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Dr Nick Ohizu The Voice of God
The past two years have seen a lot of people quit church and many other give up on their faith, especially the need to pray. Most of them are convinced that prayer does not work.
That perception is mostly a product of the economic challenges faced by a lot of people emanating from the backlash of the Covid-19 pandemic and many other reasons.
Irrespective of what may have been responsible for these financial woes, one needs to understand the correlation between our spiritual and physical life.
Even though we are humans; our lives are mostly controlled spiritually.
This is why prayer is necessary as it is the means of communicating with God.
Anyone who decides to stop praying has decided to be in charge of their own lives and that is a job only God can do.
People give up on prayer for different reasons. However, stating the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” [Luke 18:1]. This statement summarises both the importance of prayer and the reason for quitting. Let us look at few reasons why people quit:
They hardly pray: The parable was shared so that men should always pray. The word ‘always’ signifies consistence. It will be very surprising to know how many people actually wake up every day and go about their own business without uttering any word of prayer to God.
‘Always’ means that prayer is something we should do quite often because it is the spiritual lifeline of our existence.
The reason we should always pray is revealed clearly by Apostle Peter. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” [1Pet.5.8 NKJV]. This is a proof that we are not wrestling with flesh and blood.
The adversary is roaming in the present and continuously seeking whom he may devour. The onslaught of the adversary is expressed in the present continuous tense which means that the devil is not resting.
The reason we should always pray is because God wants us to resist the devil through prayer and thereby stop his escapades in our lives.
Prayer is not something you do only when you are in trouble, when you go to church, when a pastor visits your house, or when you want to open an event just to fulfil all righteousness. Prayer is the power line that supplies every aspect of life with the power of God.
People faint: A lot of people stop praying not because they tried prayer once or because they were not believers. Most people who quit praying were believers whom due to one reason or the other fainted in their prayer life.
Why do believers faint? Believers faint in prayer when Satan convinces them that because their prayers were not answered immediately, there is no need to pray. Jesus never told us that we should always pray because the prayers will receive immediate answers. God in his sovereignty chooses how he will answer our prayers because his answers is according to His will not ours.
“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” [Rom.8.26-27 Nkjv].
We are not the only ones who are involved in our prayer life. The Holy spirit helps us in our prayers to pray according to the will of God. When we pray, God’s answer can come in the following format; [i] Yes. [ii] wait [iii] No. All these are answers.
Our prayers not receiving the answers we expected is not indicative of rejection or hatred. It means that we should trust God enough to know what is best for us. Therefore, fainting in prayer is a tool satan uses on people who have been praying.
For example; a lot of people lost loved ones to Covid-19 and being a pastor, I saw how desperate people were in prayers to God to save loved ones and when such people die, the people who prayed were devastated to the extent that many backslide citing the failure of prayer.
Satan only sets our focus on the ones that are not answered and never on the ones God answered. God is still in the business of answering prayers and our faith in him should not only be based on what he can do for us but on who he is.
Fainting is a sign that you are making progress, fainting is a sign that you are praying, fainting is a sign that you have put in the effort. Therefore, do not let Satan convince you to quit because when we are fainting is exactly the sign that we are getting closer to our miracles. God may not meet your schedule, but he is never late.
If you are among the people who are still standing in prayers. I salute you and encourage you not to quit. However, if you are among the people that gave up on God and prayer, I encourage you to be restored.
Your prayer life is your lifeline. God is waiting to hear from you and your spiritual life can be restored today.
Dr Nick Ohizu is the senior pastor of The Empowerment Ministries and the president of The Empowerment School of Wealth both located in Graniteside Harare. He is a successful entrepreneur with vast experience in leadership, mentorship, business and marriage consultancy with a mandate from god to change lives and bless people. Cell 0772304917
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