WORD-FIRED PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 15, 2022.

SUBJECT : WORD-FIRED PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Is not my word like a fire?” says the LORD; “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23 vs 29.)

READ: First Kings 18 vs 32 - 38:

18:32: Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench around the altar large enough as would contain two seahs of seed.

18:33: And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

18:34: Then he said, “Do it the second time,” and they did it the second time; and he said, “Do it the third time,” and they did it the third time.

18:35: So the water ran all around the altar; and he filled the trench with water.

18:36: And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that You are Lord God in Israel, and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.

18:37: Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their heart back to You again.”

18:38: Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

INTIMATION:

There is what is called Word-fired prayer. That is, prayer born out of the fire of the Word. It is the Word of God that ignites a fire in your heart and pushes you into fervent and effectual prayers. That is why you find that after hearing a powerful, Word-packed message, people are fired up to pray heaven-touching prayers.

In the passage we read today, the prophet Elijah knew whom he believed; that His Word is a consuming fire. He challenged 850 pagan prophets brought by King Ahab to Mount Carmel to match wits and power with Elijah. He challenged the people to take a stand; “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him.” (First Kings 18 vs 21.) Although the prophets of Baal prepared their burnt offering, and called their god, raved all afternoon, but no one answered them. Their god was silent because it was not real. 

Then Elijah prepared his burnt offering on the altar he built according to the passage we read, and called on the True God of the whole heaven and earth—the Consuming Fire: “And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that You are Lord God in Israel, and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. (First King 18 vs 36.) God answered him: "Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench." (First Kings 18 vs 38.)

So, it takes fire on the altar of your heart to draw down fire from heaven. The story is told of John G. Lake, a great man of God in his days. Almost half of his family members had died of one plague or another and on April 28, 1898, his wife lay dying of the same plague. A fellow minister who was with him encouraged him to accept her death as God's will, and in utter hopelessness, Lake threw his Bible against the wall. It fell to the floor and opened to Acts 10. As he walked over to pick it up, his eyes fell on verse 38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him."

Those powerful words were fired into his soul and it dawned on him that God was not the author of sickness; the devil was responsible for his wife's condition and since he was a son of God by faith in Jesus Christ, then God was with Him, just as He was with Jesus. He turned to Luke 13 vs 16,  "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" That ignited another fire in his soul, because he realized that God could use him to heal his wife. So, with all boldness, he entered her room and declared with a loud voice that his wife would be healed at exactly 9.30 a.m. 

And at that hour, he knelt down by her side, laid hands on her head and prayed. The power of God came upon her and in a few seconds, she shouted, "Praise God, I am healed!" She was immediately healed of the paralysis and all the other ailments that had drawn her so close to the brink of death.

When you pray Word-fired prayers, you can't miss drawing fire from heaven. Meditation is one of the ways of fanning up the fire in your heart. As you spend time brooding over the Word, the Holy Spirit sparks off a fire in your soul, which enhances a hotline communication with heaven, to ensure your victory.

God's Word ratified by the Blood of Jesus, is His Will. It is unchangeable, irrevocable and endures forever. If you go with a will to a court of law, that court is under obligation to honor it. It doesn't matter if the deceased made a mistake in it or not, as long as it is his will, the court is mandated to enforce it. So, when you approach the throne of grace on the basis of the will of God, you are justified, and God is obliged to step into your case. That is why every ‘word-weak’ Christian is a prayer failure. The strength of the Word is what determines the strength of the response from heaven.

Prayer: Abba Father, let Your words be the constant meditation of my heart, and let my prayers be fired by Your words coming from my heart packed full of Your words at all times, that I may lead a triumphant life in You and Your Word, in Jesus’ mighty Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!