By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 30 September 05)
Power without prayer is not power and prayer without power is not prayer. If you have power but you don’t recognize the authority of God or communicate with God, you don’t really have power. Solomon had power over a big kingdom but he needed specific time to spend with God to guide him and help him. Most people when they get authority (even if it’s just over a house) start to say, "this is mine and I have the right to do what I want". Whatever you are doing whether it is preaching or cooking, it must be escorted by prayer. If you want to be the best servant of God, talk to God all the time, tell God about your projects for the day.
When we have power we sometimes tell God we want to do this right now but God can say, "no, just wait and I’ll do it for you". You’ll receive those answers only if you have time to tell God and believe you have the power. Most of the decisions that we make are wrong because we are not praying.
Most of the time remember that God has power over you, even if you are someone who controls a whole company, remember on top of you is God and you have to consider God in everything, you have to pray every minute.
Sometimes when we cross hard situations we feel better if we see others suffering as well and if not we become jealous and think, ‘why not others, why only me?’ And sometimes when we pray we can tell God, ‘why can’t you do that to Catherine and not only me’ because it’s painful and we compare things. We try to show we are above others.
When we cross hard situations we have to know how to go back to God and tell Him about the situation. When some people are in a danger they will shout for neighbors to help them but they forget about God. When Jonah was inside the fish’s stomach he started to pray (Jonah 2:1-9), “I can’t control my life anymore, I’m weak I need strength and victory from You God.” Don’t resist God like Jonah did for so long because maybe God treated Jonah in a good way but maybe He won’t treat you in the same way (e.g. Lot’s wife was turned to salt for disobeying God). Whenever God tells you don’t do something, you have to know that after that something is coming and if you don’t take it seriously, consequences will be there.
Jonah went to Ninevah and souls were saved but he only did it because he didn’t want to go back inside the fish. How many times has God sent you to do something you don’t want to do? E.g. don’t be angry. Mark 11:25, if you don’t forgive you will never be forgiven. God knows the secret of your heart although you look nice in front of others. (God knew what was in Jonah’s heart).
Jonah complained when God took away his shade and how many times do we complain when God tries to teach us through difficulties? God can then remove the shade and we will really complain. Instead of complaining we should pray. Most Christians have the power of complaining and that makes our prayers useless. We can remember the negative things in people for the last five years and complain but not remember all their good things. If you want to be good in praying then change all your complaints into prayer subjects. When you see Zoe in a mistake instead of complaining tell God, ‘what do you think about it?’ and God will help Zoe. Sometimes it’s slow but there will be a change.
When you want to pray the first thing you have to ask yourself is, who am I? Many servants of God think they are alive and have power but that power is dead because they put aside the Word of God in their daily decisions. When you try to add something to the power that you think that you have, you’ll make your prayers sick and they won’t have a good smell or taste for God.
When God tells you a secret do you keep it? This is another sickness of the world today. E.g. Isabella tells you she doesn’t sleep because she eats too much and after talking to her you ring Colleen straight away and then Ange and if you won’t find anyone to talk to about Isabella you’ll become sick. When Isabella hears she will be deceived. Solomon asked for wisdom and this deception of above is just a lack of wisdom. To pray you need wisdom and to remember the Word of God and what God says in such situations.
As Christians we don’t have to say we live carefully and watch what we are doing but to say God is watching us and is our prevention.
Tell God what you are and who you are, frankly. If you think that your prayer occupies the first position (you are better than others) then your prayer will become useless. If you want to pray for something you have to look at yourself first. Think first, am I a sinner, am I ready to talk to God? Fix all your problems with others first then ask yourself, will God listen now? Is God close to me? Why/why not? Is God my friend? Friends can be hypocrites and show you that they are your friend to your face but inside there is zero and behind your back they talk negatively about you. Then they go in front of God and tell Him, ‘I love You’, but God will say you are cheating me. Before you can love God you have to love people who are next to you
You can only be an intercessor when the Spirit is leading you (an intercessor is not a title you wear like a shirt). When you are leading yourself you will make mistakes, that’s why today we see all types of mistakes in the church. .
We want to hear from people how powerful we are but forget where the source of that power comes from and that it can only come through prayer.
SUMMARY
1. Need power of God to pray and need to be led by the Holy Spirit
2. Need to communicate with God before making decisions (talk to God every minute)
3. Remember God has power over you
4. When you cross a hard situation talk to God first
5. Obey God
6. Turn your complaints into prayer subjects
7. Tell God who you are
8. Ask your self, am I ready to pray? Is God close to me? Have I sinned?
9. Keep secrets
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Prayer No: 6
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 23 September 2005)
II Kings 20:1-6
Hezekiah liked to be king and he thought if I die today who will replace me. He told God, “God I promised to do things for your glory but I haven’t fulfilled them yet”.
All Isaiah told Hezekiah was to prepare his house. God was talking about his place in the kingdom of God. “Do you know your situation in my Kingdom? Are you sure of where your house is? Is it in the Kingdom of God or in the kingdom of satan?”
Although he was sick, he got the courage to pray and ask God, ‘why do You want to take me?’ When you are crossing a hard situation what do you do? Do you contact your family and friends or find help from a specialist or do you first look for God’s face? It’s not bad to meet with others but find at least two seconds to pray. If we have the grace now, open your mouth and speak now and make your house ready. Most people when they are about to die can’t open their mouths anymore because satan struggles a lot to stop your mouth or their brain so they can’t repent.
II Kings 20:1-6
Hezekiah liked to be king and he thought if I die today who will replace me. He told God, “God I promised to do things for your glory but I haven’t fulfilled them yet”.
All Isaiah told Hezekiah was to prepare his house. God was talking about his place in the kingdom of God. “Do you know your situation in my Kingdom? Are you sure of where your house is? Is it in the Kingdom of God or in the kingdom of satan?”
Although he was sick, he got the courage to pray and ask God, ‘why do You want to take me?’ When you are crossing a hard situation what do you do? Do you contact your family and friends or find help from a specialist or do you first look for God’s face? It’s not bad to meet with others but find at least two seconds to pray. If we have the grace now, open your mouth and speak now and make your house ready. Most people when they are about to die can’t open their mouths anymore because satan struggles a lot to stop your mouth or their brain so they can’t repent.
People who are wise in the Kingdom of God, when they know things are getting hard, will prepare their house. ‘God where am I going? What will happen for my eternal life?’ Repent and get ready.
Hezekiah was already ready so He came in front of God and told Him, ‘remember how I walked with you, remember the things I used to do for your glory?’ He was 100% sure of himself and before to pray we must be 100% sure. Tell God your positive points and be proud of who you are but if you are doubting then make sure all you do pleases God so at the end of the day you can tell God, ‘did you see how much I did for you today? Did you see how I did this and this and this?’ God doesn’t remember our sin if we repent but He remembers our good points. Tell God everyday, ‘help me to do something that You will remember.
Hezekiah was already ready so He came in front of God and told Him, ‘remember how I walked with you, remember the things I used to do for your glory?’ He was 100% sure of himself and before to pray we must be 100% sure. Tell God your positive points and be proud of who you are but if you are doubting then make sure all you do pleases God so at the end of the day you can tell God, ‘did you see how much I did for you today? Did you see how I did this and this and this?’ God doesn’t remember our sin if we repent but He remembers our good points. Tell God everyday, ‘help me to do something that You will remember.
We have to be ready at any stage to pray (as Hezekiah was already ready) so we must keep ourselves pure at every second. This is a matter of personal decision, if I say today I will not steal then I must keep that decision and not steal. And when you feel temptation tell God, ‘because today I promised you I would not get angry, I can feel this coming so please make this go away so I’ll stay sinless’. When we are praying we have to make sure we are pure in body and heart and if we have problems with others we have to fix them.
Hezekiah cried. When we cry while we are praying it’s a sign of telling God we are not able to find a solution to what’s in front of us or it may be because of joy. When we are praying for a hard situation we have to ask ourselves why are we praying. Present the situation to God, ‘I’m praying because tomorrow Michelle will die, it’s hard for me, it’s hard for her, it’s hard for all of us, make something happen, help us’.
Hezekiah cried. When we cry while we are praying it’s a sign of telling God we are not able to find a solution to what’s in front of us or it may be because of joy. When we are praying for a hard situation we have to ask ourselves why are we praying. Present the situation to God, ‘I’m praying because tomorrow Michelle will die, it’s hard for me, it’s hard for her, it’s hard for all of us, make something happen, help us’.
Our prayers can change everything if we have a good purpose but if our reason is not a good one then God will leave us like that. Many people today pray in a wrong way, we have to ask ourselves before to pray what will be gained by that prayer request. For example you have a problem against someone so you tell God to give to them a car accident and when it happens you are really happy. We have to know how to control our words and to know how to control what we will tell God.
Hezekiah preferred to live but he left it up to God’s will. Sometimes God allows situations to be the way they are, we don’t have to complain or operate a miracle to make it change, we just have to accept it.
Sometimes God listens to our prayers but doesn’t reply immediately. God sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah to tell him that God had listened to his prayer, to give to him hope. God can change His plan when we are telling Him of things we have done. God can change impossible things. Isaiah told Hezekiah that he will be healed in three days. Why three days and not right now? Because it was a matter of faith.
Hezekiah preferred to live but he left it up to God’s will. Sometimes God allows situations to be the way they are, we don’t have to complain or operate a miracle to make it change, we just have to accept it.
Sometimes God listens to our prayers but doesn’t reply immediately. God sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah to tell him that God had listened to his prayer, to give to him hope. God can change His plan when we are telling Him of things we have done. God can change impossible things. Isaiah told Hezekiah that he will be healed in three days. Why three days and not right now? Because it was a matter of faith.
When you are crossing a hard situation and God tells you to wait, will you believe that or will you doubt. Hezekiah was doubting because Isaiah had told him he would die and then he comes back with another story. We have to struggle against doubt because when God changes His mind we have to be ready to accept and not doubt.
Three quarters of Christians live like Thomas, ‘I believe God can do that but I’m not sure’. Thomas could see signs but still wasn’t sure, he still had to touch. Sometimes we are like Thomas, ‘yes I believe God but I need proof’. And God says, ‘My proof is My Word, My servants, My Voice’. Sometimes we hurt God with our way of doubting.
The biggest weapon against prayer is to doubt. Put aside doubt. Once faith is dead you won’t receive what you want. Jesus used to say, ‘do you have faith? Be healed’. Faith comes by listening to the Word of God. Fear removes the power of faith, fear brings doubt but the Bible says 365 times to not fear so tell God to fulfill that, ‘I don’t want to fear’ and that will make your faith to be encouraged. Sometimes because of fear, when we are praying in front of others we adjust our words and are afraid to say in the power of Jesus’ name; when that happens control yourself and ask yourself, am I in front of God?
Hezekiah needed a sign and Isaiah discovered that he was doubting so he prayed to God to make the sun go backwards. We need faith that is alive and if you want to pray alone you have to first start as a group and practice it and see how God works and then whenever you are somewhere that you must pray, you will have the courage to do it. Praying in a group will give you strength to pray.
Hezekiah needed a sign and Isaiah discovered that he was doubting so he prayed to God to make the sun go backwards. We need faith that is alive and if you want to pray alone you have to first start as a group and practice it and see how God works and then whenever you are somewhere that you must pray, you will have the courage to do it. Praying in a group will give you strength to pray.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Prayer No: 5 (powerful prayer)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only 16 September 2005)
I Kings 18:30-37
To pray is to communicate with God. It doesn’t require a lot of energy but just requires concentration and to focus on God. You have to prepare yourself and know exactly what you are going to do. People who want to pray with power have to plan their days, write down and make an appointment with God.
Elijah was a human being like you and me (James 5:17) but his prayer made him different to us. The more we pray, the more God comes close to us. The power of prayer requires the prayer of power.
(vs 30) the first thing he said was, ‘come to me’ and when we want to pray with power we have to think of the people around us. “God people are here and if I’m not successful in my prayer, shame will be on you, but if you want Your name to be glorified show your power today”. Who are next to us? We have to call them in our prayer. Tell God, approach them so whatever I’m praying for, they’ll listen to it. Faith grows if the person is ready and by listening to the Word of God and because we pray with the Word of God, when people listen to our prayer their faith can grow. We have to attract attention of others so they can be with us when we are praying.
Elijah prepared the Alter of the Lord that was broken. Whenever you are preparing yourself for a miracle you must know how to fix the Alter. The role of the Alter is to offer sacrifices to God, so you must check how good your relationship is with God because God will use you as an alter to offer prayers to Him. The alter represents the cross of Jesus so we must be pure and justified and ready to give to God what He requires. God had specific animals for the Alter, (not pigs etc) with no defect and we need to know what pleases God. Fix your problems with others first and then God will accept your prayer.
Isaiah 59, God is not far away so why don’t we repent?
Psalm 66:18, if I keep sin in my heart God will not listen to my prayer. Repentance is the first stage to go through and if you don’t remove what’s inside properly, even if you pray for 20 years, you’ll never be heard.
Elijah took 12 stones which represents unity. We have to be in unity with ourselves first, unity of mind, heart and body. Ask your mind, ‘mind, are you ready to pray?’ ask your heart, ‘are you ready to pray?’ and your body, ‘body, are you ready to pray?’ If you feel you want to pray but your body doesn’t accept, you have to push it, if not satan will see your weakness and attack you every time you want to pray.
Now it was time for Elijah to prepare a sacrifice. We have to prepare our prayer. After repentance we need to find time with God, tell God, ‘I need to pray with power, I don’t need another power to stop me from praying.’
You need to find a place to pray, Elijah went to Mt Carmel, (vs 33-35).
Elijah took water and without water he couldn’t have got fire. Water represents the Word of God and without the Word you can’t get baptized with the Holy Spirit (fire). You need the Word of God to pray because God gave some secrets in His Word to use so we know exactly what to tell God.
After preparing everything it was now time to talk with God. If you are not ready or not convinced you are ready, don’t pray (not talking about laziness but unforgiveness). If you don’t prepare yourself properly, even if you make a good prayer, God will not answer.
(vs 36) when He went close He started with, “Lord of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. God made covenants with those people and He promised them something. Elijah said their names to remind himself of God’s promises and it’s good when we pray to also remind God of His promises.
(vs 37,38) Elijah humbled himself and recognized he was just a servant for God but today we want to be greater. His prayer was simple and only 63 words but we want to pray for hours to show people how good we are at praying and this is a mistake. It’s just a matter or focus and concentration.
Mark 12:40, we can be punished for making long prayers. If you pray for two hours and your prayer doesn’t really have good fruit then you sin. Don’t pray with words to please the people around you instead of pleasing God. When you pray for someone’s spiritual problems do it in secret, don’t expose them in front of others.
I Timothy 2:1-8; Proverbs 28:9,13; II Chronicles 7:14, lack of humility will make God not receive your prayers. We are required to pray without anger. When you go against the Word of God (law) your prayer is useless.
One day the Bible will be gone and there will be another book of law to replace it to break marriages, push children to act as adults, etc. Once the book is finished all the laws and all the religions will bless it and it will be a common law for the whole world.
SUMMARY
1. Prayer requires concentration and focus
2. We have to be prepared to pray
- Be pure and justified (sinless)
- know exactly what you will pray, when and where
- be ready to give God exactly what He wants
- check your relationship with God (is it good?)
- fix your problems with others
- repentance (remove what’s in your heart properly)
- mind and body and heart in unity
3. We have to attract the attention of others so they will pray with us
4. Push ourselves to pray when attacked by satan
5. Need the Word of God and the Holy Spirit
6. Remind God of His promises
7. Be humble before God and remember you are His servant (He not is your servant)
8. Don’t pray to impress others
9. Pray for people’s weaknesses in secret
I Kings 18:30-37
To pray is to communicate with God. It doesn’t require a lot of energy but just requires concentration and to focus on God. You have to prepare yourself and know exactly what you are going to do. People who want to pray with power have to plan their days, write down and make an appointment with God.
Elijah was a human being like you and me (James 5:17) but his prayer made him different to us. The more we pray, the more God comes close to us. The power of prayer requires the prayer of power.
(vs 30) the first thing he said was, ‘come to me’ and when we want to pray with power we have to think of the people around us. “God people are here and if I’m not successful in my prayer, shame will be on you, but if you want Your name to be glorified show your power today”. Who are next to us? We have to call them in our prayer. Tell God, approach them so whatever I’m praying for, they’ll listen to it. Faith grows if the person is ready and by listening to the Word of God and because we pray with the Word of God, when people listen to our prayer their faith can grow. We have to attract attention of others so they can be with us when we are praying.
Elijah prepared the Alter of the Lord that was broken. Whenever you are preparing yourself for a miracle you must know how to fix the Alter. The role of the Alter is to offer sacrifices to God, so you must check how good your relationship is with God because God will use you as an alter to offer prayers to Him. The alter represents the cross of Jesus so we must be pure and justified and ready to give to God what He requires. God had specific animals for the Alter, (not pigs etc) with no defect and we need to know what pleases God. Fix your problems with others first and then God will accept your prayer.
Isaiah 59, God is not far away so why don’t we repent?
Psalm 66:18, if I keep sin in my heart God will not listen to my prayer. Repentance is the first stage to go through and if you don’t remove what’s inside properly, even if you pray for 20 years, you’ll never be heard.
Elijah took 12 stones which represents unity. We have to be in unity with ourselves first, unity of mind, heart and body. Ask your mind, ‘mind, are you ready to pray?’ ask your heart, ‘are you ready to pray?’ and your body, ‘body, are you ready to pray?’ If you feel you want to pray but your body doesn’t accept, you have to push it, if not satan will see your weakness and attack you every time you want to pray.
Now it was time for Elijah to prepare a sacrifice. We have to prepare our prayer. After repentance we need to find time with God, tell God, ‘I need to pray with power, I don’t need another power to stop me from praying.’
You need to find a place to pray, Elijah went to Mt Carmel, (vs 33-35).
Elijah took water and without water he couldn’t have got fire. Water represents the Word of God and without the Word you can’t get baptized with the Holy Spirit (fire). You need the Word of God to pray because God gave some secrets in His Word to use so we know exactly what to tell God.
After preparing everything it was now time to talk with God. If you are not ready or not convinced you are ready, don’t pray (not talking about laziness but unforgiveness). If you don’t prepare yourself properly, even if you make a good prayer, God will not answer.
(vs 36) when He went close He started with, “Lord of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. God made covenants with those people and He promised them something. Elijah said their names to remind himself of God’s promises and it’s good when we pray to also remind God of His promises.
(vs 37,38) Elijah humbled himself and recognized he was just a servant for God but today we want to be greater. His prayer was simple and only 63 words but we want to pray for hours to show people how good we are at praying and this is a mistake. It’s just a matter or focus and concentration.
Mark 12:40, we can be punished for making long prayers. If you pray for two hours and your prayer doesn’t really have good fruit then you sin. Don’t pray with words to please the people around you instead of pleasing God. When you pray for someone’s spiritual problems do it in secret, don’t expose them in front of others.
I Timothy 2:1-8; Proverbs 28:9,13; II Chronicles 7:14, lack of humility will make God not receive your prayers. We are required to pray without anger. When you go against the Word of God (law) your prayer is useless.
One day the Bible will be gone and there will be another book of law to replace it to break marriages, push children to act as adults, etc. Once the book is finished all the laws and all the religions will bless it and it will be a common law for the whole world.
SUMMARY
1. Prayer requires concentration and focus
2. We have to be prepared to pray
- Be pure and justified (sinless)
- know exactly what you will pray, when and where
- be ready to give God exactly what He wants
- check your relationship with God (is it good?)
- fix your problems with others
- repentance (remove what’s in your heart properly)
- mind and body and heart in unity
3. We have to attract the attention of others so they will pray with us
4. Push ourselves to pray when attacked by satan
5. Need the Word of God and the Holy Spirit
6. Remind God of His promises
7. Be humble before God and remember you are His servant (He not is your servant)
8. Don’t pray to impress others
9. Pray for people’s weaknesses in secret
Monday, May 3, 2010
Prayer No: 4 (Power in Prayer)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 9th September 2005)
Behind prayer there must be a power. Whenever you say to God, ‘I need Your support’, God will respond and be glorified. God needs men of power. Who are men of power? All of us if we accept to give God our time to pray. Praying is a matter of accepting to give God time, it’s not an obligation, it’s your responsibility to know how long and how many times per day or week. When we don’t pray with power our bodies will be tired so we have to ask for God to help.
Don’t pray so people can hear you because that will take away the power in prayer. To pray we have to speak with God with personal feeling. We have to kneel down before God to ask for help and accept our weaknesses, then God will work for you.
When we pray we must have an aim, ‘why am I praying?’
You must prepare your self (purification.)
- admit I’m a sinner
- say sorry to anyone I have a problem with
- tell God, I’ve sorted out my problem, now please forgive me
- come close to God and tell God what you want to pray for
When you need a powerful prayer tell God, ‘I’m here and I want to feel Your touch so I won’t be distracted and I will pray in power. I need Your presence here so I can feel you close and not far away’.
The Holy Spirit is there to modify our prayers, tell God, ‘we need Your Holy Spirit to lead us’.
II Chronicles 20:1-14, he prayed seriously because of danger. We can easily pray seriously for ourselves but not for others. We are selfish in praying and not good at putting ourselves in other’s shoes. Jehosaphat said we have to share in the problem; how many times have we fasted together? If you want God to manifest power in your prayer you have to train yourself in prayer, you need to make prayer a part of your life. The more you pray the more God will come close to you.
(vs15) the battle is Gods
(vs 24, 25) how happy would you be? God is powerful and can do anything. ‘We need You God to confuse these problems, let them kill themselves and not me’.
After (1) purification, (2) put in your head and heart, ‘I don’t have any other option but God.’ Then (3) define what you want to pray for and tell God with precision.
The more we show God we are searching His face, the more God will show Himself to us.
Behind prayer there must be a power. Whenever you say to God, ‘I need Your support’, God will respond and be glorified. God needs men of power. Who are men of power? All of us if we accept to give God our time to pray. Praying is a matter of accepting to give God time, it’s not an obligation, it’s your responsibility to know how long and how many times per day or week. When we don’t pray with power our bodies will be tired so we have to ask for God to help.
Don’t pray so people can hear you because that will take away the power in prayer. To pray we have to speak with God with personal feeling. We have to kneel down before God to ask for help and accept our weaknesses, then God will work for you.
When we pray we must have an aim, ‘why am I praying?’
You must prepare your self (purification.)
- admit I’m a sinner
- say sorry to anyone I have a problem with
- tell God, I’ve sorted out my problem, now please forgive me
- come close to God and tell God what you want to pray for
When you need a powerful prayer tell God, ‘I’m here and I want to feel Your touch so I won’t be distracted and I will pray in power. I need Your presence here so I can feel you close and not far away’.
The Holy Spirit is there to modify our prayers, tell God, ‘we need Your Holy Spirit to lead us’.
II Chronicles 20:1-14, he prayed seriously because of danger. We can easily pray seriously for ourselves but not for others. We are selfish in praying and not good at putting ourselves in other’s shoes. Jehosaphat said we have to share in the problem; how many times have we fasted together? If you want God to manifest power in your prayer you have to train yourself in prayer, you need to make prayer a part of your life. The more you pray the more God will come close to you.
(vs15) the battle is Gods
(vs 24, 25) how happy would you be? God is powerful and can do anything. ‘We need You God to confuse these problems, let them kill themselves and not me’.
After (1) purification, (2) put in your head and heart, ‘I don’t have any other option but God.’ Then (3) define what you want to pray for and tell God with precision.
The more we show God we are searching His face, the more God will show Himself to us.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Prayer No:3 (the power of prayer)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 2nd September 05)
Many people who serve God can organize an evangelism crusade and when they pray you will see miracles e.g. healings. We are also able to change situations through prayer the only difference between them and us is that they have the gift of miracles. When they pray you are healed immediately whereas for us, when we pray you are healed slowly.
If you want a situation to change you must first have a purpose, e.g. I want people to know how powerful You are God.
The power of prayer is always fought by the spirit of doubt, e.g. Ang prays for something and later she thinks, will it really happen. A lack of faith decreases the power of prayer.
James 5:16-18, first we are called to repent and after repenting we become righteous and that will give us access to God. Repentance is very important especially for those who want to feel God’s presence in their lives.
Mathew 17:20, after repenting you become righteous and when you pray with even a little faith, nothing will be impossible.
II Corinthians 10:4-5, the weapon we use is powerful and can change situations without us seeing, it comes from God and is very powerful; this weapon is prayer. The first thing we destroy with our prayer is fortresses (strongholds).
Fortresses are something hard to remove and impossible and can never be changed but through our prayer it can. The second thing prayer can do is to destroy arguments. Some people have that gift to argue, in every situation they must raise up arguments and no one can heal you from that. Only the power of prayer can do that (and if there is no power in the prayer then it will be impossible). The third thing is to make ‘every thought captive and make it obedient to God’. Bad thoughts are changed to thoughts that glorify God, e.g. I used to hate but now I love.
Ephesians 6:18, ask for God’s help, ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you and teach you how to pray. Sometimes we forget to pray with the Holy Spirit, e.g. when blessing the food. Once the Holy Spirit guides you, you will be victorious.
I John 5:14, 15, we have assurance that He is listening to us. If your prayer matches God’s will, it will be immediately responded to. God responds according to what is good for us and what is coming in the future. He knows if He responds to this right now, somewhere in the future there will be a problem. We have to be ready to accept God’s answer and if God doesn’t answer, don’t give up your faith or become angry.
If you want your prayer to be really powerful you have to be humble and accept God’s help. Tell God, ‘I’m here waiting, I have no where else I can go to get help, I’m sure you are listening to me.’
Mathew 6:7,8, you don’t have to use lots of words with perfect grammar like a speech. Many people use perfect grammar to impress others but these types of prayers do not glorify God but your self. We have to pray in a simple way. We also have to pray according to time; think of others. If you pray a long time (e.g. grace) people will become impatient and love will not exist anymore and they will lose their joy.
Psalm 107:28-30, when things are heavy, call upon God and He’ll do something. Behind every form of danger we can see death and when we cross such situations we must call upon God to intervene. Because God loves (even adores) glory, He’ll intervene so we will testify of God’s greatness and He’ll be proud of Himself.
Philippians 4:6-7, we don’t need to worry. When we are praying we are allowed to ask for everything (except evil things) and we must be thankful to God for all that He has done.
Psalm 6:9,10, When you cross hard situations, put panic aside and turn to God and you’ll see how your enemy will be ashamed.
SUMMARY
1. You must have a purpose for praying
2. You must pray with faith
3. You must repent
4. You must ask for God’s help and for the Holy Spirit to lead you (be humble)
5. Be assured He is listening
6. Pray simply (not with lots of words or to impress others)
7. Pray according to the time
Many people who serve God can organize an evangelism crusade and when they pray you will see miracles e.g. healings. We are also able to change situations through prayer the only difference between them and us is that they have the gift of miracles. When they pray you are healed immediately whereas for us, when we pray you are healed slowly.
If you want a situation to change you must first have a purpose, e.g. I want people to know how powerful You are God.
The power of prayer is always fought by the spirit of doubt, e.g. Ang prays for something and later she thinks, will it really happen. A lack of faith decreases the power of prayer.
James 5:16-18, first we are called to repent and after repenting we become righteous and that will give us access to God. Repentance is very important especially for those who want to feel God’s presence in their lives.
Mathew 17:20, after repenting you become righteous and when you pray with even a little faith, nothing will be impossible.
II Corinthians 10:4-5, the weapon we use is powerful and can change situations without us seeing, it comes from God and is very powerful; this weapon is prayer. The first thing we destroy with our prayer is fortresses (strongholds).
Fortresses are something hard to remove and impossible and can never be changed but through our prayer it can. The second thing prayer can do is to destroy arguments. Some people have that gift to argue, in every situation they must raise up arguments and no one can heal you from that. Only the power of prayer can do that (and if there is no power in the prayer then it will be impossible). The third thing is to make ‘every thought captive and make it obedient to God’. Bad thoughts are changed to thoughts that glorify God, e.g. I used to hate but now I love.
Ephesians 6:18, ask for God’s help, ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you and teach you how to pray. Sometimes we forget to pray with the Holy Spirit, e.g. when blessing the food. Once the Holy Spirit guides you, you will be victorious.
I John 5:14, 15, we have assurance that He is listening to us. If your prayer matches God’s will, it will be immediately responded to. God responds according to what is good for us and what is coming in the future. He knows if He responds to this right now, somewhere in the future there will be a problem. We have to be ready to accept God’s answer and if God doesn’t answer, don’t give up your faith or become angry.
If you want your prayer to be really powerful you have to be humble and accept God’s help. Tell God, ‘I’m here waiting, I have no where else I can go to get help, I’m sure you are listening to me.’
Mathew 6:7,8, you don’t have to use lots of words with perfect grammar like a speech. Many people use perfect grammar to impress others but these types of prayers do not glorify God but your self. We have to pray in a simple way. We also have to pray according to time; think of others. If you pray a long time (e.g. grace) people will become impatient and love will not exist anymore and they will lose their joy.
Psalm 107:28-30, when things are heavy, call upon God and He’ll do something. Behind every form of danger we can see death and when we cross such situations we must call upon God to intervene. Because God loves (even adores) glory, He’ll intervene so we will testify of God’s greatness and He’ll be proud of Himself.
Philippians 4:6-7, we don’t need to worry. When we are praying we are allowed to ask for everything (except evil things) and we must be thankful to God for all that He has done.
Psalm 6:9,10, When you cross hard situations, put panic aside and turn to God and you’ll see how your enemy will be ashamed.
SUMMARY
1. You must have a purpose for praying
2. You must pray with faith
3. You must repent
4. You must ask for God’s help and for the Holy Spirit to lead you (be humble)
5. Be assured He is listening
6. Pray simply (not with lots of words or to impress others)
7. Pray according to the time
Prayer No:2 (the power of prayer)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 19.08.05)
We already have enough knowledge to build a powerful prayer. To build a powerful prayer we must first understand what is prayer, what are we praying and who we are addressing our prayers to and what are our expectations.
We have two ways for God to answer, yes or no. When we are praying let your will be done, we have to accept whatever God will answer. We also have to understand what God’s time is. Sometimes we don’t know God’s answer and it makes us Christians disappointed. For God to give good signs to encourage us, we need to tell God that we need answers, ‘I give my life to you, I want to hear your voice’. Read a verse and then tell God, ‘Tell me God what I can tell others about this verse.’ Without this we can’t explain the Word of God. Tell God, ‘I want to hear you speaking because prayer is a dialogue between you and me.’
We have understand how God responds, sometimes it is with signs, sometimes by His Word, sometimes His voice, sometimes He can send someone to you or sometimes He won’t respond right away. We can tell God, ‘God I need to hear from you, if I pray without answers, I’m just wasting my time. To get encouraged I need assurance from you that my prayer has been heard by you.’
We must pray in faith and in truth which means we must be guided by the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit because Himself is powerful and without Him we won’t know which words to use. We have to ask ourselves is the Holy Spirit really acting in our lives or not? There is no formula to praying, just to be lead by the Holy Spirit. Because He is powerful, you will also be powerful but when you pray with the flesh, your prayer will be weak.
God asked Israel to walk around Jericho seven times which is equivalent to walking around Hamilton every day for seven days. After looking at their perseverance and determination God decided to give them an answer, ‘Just blow the trumpet and you’ll see the power of prayer’. That powerful prayer was escorted by determination.
If someone asks you to pray and you are not ready in your heart don’t pray because if that person is possessed, those evil spirits will come on you and control you.
Prayer is powerful and it is the biggest thing that God has given to the church for all situations; communicating with God, casting our evil spirits etc.
SUMMARY
1. First understand what is prayer, who you are praying to and what you are praying
2. Then understand what God’s time is
3. Tell God you need to hear from Him
4. Pray in faith and truth, guided by the Holy Spirit
5. Pray with determination and perseverance
6. Accept God’s answer
We already have enough knowledge to build a powerful prayer. To build a powerful prayer we must first understand what is prayer, what are we praying and who we are addressing our prayers to and what are our expectations.
We have two ways for God to answer, yes or no. When we are praying let your will be done, we have to accept whatever God will answer. We also have to understand what God’s time is. Sometimes we don’t know God’s answer and it makes us Christians disappointed. For God to give good signs to encourage us, we need to tell God that we need answers, ‘I give my life to you, I want to hear your voice’. Read a verse and then tell God, ‘Tell me God what I can tell others about this verse.’ Without this we can’t explain the Word of God. Tell God, ‘I want to hear you speaking because prayer is a dialogue between you and me.’
We have understand how God responds, sometimes it is with signs, sometimes by His Word, sometimes His voice, sometimes He can send someone to you or sometimes He won’t respond right away. We can tell God, ‘God I need to hear from you, if I pray without answers, I’m just wasting my time. To get encouraged I need assurance from you that my prayer has been heard by you.’
We must pray in faith and in truth which means we must be guided by the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit because Himself is powerful and without Him we won’t know which words to use. We have to ask ourselves is the Holy Spirit really acting in our lives or not? There is no formula to praying, just to be lead by the Holy Spirit. Because He is powerful, you will also be powerful but when you pray with the flesh, your prayer will be weak.
God asked Israel to walk around Jericho seven times which is equivalent to walking around Hamilton every day for seven days. After looking at their perseverance and determination God decided to give them an answer, ‘Just blow the trumpet and you’ll see the power of prayer’. That powerful prayer was escorted by determination.
If someone asks you to pray and you are not ready in your heart don’t pray because if that person is possessed, those evil spirits will come on you and control you.
Prayer is powerful and it is the biggest thing that God has given to the church for all situations; communicating with God, casting our evil spirits etc.
SUMMARY
1. First understand what is prayer, who you are praying to and what you are praying
2. Then understand what God’s time is
3. Tell God you need to hear from Him
4. Pray in faith and truth, guided by the Holy Spirit
5. Pray with determination and perseverance
6. Accept God’s answer
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Prayer No: 1 (Mathew 6:9-13)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 12 August 05)
Mathew 6:9-13
“Father hallowed by Thy Name”
God says, ‘if you call me Father, that means you have brothers and sisters; who are they?’ You have to identify who is your family before to call me Father. And who is your Father?
What does hallowed mean? Why do you want my name to be hallowed? You can’t pray something that you don’t understand. If you don’t understand, ask God to help you. Hallowed means to make God’s name holy. How do we make it holy? By being holy yourself. So what does holy mean and why do we want the Holy Spirit? [In previous Bible studies we have learnt that if children are naughty people will assume it’s because of bad parenting and if children are good, people will know it’s because the parents are good. It’s the same with us as children of God, if our actions are holy people will know our Father must also be Holy and this will make His name to be called Holy.]
“Kingdom come”
Where? Where do we want the kingdom to come? God says, ‘I’m ready to bring my Kingdom into your life, are you ready to receive it and are you ready to accept me to lead you, are you ready to offer your body, soul and mind and let me be King of your life completely, 100%?’
“Your will be done”
God says, ‘My will is that every person that believes in Me must follow My instructions. Change your ways, you are not the same person as yesterday, accept me to correct you.’
Give us our daily bread”
We must feed new Christians with our daily bread. We have to learn everyday from the Bible something to teach others with. This is the daily bread, it is eternal and it will never stop, it’s what you give to others so God’s Name will be Holy. What do you give to others or tell others so they can know God’s Name is Holy?
“Forgive our debts”
Have you forgiven your debtors? Have you solved all the problems you have with others? Count from Monday to Thursday and see how many sins you did. To be free in God you must repent your sins.
“Protect me from temptation”
Do you accept God’s protection? If you want to be far from temptation control your body and mind so God’s name can be called Holy. If you control your mind you can control your tongue, we must think before to speak. In doing anything ask yourself, is God here?
“Deliver us from satan”
The power over satan has been given to you and you are stronger than satan. When you resist, he’ll flee from you.
“Amen”
What does Amen mean? God says, ‘everything that you ask of Me, if you agree with Me, it will be done as we said.
There are two ways of praying: with God which is in Spirit and in Truth or to recite a text which is without Spirit and Truth. We have to ask ourselves, does what I tell God have a meaning for me?
Before to pray we must prepare ourselves, ask am I ready to pray or not? Even before to eat, when we say grace we must make sure we are pure to pray. We need to transform Hamilton and New Zealand and we need to pray for people so they can see change and see God. Before to pray you have to understand what you are doing and saying. We need to know the secret of prayer. The power of prayer works together with promises, if you made a promise with God you must fulfil it. If you are not ready to fulfil it then don’t make a contract with God because He doesn’t forget.
Ezekiel 33:18,19
You have to know how to forgive people. You can live a righteous life but at the last minute if you sin, God won’t be happy and some can be punished by God.
Mathew 6:9-13
“Father hallowed by Thy Name”
God says, ‘if you call me Father, that means you have brothers and sisters; who are they?’ You have to identify who is your family before to call me Father. And who is your Father?
What does hallowed mean? Why do you want my name to be hallowed? You can’t pray something that you don’t understand. If you don’t understand, ask God to help you. Hallowed means to make God’s name holy. How do we make it holy? By being holy yourself. So what does holy mean and why do we want the Holy Spirit? [In previous Bible studies we have learnt that if children are naughty people will assume it’s because of bad parenting and if children are good, people will know it’s because the parents are good. It’s the same with us as children of God, if our actions are holy people will know our Father must also be Holy and this will make His name to be called Holy.]
“Kingdom come”
Where? Where do we want the kingdom to come? God says, ‘I’m ready to bring my Kingdom into your life, are you ready to receive it and are you ready to accept me to lead you, are you ready to offer your body, soul and mind and let me be King of your life completely, 100%?’
“Your will be done”
God says, ‘My will is that every person that believes in Me must follow My instructions. Change your ways, you are not the same person as yesterday, accept me to correct you.’
Give us our daily bread”
We must feed new Christians with our daily bread. We have to learn everyday from the Bible something to teach others with. This is the daily bread, it is eternal and it will never stop, it’s what you give to others so God’s Name will be Holy. What do you give to others or tell others so they can know God’s Name is Holy?
“Forgive our debts”
Have you forgiven your debtors? Have you solved all the problems you have with others? Count from Monday to Thursday and see how many sins you did. To be free in God you must repent your sins.
“Protect me from temptation”
Do you accept God’s protection? If you want to be far from temptation control your body and mind so God’s name can be called Holy. If you control your mind you can control your tongue, we must think before to speak. In doing anything ask yourself, is God here?
“Deliver us from satan”
The power over satan has been given to you and you are stronger than satan. When you resist, he’ll flee from you.
“Amen”
What does Amen mean? God says, ‘everything that you ask of Me, if you agree with Me, it will be done as we said.
There are two ways of praying: with God which is in Spirit and in Truth or to recite a text which is without Spirit and Truth. We have to ask ourselves, does what I tell God have a meaning for me?
Before to pray we must prepare ourselves, ask am I ready to pray or not? Even before to eat, when we say grace we must make sure we are pure to pray. We need to transform Hamilton and New Zealand and we need to pray for people so they can see change and see God. Before to pray you have to understand what you are doing and saying. We need to know the secret of prayer. The power of prayer works together with promises, if you made a promise with God you must fulfil it. If you are not ready to fulfil it then don’t make a contract with God because He doesn’t forget.
Ezekiel 33:18,19
You have to know how to forgive people. You can live a righteous life but at the last minute if you sin, God won’t be happy and some can be punished by God.
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