A PRAYER OF SURRENDER: A prayer of surrender. The night Jesus was arrested; he went to pray with his disciples on that night. He told his disciples to stand and pray with him but when he came back the disciples had slumbered and slept. Matt 26: 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” You begin to see in the above scripture on verse 39, that Jesus fell with his face to the ground. Imagining the Son of God felling down by his face just to seek the face of God! At that midnight hour, the prayer of Jesus changed completely. It was the time of total surrender to God. The midnight hour is an hour of total agony and is very overwhelming. We live in a time where we are experiencing the birth pains, sons are fighting against their fathers, daughters their mothers, daughter in-laws against their father in-laws and there is confusion everywhere we go. Sin has increased and truly we live in the days of lawlessness. This are the days that were prophesied with Isaiah that darkness shall cover the earth thick darkness the people. Isaiah 60 The Glory of Zion 1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. At the midnight hour even the very believers are overwhelmed not to pray. Many hearts of men and women have grown cold from serving God. Going to church has begun casual as people are leaving behind the greatest weapon and key Jesus taught the disciples, that is prayer. When it reached the midnight hour, there was need of backup in the side of Jesus. Out of the twelve disciples he came up with few of them to go and stand with him in prayer. The Lord is calling the church of Christ to one solidarity in prayer. To pray as never before in one accord in this midnight hour. Jesus felling flat on the ground was a sign of total surrender to God. When I came to read my Bible is when I understood the significance of this. Jesus gave his all in all in that day. He surrendered totally himself to God. Then I understood at the midnight season where the agony and the birth pains increases, only a surrendered lifestyles and prayer can keep a believer going. While Jesus went farther to intercede, the disciples fell asleep. They fell asleep because they were not praying a surrendered prayer. Is the reason Jesus tells them that the flesh is weak but the Spirit is willing. At the midnight hour the deeds of the flesh increases, as the world promises a lot of pleasure, believers can hardly find time for real devotion with God. The enemy has hooked people in various entertainment businesses that believers can hardly pray as their spiritual lives greatly diminish. A surrendered prayer is where the spirit man overtaken the flesh. This can only happen when you are totally surrendered to the Living God, in total communion and devotion. However Jesus surrendered his all that day by throwing himself down on the ground just to seek the face of God, the disciples thought it was business as usual. They were familiar with their prayer lifestyles, probably they sat down or just attempting to pray, or they were in a position where the flesh was still ruling and they could easily sleep. When your prayer life is not fully surrendered to God at this hour, you shall find yourself sleeping just like the disciples. You shall slumber not knowing Christ is coming for the Church. The disciples sleeping in the garden of Gethsemane symbolizes a church that have lost interest in God and are not seeking the face of God. It is a church that has been lost in sin and has no power no more to withstand the environment in which they live in. It is the church that has turned their lamps off. A church that does not uphold prayer as the greatest instrument Jesus ever gave us is a dying church. It is a church where their lights are deem and their temptations are many. Lack of prayer in the house of God, sway believers to begin looking for material and self satisfaction rather than God himself and his will. Lack of prayer brings selfish interest in the house of God, where people begin seeking for personal achievement rather than Jesus achievement. People begin to be more concern with their lives rather than the heart of God. When it reaches this level, the fire of prayer dies out; nobody will be willing to join intercessory team. When you walk to many churches today, few shall you find in intercessory team while the rest will be running up and down in other ministries. They can join choir, praise and worship, evangelism, hospitality but when it comes to prayer, they sway off. Why? Prayer requires a surrendered lifestyle that is totally devoted to the living God. You can’t pray effectively unless your life is fully surrendered to God. And a prayerful person will never entertain the deeds of the flesh. They will be far away from the flesh as they seek after spiritual things. This brings the separation in the church between the remnant of the remnant and just mere church goers. Knowing very well Jesus is coming for the remnant of the remnant, a people of God, a people who have known that prayer is the only key of overcoming temptations of this hour. There is no other key Jesus left on earth to prepare the Bride for his coming but prayer. He tells them pray that you may overcome temptations; he tells them watch and pray. Pray brings purification to the bride of Christ and it brightens the vision of the Bride. Prayer brings the Bride of Christ to the place they can hear and discern the will of God for their lives and the body of church in general. Prayer connects the church with God so they may clearly hear the direction of God to the church. It is one of the most powerful instruments ever given to the church by Jesus. Even in that night, the specific reason why Jesus called the remnant to go and stand with him was prayer. There was a need of total surrender in prayer. The disappointing thing is that the disciples didn’t hearken to their Master’s call. Jesus of Nazareth is calling the Bride to return to that place he called them. He called them to the place of watchfulness and prayer. It is prayer that can nourish the Bride and empower her to do the will of God. Actually the anointing of God only comes through prayer. So sometimes I wonder how we can forsake such an important instrument. How shall we be able to overcome, how shall we be able to heal the sick, how shall we be able to reach to the lost world without the power of the resurrected Christ? The power of the resurrected Christ is only activated through prayer. Prayer brings a believer to a place of strength in the Lord. This is the reason David his servant said that in the presence of God there is strength and joy. • 1 Chronicles 16:27 New International Version (NIV) 27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. • 1 Chronicles 16:27 Amplified Bible (AMP) 27Honor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His sanctuary. • 1 Chronicles 16:27 King James Version (KJV) 27Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place. Knowing that it is decreed in the Bible that the joy of the Lord is our strength Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” But that Joy of the Lord only comes through prayer when you find yourself in the presence of God. When you are in the presence of God the joy of the Lord will overtaken you, there will be no place of depression and sadness in your life for in his presence there is strength and joy. But have you ever wondered why many believers are depressed and living in sorrow? The reason they have forsaken the importance of a surrendered prayer. A surrendered prayer builds the believers inner man to fight the true warfare of Christian walk. It empowers the inner person to stand the challenges that surrounds them; it empowers the believer to wage spiritual warfare’s and to win them for the glory of God. This is the reason it is written pray always in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit means reaching that place in prayer where the flesh does not rule no more. When you reach this place it will no longer you that will be praying but the Spirit of God whom he has allowed to live in you. For it is also written that we do not know how to pray but the Spirit of the Lord helps us to pray and to intercede beyond human words and expression. This is the level where the Spirit of God takes full control of you. Jesus promised that he will send a helper, that helper his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came that he may have full ownership of our lives, and only in prayer and a life devoted to God can he have the full ownership. • Romans 8:26 English Standard Version (ESV) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. • Romans 8:26 Amplified Bible (AMP) 26So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. • Romans 8:26 New International Version (NIV) 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. • Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, • Prayer is that key where believers can build up their holy faith in the Lord, Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, Only through a totally surrendered life in prayer as led by the Holy Spirit of God, can prepare the Bride for the coming of Jesus for His bride. Only the Holy Spirit of God, has been given the full mandate to prepare the Bride for the coming of the Lord and to present her before the Lord clean and spotless, wrinkle free. How will the Holy Spirit do this if we have not yet surrendered our lives to Him? How will he do this if we have forsaken the greatest instrument ever given to the church? That is prayer. • Jude 1: 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. To be continued where I will discuss concerning ‘ The importance of spiritual separation, as I saw in the Vision, Repent and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. If you have not given your life to Jesus this is the time, pray this prayer. Mighty God in the name of Jesus, I come before you today as a sinner, I repent of all my sins have ever committed, today wash me by the blood of your Son Lord Jesus from all my sins. Today I believe in my heart that you send your only Begotten Son, to die for my sins and I confess with my lips that on the third day you raised him from the death and now he sits at the right hand of the Throne of God. I accept you Lord today for you to be the lord of my life in all that I do. Remove my name from the book of death and write my name in the Lambs book of life. In Jesus Mighty name am born again. Father now send your gift of the Holy Spirit, to infill me, empower me, and to be with me , to lead me to your paths of righteousness. Use me that through me many will be led to your Kingdom and your righteousness. In Jesus Mighty name I pray and believe. Amen Shalom. BY MINISTER LENNY WERE.
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 14:34:22 +0000
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