Years ago, I thought people who urged me to pray and invited me to prayer meetings were burdensome. I didn’t see the need to pray when I couldn’t identify a pressing need that only God could address. Besides, the Bible was clear that “before I opened my mouth to pray, God knows my needs”; so why the need to pray daily?
I didn’t realise that my prayerless lifestyle was choking me spiritually until I discovered in the Scriptures that, contrary to what I thought, prayer was literally my source of breath.
The Bible instructs us to pray unceasingly (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The ceaseless pursuit of any endeavor holds the potential to be a wellspring of vitality, for just as breath sustains the physical being, prayer serves as a fount of life, nourishing the depths of the soul. Thus, if prayer is our life’s breath, then this verse implies that we ought to pray always, lest we perish from suffocation due to a lack of spiritual breath.
When Daniel in the Bible was forbidden to pray under the threat of death, he understood that he would rather face death than forsake prayer. He comprehended that a life devoid of prayer would rob him of breath, leading to an agonising demise. He was undoubtedly onto something profound.
Foundational to our belief as Christians is the understanding that our bodies are the Temple (House) of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). Thus, when Jesus clearly states, “My Temple will be called a House of Prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” (Matthew 21:13), He was clearly defining the duty and responsibility of all who believed in Him and called Him their God.
Without a shadow of doubt, the Scriptures have convinced me that the body, the Temple of God, is a veritable factory of prayer. It stands as the sole divinely ordained activity within His Temple, our bodies. If we are to endure, we must continually fill this sacred dwelling with prayer. No wonder Jesus declared, “men ought always to pray and not faint” (Luke 18:1). Prayer stands as the paramount activity within God’s Temple, our bodies.
An unoccupied building opens itself up to unwanted and unexpected occupants of all shapes and sizes and of whatever form and nature, and more often than not, once they have taken up residence, they become hellish to dislodge.
When our lives lack prayer, all manner of unwelcome, unforeseen, and untoward visitors such as sickness, failure, premature death, and various forms of negativity can infiltrate. They take root, and over time, it begins to feel like they are the owners of God’s Temple (our lives).
While we are called to pray, we are also called to pray well. Standing physically in the place of prayer with our minds roaming in our rooms, workplaces, and without concentration on God, is a waste of our precious time. To even momentarily consider answering a phone call while in what is supposed to be a place of prayer is bad enough, but to assume that the Holy Spirit would and should definitely wait until we are done is just disrespectful. We certainly don’t do that to our earthly “honorable.”
But we must be comforted by the anticipation that faith and expectation of answers to our prayers would open up the heavens to us (James 1:7-8).
Beloved, let us approach our prayer lives with utmost seriousness. Let us pray to effect change and to undo the works of darkness. Reject the notion that “what is meant for me will surely come to me” without engaging in prayer. Such a fallacy weakens our prayer lives. Nothing occurs by chance, and we should not leave anything to chance.
Now, with resolute faith and resounding proclamation, join me in declaring:
Every tree that has not been planted by my Father, but has taken root within this Temple, my body, due to my prayerless existence, I uproot in the mighty name of Jesus!
Every unwelcome foreign occupant, every malevolent intruder such as sickness, untimely death, fear, anger, depression, and misfortune, that has found its way into this sacred dwelling, depart now, in the name of Jesus Christ!
My prayer life is revitalised in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!
Remember:
Spiritual events deeply impact our physical lives, as life encompasses both the spiritual and the physical aspects. A person’s life can wither away effortlessly through a lack of prayer. A life, a Temple, devoid of prayer will inevitably decay. Kindly note that prayer is not merely a suggestion to be considered but a responsibility for which we shall be held accountable. The only means to fortify and strengthen our Temples, our lives, is to fill them with prayer. Any life, any dwelling, that lacks prayer will ultimately forfeit the presence of God. The lions could not devour Daniel because he carried the divine presence through his life of prayer. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, let us occupy the Temples (our lives) with prayers lest we fall into temptations, for the battle ahead is NOT smiling as Satan is not on our side.
Written by Mrs. Priscilla Baah Kumi, Kanjarga District