house of Judas
located in the street called Straight at |
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Paul had another vision while praying (while he was praying in the |
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The apostle Peter also had a vision while he was praying; he told that vision
to those of the circumcision who contended with him for he had gone into the
house of the uncircumcised men and eaten with them. He said: “I was in the
city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel
descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners;
and it came even to me: Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I
considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and
creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me,
Arise, Peter; slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or
unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me
again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And
this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven” (Acts
11:5-10). |
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Cornelius, who was a roman centurion, before he got saved, had a vision while
he was praying. For he said to Simon Peter: “Four days ago I was fasting
until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a
man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is
heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send
therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is
lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he
cometh, shall speak unto thee” (Acts |
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Praying on one’s
knees
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What posture
should we take when we pray? According to the example left to us by Jesus,
the apostles and the prophets of old, the best posture to take when we pray
and seek God is that on our knees. Here are some passages of the Scripture
which show us in which position prayed the prophets of old, our Lord Jesus
Christ, the apostles and the early disciples. |
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The prophet Elijah, when “he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the
earth produced its fruit” (James |
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● The
prophet Daniel used to pray on his knees, for it is written: “Now when Daniel
knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows
being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three
times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime”
(Daniel 6:10). |
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Jesus was in the |
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apostle Peter, before raising Tabitha from the dead, prayed on his knees, as
it is written: “But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed;
and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes:
and when she saw Peter, she sat up” (Acts |
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The apostle Paul prayed for the saints on his knees, for he wrote to the
Ephesians: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would
grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with
might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:14-16); at Miletus, after
he spoke to the elders of the church of Ephesus, “he kneeled down, and prayed
with them all” (Acts 20:36); at Tyre, before boarding the ship together with
his fellow workers, he and all those who were with him knelt down and prayed,
as it is written: “….we departed and went on our way; and they all
accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we
knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one
another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home” (Acts 21:5-6 – NKJV). |
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As you can
see, God willed that the posture the saints of old took when they prayed
should be written in the Scripture. I know that “whatever things were written
before were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4 – NKJV), and that “all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 –
NKJV), therefore even those passages of the Scripture concerning the posture
that the saints of old took when they prayed are useful to our spiritual
growth. Can you affirm the opposite? As for me, I don’t dare to affirm it. |
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Some, not
wanting to kneel down to pray together with the Church for they think that it
is a useless and humiliating thing for them, defend and cover their
haughtiness with empty and deceptive words. Here are their words: ‘We should
bow the knees of our heart rather than the knees of our legs!’ and, ‘God
listens to us even if we pray on our feet or while we are sitting!’. |
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As for the
former expression, I tell you that if these people bowed ‘the knees of their
heart’ (as they call them) they would bow also the knees of their legs;
however, since they don’t bow the knees of their heart they don’t bow the
knees of their legs either. I am convinced that those who are humble in heart
have no difficulty in bowing their knees before God. Those who don’t want to
humble themselves before God – bowing their knees - take the following words
which God spoke to Samuel: “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man
looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel
16:7 – NKJV). Now do you think that Jesus and the apostles did not know those
words? Of course, they knew them, however they did not interpret them wrongly
as some do today. Know this, that these words do not mean that God does not
care about the posture we take when we pray to Him; if that were the meaning
of these words, why then did the Holy Spirit say: “Oh come, let us worship
and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95:6 – NKJV)? As
you can see, God wants us to kneel before Him, there is no doubt about it.
Consider this for a moment: the Son of God, who was in heaven with His Father
before the foundation of the world, in the days of His flesh (that is, when
He lived on the earth) prayed to His Father on His knees. John the Baptist,
speaking of Christ, said: “He who comes from above is above all” (John |
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As for the
latter expression, of course God hears us even when we pray on our feet or
when we are seated (we have experienced this, for sometimes we also pray on
our feet or while we are seated) and we can’t affirm the opposite; but if it
is a person without legs and feet (or unable to kneel down because of a
serious illness) who says to me that God hears him even when he prays to God
while he is seated I fully understand him and I have nothing to say against
it; but when these words are spoken to me by a haughty person who has two
strong and tough legs but does not want to bow his knees before God in the
presence of the faithful then I am sad because of his haughtiness and I
cannot but rebuke him. |
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I tell you
another thing: there are many people who don’t know God who are not ashamed
to kneel down before a statue and to pray to it, while there are some who
know God who are ashamed to kneel down before the Living and True God. I
remind those who don’t want to bow their knees when they pray that it is
written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me” (Romans
14:11; Isaiah 45:23 - NKJV), and that “the allies of the proud lie prostrate
beneath Him” (Job 9:13 – NKJV), therefore, do not deceive yourselves, because
the day is coming when God will cause you to bow your knees before Him. |
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Brothers,
let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, also by taking this
posture before Him when we pray to Him, He is worthy of this. |
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Where to pray
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As for the
place where to pray, it is necessary to say that we are allowed to pray
everywhere for it is written: “I desire therefore that the men pray
everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Timothy 2:8
– NKJV). However, let us see that we are not like the hypocrites because
Jesus said: “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the
streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have
their reward” (Matthew 6:5 – NKJV). As you can see, the hypocrites also pray
in the places of worship and outside them, but only for one purpose, that is,
to be seen and honoured by men. What is their reward? Their reward is that
they are seen by men. |
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In our
private life, we should pray in our room for Jesus said: “But you, when you
pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your
Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6 – NKJV). Our God is in the secret place and
sees in secret, thus we know that in order that our prayer may be answered it
suffices to be seen and heard by God alone. Many times we have experienced
the truthfulness of the words of Christ because after we have prayed to God
secretly (without making known to anybody else our specific request), we have
been rewarded by God openly obtaining before others what we asked before Him
alone. |
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Here is
what the Scripture says about the places where the prophets of old, Jesus and
the apostles and the early disciples prayed. |
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The prophet Elijah prayed on a mountain. |
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Moses prayed on |
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Daniel prayed to God in “in his upper room, with his windows open toward |
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Jesus “often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke |
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The apostles and the disciples, while they were waiting for the promise of
the Father, prayed in the upper room; and they prayed also in the temple
which was in |
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While Peter was in prison, the brethren were praying to God in the house of
Mary. |
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Peter, while in Joppa, prayed on the housetop of the house of Simon, a
tanner. |
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Paul and Silas prayed in the prison of |
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Paul and his fellow workers prayed together with the disciples of |
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The prophet Jonah prayed to God from a fish’s belly, as it is written: “Then
Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly” (Jonah 2:1 – NKJV). |
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Brothers,
all the above mentioned examples confirm that “the eyes of the Lord are on
the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers” (1 Peter |
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Man must pray
with his head uncovered, while the woman must pray with her head covered
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Paul says
to the Corinthians: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is
Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his
head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered
dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if
the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a
woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not
to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the
woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman
of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the
man. For this cause ought the woman to have power [a sign of authority] on
her head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the
woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of
the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. Judge
in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not
even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame
unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair
is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have
no such custom, neither the churches of God” (1 Corinthians 11:3-16). |
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Now, Paul
says that the head of every man is Christ and that if a man prays with his
head covered he dishonours Christ, which means that he deprives Christ of the
honour He is worthy to receive from us. The angels who are in heaven say with
a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches
and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation |
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Love does
not delight in evil, therefore, any man whose heart is full of true love will
not pray with his head covered lest he dishonour Christ; while any woman
whose heart is full of the love of God will pray with her head covered lest
she dishonour her head, that is, man. Obviously, if the heart of a woman is
full of self-seeking instead of the love of God, she will refuse to cover her
head with this symbol of authority. |
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Today, in
the Church, some women, instead of being subject to man and respectful to
him, are rebellious and disrespectful toward him, therefore no wonder that
they don’t want to cover their head when they pray. They are willing to have
their hair dyed, to change their hairstyle, to smooth their hair with gel, to
spray their eccentric hairstyle with hairspray to keep it in place, but they
are not willing to cover their head with a veil. Why? Because of the pride of
being a woman (that’s how the children of this age call it) by which they
were deceived. Today, in this country, we see many policewomen and many
traffic policewomen, who wear a hat. That hat is weightier than a veil, and
they are not ashamed to wear it, and if you ask them why they wear it, they
will tell you that they wear it because they obey an order, that is to say,
they are ordered to wear it. On the contrary, in some Churches some women are
ashamed to cover their head with a veil and they say with much haughtiness
that they are not willing to wear it, and thus they refuse to obey God’s
order. What a contrast in behaviour! (Of course, the hat of a policewoman or
a traffic policewoman indicates that she has authority over someone or
something, while the veil on the head of a Christian woman indicates that she
is subject to man, who is her head). |
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Some
sisters affirm: ‘I have long hair, therefore I don’t need to cover my head
with a veil, for my hair is my veil’. Sisters listen to me, ‘Surely if you
have long hair, it is a glory for you, but your hair is not the veil with
which you ought to cover your head, because your long hair is given to you
for a covering (1 Corinthians |
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Some say
that the commandment about the veil divides the Church; however, if this were
true then we should mutilate the epistles of Paul! But as far as I know, the
commandments given by the apostles are for the edifying of the Church and not
for the destruction of the Church, therefore the reason why these so called
‘divisions’ arise in the midst of the Churches is not the veil but rather
what is in the heart of some men and women. |
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I mean
that the reason why in the midst of the Churches some accept this commandment
while others are opposed to it, is that the former are willing to obey God
while the latter are not willing to obey God for there is self-seeking in
their heart. Know this, that the sharp discussions which arise about the
commandment concerning the veil are caused by the envy and self-seeking which
dwell in the heart of those who don’t want to keep this commandment. The fact
is that in talking with these people one realizes that they boast and lie not
only against this commandment but also against other commandments of God.
“For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are
there” (James 3:16 – NKJV) says James, that’s why the life of these people is
a disorderly life, full of evil deeds, because they are self-seeking and
oppose the truth. The commandment about the veil is just one of the
commandments they don’t want to keep, for they object to all the sound
doctrine of God. They object to everything: according to them, the apostles
should not have written certain things! |
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Of course,
this commandment is not one of the most important commandments, yet it is
still one of the commandments given by the same man who spoke with other
tongues more than all the Corinthians, by whom God did extraordinary
miracles, and who wrote most of the epistles of the New Testament. |
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I exhort
you, daughters of Sarah, to pray with your head covered with a veil (both inside
and outside the place of worship), and not to be contentious, because that
would be unprofitable for you. Does anyone want to be contentious? Let that
person know that “we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God” (1 Corinthians
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It is lawful to
weep as we pray
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When we
weep during our prayers (this happens sometimes and not always) we don’t do
something which God dislikes. I am forced to write even about this subject,
for some among us affirm that God does not want us to weep as we pray. The
Scripture says that in ancient times some prayed to God weeping. |
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Ann (when she asked God for a child) “prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish”
(1 Samuel |
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When Ezra heard that some of the children of |
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● Hezekiah
king of |
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● In
the days of His flesh, Jesus prayed to God with tears, as it is written: “Who
in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death,
and was heard in that he feared [or for
his piety]; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things
which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:7-8). |
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Brothers,
it is a good thing to pour out one’s heart before God, weeping. There are
moments, while we pray, in which the Spirit of God reminds us that we are
nothing, and that all the things we are able to do for the sake of the Lord
can be done by the grace of God, which is with us, and not by our own
abilities; as we pray, the Spirit of God reminds us of the sins we have
committed so that we may confess them to the Lord; and in the day of trouble
He reminds us that only God can deliver us from our troubles; that’s why,
sometimes we as newborn little babes weep before God. God sees even the tears
we shed in His presence, as it is written: “You number my wanderings; put my
tears into Your bottle” (Psalm 56:8 - NKJV). |
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I want to
say something else about this subject: many believers tell jokes and take
delight in laughing hysterically during the worship service; it is a rare
thing to see believers praying and weeping before God for they acknowledge
their sins and confess them to God, and those few believers who, prompted by
the Spirit, weep before the Lord are mocked. Why does this happen? Because we
live in a country where there are so many material goods, and where there is
so much freedom to profess one’s faith, that many, having become rich and puffed
up with pride, have forgotten the Lord. They think that they don’t need to
humble themselves before God, because they have everything and have need of
nothing; they have become friends of the world. James says to these people: “Draw
nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:
let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:8-10). |
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Beloved,
it is time for you to seek the Lord with all your heart, it is time for you
to lay aside your false joy and your so called ‘holy laughter’ and to humble
before God. You should be grieved for the corruption, the worldliness and the
falsehood which are in the midst of the Church, you should weep before God;
let us confess our sins to God and let us forsake them, let us call on God in
truth, and He will cause His glory to appear upon us, as He did in ancient
times toward the children of Israel when they humbled themselves before God. |
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Praying with
perseverance
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Paul told
the saints of |
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Paul
himself left us an example for he prayed day and night and he remembered the
saints in all his prayers. The passages of the Scripture which confirm this
are the following ones: |
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● To
the saints of |
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● To
the saints of |
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● To
the saints of Colosse, who had not seen his face in the flesh, he wrote: “We
give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always
for you …” (Colossians 1:3) |
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● To
the saints of Thessalonica he wrote: “Wherefore also we pray always for you,
that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good
pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power …” (2 Thessalonians
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● To
Timothy he wrote: “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure
conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers
night and day” (2 Timothy 1:3). |
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It is
evident from the exhortations of the apostle Paul and from his example that
we need to pray always for the saints, thus let’s do it for the edifying of
the |
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Jesus
Christ exhorted His disciples to pray without ceasing and not lose heart,
speaking to them the following parable: “There was in a city a judge, which
feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and
she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for
a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor
regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her
continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge
saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto
him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them
speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the
earth?” (Luke 18:2-8). As you can see, even though that widow had the right
to obtain justice against her adversary, she did not obtain justice for a
while, for it is written that the judge “would not for a while”. Now, if that
judge had granted her justice against her adversary on the first day she went
to him, that widow would not have continued to go to him and say: ‘Avenge me
of mine adversary”; however because the answer of the judge did not come
immediately she kept going to him till she obtained justice. You see,
brothers, even though we who are the elect of God pray to God, who “loves righteousness”
(Psalm 33:5 – NKJV) and hates wickedness, the answer to some of our prayers
comes only after many days or many months or many years. The fact that God
does not answer some of our prayers immediately or within a short period of
time it is not a strange thing. Therefore, do not be surprised if some of
your prayers have not yet been answered. Know this, that God will answer your
prayer at His appointed time, which we know by experience is always the right
time. The Scripture says: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our
time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 – NIV), which means that God will meet all our
needs at His set time, and thus we are sure His help will never come late or
in advance. Our God is not an absent-minded God, and no earthly event can
distract Him; He rules the universe, thus He is in control of all the things
which happen to us, including all the distresses in which we find ourselves.
Sometimes we, seeing that time is passing by, are tempted to think that God
is no longer in control of the situation in which we are, but this thought is
vain and harmful and is absolutely wrong. We can affirm from experience that
right in those moments when the enemy tries to make us doubt the faithfulness
of God, yes, right in those moments, God is caring for us (as always) by not
answering our prayer. Someone will say: ‘What are you saying? Do you mean
that the fact that God does not answer our prayer when we want shows us that
He cares for us? Exactly! For I tell you from experience that till now God
has manifested His love toward me by not answering my prayers when I wanted
or I thought He would answer them. I don’t blame God for compelling me to
wait for Him patiently (with many tears), rather I praise Him for this. If
God answered our prayer when we desire, that would mean that God is at our beck
and call and also an unwise God. If God answered our prayers when we wish, He
would spoil His work with His own hands, but thanks be to His glorious name
because He has not changed over the centuries; He continues to say to us: “My
thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways … for as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and
My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9 – NKJV). God knows the minute,
the hour, the day, the month and the year in which we will receive from Him
what we have asked of Him. The fact is that while on the one hand He knows
all these things, on the other hand we don’t know them, and every time we think
that God will answer our prayer on our time we are mistaken. Remember that
Jesus said that we must ask, but He did not say when we will receive what we
have asked; He simply said: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7 –
NKJV). What we must do is to ask, then God will answer our prayer; He knows
how and when to answer our prayers, better than what we can imagine. One
thing is sure: what we have asked of Him will be given to us if we have
prayed in faith, with no doubting in our heart. When will it be given to us?
When God wills; thus I am not worried when I see that God has not yet
answered some of my prayers. |
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Here are
some examples taken from the Scripture which show us that God answers our
prayers when He wills. |
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The Scripture says: “Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife,
the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan |
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After her
marriage to Isaac, Rebekah was barren so Isaac prayed to God, and he prayed
insistently, and God answered his prayer by giving them two twin sons. When
did Rebekah give birth to the two twin sons? When Isaac was sixty years old,
that is to say, twenty years after Isaac married Rebekah. Someone may ask:
‘Why did God not answer before? Because it was not His will; He wanted
Rebekah to give birth to her children twenty years after her marriage. And
who dares to say to God: ‘What have you done?’ |
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After Jerusalem was given by God into the hand of the Babylonian army, and
many Jews were carried away captive to Babylon, it happened that “all the
captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son
of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came
near, And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our
supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God,
even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes
do behold us:) That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk,
and the thing that we may do. Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I
have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your
words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer
you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you” (Jeremiah
42:1-4). Jeremiah prayed to God for the people and “it came to pass after ten
days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah” (Jeremiah 42:7). So
Jeremiah called the people and told them what God had said to Him. In this
case, the prayer of Jeremiah was answered by God after ten days. God had said
to Jeremiah: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and
mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3 – NKJV), and Jeremiah
called to God and He answered him at His appointed time. |
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● In
the book of the prophet Daniel we read the following incident which shows
that on one occasion a prayer of Daniel was answered by God only after a
certain number of days. It is written: “In those days I Daniel was mourning
three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my
mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were
fulfilled. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by
the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes,
and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were
girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his
face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his
arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his
words like the voice of a multitude. …. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man
greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand
upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto
me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the
first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten
thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
But the prince of the |
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● Now
let me mention one of the prayers of Paul in order to show you that God
answers some of our prayers even after several years. Paul wrote to the saints
of Rome: “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of
His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,
making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of
God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some
spiritual gift, so that you may be established” (Romans 1:9-11 – NKJV). Now,
Paul did not specify how long he had been praying to God, however we know
that he had been praying to God that he might find a way in the will of God
to come to the saints of Rome for many years because Paul wrote to the saints
of Rome that he had been longing for many years to see them (Romans 15:23). When
was that prayer answered? It was answered more than two years after Paul
wrote those words. We say this because when Paul came to |
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Brothers,
continue steadfastly in prayer, even if you have been praying to God for
days, months or years so that He might give you a certain thing, do not lose
heart, do not think that God did not hear your cry because He heard it from
the first day you decided to call on His name; He will answer your prayer at
His appointed time. “You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and
give Him no rest ….” (Isaiah 62:6-7 – NKJV), till He answers your prayer;
yes, brother, keep coming to the throne of God, do not become weary, for He,
because of your persistence, will surely rise and give you what you have
asked of Him. To God be the glory forever. Amen. |
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The thanksgivings
due to God
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Brothers,
when we pray we must not forget to give thanks to our God. The apostle Paul
in his epistles exhorted the saints to pray to God and to thank Him: |
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● He
wrote to the Philippians: “In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 – NKJV) |
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● To
the Colossians he wrote: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it
with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2 – NKJV) |
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● To
the Thessalonians, after saying: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians |
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● To
Timothy he wrote that he exhorted first of all that “supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1 –
NKJV). |
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I find it
necessary to mention something which is written about the prophet Daniel in
order to confirm that prayers and thanksgivings are well pleasing to God:
“And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down
on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God,
as was his custom since early days” (Daniel 6:10 – NKJV). |
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As for
giving thanks to God, we need to know the things for which we must thank God.
First of all I want to tell you that each of us has many things to thank God
for and that no one of us can say that he does not know what to thank God
for; and furthermore that Paul and his fellow workers left us an example so
that we may learn from them. In reading the epistles of Paul we realize that
he and his fellow workers used to thank God without ceasing for many things;
now I am going to mention their thanksgivings which were written for our
learning; |
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Paul wrote to the Romans: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you
all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8),
and also: “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being
then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans |
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● He
wrote to the Corinthians: “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the
grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are
enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the
testimony of Christ was confirmed in you …… But thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ….. Now thanks be unto
God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the
savour of his knowledge by us in every place …. But thanks be to God, which
put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. ….. Thanks be unto
God for his unspeakable gift” (1 Corinthians 1:4-6; |
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● To
the Ephesians he wrote: “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you,
making mention of you in my prayers” (Ephesians |
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● To
the Philippians he wrote: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you” (Philippians
1:3). |
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● To
the Colossians he wrote: “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, praying always for you” (Colossians 1:3) |
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● To
the Thessalonians he wrote: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making
mention of you in our prayers … We are bound to thank God always for you,
brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the
charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth …. But we are
bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth …. For this cause also
thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which
ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth,
the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians
1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:13) |
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● To
Philemon he wrote: “I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my
prayers, Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord
Jesus, and toward all saints” (Philemon 4-5). |
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Reading
all the above mentioned thanksgivings made by Paul and his fellow workers we
realize that they thanked God always and not only when they prayed to God. |
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Now,
brothers, we ought to thank God always as the apostles did, therefore we have
to thank God when we pray as well as when we do not pray. Furthermore we must
thank God for the same things for which the apostles did give thanks to God;
sometimes, while we are praying we restrict ourselves to say to God: ‘Lord,
thank you for everything!’, of course, it is a right thing to say these words
to God, however according to the example of the apostles we should thank God specifying
both the people and the things for which we thank God. Do we not have time to
specify them perhaps? Not at all, for we have the time to do it. You see,
brothers, sometimes what we lack is not the time but the will to do it,
because we often underestimate the giving of thanks or because we spend the
time we have on talking about things that do not edify. Paul said: “But
fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named
among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking,
nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks” (Ephesians
5:3-4 – NKJV); if we consider this exhortation of Paul we have to admit that
(it is a sad thing to say it and to realize it) we often hear believers speak
of things which should not even be named while we rarely hear believers give
thanks to God in everything. |
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The lack
of giving thanks indicates a lack of gratefulness toward God; many take for
granted many things and think that those things are due to them, but that’s
not true because all the things we possess come from God, as it is written: “For
all things come from You” (1 Chronicles 29:14 – NKJV). Let us not behave like
those nine lepers who were healed by Jesus and did not come back to thank Him
for healing them through the word. Instead let us imitate that Samaritan who,
when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
“and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks” (Luke |
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We, as
sons of God, must thank God for everything; now I will mention some of the
things for which we are bound to thank God: |
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● We
must thank Him for His indescribable gift, that is, eternal life, which God
gave us freely |
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● We
must thank Him for He has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of
the saints in the light, let us thank Him with joy |
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● We
must thank Him for all His benefits, which are worthy to be mentioned |
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● We
must thank Him for the food, before we eat it, because this is a right thing.
Jesus thanked God for the food, as it is written: “And He took the five
loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and
gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes” (Matthew
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● We
must thank God for our brothers; for He from the beginning chose them for
salvation; for when they received the word of Christ as well as the word of
the apostles they welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth,
the word of God; we must thank God for the zeal that He has put into their
hearts for the sake of the Gospel; for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the
ministry gifts He gives to the saints; for both their faith in the Lord and
their love toward the saints increase; for their liberal sharing with the
poor among the saints; for all the benefits they receive from the hand of God,
among which are the powerful deliverances they experience after they call on
God. |
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I conclude
by thanking God through our Lord Jesus Christ for giving me the grace and the
wisdom I needed in order to write this teaching. To Him be the glory now and
forever. Amen. |