PREVAILING IN PRAYER AND WITH GOD
Prayer is a communication with God.
To Prevail means to overcome or have an influence over something or in other words successfully persuade someone or something. Therefore, prevailing in prayer is the ability our prayers to produce results through the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. How then will one prevail in prayer? We cannot triumph in life when we keep living in sinful natures. If we continue to follow the lifestyle of the prince of the earth, thus, the devil and his demons, we will never prevail in anything that has to do with God or His kingdom. These demons were released on earth to lead God’s righteous people astray and to turn them away from salvation. In short, we prevail in prayer when our prayers, lives or paths are aligned to the truth of God’s word. It is what he wants for us that will manifest, and not what we want from Him. Proverbs 19:21.
Prevailing with God does not necessarily mean you are forcing God to do something for you. We prevail with Him by fully trusting Him and acting on faith. There’s no way God will do something for you if faith is not applied.
Most of the time Jacob (Israel, the one who wrestled with God) is referred to when talking about prevailing with God. This is a man who felt his whole life coming to an end. He feared for his and his family’s life. And then he encountered a man, an Angel of God on his way to Canaan. Because Jacob feared that it could be his last day, he wrestled with the angel and said to the Angel, “I would not let you go until you bless me”. Finally when the Angel saw that he wouldn’t win the match, He blessed Jacob and gave him a different name. This is the same energy we need as Christians when we pray. It is already said In the Bible that we should pray without ceasing. We must see a change in our prayer lives. We must cause a shift and great influence in different realms when we pray. For if we are able to do this, how hard will it be to prevail with man?
THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER.
Who Is the Spirit of prayer? The Spirit of prayer is the one who helps us pray and intercedes for Us.( Romans 8:26-27). He groans to God on our behalf when we pray and only God Can understand Him. This Spirit doesn’t come by default when you start praying empty prayers NO! He comes when you have the desire for Him. He comes when you have a strong call for Him. He comes when you want to have fellowship with Him, and when He arrives, he causes a shift in the atmosphere, then we receive His grace. This grace takes us to a different level of prayer.
THE DESIRE TO PRAY
We must have the habit of praying. We shouldn’t only pray when we feel troubled, weary or when we want to ask God for favors. The same way the Bible tells us to always give God thanks no matter the situation we find ourselves. Whether good or bad, give thanks to God. When things are not going according to what you planned, give thanks to God. Laziness, in itself, is a sin against God. Also, laziness drives away the spirit of God from our lives. A lazy man’s walk with the Lord is unfruitful and joyless. Nothing is done or gained when you do nothing. Laziness leads to spiritual poverty and hunger. This happens because one fails to feed His Spirit man with the word of God and prayer regularly. What happens when you refuse to give your body food or water? You go hungry and thirsty right? In the same way when you fail to feed your Spirit man with the word of God, it loses its strength, becomes numb and inactive. This will cause us to fall away from God and his Kingdom. So, dear brethren, we must have the desire to pray always and not let laziness be a hindrance.
LIVING SPIRITUALLY
Someone who lives spiritually is a person who lives in God and grows in Him. Spiritual life begins when one is Born again or when we have received salvation. That is the only medium through which you can be with Christ and in Christ. Meaning, we do and act according to the rules, influence, guidance and control of the Holy Spirit. Nothing can be done without Him. The Bible says in the book of James 5:16 says, the fierce prayers of one who has salvation are heard more than the others who pray for their personal gains. Someone who lives in Christ and has the mindset of God is always conscious of the spiritual well-being of their fellow brethren. God is ever willing to receive new souls. So, a follower of Christ and a Child of God, who walks by the influence of the Holy Spirit, is always on the lookout for gaining new souls for the Kingdom as God wants him to do. Luke 15:7 says, “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed. All these things cannot be done without prayer. There is nothing prayer cannot do.You cannot talk to a lost soul without first praying to block out any spiritual entity. As I mentioned earlier, you have to prevail in prayer before it can manifest physically.
Prayer is very important, therefore, we have to take it very seriously. It is through prayer that God hears our requests and answers them.