EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!
MONDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2024.
SUBJECT: THE DUTY TO PRAY ALWAYS OF A BELIEVER!
Memory verse: "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18 vs 1.)
READ: Acts 12 vs 5 - 10:
12:5: Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
12:6: And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.
12:7: Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off from his hands.
12:8: Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself, and tie on your sandals”, and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”
12:9: So he went out and followed him; and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
12:10: When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city; which opened to them of his own accord; and they went out, and went down one street; and immediately the angel departed from him.
INTIMATION:
Praying is a duty assigned to every believer. Apart from the specific functions God created the believers for in the body of Christ, one common function of all the members of the body is communing with our Father in prayers. Therefore, every believer ought to take his or her place in the duty of praying always.
Since prayer is a common denominator for all believers, we all should develop the lifestyle of prayer. The most effective way of developing a lifestyle of prayer is praying at all times. How can anyone pray at all times? One way is to make quick, brief prayers your habitual response to every situation you meet throughout the day. Another way is to order your life around God’s desires and teachings so that your very life becomes a prayer. You don’t have to isolate yourself from other people and from daily work in order to pray constantly. You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God’s powerful influence.
It’s wrong to think you are not called or set apart to give your life to prayer. It’s a demand on all believers in the body of Christ. And it is for this reason that Jesus said in our memory verse, ‘Men always ought to pray and not lose heart.’ The apostle Paul advised all believers thus, “Pray without ceasing.” (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17). You may not have been set apart by the Spirit for other special ministries, but not in prayers, because it’s one of the only two ways (the Word and prayer) of getting acquainted with the Lord.
In the passage we read today, the apostle Peter was arrested by King Herod and put in prison after he has killed James, and saw that it pleased the Jews. It was the Easter period, and he intended to bring him to the people after Easter to be killed also. However, constant prayers was offered by the church to God. Consequently, God sent His angel to deliver him from the prison. If the church had failed in its prayer duty the King would have succeeded in his plot to kill him.
It is noteworthy that believers need no specialized gifts to be functional in the body of Christ. The prayer duty requires no specialities. If anyone thinks that because of lack of training or for lack of one thing or the other, he or she has no place in the body of Christ, the fellow is deluded by the enemy. We all have a place, and with the place comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes a reward or demerit. Know it now that if you don't take your place in the body of Christ, and begin to function, the body of Christ is weakened.
Therefore, one duty that you will ever perform for your family, the church, all Christians, your nation, your friends, your enemies etc, is your prayer duty. Take up your responsibilities now! Do you realize that there are people who will be utterly lost unless you take your place in the prayer duty. Unless you do your part, some people will cry against you through eternity. There are men and women who are defeated and are breaking down in their businesses, homes, and spiritual lives because we haven't prayed. Or better still, because you are not praying. You have been occupied with your pleasures and your dreams; while men and women, staggering under the burdens you should have carried, are breaking down.
It is for this reason that God said in Ezekiel 22 vs 30, "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." The wall spoken of here is not made of stones, but of faithful people united in their efforts to resist evil. God is looking for us to take our places, stand in the gap for others, the nation, Church, our families and so on. He needs us to pray, to be in constant communion with Him, knowing that our requests are only made to Him through prayers. Give yourself to meditation, prayer, and study of the Word. The most important thing in life is to be in the Will of the Lord. Life will not mean much outside the Will of God.
Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of prayer and supplication at all times, that I may take my place in the body of Christ, active in my prayer duty and communing with You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
