Let Us Pray (II)

Pastor: Thank you for being sincere. But I want you all to know we’re going to exceed the usual 2 hours of prayers we’re used to. It’s going to be stretch prayers.

Read: Let Us Pray (I)

They all exchanged looks that meant they knew they were in for it.

Pastor: it is of great necessity that you switch off your phones. If you have to make a quick call or send a message to your wives or husbands that you won’t be home soon, please do that in the next three to five minutes. If you’re thinking pastor set us up, you’re right. We are going to be here for a while. But I don’t want us thinking about the set up. Instead, focus on what you’re going to receive in this meeting. I believe I have taught on how to receive from spiritual meetings. And I promise you, it’s going to be wonderful. You’ll be edified and Jesus will be glorified. Amen?

All: (with uncertainty in their voices) Amen.

Pastor: Go ahead. Make your calls and send your text messages.

A few people stayed back in the room to send their text messages. Others left the room to make calls. In three minutes, they came into the room in twos and threes. But the pastor stayed back, praying at the spot where he was seated before. As they began coming in, he beckoned on the protocol head to come help him move the only table in the room to where they kept the stacked chairs. Seven minutes had passed and they were waiting for the CM. He was taking longer than the time they had been given. The pastor kept praying under his breathe, the others in the room stood gazing at the pastor. He was a sight they weren’t used to beholding. His eyes were tightly shut and his lips moved non-stop. They couldn’t tell what he was praying about or if he was praying in tongues. CM came in some seconds later, and they had to tap the pastor to alert him that they were ready.

Pastor: alright. Let’s go for a ride!

He started with a song, which they sang wholeheartedly. They were lost in worship. The CM did a good job harmonizing the songs. It sounded and felt like angels were communing with them. They sang for about fifteen minutes before the pastor stopped them. Some kept quiet, some hummed the song, and some with their eyes solidly shut kept pacing around in a small circle. One could tell they were really into the worship and they felt the presence of God heavily.

Pastor: Thank You Father! Thank You Father! Thank You Father! Ohhh thank You! Ohhh thank You! You see, worship is one way you can connect with God. You can literally feel Him beside you. It feels like you could touch Him. But you shouldn’t worship because the person beside you is worshipping. Worship because He is real to You, because you have a revelation of who the Father is to you. Glory to God…

All: Hallelujah

Pastor: Let’s open our Bibles to Colossians 1:9. Anyone who gets there first should please read for us.

EH: For this cause we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Pastor: We’re going to be praying that prayer for ourselves… after which, we’d pray the same for our group members, then the congregation. You can never pray amiss while praying with the scriptures, especially the prayers Paul prayed for the churches he wrote letters to.

They had started praying under their breath as the pastor spoke.

Pastor: (speaks in tongues) that the knowledge of the will of God fills my heart, that it fills the whole of my being (Prays loudly in tongues)

They all started praying fervently at the top of their voices.

Ten minutes later, they were still praying the same prayer. But not as loudly as the first few minutes. Some had opened their eyes. They were still praying, but they were also studying the way others were praying. Some prayed silently like they were tired. Some looked genuinely tired of the prayer. The pastor on the other hand was still praying with all of his might. He was sweating. The more he prayed, the more his voice increased. The pastor continued for another fifteen minutes, at this time, only his voice was audible. Others voices were more like whispers and moving lips.

Pastor: (realizes he is the only one still praying) who stopped the prayer?

They stopped praying and looked at each other. The pastor was also moving his eyes from one person to another expecting the one who stopped the prayer to indicate.

Prayo: (Looking around and realizing the pastor’s eyes rested on him) I didn’t sir. No one did.

Pastor: why then did you stop?

Prayo: we didn’t stop sir.

Pastor: well, I stopped because I heard only myself pray.

EH: we were still praying sir. But not as loudly as you sir.

Pastor: (with disappointment written all over his face) I raised a prayer for us from the scriptures. A prayer Apostle Paul said he prayed ceaselessly for the Colossian church. You prayed for only how many minutes…? Five? I didn’t ask you to pray it for your members as Paul said he did. I asked you to pray for yourself. Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F! You can do better. It’s because your heart and mind is not in the prayer. As a minister, you should be able to maintain your posture in the place of prayer. What was recorded in the Gospel of Luke that Jesus prayed and his sweat were as drops of blood (Luke 22:44), what do you think? Do you think it was a prayer of few minutes? Luke explained to us how he prayed. Other gospels recorded that as He was done praying and went over to the disciples he asked to accompany him, they were sleeping (Mark 14:33-42, Matt. 26:37-46). If Jesus prayed for just ten minutes, would they have slept off? Each time Jesus went to pray and came back to meet them sleeping, he prayed for an hour each. He understood what He was praying about. He put His mind, soul and spirit into it, so much that His body felt it. When you cannot pray for a long time now, say an hour max, then you’ve not started. You should be able to travail and stretch yourself in the place of prayer. You can cut it into bits at first, say thirty minutes first, then thirty minutes later. When you get used to that, stretch it more. Go on for an hour. Judging from the minutes you use in your group meetings and the two hours workers meeting we are accustomed to, I can tell most of us here don’t spend long hours in prayers. Or is there anyone? (He paused and looked around)

Pastor: this is not to spite anyone. I myself don’t pray on my own for more than forty, forty-five minutes. Why? I didn’t understand the mystery behind prayer. The forty minutes I use is always a battle. I am ashamed to say I spend half that time checking the time. While the remaining minutes is for studying the Bible. That’s like fifteen minutes. Sometimes soon, we’ll have a set up meeting like this one for Bible study lessons. Now, I’m not saying the maximum time to spend in prayer is an hour. My emphasis is that it’s the least time you should spend in the place of prayer, everyday! How’s that possible, you ask? Here’s how… We’re going to pray again, using that same scripture. But this time around, picture yourself growing in the will of God. Envision yourself being rooted and grounded in the will of God. That you advance in the knowledge of Christ... Amen?

All: (paying rapt attention to the pastor, and feeling energized to pray) Amen!

Pastor: have a mental picture of what you’re praying about. Do not pay attention to the fact that you were set up to be here. But rather, seek to see the fruit of the prayers you’re going to pray. What should envelope you right now is the result you’d like to see after these prayers. And it doesn’t stop here. Even after I release you, you should keep praying the same for yourself, your group members, and the church. We’re going to do that still before we leave. We’re going to pray the same prayer again now. And I’m not stopping us anytime soon. Once again, take your mind off the time, instead, be let your focus be on the fulfillment of the prayers. If you’re already feeling tired, move close to someone who is praying fervently, and tap from their current. You can hold hands if you like. But I don’t want to open my eyes and see everyone married to a partner (They smiled). Learn to maintain that posture on your own because of the time you’ll have to pray alone. Someone please read that verse of the scripture for us again…

As some went to get their Bibles, the Pastor started praying in tongues, while others followed suit.

MH: For this cause we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Pastor: Father, that I may be filled with the knowledge of your will (Prays in tongues). That it feels my whole being (not waiting for the pastor to finish up his statement, they started praying in tongues as well)… that the knowledge of the will of God fills me whole… (He prayed even louder in tongues)

 

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It is essential as believers, that as we pray, we pay attention to our prayers, not just with our mouths, but also with our hearts and minds, with our beings. Soak yourself in your prayers, be intentional when you pray. Pay attention to your prayers when you pray. Believe what you pray for will come to pass, and simultaneously desire it as you pray. There are various examples from the Old and New Testament, of people who prayed and got answers. They didn’t do it by letting their minds meander when they pray. If Elijah wasn’t paying attention to his prayers, how would he have persisted till the rain came? If Jacob didn’t put his mind to it, how would he have held onto the angel until he was blessed? If the Apostle Paul didn’t pay attention to his prayers, how would he have remembered to ceaselessly pray for the churches he was overseeing? It’s time to start being intentional about our prayer lives as believers.