Speaker A
I've heard a lot of preachings and teachings in the area of prayers and on all of those.
Pastor John Anosike explains the true nature of prayer, its spiritual impact, different types, and how to effectively engage in spiritual warfare.
Key Takeaways
- Prayer is a spiritual exercise that builds inner strength and faith.
- Different types of prayer serve different purposes; tongues edify the individual, prophecy edifies the church.
- Effective spiritual warfare requires both spiritual development and understanding how to pray.
- The Holy Spirit aids believers in praying when they do not know what to pray for.
- Corporate prayer should focus on edification through prophecy and interpretation.
Summary
- Prayer is not just about asking God for things but about creating an atmosphere for God's goodness to thrive.
- There are different channels and kinds of prayer, including praying in tongues, praying with understanding, and prophecy.
- Praying in tongues builds and edifies the believer's spirit, improving spiritual vitality and readiness for spiritual warfare.
- Effective prayer requires both praying in the spirit and with understanding, especially in corporate gatherings for edification.
- Prayer empowers believers to war against unseen forces and establish God's will in various aspects of life.
- Believers have an infirmity in knowing what to pray for, which the Holy Spirit helps overcome through intercession.
- Consistent prayer in the spirit increases spiritual alertness and efficiency in spiritual matters.
- Prophecy in gatherings is more beneficial than un-interpreted tongues as it edifies the church body.
- Spiritual development through prayer prepares believers to stand firm during trials and resist the devil.
- Prayer is an exercise of the spirit that nourishes faith and strengthens believers beyond self-centered requests.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
You know, everybody wants to pray, but not everybody thinks about what prayer truly is.
Speaker A
Why do we pray?
Speaker A
Prayer in my discovery has different channels.
Speaker A
We pray in different ways.
Speaker A
We pray different kinds of prayer.
Speaker A
And in my discovery, I've also realized that sometimes, the kind of prayers we focus on are often very self.
Speaker A
It's often self-developing.
Speaker A
Self-empowering.
Speaker A
And self-activating.
Speaker A
Not necessarily an outlet of prayer.
Speaker A
You see, because prayer has has has a lot to do with making impact.
Speaker A
Influencing.
Speaker A
And programming.
Speaker A
And warring against forces that are beyond the visible realms.
Speaker A
Listen, an effective prayer person is an effective watcher over the realms.
Speaker A
And over people, over communities and over families.
Speaker A
Prayer is more or less like creating an atmosphere for the goodness of God to thrive.
Speaker A
It takes the warfare of prayer to establish God's will in any endeavor.
Speaker A
It takes prayer.
Speaker A
Prayer will go a long way to determine God's favor.
Speaker A
The activation of God's favor on anyone's life.
Speaker A
But here's one problem that we have, and I want to tell you about that problem.
Speaker A
And that problem is called an infirmity.
Speaker A
Every believer has this infirmity.
Speaker A
This infirmity was not cured on the cross of Calvary.
Speaker A
Every other infirmity was cured.
Speaker A
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities.
Speaker A
For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.
Speaker A
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Speaker A
We do not know.
Speaker A
So that's an infirmity.
Speaker A
Okay.
Speaker A
How about I thought that you knew how to pray in tongues?
Speaker A
I thought that praying in tongues is the most effective way of prayer.
Speaker A
Suddenly, after you have prayed in tongues, you still do not know what to pray.
Speaker A
After you have confessed scriptures, you still do not know what to pray.
Speaker A
Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
Speaker A
So while speaking in an unknown tongue, you are also asked to pray.
Speaker A
So we pray in prayer.
Speaker A
So speaking in an unknown tongue, you also pray to interpret.
Speaker A
So that means there are different kinds of prayer.
Speaker A
There are different channels of prayer.
Speaker A
So understanding different channels of prayer would advance our influence and authority in prayer.
Speaker A
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
Speaker A
What is it then?
Speaker A
I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.
Speaker A
I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
Speaker A
I use multiple channels to pray.
Speaker A
I pray with the unknown tongue.
Speaker A
I pray for interpretation of the tongue.
Speaker A
I pray with the spirit.
Speaker A
I pray with understanding.
Speaker A
Now, let's see what happens when a man prays with the spirit.
Speaker A
When a man prays with the spirit.
Speaker A
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself.
Speaker A
But he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
Speaker A
So this has to do with now you, you, you.
Speaker A
It's about your self-exaltation.
Speaker A
Self-development.
Speaker A
Improvement of your spiritual receptivity.
Speaker A
Advancing your spiritual connectivity.
Speaker A
So praying with the unknown tongue, it's what improves your inner self.
Speaker A
It builds up your spirit.
Speaker A
Prayed in the other tongue empowers you to war without destruction in the realms.
Speaker A
It increases your spiritual vitality.
Speaker A
For instance, somebody can gym so powerfully.
Speaker A
And still do not war or utilize the muscles that he or she has developed.
Speaker A
To earn victories.
Speaker A
So you can develop yourself to a point where you are spiritually strong.
Speaker A
But you don't know how to war in the spirit.
Speaker A
That you prayed in tongues and prayed in tongues and had your spiritual muscles developed.
Speaker A
Does not guarantee victory.
Speaker A
That you have prayed in tongues.
Speaker A
And prayed tongues and prayed in tongues, and you have no mastering of how to engage effectively in spiritual warfare.
Speaker A
It's like one that has all the weapons.
Speaker A
But you don't know how to use the weapons.
Speaker A
So when you pray in tongues, you've built up your spirit.
Speaker A
You have edified your spirit.
Speaker A
You have improved your inner muscles.
Speaker A
To face every attack of the devil, to war against any form of demonic activities.
Speaker A
The book of Jude is very significant.
Speaker A
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.
Speaker A
The same thing Jude wrote was this same thing Paul wrote.
Speaker A
He said, when you pray in the unknown tongue, you edify yourself.
Speaker A
Meaning, you build up yourself.
Speaker A
So part of your spiritual training.
Speaker A
Part of your spiritual development, which empower you to await the season of trials.
Speaker A
For instance, the Bible says, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able.
Speaker A
To stand in the evil day.
Speaker A
There are things you don't have control over that will be projected.
Speaker A
It's called evil day.
Speaker A
So that's when all the tongues you've been praying.
Speaker A
All the spiritual development.
Speaker A
Yes.
Speaker A
That's when it comes in.
Speaker A
Oh, glory to God.
Speaker A
We're building up our capacity in the spirit.
Speaker A
Prayer is not about talking to God, it's not about asking God for something.
Speaker A
It's what nourishes our spirits.
Speaker A
Prayer is an exercise of the spirit.
Speaker A
Building up your most holy faith.
Speaker A
Building up yourselves on your most holy faith.
Speaker A
Praying in the Holy Ghost.
Speaker A
Meaning praying in the spirit.
Speaker A
Pray with the spirit.
Speaker A
Somebody say pray with the spirit.
Speaker A
When we pray with understanding, it means that we pray scriptures.
Speaker A
Tell somebody pray scriptures.
Speaker A
So to pray with understanding is to align scriptures and confess scriptures.
Speaker A
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself.
Speaker A
But he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
Speaker A
I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied.
Speaker A
For greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
Speaker A
You see, when I pray with the unknown tongue, I am building myself.
Speaker A
But if I come to church, a gathering like this.
Speaker A
And the preacher begins to pray in tongues from the starting point to the ending of that service.
Speaker A
You have not done anything significant for the people, nothing.
Speaker A
Because you are praying in tongues.
Speaker A
And in that tongue that you're praying, you are building yourself selfishly.
Speaker A
So if you were alone in your house and you are praying it, that's fantastic.
Speaker A
But because it is no longer you when it comes to the gathering.
Speaker A
The gathering is about the edification of the body.
Speaker A
So once it is for the edification of the body.
Speaker A
Then prophecy is much better than tongues.
Speaker A
But Paul now says, I don't mind you praying in tongues.
Speaker A
But ensure that you interpret.
Speaker A
Because once you pray in tongues and give interpretation that equals to prophecy.
Speaker A
That's prophecy.
Speaker A
So that's what Paul meant.
Speaker A
Corporate gathering.
Speaker A
Corporate gathering demands that we prophesy the word of the Lord.
Speaker A
Meaning we teach the gospel of Christ.
Speaker A
We edify the people.
Speaker A
We build the people with the Word of Christ.
Speaker A
However, when it is an individual prayer, you build up your own self.
Speaker A
Shout Amen to that.
Speaker A
So when we pray in tongues, we self-build, we self-develop, we self-improve.
Speaker A
We self-exercise spiritually, improved, fortified and empowered.
Speaker A
To represent the glory of Jesus.
Speaker A
To be able to fight in the realms, to be able to resist the devil and he will flee.
Speaker A
It takes a man that has been spiritually fortified to resist the devil.
Speaker A
Your spiritual alertness can be stronger than ever when you consistently pray in the spirit.
Speaker A
Consistency in the spirit, in prayer in the spirit empowers a man to be alert and efficient in the things of the spirit.
Speaker A
So when we pray in tongues.
Speaker A
It's about the inner activities of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A
It's about us developing spiritually.
Speaker A
But we have one infirmity.
Speaker A
We do not know what to pray when it comes to dealing with affairs outside us.
Speaker A
Because 90% of the times when you begin to pray, what you pray is what you want to receive from God.
Speaker A
And what you want to consume in your lust.
Speaker A
Because when Jesus taught about prayer, 95% of the times, prayer did not point toward us talking to God to do something for us.
Speaker A
It was just a little bit of that.
Speaker A
I would say it's 1% of that.
Speaker A
95% of that was praying for God's will to be done.
Speaker A
Praying for the interests of God to be accomplished on earth.
Speaker A
Because through prayer, we establish God's will.
Speaker A
The Holy Spirit rides on the prayers of the people of God to establish God's will.
Speaker A
Without prayer, the will of God will be lacking on earth.
Speaker A
Without prayer, God will be unable to intervene on earth.
Speaker A
So prayer should focus on what God wants to do on earth.
Speaker A
What God wants to do in your family, the salvation of your family, the salvation of your children.
Speaker A
The salvation of those that are connected to you, the salvation of your community, the salvation of your government.
Speaker A
Of course, of your country and beyond.
Speaker A
You see, it is mastering, capturing the will of God in the realms and enforcing it in prayer, interceding it in prayer.
Speaker A
But because we are all consumed by our selfish wants, that we are driven by praying.
Speaker A
You know, within and from our own lusts.
Speaker A
And because of that, the Bible says that we pray amiss.
Speaker A
We pray amiss because we pray it for our selfish reasons.
Topics:prayerspiritual warfarepraying in tonguesprophecyHoly Spiritfaithspiritual developmentPastor John AnosikeChristian prayerspiritual growth
