REVIVAL TARRIES BECAUSE PRAYER DECAYS
Rev. Ayo Abraham
Whereas the Church was birthed when
Men and Women lodged in an "UPPER ROOM" and agonized ceaselessly in
Prayer, It seems that the Church has today halted somewhere between Calvary and
Pentecost. The Church is today made up of so many 'Prayer-less Christians'.
Little wonder we see little of the Supernatural. All we do is tell stories of
the men of old who subdued kingdoms; wrought righteousness.... stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire and received their dead raised
to life again. (Heb. 11:33-35). Except for camouflage and manipulations, we
cannot say we are experiencing the Supernatural Power of God. We are limiting
the Holy One of Israel by our prayerlessness for God is able to do 'super
abundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think - infinitely beyond
our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams, but only according to
His power that is at work within us (Eph. 3:20).
Although, if we should look around
within the Church today, we will see so many activities going on. People are
doing many things in the name of the Lord, yet most of the work is produced
through hard labor and toil. Men pay so much to achieve so little and even then
people are not blessed. Their needs are not being met. All we have is just
noise, self-promotions, and no result. Why? Because we lack the Authority of
Praying-Men and Women. We create official authority for ourselves to cover up
our lack of spiritual authority.
Authority does not entail struggle
or physical might. Authority is not strategies. Authority is not many, many
activities. Authority is a compelling release of Power that makes things happen
whether it likes it or not. Authority does not beg. Is the Church not a beggarly
Church today? Are you not a begging Christian? Do you not go from Church to
Church, from crusade to crusade, from Evangelists to Bishops falling under all
manners of 'fake' anointing? Yet your problems remain. Yet your closet, your
prayer room remains locked.
Said the saintly James Gilmour of Mongolia "Do not we rest in our day too much on the arm of flesh? Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Do not the eyes of the Lord still run to and fro throughout the whole Earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those who put their trust in Him? Oh that God would give me more practical faith in Him! Where is now the Lord. God of Elijah? He is waiting for Elijah to call on Him".
It was said of the Apostles ...
"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spoke the word
of God with boldness". A true account of today's Church would read
something like ... "and when they had entertained and done launching and
played religion, the World was taken in".
Even Sinners feel at home and
comfortable with our 'Modern Gospel’. It no longer causes a ‘Pricking in the
heart' of the Modern-Man. It lacks authority. Preaching is like begging the
devil when there is no authority. Unction and utterances cannot be learned.
Knowledge of Greek and Hebrew does not confer it. It can only be earned in the
place of prayer. Are you a Pastor, Bishop, Evangelist or a Bible Teacher? Your
Preaching cannot bear the mark of eternity until you kneel daily before Him
who inhabits eternity.
The world is not waiting for a new
definition of the gospel, but for a new demonstration of the power of the
gospel. We can preach about prayer, write about the power of prayer or organize
talks on prayer, but until we fight and agonize in the place of prayer, we only
deceive ourselves. A title, undeniably true of the Church today, would be
"WE WRESTLE NOT'. Yet we have as a cloud of witnesses Men and Women who
were as frail as we are. Who faced the same issues that we do. But who knew how
to wrestle in the closet.
Revival eludes our Nation and the Nations of the World politically and economically because God's Watchmen over the nations - have gone to sleep. We have all turned to our own way, each one to his or her gain. Did not God pledged that, "If my people .. shall pray, and seek my face ... I will heal their Land? (2Chro.7:14). God is not looking for a Committee. God is actually searching for just a Man or Woman who will deny himself or herself, who will turn from the public glare unto God and allow God to prepare him or her. Lands perish not so much because of the Sins of the people as because of lack of Men or Women who would make-up the hedge, and stand in the Gap before God for the people. (Ezek. 22:30)
Revival tarries because we lack earnestness in prayer. Daniel prayed earnestly and God sent fierce, hungry lions on hunger-strike and prevailed on the government of that day to change an un-changeable draconic-decree! Esther proclaimed a National Prayer and Fast to challenge the death decree passed upon her and her people venturing 'If I perish, I perish! We can preach and perish but we cannot pray and perish,
"From the time of John the
Baptist till now, the Kingdom of heaven has been enduring violent assault, and
the violent have been seizing it by force, "(Matt 11:12 Weymouth).
In a prolonged battle between Israel
and her enemies, when night rapidly set in and a few more daylight hours were
needful to ensure victory, Joshua took it by force. Said he in the sight and
hearing of all Israel: "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou Moon,
in the valley of Ajalon!" And because a praying man of God dared to make a
demand on the God who answers prayers, the bible recorded that the Sun stood
still, and the Moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their
enemies ... and there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord
hearkened unto the voice of a man.
What is that which prayer cannot do?
What is it which a praying Man cannot accomplish through prayer? We ought to
draw motivation from four scripture evidences: God hears prayer, God heeds
prayer, God answers prayer and God delivers by prayer. Prayer breaks all bars,
dissolves all chains, opens all prisons and widens all straits by which God’s
people have been held. It is always only when the hand of prayer becomes weak
that the enemy of God gets an advantage. In the battle against Amalek at
Rephidim, as long as Moses was raising the rod of prayer on the mount, it does
not matter how Joshua and his Soldiers fought, they continued to prevail.
The God of Heaven and Earth said, 'I
sought for a Man! Would you like to ascend unto the mount of Prayer? Remember,
Revival tarries because Prayer decays!
“I have set watchmen upon thy walls,
O Jerusalem”, saith the Lord most high, “which shall never hold their peace day
nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, and give him no
rest, till he establish, and till he make ….”. - Isaiah 62:6-7 (KJV).
If you’re holding your peace or keeping away from the post of intercession, as a Disciple, you are walking in disobedience. It is time to stir yourself up and receive strength in your inner man. Oh that you will climb the walls of intercession today!