How to pray with power through faith that believes and trusts

( This message can also be listened to as a podcast at www.africhristpodcast.com )

How to pray with power through faith that believes and trusts

Faith and Trust in Jesus are basic elements of effective prayer

Praying in faith takes the Word of God, its promises and principles and applies them to our situations aligning them with the Will of God. In Hebrews 11:6 God tells us that it is impossible to please Him without faith. That is a powerful disclaimer! Without faith and Holy Spirit led prayer, Christianity would be just like the other powerless religions that have no value (Hebrews 4:2) to the Kingdom of God. Prayer is the vehicle that harnesses belief and trust together to move faith. We will show you how to move from faith that just believes to effective faith that completes the loop of faith: Belief, Trust and Impact

Prayer is like an equation “connector” or “balancer” of sorts, needed to reach a value (result) that we may be seeking. Prayer has the power to bring hidden values  (things hoped for) and bind them into specific “packages” (or answers). Different people may be praying to God for different things, but they all have this common denominator, which is faith and trust in Jesus Christ. For the promises of God to be of value and productive in prayer, they have to be “mixed” with this “faith in His Son” who is the Power and Wisdom of God (1Corinthians 1:24). Praying with faith in God’s Word keeps us within the bounds of His will that culminates with using the Mighty Name of His Son Jesus.

Hebrews 4:2 NKJV

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” 

The principle set in Hebrews 4:2 is that for the Gospel message or a particular scripture to be of value, it has to be mixed and applied with faith. This is the trust we place in Jesus who is the author and finisher of this faith according to the Bible. This is the reason we pray to God and petition him  “in Jesus’ NAME”. Jesus himself instructed us to do this because in doing so we glorify the Father. (John 14:13)

Faith is our expression of trust in the ability and integrity of the promising party, regardless of our feelings or opinions about the promise itself. If we look at the promise, or prayer request by itself, we may be overwhelmed and give up. It may seem like an insurmountable request or laughable promise. Sarai felt that way and at first laughed at the promise of a child at her advanced age. However when she started to look at the promise maker Himself rather than her old body, Sarai now trusted that God was able to do what he promised. Suddenly her 90 year-old body gained strength to carry a baby. There was also a Roman centurion who believed for his servant’s healing. He recognized the authority Jesus carried. He too had to look to and trust in Jesus’ word alone. He said Jesus did not physically have to be present for healing power to flow. “Jesus say the word” he said. (Matthew 8:5-8). Then there was the woman with the issue of blood who trusted that just to touch Jesus’ robe was enough to draw the power of healing from the healer himself (Matthew 9:20-22). Let it be emphasized that the object of veneration here is not “faith” in itself but the Lord Himself. Faith is not the end but a pathway for our expression of trust in the Lord’s ability and integrity to fulfill his promises and keep his covenants. Trust is the “sling shot” that thrusts our faith into acting upon what we believe.

Spirit led Prayer harnesses the power of faith and is in harmony with the Father and the Son. Note that these are principles not formulae. We do not have to “know” what to pray in the sense of what words to use or even the issue at hand sometimes, because according to the Bible we know not what to pray except as led by the Holy Spirit. It is the harness that conveys ( or translates ) natural situations into the Divine spiritual realm as we meditate, affirm, proclaim, petition or simply pray to God. Christian faith, unlike other religions, originates in the spirit and not in the intellect. In the intellectual realm things have to add up to human understanding, while in the faith realm, things do not have to make sense to us intellectually. However they have to be within the will of God and that is where we place our hope. Our hope and faith is based on God’s Truths, principles and conclusions.

Romans 8:24-26 NKJV

“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 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.”

Faith is belief that trusts

When we pray, trusting in God pushes faith to “work” beyond just believing. Faith is trusting that the promising party is able fulfill what they promise. One may believe that a bike rider can cross over a canyon on a tight rope, but do they trust him enough to ride along? That takes “trusting faith”, the kind that leads to praying with impact. This kind of faith is backed by the Word of God in the scripture below. This is iron clad confidence guaranteed by God.

I John 5:14-15 NKJV

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

James 2:18-20 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 

Some excerpt for this article courtesy of: Sam N Kawesa. “Praying with Impact.” Published by B. I. G International, 2010. Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/praying-with-impact/id1200331531

This message can also be listened to as a podcast at www.africhristpodcast.com

Impact Prayer

Father in the Name of Jesus your Son,  I thank you for the fresh revelation of what prayer with faith is.  I thank you for your Son who is also your Power and Wisdom in Prayer.

I thank you that according to your word, you give us words of impact when we don’t know what or how to pray. I thank you for the assurance in your word that you hear and therefore answer our prayers.

Thank you Lord for being so gracious to understand our weaknesses.

In the Name of our Lord Jesus I pray.  Amen

The Power in praying with a heart of gratitude.

The Power of praying with gratitude.

The bended knee that acknowledges the works of God of all creation, draws deeper into his answers to our prayers. With thankfulness you will see Jesus? His mercy will cleanse you. Your gratitude will make you whole! In the scripture below, we see the joy of receiving from God the things that we need or ask for. In this case it was the healing of lepers. Clearly they’re all joyful and even thankful. They ran off to tell everyone about this healing miracle and we can tell they told others who healed them. 

However, separating the works of God from the regular, and accessing the complete benefit goes a step higher than thankfulness. It takes getting to the bottom of the heart of the receiver to retrieve the power of gratitude and its full benefit. It is gratitude that separates simple reception from full embrace. A heart of gratitude draws on the full force of God’s intended power to answered prayer. Gratitude is the acknowledgment of the source that gave the answer. It shines the attention away from the gift to the gift giver. When some one accepts something from you and simply says. “Thank, they are polite and acceptable. But if they say it adding your name, “... thank you Sam” that acknowledges the source. Gratitude is the same, it acknowledges God as the source. 

Only one of the lepers came back not only to thank Jesus but also to acknowledge him as the source. In the process, Jesus revealed one of the most powerful principle in prayer, Gratitude! Many Christians don’t receive their full prayer reward because of a rush to receive and a sense of entitlement, which is really a lack of gratitude. That’s what happened with 9 of the 10 lepers. Usually only 10% will show gratitude. 

Luke 17:11-19NLT

“As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, 

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.  One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked,   

“Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.

Gratitude acknowledges that as benefactors of God’s Grace and Kindness, we received more than we deserved or asked for. Gratitude produces humility, the position from which God promises to exalt us. ( Luke 14:11)

The 10 lepers asked for mercy, he gave them more than mercy, he cleansed them but for the one who showed gratitude, he was more than healed. He was made whole.

Gratitude touches the heart of the giver to pour out the rest. God “scrapes the dish” for the one with a heart of gratitude, so to speak! When we give our thanks with gratitude it adds nothing more to Him but empties more of his abilities, gifts and other goodies unto us to meet our needs . His answer to our petitions is made whole and complete. 

The Bible says that do not be in haste to leave the presence of the King, you may miss out. Instead you let the king to allow you to leave his presence.

Ecclesiastes 8:3 “.. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence…”

This Bible story is of an actual event rather than a parable, and shows that sometimes the answer to our prayers is a chain of events that involves our participation and the check of our hearts’ motives. 

Impact Prayer

Father in the Name of Jesus, we thank you for the unmerited favor you continually show me. Forgive me for taking the answers to my prayers for granted. Forgive me for the times I have received from you but yet I showed no gratitude. Thank you for showing me that my thankfulness is sometimes devoid of gratitude. I thank you for showing me that you want my prayers to receive the full power you intended, through the simple act of gratitude. I believe all this and thank you through the Name of your son, Jesus, Amen.

Breakout! You have the key

Breakout! You have the key

How God helps overcome the seemingly “powerful” forces poised against us. 

DIGNITY WITHIN is a Powerful force within us often unrecognized or used! Sometimes, we have to stand up for the God given dignity within that he built in us as basic for our very existential being. He said we are created in his own image and God the creator of that dignity is greater than the circumstances or bully in front of you. 

A member on our high school WhatsApp closed group posted a video that amazed me. I had been up early to work on this blog and Africhrist podcast with a different message when I saw the video. Immediately the Holy Spirit prompted me to replay that video several times.

I poked the friend who posted it so I could gauge his thinking. The video showed different kinds of animals escaping from cages, fences and opening doors in ingenious ways leading to their freedom. These animals  were tired of being denigrated and told "we gotcha, what can you do about it?” They knew inside of them that they didn’t belong in cages or locked up. Many times we are put down or so beat up that we fail to realize the fact that we were born free and wonderfully made by God. He put his all in us. ( Psalms 139:13-14) 

I thought about the many ways, circumstances, people, systems and indeed the devil deprives us of our God given right to freedom, liberty and peaceful existence. God wants you to know that  those visually powerful barriers, erected by people or circumstances are not as powerful as they are presented. They are nothing but paper tigers compared to Him and what He put in you! They are temporal and will disappear when tested. The Pharaoh and his forces were drowned by “drinking” water. ( Exodus 15:21, Jeremiah 51:21)

In the video, one day each one of these animals and birds realized who they really were and used the power within to escape. It starts with the mindset, the one area we should never secede to anyone especially the tormentor Satan or his agents.

The parrots worked to help each other. The first one to get out, didn’t just selfishly fly away but held the cage door up for the other one could also escape!

Study the “cage” around you, mental, spiritual or otherwise. That’s what the Bible tells us in I Peter 5:8-9. Do your due diligence the Faithful God you trust will come through for you. 

Do not let your circumstances or people bent toward doing evil against you (concupiscence) outsmart you according to 2 Corinthians 2:11, be watchful and wise.

Think and plan of your way out and the God who makes crooked paths straight will guide and protect you. He will give you strength to cut the iron bars and shutter the “bronze” doors that were slammed in your face. ( Isaiah 45:2 )

Sometimes what you have been depending or standing on may be the very deterrent to your free existence. Move that “floor”, quit that job or get out of that house. To free yourself, you may need to throw out some old thinking, the Bible says that all things will become new. After you have done all you can do, freedom may only be possible after you move that “comfortable floor” that you are standing on. 

One of those dogs in the video did just that. Shake it off, like that dog shook itself upon coming out as if saying “I’m top dog again!”. It struggled to bend the cage but still could not get out. Then it realized that the comfort padding on the floor had to go! It pushed it out first then it had enough space to slide under the cage to freedom. That was false comfort. Many times we’re imprisoned by our conformity to the false comfortable status quo. Get rid of it first.

(II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)

Impact prayer

Our Father God, we come to you in thanksgiving by acknowledging your plan and intent to have us live free because we’re born free. We thank you for your Son who paid the price for any encumbering circumstances in our lives. 

We thank you that our faith in you can move the so called immovable mountains.  As with David, Dow us how to use Goliath’s own sword against him. Whatever that sword of life maybe and whatever Goliath may be.

Thank you for the freedom and power that dwells in all of us even as we saw in this simple animal example.

In Jesus’s Name, so be it. Amen

Listen to our companion podcast on this and other blog posts at www.africhristpodcast.com

Impact scriptures referenced 

II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

I John 4:4 NKJV

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

II Kings 6:16 NKJV

“So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.””

James 4:7 NKJV

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

I Peter 5:8-9 NKJV

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

Isaiah 14:16, 20, 22-23 NLT

“Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?

You will not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people. The descendants of such an evil person will never again receive honor.

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I, myself, have risen against Babylon! I will destroy its children and its children’s children,” says the Lord. “I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!

2 Corinthians 2:11 NLT

“so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.”

Isaiah 45:2 NKJV

“‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.”

Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Exodus 15:21NKJV

And Miriam answered them:

“Sing to the Lord,

For He has triumphed gloriously!

The horse and its rider

He has thrown into the sea!”

Jeremiah 51:21NKJV

 With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider;

With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider;