The only truth needed when praying
One very important thing that characterized the worship of God many years ago was a regular visit to the Mountains and Jerusalem, where people congregationally lifted up their voices. The activities embarked upon ranged from praises, supplications, intercessions and requests. In John 4: 19-20 the Samaritan woman thought that the status quo of worship was still relevant, so she proudly and confidently made known her stand to Jesus. “The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”. But Jesus answered and said to her “God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth” (vs. 24).
A fundamental truth and pathway to the father’s heart is being revealed in this statement by Jesus. Relating with God requires TRUTHFUL and SPIRITUAL intensions. Any other thing outside this can not help in drawing God’s attention. You may be on the roof top, highest mountain, in the deepest hole or in the auditorium of the most beautifully built church, once your devotion or prayer to God is not done truthfully and spiritually you can not be heard by God.
To worship in truth simply means to worship in sincerity and verity of heart; and sincerity of heart stems from a wealth and depth of knowledge concerning who God is. This is referred to as truthful worship. This simply means a sincere worship from an open heart, not concealing anything. Better still, it is a pouring out of one’s heart in totality and submissiveness. I make bold to say again that this can only be done with an understanding of who God is. In John 14: 6, Jesus says He is the way, the truth and life. He actually meant He is the revelation and effulgence of God, the glory of God without concealing anything at all. I am the way to the father means I am the path, i.e. the way to reaching, understanding and relating with God.
In acknowledging and accepting Jesus as the truth, we are actually accepting God, and also accepting the true revelation of who God is as it is evident in Christ. This same fact is reiterated in II Corinthians 4: 6 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”.
The father is desirous of such people that walk and dwells in this depth of knowledge as manifested in Jesus and revealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Such in-depth understanding of God stirs the right prayers in the right direction and all these you will find revealed in bible. Beloved I welcome you to the revelation of God’s will for you when you worship or pray, as we study together in the subsequent edition of this message that is titled “Getting set to obtain results in prayer”.
– adeyiga awomuti
The soccer world cup is one of the most contested tournaments by different nations of the world. Spectators of over 35,000 and millions of television viewers are thrilled to highest peak of excitement. While spectators enjoy the feel of the game, the players on the field and their technical crew have just one goal in mind which is to win the cup and go home proud. The players throughout the competition run up and down the field of play sweating profusely chasing just one small oval shape object called a ball in order to gain its possession.
The journey of winning the cup starts from the technical crew of each country making the right team selection that will be called to camp. In addition, they embark on intensive training, perfecting different winning plans and strengthening the players’ fitness level. Also, instilling a high level of discipline in the players is not left out, while sponsors are also being sought for the team. All these are done in bid to position the team well for the desired results, i.e. wining the cup.
When we pray, we surely always have desired results set in our minds. Either the purpose of our prayer is to praise God, make a request, express our displeasures or grief about a situation etc; it is still specifically targeted towards something.
Though we are desirous of hitting our targets in prayer, we often forget or neglect the right path and channels to be followed. You could be sure that a step towards the south, while you intend to reach the north as a destination is a deceitful and wrong move. For example, expecting to pass an examination without sitting for that particular exam or without answering over 60% of the questions provided will result in an elated failure.
Let’s take a look at this scripture together, “You ask and don’t receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasures” James 4: 3 (HSBC). Have you ever wondered why some times your prayers seem not answered? Most likely you’ve concluded wrongly that there are some people well positioned than you are, who constantly draw God’s attention. This assertion is not true, because God does not show favoritism (James 2:1). Perhaps you have prayed wrongly. Praying wrongly is like not praying at all. Once a means to an end is ignored, then the end can not be met. When at the end of the football competition a winner emerges we should not fail to remember that if they had not played according to the rules of the game, the victory would not have been clinched.
For the next couple of weeks, we shall be discussing praying according to God’s will or pattern with the topic “Praying to yield results”. I have no doubt in my mind that this serial message will challenge and provoke to go back to kneel and achieve a result oriented prayer.
adeyiga awomuti