A Daily Devotional by Bishop David Bakare
Pray Meaningfully
Saturday,
31 August
Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints. Ephesians 6:18
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Ephesians 3:11-21 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. 13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
God wants His children to pray purposefully,
meaningfully and specifically. He does not want us to just pray; He wants our
prayer to be effective, " effectual " because it is the effectual,
fervent prayer of the righteous that avails much (James 5:16).
Many times when believers pray, the prayer
is very light in content; it lacks purpose and direction and is not very
specific in nature. The result is that it does not make much impact as the same
amount of prayer that is meaningful would do.
A prayer that is effective has the
following qualities, amongst other things.
i. It is very specific in nature, aimed at
a specific object. Mark 11:24 says: Saying, Let us alone; what have we to
do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee
who thou art, the Holy One of God.
ii. It is not selfish or self-centred, but
aims at getting God glorified and His will to be done on earth as Jesus taught
His disciples in Matthew 6:9-10: 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.
iii. It is scripture-based and scripture
driven since the Word of God is the will of God. Effective prayer is offered
based on the Word of God. 1 John 5:14 assures us that: And this is the
confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his
will, he heareth us.
iv. Effective prayer is prayed in the name
of Jesus Christ. His name is the key that unlocks the treasure house of God.
v. Also, such prayer is prayed in
expectation and faith that our faithful God will give a specific answer to our
prayers. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him as Hebrews 11:6 puts
it: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
Apostle Paul did a lot of praying for the
churches that He founded. They were not empty and vague prayers; they were
meaningful, purposeful, focused and robust requests that the will of God may be
done in the lives of his converts in very specific terms.
Your own prayer also should be that rich,
then you will move from glory to glory. Ephesians 6:18 exhorts us: Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Prayer/Action
* Give thanks to God who answers prayers.
* Ask the Holy Spirit to enrich your prayer life and for strength to prevail in prayer.
* Ask the Lord to raise and anoint more intercessors in your church.
TODAY’S PROPHETIC
PRAYER: My ever-faithful Shepherd, thank You for
Your wonderful hand upon me, in August. Hallelujah!
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