By Odon Bulamba
Prayer has different stages. First we lift up God’s name and speak of His Holiness, say that He is a powerful God, pray for what He has done for you, say to God, “You are so great because you’ve done this and that”. He is a God who loves praises and will reach out to us when He hears this. Remember when Paul was in jail, remember Peter when he was arrested, only praises helped them be delivered. Our God is a God of praising prayers.
Secondly thank Him for everything He has done for you. He provides for you, He gives you good health, food etc. Also don’t forget that when a Christian prays he/she prays for the good and bad things for God says to praise Him in all circumstances. If you are sick say thank you to God, if you have good health say thank you God because it’s His will for our lives. So praise God for everything He did for you and all He is.
We are gathered together to talk about prayer and look at the stages that will help us get closer to Him. Jesus always had His disciples with Him but they did not know who He was. The disciples didn’t know how to pray but Jesus said in Matthew 6:9 pray then in this way. We all know this prayer. Our Father who art in heaven.
The first thing Jesus gave us was to lift up God’s name and sanctify His name because our God loves glory, so we have to praise Him before anything else. If you are a sinner or are in a sinful state and feel something inside of you is not right but you make the step to praise Him do so, for He is merciful and He will listen to you.
The second step will be for you to ask Him to forgive you. “His kingdom come” means that when two or three are gathered together God is with you. How do we know if God is here? If you want to know that God is here you have to sanctify yourself and forgive each other.
Mark 11:25 “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that Your Father who is in heaven will also forgive your transgressions.”
Does it mean that you’ll go to God and ask for forgiveness? No, you have to forgive others. Jesus tells us to forgive each other. If Michael did something against me, I won’t wait for him to ask for forgiveness, but according to the Bible I have to forgive him before he comes to me. If I wait for him to come to me you can be sure your sins won’t be forgiven and all your prayers will be wasted.
Prayer from a sinner is like prayer from a rubbish bin. Jesus says that if someone strikes you on one cheek give him the other also, you have to be flexible to forgive and accept the situation the way it is. Amen.
In the same prayer Jesus said, “Your will be done on heaven as it is on earth”. It’s not my will or your will be done but God’s will. So what is God’s will? God’s will is the Word of God. If you want God’s will to be done in your life, you have to see it in God’s Word. Think that God is in front of you when you read the Bible. For example Nathaniel goes to his mum and says, “Mum, I have to go to camp now it is 6pm, you promised me mum so you have to do it”. Can the mother go back on her promises? I think not, if so she has to explain herself.
It’s the same with our God, when we pray we have to tell God, “God it is written, Your Word says this and that, now look at us because we are in a situation and we need your help”. That’s exactly what God wants us to do and this is how God can answer our prayers. If you do not use the Word of God the devil can twist our prayers.
Daniel spent 21 days in prayer and fasting. Because his prayers were not framed on God’s Word, his prayers were not answered, but when he remembered that God had answered his prayers before his prayers were answered. This is how we pray, according to John 17:17, sanctify them by the truth, Your Word is truth. God’s way is the truth, He never lies. Remind God of His Word.
Jesus said in John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the truth, this truth we pray is Jesus Himself and Jesus must confirm it because He promised that if we have faith we can do greater things than He, this is true but the condition is to have faith.
In the same prayer God keeps talking to us, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What does this mean? In the spiritual world we have strength, we can change things in the physical world because we have this authority.
Matthew 18:18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bound on earth you shall bound in heaven, and whatever you shall lose on earth shall be lose in heaven.”
What power have we got? The devil does not have this power for we have more strength than the devil, however we don’t want to acknowledge the authority God has given to us. Do you know why? It is because we don’t know God’s Word, it’s a lack of knowledge and this is how we perish. When we lack knowledge, we lack faith and the devil plays with us. When he looks into us he can see a spiritual emptiness and attacks us. So you have to read God’s Word, meditate on it and put it into practice. The angels in heaven will serve you as God says, “We are sons of God”.
When we eat something we have to look at the work in front of us and say I am God’s son. If I am God’s son and I pray to the King of Kings, it means that we are princes and we can only play with people in this kingdom. Everybody knows that one day a prince becomes a king, so Satan must fear us. He will fear us when we discover the treasure we have in us and when he sees that we have a deep fellowship and unity with our God. If we forget about God the devil will play with us.
With this Jesus says, “ Give us our daily bread”. What does daily bread mean? Do you pray for your daily bread or not? Of course we eat and drink but our spirit needs to be fed. Jesus said that, “He is the bread of life.”
How many times do you eat Jesus? Jesus said that He is the truth. We know that the truth is God’s Word. Jesus said, “I am the bread”. Ask God to give you your daily bread. Many people only see the physical side or material things like food in shops, but when it is spiritual food they are not serious. You’ll find people will say that I am saved and soon I will go to heaven, but who told you that you would go to heaven? Your spiritual health also needs to be considered.
I remember a mother who visited sick people in a hospital and children were suffering. The mum picked up a baby which was in good health, then three beds down she picked up a baby with malnutrition, the mum couldn’t even touch this child because she could only see bones and skin and was afraid to touch it. Sometimes we are like this spiritually, God doesn’t want to touch us because we look ugly. We have to ask God for our daily bread so that we can keep breathing spiritually.
When we prepare bread we mix it with yeast, what is yeast? Yeast is mixed with flour to help it rise. Sometimes the Word of God is mixed with hypocrisy. Some Christians are puffed up, they say that they know God’s Word and eat daily bread, but if you look in depth you will see there is yeast in it. Remember what Judas did do Jesus? Judas and Jesus were together all the time but just at the end Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. We all know a kiss is a sign of love except this kiss was poison.
Christians today ask God for bread that has yeast in it so everybody can praise them. You can lose your faith doing this. Because God forgives you, forgive those who have offended you. It doesn’t matter if your father was killed or money was stolen from you, sin has no size. If you throw a stone in the water it will sink no matter how big it is. For God all sin is heavy. If you were a stumbling block for someone you have to confess. If you are ashamed on this earth Jesus will be ashamed in front of you. The Bible says that before giving an offering go to the one you have offended and make peace.
Sometimes we sin without knowing it. You can do things that hurt others without knowing it so we have to think before we speak because it is better to produce something good.
After this we say to God, “don’t lead us into temptation but deliver us from all evil.” Ask God to help you overcome temptation. Satan cannot tempt the one who believes because he already knows that this one belongs to God. Whoever calls himself a Christian can expect a spiritual battle, a spiritual battle according to Ephesus 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. We must be ready every time and know where to be fed.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
The Bible says we have to be sober because these are the last days. Let nobody deceive you because this is a terrible time for God, even Satan will stand in the temple of God. The Bible says that in the last days Satan will come into the church and stand to preach to God’s people. If you don’t walk according to God’s will or if you haven’t asked God for His will in your life, for His glory, do you think you can make it? Do you think you can recognise that Satan is preaching? You’ll find that a few people will lose their souls because they don’t have discernment. We have to give ourselves to God and ask ourselves, “what I am doing, does it please God? If you have hurt Michelle go and ask Michelle to forgive you.
So first praise God and then ask for forgiveness, if you’ve done something against someone don’t ask God to forgive you. God will say, “You haven’t done anything wrong to Me but Michelle, so go and see her then come back to Me”. This is how God works.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
How to Pray (Part 1.3)
by Odon Bulamba
James 4:5, or do you think that the scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
God is jealous because He created you in His image and when you go against His will or don’t talk to Him He cries. He gives you gifts but you refuse to accept and this is what makes Him jealous. Because God created you a Human Being and when you don’t do what He wants, it Hurts Him.
We have to put all our gifts into action. When you receive Jesus Christ the Spirit of God is with you. Amen. But what is your gift? What spirit do you have in you and how do you use it? You’ll find that many Christians don’t know what their gifts are; they want to pray for the sick but don’t have the gift of healing. Have you got the gift to pray for the sick? Jesus said go and pray for the sick. There are two different points, first pray for the sick and evangelise, second is to have the gift of healing, What is your gift? You can have the gift of teaching or being a Pastor, so have you discovered the power that is in you? You can have the gift of having people at home.
You have to know where you are up to. If I’m in a prayer group I have to know who each one is and I have know which gifts belong to each one. When I come with a sick person and I know for example Sue has the gift of prophecy, I will not go to Sue but to David, for he has the gift of healing. Amen. We need to know each other’s gifts because when we pray for others we cannot go without armour. Joshua prepared himself for war with shields and swords, so we have to prepare ourselves with spiritual armour.
We cannot pray without being prepared. When we fight we fight against the world of darkness. If you start praying without being prepared the devil has the strength to defeat us. There was a man who suffered from an impure spirit; this is not just a story. He went to one of God’s servants (a Pastor) and this Pastor did not humiliate himself. He took the man into his room and prayed over him, “I command you in the name of Jesus get out!” The spirit woke up; the spirit could see what was in the Pastor’s heart. The spirit knew that the Pastor had a problem with his wife and his friends so his prayers were blocked. The demon created a fire in the room and this Pastor was consumed by fire because he wasn’t prepared to pray. If you are not ready to pray then don’t start. You have to get ready spiritually and physically.
If I do something against Peter I must go to him and make peace with him. It’s impossible for God to hear a sinner’s prayer. We have to give ourselves to God with full humiliation. If you are not ready to pray for a sick person then tell them give me one or two days so I can talk with God to know what to do, because God has His plans and we cannot change that. We have to ask God first. If He says no, then it is no, don’t be ashamed in front of that person to say that God doesn’t allow me to pray for your sickness.
The church today has regressed spiritually because people only see money. If I pray for a minister to be healed he will give me money. If I have this gift and God says I don’t want to heal this person, you’ll find that this will be hard for you because a minister can do what he wants with you. The minister will say your God is a liar but because you want money you’ll say, wait a little longer and my God will heal you. Can you see how we would rather lose eternal life just for material things? Amen.
James 4:5, or do you think that the scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
God is jealous because He created you in His image and when you go against His will or don’t talk to Him He cries. He gives you gifts but you refuse to accept and this is what makes Him jealous. Because God created you a Human Being and when you don’t do what He wants, it Hurts Him.
We have to put all our gifts into action. When you receive Jesus Christ the Spirit of God is with you. Amen. But what is your gift? What spirit do you have in you and how do you use it? You’ll find that many Christians don’t know what their gifts are; they want to pray for the sick but don’t have the gift of healing. Have you got the gift to pray for the sick? Jesus said go and pray for the sick. There are two different points, first pray for the sick and evangelise, second is to have the gift of healing, What is your gift? You can have the gift of teaching or being a Pastor, so have you discovered the power that is in you? You can have the gift of having people at home.
You have to know where you are up to. If I’m in a prayer group I have to know who each one is and I have know which gifts belong to each one. When I come with a sick person and I know for example Sue has the gift of prophecy, I will not go to Sue but to David, for he has the gift of healing. Amen. We need to know each other’s gifts because when we pray for others we cannot go without armour. Joshua prepared himself for war with shields and swords, so we have to prepare ourselves with spiritual armour.
We cannot pray without being prepared. When we fight we fight against the world of darkness. If you start praying without being prepared the devil has the strength to defeat us. There was a man who suffered from an impure spirit; this is not just a story. He went to one of God’s servants (a Pastor) and this Pastor did not humiliate himself. He took the man into his room and prayed over him, “I command you in the name of Jesus get out!” The spirit woke up; the spirit could see what was in the Pastor’s heart. The spirit knew that the Pastor had a problem with his wife and his friends so his prayers were blocked. The demon created a fire in the room and this Pastor was consumed by fire because he wasn’t prepared to pray. If you are not ready to pray then don’t start. You have to get ready spiritually and physically.
If I do something against Peter I must go to him and make peace with him. It’s impossible for God to hear a sinner’s prayer. We have to give ourselves to God with full humiliation. If you are not ready to pray for a sick person then tell them give me one or two days so I can talk with God to know what to do, because God has His plans and we cannot change that. We have to ask God first. If He says no, then it is no, don’t be ashamed in front of that person to say that God doesn’t allow me to pray for your sickness.
The church today has regressed spiritually because people only see money. If I pray for a minister to be healed he will give me money. If I have this gift and God says I don’t want to heal this person, you’ll find that this will be hard for you because a minister can do what he wants with you. The minister will say your God is a liar but because you want money you’ll say, wait a little longer and my God will heal you. Can you see how we would rather lose eternal life just for material things? Amen.
How to Pray (Part 1.2)
By Odon Bulamba
Romans 8:14-15, because those who are lead by the Spirit of God are Sons of God, for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship and by Him we cry Abba! Father!
With the spirit we need to shout Abba! Father so He can come. How many times do you scream to God when you have a problem? How many times, when you suffer do you go and scream to God? Maybe you will go to your boss, but God says, “woe to man who trusts in man”. Believe in God and not in man, if you have a problem in your life you have to go to God straight away, don’t go to your dad or mum because one day they will leave you or die and after that who will you go to? You must know that you have to go to God first. Remember Moses in Exodus 17. He was in a difficult situation; he had the whole of Israel to bear.
One day Israel was attacked. Moses was very old at the time, maybe over 100 hundred years but Joshua was young. Joshua said to Moses I’m going to war with my troops. So Joshua prepared the sword and shield for war. Moses said to Joshua that what he was doing was just from his flesh because it is better to prepare spiritually. Moses climbed up the mountain with Aaron. Moses started interceding and raising his hands. Today many Christians are ashamed to raise their hands and ask God for help. They have their hands in their pockets and watch others pray because they think that they are intellectual.
Read in Romans 8, it is written, “Shout Abba! Father!” Why don’t you scream and shout and raise your hands to ask for help, this is a sign of non-humility [pride]when you don’t do it. Moses knew that God wanted him to raise his hands so Moses did. Remember Moses was on top of a mountain and the people saw him raise his hands. How many times have you had to raise your hands in front of everybody and not fear the people around you?
When Moses was on the mountain Joshua was fighting a physical war. When Moses hands dropped the fighting stopped. So who was fighting? It was Moses. When we pray we have more strength spiritually than we do physically, we can transform what the world thinks is impossible, just raise your hands and cry out to your Father. “Father! I want this and that in the name of Jesus Christ”.
When you believe in Jesus don’t fight just sit down, for the battle belongs to the Lord, He will repay. How many times do you get Him to rise up His arm? How many times do you give Him something to sit on? How many times do you ask Him to sit down with you? When someone goes through a tough time we have to support him or her with prayer.
Remember Moses didn’t pray for himself but for Israel and because he prayed for Israel they had victory, with the same faith we can help others to victory. When we intercede for others we have to have faith in Jesus Christ, this is the basis for prayer. How many times a week do you listen to God’s Word so your faith can be healthy? If you are thin your faith is not healthy because you don’t listen to God’s Word and this is the source of faith. You might see a three-month-old Christian who doesn’t read the Bible, doesn’t go to church and doesn’t listen to God’s Word. And yet when they pray they want their prayer’s answered.
Remember what Jesus said to His disciples, He sent them and said, “pray for the sick, tell them the good news and perform miracles”. But one day something went wrong, they came back to Jesus and said, “Jesus, we are confused for You sent us and we were ridiculed, we prayed for someone but nothing happen?”
The first answer He gave was, “Oh you of little faith, in these cases you have to pray and fast”. How many times do you fast a year? Many Christians don’t know how to fast or don’t have any idea what fasting is. In difficult cases we have to fast. Jesus is an example: After His baptism He fasted for forty days. Everybody knows that? How many servants of God in the Bible fasted to sort out problems?
In Daniel 9:3-4 you’ll find that Daniel fasted for his people even though he was high in the government ranks; even a prime minister can fast. You can eat everyday but you will never satisfy what’s in your stomach. You can eat every minute but your stomach will ask for something else. When I was in hospital God showed me something.... I brought a chicken one day and I consumed the lot. After three hours my stomach had become my adversary. My brothers knew that I liked eating meat so they prepared a nice dish for me to eat in hospital.
When I saw the meat I knew my stomach would avenge itself. I fed my body good food but it still betrayed me. I have to feed my spiritual body also. I have to fast, pray, read and listen to God so that my faith will grow, without this you will achieve nothing. Many people pray to God but God doesn’t answer their prayers, so they become tired with God because they aren’t benefiting anything from Him. So people go to a magician to take the easy way. A magician will give you what you want and you’ll see the results. But with God be careful, this is not how it works because God can stop the magic.
If a magician comes and I have Jesus Christ in my life, he cannot do anything but flee from me. If the magician is in front of you ask him, do you know about Jesus? Only the name of Jesus will make him bend or flee. So how much do we neglect the power God has given us? I know a king who had a son. The son was a prince and had to rule the country that his father had prepared for him. The father gave his son everything that he needed but his son wanted to leave his father. When he left, his father called out to him but there was no response. When the father died he left his family and kingdom behind which was then given to another family. The whole family suffered because of the son’s disobedience. It’s the same thing with us, God is our king and we are His princes but we don’t want to play our part, and if we don’t play our part what has been given to us will be taken away.
Romans 8:14-15, because those who are lead by the Spirit of God are Sons of God, for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship and by Him we cry Abba! Father!
With the spirit we need to shout Abba! Father so He can come. How many times do you scream to God when you have a problem? How many times, when you suffer do you go and scream to God? Maybe you will go to your boss, but God says, “woe to man who trusts in man”. Believe in God and not in man, if you have a problem in your life you have to go to God straight away, don’t go to your dad or mum because one day they will leave you or die and after that who will you go to? You must know that you have to go to God first. Remember Moses in Exodus 17. He was in a difficult situation; he had the whole of Israel to bear.
One day Israel was attacked. Moses was very old at the time, maybe over 100 hundred years but Joshua was young. Joshua said to Moses I’m going to war with my troops. So Joshua prepared the sword and shield for war. Moses said to Joshua that what he was doing was just from his flesh because it is better to prepare spiritually. Moses climbed up the mountain with Aaron. Moses started interceding and raising his hands. Today many Christians are ashamed to raise their hands and ask God for help. They have their hands in their pockets and watch others pray because they think that they are intellectual.
Read in Romans 8, it is written, “Shout Abba! Father!” Why don’t you scream and shout and raise your hands to ask for help, this is a sign of non-humility [pride]when you don’t do it. Moses knew that God wanted him to raise his hands so Moses did. Remember Moses was on top of a mountain and the people saw him raise his hands. How many times have you had to raise your hands in front of everybody and not fear the people around you?
When Moses was on the mountain Joshua was fighting a physical war. When Moses hands dropped the fighting stopped. So who was fighting? It was Moses. When we pray we have more strength spiritually than we do physically, we can transform what the world thinks is impossible, just raise your hands and cry out to your Father. “Father! I want this and that in the name of Jesus Christ”.
When you believe in Jesus don’t fight just sit down, for the battle belongs to the Lord, He will repay. How many times do you get Him to rise up His arm? How many times do you give Him something to sit on? How many times do you ask Him to sit down with you? When someone goes through a tough time we have to support him or her with prayer.
Remember Moses didn’t pray for himself but for Israel and because he prayed for Israel they had victory, with the same faith we can help others to victory. When we intercede for others we have to have faith in Jesus Christ, this is the basis for prayer. How many times a week do you listen to God’s Word so your faith can be healthy? If you are thin your faith is not healthy because you don’t listen to God’s Word and this is the source of faith. You might see a three-month-old Christian who doesn’t read the Bible, doesn’t go to church and doesn’t listen to God’s Word. And yet when they pray they want their prayer’s answered.
Remember what Jesus said to His disciples, He sent them and said, “pray for the sick, tell them the good news and perform miracles”. But one day something went wrong, they came back to Jesus and said, “Jesus, we are confused for You sent us and we were ridiculed, we prayed for someone but nothing happen?”
The first answer He gave was, “Oh you of little faith, in these cases you have to pray and fast”. How many times do you fast a year? Many Christians don’t know how to fast or don’t have any idea what fasting is. In difficult cases we have to fast. Jesus is an example: After His baptism He fasted for forty days. Everybody knows that? How many servants of God in the Bible fasted to sort out problems?
In Daniel 9:3-4 you’ll find that Daniel fasted for his people even though he was high in the government ranks; even a prime minister can fast. You can eat everyday but you will never satisfy what’s in your stomach. You can eat every minute but your stomach will ask for something else. When I was in hospital God showed me something.... I brought a chicken one day and I consumed the lot. After three hours my stomach had become my adversary. My brothers knew that I liked eating meat so they prepared a nice dish for me to eat in hospital.
When I saw the meat I knew my stomach would avenge itself. I fed my body good food but it still betrayed me. I have to feed my spiritual body also. I have to fast, pray, read and listen to God so that my faith will grow, without this you will achieve nothing. Many people pray to God but God doesn’t answer their prayers, so they become tired with God because they aren’t benefiting anything from Him. So people go to a magician to take the easy way. A magician will give you what you want and you’ll see the results. But with God be careful, this is not how it works because God can stop the magic.
If a magician comes and I have Jesus Christ in my life, he cannot do anything but flee from me. If the magician is in front of you ask him, do you know about Jesus? Only the name of Jesus will make him bend or flee. So how much do we neglect the power God has given us? I know a king who had a son. The son was a prince and had to rule the country that his father had prepared for him. The father gave his son everything that he needed but his son wanted to leave his father. When he left, his father called out to him but there was no response. When the father died he left his family and kingdom behind which was then given to another family. The whole family suffered because of the son’s disobedience. It’s the same thing with us, God is our king and we are His princes but we don’t want to play our part, and if we don’t play our part what has been given to us will be taken away.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
How to Pray (Part 1.1)
By Odon Bulamba
I would like to thank our Great God for this opportunity He has given us to meet together tonight. It is true that we haven’t paid anything to benefit from this gift of life we have. Many people have left this earth and many have departed as we speak. So what do you think about your God while you are still breathing? Are you better than those who are dead? It’s a question you must ask yourself.
It is really good to find a group that has a desire to pray. You have to know dear brothers and sisters that what you do is not in vain and God will pay you back. I don’t think any parent would be happy if their child was mute because each parent wants to communicate with their child. If you have a child who stutters and you see other children that don’t, you risk becoming jealous. It is the same with God. To pray is to talk with God.
Because we are God’s children He needs to hear our voice, but since we make out as if we are mute this is painful for God’s heart. God wants us to come back to Him even if it is to disturb Him. If we don’t talk with God it is like a mum who worries when her child runs out onto the road. If a child doesn’t talk for three or four hours she will become concerned. The mother will ask the child, “What’s wrong son, are you sick, have you got a headache, has someone abused you, what’s wrong with you?”
The same thing applies with God towards us. Do you talk with your God? If you take the opportunity to talk with your God this is really good. God Himself said He is our father and we are His children. On earth we have physical parents, and it is the same when you receive Jesus Christ into your life, you need parents for that life as well. This is eternal life. Everything in us is born again and this is what it means to be spiritually born again. Jesus told us in John 15 to abide in Him and He’ll abide in us, what ever you ask Him He will do it. When two or three are gathered together in Jesus name and you ask for anything whether it be a car, house or job be sure that you will receive it, Amen. Open your Bibles.
1 Timothy 2:1, “ I urge than first of all requests, prayers and intercession and thanks giving be made for everyone.”
God said that in everything we must pray, intercede and give thanks. This is very true. In this world we have many gods. In Africa you will find a god in each tribe. Each custom has a god, each area has a god but these gods are different from our God. You will find in Europe that some people practice magic and the god they pray to is different to our God. In Africa sorcery is practised more than anywhere else in the world. The government and sorcery attack God’s servants daily. If you find a sister praying and her neighbour is a sorcerer, the sorcerer will do anything to stop the power that is in this sister. This is a spiritual battle.
One day my brother and I were in Kinshasa and we were praying one night. We know that the devil works well in the night but one night there were sorcerers on a plane coming from the east and west (they are not the planes we know). Sometimes they used brooms to fly and had a power we did not understand, and while we were praying one of them fell. When I started playing the drum I saw somebody naked in front of me and I was really surprised. She had eyes like cats and was trying to threaten us with all kinds of tactics, but when we said the name of Jesus it was compelled to bow down and confess, Amen.
As children of God we have to intercede for others. Have you got a problem? Do you worry? The only solution is Jesus Christ. As Jesus said in 1 Peter 5:7, cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. So how do we know we are children of God? If you really want your prayers answered and you want to perform miracles, there is one condition.
1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
The first condition is that we have to pray according to His will. What is God’s will? What does God want from us? The will of God is in the Bible, you have to know the scriptures very well. You have to know what God wants and what God doesn’t want.
Example: some people pray against the will of God, it is written in the Bible that in the last days there will be war and troubled times, the Bible says it and it’s true. Today Christians pray that war won’t happen even though they know that this is a prophesy and has to be fulfilled, so how can you tell God to stop what is written? When some Christians read the Bible they make contradictions. God said that there will be wars but today we have Christians that pray against God’s will. So is God a liar? For this very reason God won’t answer your prayers because you ask Him to do something that is not His will. Another example:
I was born a boy and then I ask God I want to become a women. His will for me was to be the way I was born, so I cannot ask God to change me. In most churches you’ll find that Christians are confused, especially young people. “As long as I have teeth I can break bones, because I am young I have to smoke, because I am young, now is the time while there is pleasure and have opportunities”. But you forget that God created you and your body is the temple of God.
After doing all these worldly activities, people will kneel down and want to intercede for others. But this person is out of God’s will because God gives us conditions so that our prayers can be answered. You have to walk according to His will. You can pray for months and no answer and then you’ll start condemning God saying, “why haven’t you answered me? You’ve answered this prayer and this prayer, but why not my pray?” It is your fault if you are not living according to His will. His ear is not far from us and His Hand is not too short to save. Our God is a God of love.
Another example: let’s say Nathanael is screaming, “papa help,” what will Michael do? Will he rush to the problem or just walk? It is the same thing with God. When we pray God hurries to help us. If God doesn’t help you, then assess yourself. Examine yourself and ask yourself, “why hasn’t God doesn’t answered me?”
I would like to thank our Great God for this opportunity He has given us to meet together tonight. It is true that we haven’t paid anything to benefit from this gift of life we have. Many people have left this earth and many have departed as we speak. So what do you think about your God while you are still breathing? Are you better than those who are dead? It’s a question you must ask yourself.
It is really good to find a group that has a desire to pray. You have to know dear brothers and sisters that what you do is not in vain and God will pay you back. I don’t think any parent would be happy if their child was mute because each parent wants to communicate with their child. If you have a child who stutters and you see other children that don’t, you risk becoming jealous. It is the same with God. To pray is to talk with God.
Because we are God’s children He needs to hear our voice, but since we make out as if we are mute this is painful for God’s heart. God wants us to come back to Him even if it is to disturb Him. If we don’t talk with God it is like a mum who worries when her child runs out onto the road. If a child doesn’t talk for three or four hours she will become concerned. The mother will ask the child, “What’s wrong son, are you sick, have you got a headache, has someone abused you, what’s wrong with you?”
The same thing applies with God towards us. Do you talk with your God? If you take the opportunity to talk with your God this is really good. God Himself said He is our father and we are His children. On earth we have physical parents, and it is the same when you receive Jesus Christ into your life, you need parents for that life as well. This is eternal life. Everything in us is born again and this is what it means to be spiritually born again. Jesus told us in John 15 to abide in Him and He’ll abide in us, what ever you ask Him He will do it. When two or three are gathered together in Jesus name and you ask for anything whether it be a car, house or job be sure that you will receive it, Amen. Open your Bibles.
1 Timothy 2:1, “ I urge than first of all requests, prayers and intercession and thanks giving be made for everyone.”
God said that in everything we must pray, intercede and give thanks. This is very true. In this world we have many gods. In Africa you will find a god in each tribe. Each custom has a god, each area has a god but these gods are different from our God. You will find in Europe that some people practice magic and the god they pray to is different to our God. In Africa sorcery is practised more than anywhere else in the world. The government and sorcery attack God’s servants daily. If you find a sister praying and her neighbour is a sorcerer, the sorcerer will do anything to stop the power that is in this sister. This is a spiritual battle.
One day my brother and I were in Kinshasa and we were praying one night. We know that the devil works well in the night but one night there were sorcerers on a plane coming from the east and west (they are not the planes we know). Sometimes they used brooms to fly and had a power we did not understand, and while we were praying one of them fell. When I started playing the drum I saw somebody naked in front of me and I was really surprised. She had eyes like cats and was trying to threaten us with all kinds of tactics, but when we said the name of Jesus it was compelled to bow down and confess, Amen.
As children of God we have to intercede for others. Have you got a problem? Do you worry? The only solution is Jesus Christ. As Jesus said in 1 Peter 5:7, cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. So how do we know we are children of God? If you really want your prayers answered and you want to perform miracles, there is one condition.
1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
The first condition is that we have to pray according to His will. What is God’s will? What does God want from us? The will of God is in the Bible, you have to know the scriptures very well. You have to know what God wants and what God doesn’t want.
Example: some people pray against the will of God, it is written in the Bible that in the last days there will be war and troubled times, the Bible says it and it’s true. Today Christians pray that war won’t happen even though they know that this is a prophesy and has to be fulfilled, so how can you tell God to stop what is written? When some Christians read the Bible they make contradictions. God said that there will be wars but today we have Christians that pray against God’s will. So is God a liar? For this very reason God won’t answer your prayers because you ask Him to do something that is not His will. Another example:
I was born a boy and then I ask God I want to become a women. His will for me was to be the way I was born, so I cannot ask God to change me. In most churches you’ll find that Christians are confused, especially young people. “As long as I have teeth I can break bones, because I am young I have to smoke, because I am young, now is the time while there is pleasure and have opportunities”. But you forget that God created you and your body is the temple of God.
After doing all these worldly activities, people will kneel down and want to intercede for others. But this person is out of God’s will because God gives us conditions so that our prayers can be answered. You have to walk according to His will. You can pray for months and no answer and then you’ll start condemning God saying, “why haven’t you answered me? You’ve answered this prayer and this prayer, but why not my pray?” It is your fault if you are not living according to His will. His ear is not far from us and His Hand is not too short to save. Our God is a God of love.
Another example: let’s say Nathanael is screaming, “papa help,” what will Michael do? Will he rush to the problem or just walk? It is the same thing with God. When we pray God hurries to help us. If God doesn’t help you, then assess yourself. Examine yourself and ask yourself, “why hasn’t God doesn’t answered me?”
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Prayer No: 10 (Abraham, Sarah & Hagar)
By Odon (summary only - 25 November 2005)
Gen 16 & 21
God had promised to Abraham that he would have many descendents but at 90 years old Abraham started to wonder if God had lied because himself and his wife were too old now and God had told him so many years ago so he wondered if God really sticks to His promises. Sometimes God takes a long time to fulfill His promises and He doesn’t do that to torture us but because He wants His right time to be there. None of God’s promises are a lie, He accomplishes everything that He promises but what we need is greater than patience because without it we can’t handle our situation and think we need an immediate solution.
God is unable to be pushed but when you keep insisting that you need it straight away, it will end in a bad way. God has a plan for you and me but that plan has to be fulfilled only when we are following God’s steps but if you are going beyond God, God will leave you somewhere. For example Sarah and Abraham were supposed to kneel down and pray to God and wait for His time but they decided to use Sarah’s servant to get a son and at first they had joy but later they were not happy with the result. When you find your own solution, you’ll see the result and you will appreciate it but later your solution will bring you problems.
Sarah and Abraham named that child Ishmael which means ‘God hears’ but Sarah forgot that God could hear all her complaints and hatred for that child. Most of the things that God hears from us put us into trouble, we have to pray carefully and our actions must be controlled and pure. Whatever we confess and God hears, we have to wait for the consequences but whenever we take our own solution, there will be a problem at the end.
Sarah wasn’t happy because Ishmael was not her child and when we are praying and God gives answers to other people and not us, we are against that and become jealous. When God blesses others and not me, I don’t thank God but ask, ‘why not me?’ It’s up to God to decide to whom and when He will respond and we who don’t get an answer straight away don’t have to find our own solution and give up on God.
Sarah wanted Ishmael to leave their house because she didn’t want a relationship with Ishmael and his father and how many times do we forget there is a relationship between God and our bothers and sisters? I don’t have to think, ‘o Shari doesn’t deserve that’. We have to remember that Jesus told the disciples to leave the children where they were because they are like the Kingdom of God but children are annoying, so people who are annoying are the same people who are loved by God.
Hagar faced a serious problem in the desert with no water and her son was dying but she didn’t blame Abraham. If Odon told you to take your son on vacation and something happened to your son you would blame Odon because we don’t accept the situation as it is and try to put reasons and problems onto other’s shoulders. Hagar was far away from others and God came to her and in the same way, those of us who are isolated from others are the ones that God will come to. Hagar was pushed away by Sarah and how many times do we push the souls of others to run away from us and even from God because we are jealous. The first way we push others to run away is lack of humility.
When we don’t wait for God’s answer we have conflict because we are not patient or because we are proud or lazy or we don’t care or we are selfish and sometimes because we hate each other.
If God is a pure God, why did He allow Hagar to get pregnant to her master? If God is righteous, why did He bless all the generations of Ishmael? Whenever God gives to us a gift but we don’t treat it properly, God will pass that gift on to someone else. For example if Ange has the gift of prayer but she tells Michelle to pray. God will look at her and say, ‘because you are not using that gift I will give it to someone else. (Numbers 11) God gave some of Moses’ power to the 70 elders and whenever you are not serious or committed to God’s work, you’ll stay behind. When we are there just to motivate others but we are not participating, we will lose (Mathew 25:14-30). An intercessor is someone who will accept God’s promises no matter when God will accomplish it and it’s not up to us to push God to do it quickly. Hagar (a servant) became the wife of Abraham and when you are a good servant of God but you don’t work with patience God can easily take what you have and give it to someone who is nothing and when that happens don’t complain to God. That is a big mistake today, when things go wrong we blame God while we are responsible for it.
Habukuk 3:10,18,19, mountains and seas are monsters in front of us (e.g. earthquakes and tidal waves) but in front of God they are afraid. Sarah lost her joy because she had forgotten that God was her friend, do you remember that God is your friend? When you are weak do you remember God? How do you find strength? At the gym, from your mother, your father, your husband? We have to remember that God is our strength and if He’s our strength then we can never be let down, we can’t lose any battle or lose to temptation or to satan and we’ll never feel ashamed or disappointed. But if your strength is money, when money flies you’ll cry and if your strength is your mental ability, when you can’t read anymore you’ll cry. Anything can happen but if we know that God is our strength, whatever happens we’ll overcome it.
Sometimes God tells us what to do but on the way because of lack of trust or hope we need a sign to make sure we are going in the right direction. Be careful though because sometimes we think something is a sign when it’s there as a deception so we have to ask God. God can send someone to you to talk on behalf of God or you can hear His voice directly or feel His presence or have a clear idea but it’s good to kneel down before you do anything and ask God if it’s really from Him so you can’t be mislead and signs are there.
SUMMARY
- God always fulfills His promises - Wait for God to answer
- Don’t try to find your own solution - It will end badly
- Remember God hears everything
- Praise God when He blesses others - Don’t be jealous
- Lack of Humility - Pushes people to run from you and God
- Use what God gives to you - Or He will give it to someone else
- Find your strength in God
- Ask God for signs - When you don’t know where to go
Gen 16 & 21
God had promised to Abraham that he would have many descendents but at 90 years old Abraham started to wonder if God had lied because himself and his wife were too old now and God had told him so many years ago so he wondered if God really sticks to His promises. Sometimes God takes a long time to fulfill His promises and He doesn’t do that to torture us but because He wants His right time to be there. None of God’s promises are a lie, He accomplishes everything that He promises but what we need is greater than patience because without it we can’t handle our situation and think we need an immediate solution.
God is unable to be pushed but when you keep insisting that you need it straight away, it will end in a bad way. God has a plan for you and me but that plan has to be fulfilled only when we are following God’s steps but if you are going beyond God, God will leave you somewhere. For example Sarah and Abraham were supposed to kneel down and pray to God and wait for His time but they decided to use Sarah’s servant to get a son and at first they had joy but later they were not happy with the result. When you find your own solution, you’ll see the result and you will appreciate it but later your solution will bring you problems.
Sarah and Abraham named that child Ishmael which means ‘God hears’ but Sarah forgot that God could hear all her complaints and hatred for that child. Most of the things that God hears from us put us into trouble, we have to pray carefully and our actions must be controlled and pure. Whatever we confess and God hears, we have to wait for the consequences but whenever we take our own solution, there will be a problem at the end.
Sarah wasn’t happy because Ishmael was not her child and when we are praying and God gives answers to other people and not us, we are against that and become jealous. When God blesses others and not me, I don’t thank God but ask, ‘why not me?’ It’s up to God to decide to whom and when He will respond and we who don’t get an answer straight away don’t have to find our own solution and give up on God.
Sarah wanted Ishmael to leave their house because she didn’t want a relationship with Ishmael and his father and how many times do we forget there is a relationship between God and our bothers and sisters? I don’t have to think, ‘o Shari doesn’t deserve that’. We have to remember that Jesus told the disciples to leave the children where they were because they are like the Kingdom of God but children are annoying, so people who are annoying are the same people who are loved by God.
Hagar faced a serious problem in the desert with no water and her son was dying but she didn’t blame Abraham. If Odon told you to take your son on vacation and something happened to your son you would blame Odon because we don’t accept the situation as it is and try to put reasons and problems onto other’s shoulders. Hagar was far away from others and God came to her and in the same way, those of us who are isolated from others are the ones that God will come to. Hagar was pushed away by Sarah and how many times do we push the souls of others to run away from us and even from God because we are jealous. The first way we push others to run away is lack of humility.
When we don’t wait for God’s answer we have conflict because we are not patient or because we are proud or lazy or we don’t care or we are selfish and sometimes because we hate each other.
If God is a pure God, why did He allow Hagar to get pregnant to her master? If God is righteous, why did He bless all the generations of Ishmael? Whenever God gives to us a gift but we don’t treat it properly, God will pass that gift on to someone else. For example if Ange has the gift of prayer but she tells Michelle to pray. God will look at her and say, ‘because you are not using that gift I will give it to someone else. (Numbers 11) God gave some of Moses’ power to the 70 elders and whenever you are not serious or committed to God’s work, you’ll stay behind. When we are there just to motivate others but we are not participating, we will lose (Mathew 25:14-30). An intercessor is someone who will accept God’s promises no matter when God will accomplish it and it’s not up to us to push God to do it quickly. Hagar (a servant) became the wife of Abraham and when you are a good servant of God but you don’t work with patience God can easily take what you have and give it to someone who is nothing and when that happens don’t complain to God. That is a big mistake today, when things go wrong we blame God while we are responsible for it.
Habukuk 3:10,18,19, mountains and seas are monsters in front of us (e.g. earthquakes and tidal waves) but in front of God they are afraid. Sarah lost her joy because she had forgotten that God was her friend, do you remember that God is your friend? When you are weak do you remember God? How do you find strength? At the gym, from your mother, your father, your husband? We have to remember that God is our strength and if He’s our strength then we can never be let down, we can’t lose any battle or lose to temptation or to satan and we’ll never feel ashamed or disappointed. But if your strength is money, when money flies you’ll cry and if your strength is your mental ability, when you can’t read anymore you’ll cry. Anything can happen but if we know that God is our strength, whatever happens we’ll overcome it.
Sometimes God tells us what to do but on the way because of lack of trust or hope we need a sign to make sure we are going in the right direction. Be careful though because sometimes we think something is a sign when it’s there as a deception so we have to ask God. God can send someone to you to talk on behalf of God or you can hear His voice directly or feel His presence or have a clear idea but it’s good to kneel down before you do anything and ask God if it’s really from Him so you can’t be mislead and signs are there.
SUMMARY
- God always fulfills His promises - Wait for God to answer
- Don’t try to find your own solution - It will end badly
- Remember God hears everything
- Praise God when He blesses others - Don’t be jealous
- Lack of Humility - Pushes people to run from you and God
- Use what God gives to you - Or He will give it to someone else
- Find your strength in God
- Ask God for signs - When you don’t know where to go
Monday, May 10, 2010
Prayer No: 9 (Intercessory Prayer)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 21 October 2005)
When someone is seriously sick and unconscious you will take him straight away to the hospital and talk on behalf of that person to the doctor. If not, there will be consequences. When we are praying for people, we are praying on their behalf because they are unconscious of their sin. E.g. an alcoholic will not think drinking is bad. A sinner is like a sick person because they are unable to drink (they don’t believe in the Word of God = water) and they don’t eat (don’t like the taste of the Word of God = bread) and have a high temperature (sin). People who are saved don’t have this problem so we have to pray for them to find solutions to the other problems they have in their lives.
We as Christians have to consider the value of being a member of God’s family and remember it’s a privilege and a gift. We don’t have to resist God but we have to do what He tells us or He will be ashamed of us as parents are when their children don’t obey them. Everyday we live and get new strength while we have brothers and sisters outside God’s family and we know God is a good father and waiting to adopt them so why don’t we call them to our family of God. We have to intercede for others so they can join God’s family; they need God’s intervention and touch.
Lamentation 2:18, the best formula for intercession is to cry and accept it’s a serious situation. Tell God you need intervention and explain everything to God, ask for support and if He doesn’t the people will perish.
If you (1) pray for someone and the situation doesn’t change you have to (2) fast and if no solution you have to (3) fast again and then (4) cry out to God. When I want to intercede for non-christians I have to first think of him/her who is a sinner and therefore is dead (spiritually). At funerals we will talk only about positive points and when we are interceding to God we have to bring up the importance of that person’s life. ‘You love him, You created Him but He’s dying’.
Isaiah 59:16, sometimes God sits down and looks at us to see if someone will intercede for the cause of others. We have hundreds of Christians but only a few will pray for others and we don’t because we are lazy, selfish and impatient but God is waiting for us to intervene, which means our intervention is very important. God wants us to intercede for His people and when you do that God will be proud of you.
Christians today pray for the same situation although God has already answered and closed that case. Our prayers are monotone. Every morning we pray the same prayer and every time we intercede it’s for the same people and God says, ‘why can’t you think about something else, there are hundreds of problems around us why can’t you pray for them?’ Jesus used to pray for someone and then move on to the next person but we just want to pray everyday for the same people.
II Chronicles 16:9a, God’s eyes are looking on the earth to support those who love Him and to love God is to first love your neighbor and if you love your neighbor (someone next to you) you will pray for them. If you don’t love your neighbor it will be impossible to love God and if you don’t love God it will be impossible for God to support you. The fruit of love is in I Corinthians 13:4 (patience, kindness, etc) so try to show love to those around you.
Exodus 32:7-14, because Moses loved the people he interceded for them and God changed His mind to kill them. How much do we intervene when we know that one day all sinners will be punished? What do we tell God about His people? God wants us to come to Him and ask for His mercy on them and that will make Him feel like He is God. If you see problems of others, it’s because God is trying to show you everything clearly and is now waiting for you to give to Him a feedback and can only do that through intercession.
Genesis 18:23, there is a day coming where everything will end so we can tell God will you also punish my family members? My nation? If you can find 6 or 5 or 3, can you please save them? We have to talk to God, to intervene. God will listen and will change His plan. How many times do you plead for the lives of others when you know a situation is getting worse? God visits you every second, have you decided to walk with Him and have a conversation with Him (as Abraham did). If you don’t pray your whole nation will be lost.
Isaiah 64:7,8, the Lord is our Father; how do we spend our time with our Father?
While our brothers and sisters are suffering and need prayer, we forget about them and just carry on with our own burden. Sometimes we don’t even have time to look at what is going on around us. People who don’t intercede for others don’t stand in a right position in front of God.
Intercession is a matter of preparing ourselves; we need determination, patience, concentration and purification. If we are not pure we can’t pray and if not ready we can’t pray so we must be ready and if not, it will end in a bad way and we will not get a good answer from God.
SUMMARY
- Intercession is talking to God on behalf of someone else
- First we pray and if no solution then fast and then fast again and then cry to God
- Tell God the importance of that person
- Don’t pray the same thing every day
- If you want God to support you, you have to first love Him and to love God you have to first love your neighbor and if you love your neighbor you will pray for him/her
(our prayers need His support)
- When we see other people’s problems it’s because God wants us to pray for them
- Before to pray we must be ready (pure, determined, patient) and to concentrate
- The reason we don’t pray is because of laziness, selfishness and impatience
- When we intercede, God will be proud of us
When someone is seriously sick and unconscious you will take him straight away to the hospital and talk on behalf of that person to the doctor. If not, there will be consequences. When we are praying for people, we are praying on their behalf because they are unconscious of their sin. E.g. an alcoholic will not think drinking is bad. A sinner is like a sick person because they are unable to drink (they don’t believe in the Word of God = water) and they don’t eat (don’t like the taste of the Word of God = bread) and have a high temperature (sin). People who are saved don’t have this problem so we have to pray for them to find solutions to the other problems they have in their lives.
We as Christians have to consider the value of being a member of God’s family and remember it’s a privilege and a gift. We don’t have to resist God but we have to do what He tells us or He will be ashamed of us as parents are when their children don’t obey them. Everyday we live and get new strength while we have brothers and sisters outside God’s family and we know God is a good father and waiting to adopt them so why don’t we call them to our family of God. We have to intercede for others so they can join God’s family; they need God’s intervention and touch.
Lamentation 2:18, the best formula for intercession is to cry and accept it’s a serious situation. Tell God you need intervention and explain everything to God, ask for support and if He doesn’t the people will perish.
If you (1) pray for someone and the situation doesn’t change you have to (2) fast and if no solution you have to (3) fast again and then (4) cry out to God. When I want to intercede for non-christians I have to first think of him/her who is a sinner and therefore is dead (spiritually). At funerals we will talk only about positive points and when we are interceding to God we have to bring up the importance of that person’s life. ‘You love him, You created Him but He’s dying’.
Isaiah 59:16, sometimes God sits down and looks at us to see if someone will intercede for the cause of others. We have hundreds of Christians but only a few will pray for others and we don’t because we are lazy, selfish and impatient but God is waiting for us to intervene, which means our intervention is very important. God wants us to intercede for His people and when you do that God will be proud of you.
Christians today pray for the same situation although God has already answered and closed that case. Our prayers are monotone. Every morning we pray the same prayer and every time we intercede it’s for the same people and God says, ‘why can’t you think about something else, there are hundreds of problems around us why can’t you pray for them?’ Jesus used to pray for someone and then move on to the next person but we just want to pray everyday for the same people.
II Chronicles 16:9a, God’s eyes are looking on the earth to support those who love Him and to love God is to first love your neighbor and if you love your neighbor (someone next to you) you will pray for them. If you don’t love your neighbor it will be impossible to love God and if you don’t love God it will be impossible for God to support you. The fruit of love is in I Corinthians 13:4 (patience, kindness, etc) so try to show love to those around you.
Exodus 32:7-14, because Moses loved the people he interceded for them and God changed His mind to kill them. How much do we intervene when we know that one day all sinners will be punished? What do we tell God about His people? God wants us to come to Him and ask for His mercy on them and that will make Him feel like He is God. If you see problems of others, it’s because God is trying to show you everything clearly and is now waiting for you to give to Him a feedback and can only do that through intercession.
Genesis 18:23, there is a day coming where everything will end so we can tell God will you also punish my family members? My nation? If you can find 6 or 5 or 3, can you please save them? We have to talk to God, to intervene. God will listen and will change His plan. How many times do you plead for the lives of others when you know a situation is getting worse? God visits you every second, have you decided to walk with Him and have a conversation with Him (as Abraham did). If you don’t pray your whole nation will be lost.
Isaiah 64:7,8, the Lord is our Father; how do we spend our time with our Father?
While our brothers and sisters are suffering and need prayer, we forget about them and just carry on with our own burden. Sometimes we don’t even have time to look at what is going on around us. People who don’t intercede for others don’t stand in a right position in front of God.
Intercession is a matter of preparing ourselves; we need determination, patience, concentration and purification. If we are not pure we can’t pray and if not ready we can’t pray so we must be ready and if not, it will end in a bad way and we will not get a good answer from God.
SUMMARY
- Intercession is talking to God on behalf of someone else
- First we pray and if no solution then fast and then fast again and then cry to God
- Tell God the importance of that person
- Don’t pray the same thing every day
- If you want God to support you, you have to first love Him and to love God you have to first love your neighbor and if you love your neighbor you will pray for him/her
(our prayers need His support)
- When we see other people’s problems it’s because God wants us to pray for them
- Before to pray we must be ready (pure, determined, patient) and to concentrate
- The reason we don’t pray is because of laziness, selfishness and impatience
- When we intercede, God will be proud of us
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Prayer No: 8 (Preparing for Intercessory Prayer)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 14 October 2005)
Everyday we cross difficult situations and at the end of the day we start to think, ‘o why did that person do this’ and you think how much people are against you or how much they love you. Sometimes God puts aside sleep and you stay awake without sleep, the only solution is to pray and you find it’s hard. For all of that you have to glorify God. Our lives depend on God and without God we are nothing. If God didn’t exist, we could not exist either. If we know each other it’s because we believe in Jesus (that’s why we are meeting together every week).
Sometimes we come here and we don’t really know why we are here, we don’t feel God’s presence. God told the people of Israel to leave Egypt and go to Canaan and He chose Moses to give directions. Some didn’t want to leave believing it might be better in Egypt than Canaan and others had given up on God because He took 400 years to hear their cry. The Israelites are among the most intelligent people so they are clever and could think of many challenges for Moses to answer. When they started the journey they started to complain, first about the Red Sea, then about the manna, and then about the bitter water. Moses complained to God and God was quiet because He was measuring the actions of Moses when facing problems.
The purpose of God was to show the Israelites that they must walk together. If you know how to walk together, to respect each other, to collaborate and follow God’s instructions you can have problems but you will reach Canaan (a land of promises). But if you have problems and blame others and complain, you’ll never cross the Red Sea.
Every time God says, "look", that is the time you’ll say, ‘I’m blind’ and every time God says, "listen", that is the time you’ll say, ‘I’m deaf’. This is human nature, the old nature and it is now alive in our lives and we even make it grow and be like a Goliath in front of God’s face.
To intercede; it’s a matter of committing yourself to God and then to other people. Moses was afraid to set his people free because he was afraid to go back to Pharoah and we also fear. For example if we decide today to fast for four days, how will you feel? Reasons will follow the fear that we have to push God out of our lives.
When we say we will intercede for people, we make a step to come closer to God and God now comes when we are a bit isolated. E.g. ‘Benedicte come here and pray for my people who need freedom’. If you are not a good servant you will think that it’s just your mind and carry on vacuuming. If you are a good servant you will stop and think, ‘is it my thoughts or God?’ and God will answer you, ‘it’s Me, are you ready to go?’ If yes you need to get prepared because you will cross difficult situations where you are going.
When we want to pray for others we must be prepared because intercession is not a matter of praying for others and then going back but intercession is a matter of deciding, I will not give up this prayer until the day I see the result. ‘God I’m praying for Sally and I will pray until the day I see Sally receive such and such.’
Another man in the Bible had a servant who was sick (not his brother or son, just his servant) and he decided to find Jesus. He accepted to walk the distance and then fight through the crowd to meet with Jesus. He knew beforehand to get ready because it’s a battle. We are going to pray for people and we really need to get ready.
The first miracle Jesus did was to turn water into wine. In order for this miracle to take place the servants had to be humble to ask Jesus and also to accept all His commands (get containers, place water in them). We are preparing ourselves to pray and the way to get ready is to follow God’s instructions.
The first thing we have to do before to intercede for others is to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, am I ready because we want to pray for (x) to find change in his life and so I have to first ask myself, what did I change in my life. I’m struggling so (x) can change while myself is not better. Before to intercede for others we have to know first who we are and we have to try to rearrange ourselves. Before to intercede for others, have you interceded for yourself? Get out what is hidden in your life and remove it.
When we are going to do our intercession and we are not in a good position with God or other people we will put ourselves in a position where satan will say, ‘here I am, I must eliminate you’. We must get ready spiritually so if I have a problem with someone I must fix it. God likes us not because we are special but because He loves us, but He needs us to be educated (in Him) and obedient (to Him).
Everyday we cross difficult situations and at the end of the day we start to think, ‘o why did that person do this’ and you think how much people are against you or how much they love you. Sometimes God puts aside sleep and you stay awake without sleep, the only solution is to pray and you find it’s hard. For all of that you have to glorify God. Our lives depend on God and without God we are nothing. If God didn’t exist, we could not exist either. If we know each other it’s because we believe in Jesus (that’s why we are meeting together every week).
Sometimes we come here and we don’t really know why we are here, we don’t feel God’s presence. God told the people of Israel to leave Egypt and go to Canaan and He chose Moses to give directions. Some didn’t want to leave believing it might be better in Egypt than Canaan and others had given up on God because He took 400 years to hear their cry. The Israelites are among the most intelligent people so they are clever and could think of many challenges for Moses to answer. When they started the journey they started to complain, first about the Red Sea, then about the manna, and then about the bitter water. Moses complained to God and God was quiet because He was measuring the actions of Moses when facing problems.
The purpose of God was to show the Israelites that they must walk together. If you know how to walk together, to respect each other, to collaborate and follow God’s instructions you can have problems but you will reach Canaan (a land of promises). But if you have problems and blame others and complain, you’ll never cross the Red Sea.
Every time God says, "look", that is the time you’ll say, ‘I’m blind’ and every time God says, "listen", that is the time you’ll say, ‘I’m deaf’. This is human nature, the old nature and it is now alive in our lives and we even make it grow and be like a Goliath in front of God’s face.
To intercede; it’s a matter of committing yourself to God and then to other people. Moses was afraid to set his people free because he was afraid to go back to Pharoah and we also fear. For example if we decide today to fast for four days, how will you feel? Reasons will follow the fear that we have to push God out of our lives.
When we say we will intercede for people, we make a step to come closer to God and God now comes when we are a bit isolated. E.g. ‘Benedicte come here and pray for my people who need freedom’. If you are not a good servant you will think that it’s just your mind and carry on vacuuming. If you are a good servant you will stop and think, ‘is it my thoughts or God?’ and God will answer you, ‘it’s Me, are you ready to go?’ If yes you need to get prepared because you will cross difficult situations where you are going.
When we want to pray for others we must be prepared because intercession is not a matter of praying for others and then going back but intercession is a matter of deciding, I will not give up this prayer until the day I see the result. ‘God I’m praying for Sally and I will pray until the day I see Sally receive such and such.’
Another man in the Bible had a servant who was sick (not his brother or son, just his servant) and he decided to find Jesus. He accepted to walk the distance and then fight through the crowd to meet with Jesus. He knew beforehand to get ready because it’s a battle. We are going to pray for people and we really need to get ready.
The first miracle Jesus did was to turn water into wine. In order for this miracle to take place the servants had to be humble to ask Jesus and also to accept all His commands (get containers, place water in them). We are preparing ourselves to pray and the way to get ready is to follow God’s instructions.
The first thing we have to do before to intercede for others is to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, am I ready because we want to pray for (x) to find change in his life and so I have to first ask myself, what did I change in my life. I’m struggling so (x) can change while myself is not better. Before to intercede for others we have to know first who we are and we have to try to rearrange ourselves. Before to intercede for others, have you interceded for yourself? Get out what is hidden in your life and remove it.
When we are going to do our intercession and we are not in a good position with God or other people we will put ourselves in a position where satan will say, ‘here I am, I must eliminate you’. We must get ready spiritually so if I have a problem with someone I must fix it. God likes us not because we are special but because He loves us, but He needs us to be educated (in Him) and obedient (to Him).
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