Lord, Teach Me To Pray: Opening the Channels of Communication
The Lord teaches us to pray that we might hear Him, obey Him, and take dominion on this earth. Prayer is not complicated. We just make it that way when we try to be in charge or turn it into something super-spiritual or ritualistic.
Prayer links us up with God, puts us in the Spirit realm, and creates a conduit to the supernatural. Once we find our path in the Spirit, we open the channel for God to change us, lead us, correct us, and communicate with us. Because our lives belong to Him, our hearts can be fully connected to Him through prayer.
Once you taste of the daily flow of the Spirit, you begin to hear God’s secrets, God’s strategies, God’s systems, and God’s heart. Every Bible character we read about had some type of prayer life. Each one sought God for specific things such as faith, courage, cleansing, wisdom, perseverance, or fruitfulness. Paul said he prayed in the Spirit all the time. In fact, he said in I Corinthians 14: 18 (NKJV), “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all.”
Jesus set the example of prayer for us. He prayed to know the Father’s will in every situation, for workers in the harvest, for miracles, for strength to do the Father’s will, and so much more.
Let me share with you an interesting event that taught me more about prayer. It happened about five years after I was married. My husband and I had just moved into a new house. The home was our first and of course, we were thrilled. One night we went to bed, only to wake up finding that all the lights were turned on in the house! The next night the heat thermostat was turned up to over 100 degrees when we awoke. There was a chilling, foreboding presence that came into our bedroom the third night. The presence was so cold you knew something was there.
At my job I shared with a Christian co-worker what we were experiencing in our new home. She said, “That’s a familiar spirit! Go into the house and very firmly with power pray in the Name of Jesus for that spirit to leave.” So that is exactly what I did. I went home, walked into the living room, and yelled, “You foul spirit, I command you to leave my house now in the Name of Jesus!” That specific, directed prayer was full of God’s power. We never had another incident again.
I realize that innocently, but in faith, I took authority over that demonic presence and it had to leave. My prayer was not some little “please Lord help me,” but I boldly commanded by faith for that presence to leave. We read in Hebrews 4: 16 (NKJV), “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We have the right to gain access into the throne room of God. My boldness and faith kicked in and it worked. Sometimes prayer is just that simple.
James 1: 6-7 tells us that we cannot be hesitating, doubting, or double-minded when we pray or our prayer will not produce results. In the natural, there are impossible situations, but when our faith goes to work and we pray, the supernatural happens. "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord."
Mothers of Nations I am thankful that I learned early on in my prayer journey to listen to the Lord’s instruction and recognize when He is guiding me through the insight of other believers. That conversation with my friend at work provided God’s wisdom that I needed to deal with the familiar spirit in our home. He showed me exactly how to pray and take authority over the demonic.
Dr. Sharon Predovich
