“As well could you expect a plant to grow without air and water as to expect your heart to grow without prayer and faith.”
~Charles Spurgeon

Written by Pastor Myles Holmes

God has never answered a prayer that has not been prayed. He has promised that if we His people, are humble, repentant, and will seek His face, He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and He will heal our land. That is something we cannot live without! Illinois needs healing.

Our state is now saturated with crises, all symptoms of spiritual disease.  We seem to be quickly sliding toward the edge of total moral, social and economic collapse. Violence increases on our streets, government is amassing unsustainable debt loads and there is no answer from anywhere.  A praying people is the only hope for our state. Fervency in the prayer meeting and intensity in the prayer closet is what must be revived.

Speaking to the mountain of difficulty in your path as Christ has authorized us to do, does not mean to say “hello’, build a relationship, negotiate or share pleasantries. It means to resist, rebuke and REMOVE that mountain in the Power and Authority of His Name.

Let’s look at what prayer really is and what it means.

Prayer is NOT… convincing God, it is not the believers gripe/complaint session, it is not changing God’s mind or twisting God’s arm.

Prayer is the…

• Engaging of faith in the revealed will of God
• Entrance to the Throne Room of mercy and grace
• Environment to which God restricts His workings
• Enforcement of God’s rule upon a rebellious world
• Enjoyment of God’s tangible Presence
• Enduing of our lives with power
• Encouragement of mind and spirit with truth
• Enriching of personality with God’s peace and purity
• Encounter of human weakness with Divine strength
• Encampment of stubborn faith upon the promises of God

Let’s bury, once and for all, the old lie that some are gifted or called to be intercessors and others are not. Show me in the Word of God where there is a ‘gift’ of prayer, or the  Office of the Pray-er. You can’t find it.  All God’s followers are called, expected, anointed and appointed to pray. We all have the wonderful privilege of praying God’s will on earth, just as it is in Heaven.

God answers faith- filled prayers. God answers persistent prayers. God answers fervent prayer. God answers the prayers of righteous people. God answers prayers of agreement. Find a group of people, or even just one, and agree together in prayer. Keep a prayer journal. Record your miracles. Those who expect nothing in prayer are never disappointed.

Pray in Expectation. Faith is a Bible condition for answered prayer. If you want to receive any response from heaven, you must believe that God exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly and consistently seek Him. Let your faith arise. Go ahead, let God’s promises get your hopes up!  God rewards expectation. Pray without ceasing, pray in faith and God will answer.

Be strong in prayer. We are as strong spiritually as we are strong in prayer. We are as effective spiritually as we are effective in prayer. Prayer is work, a battle, a warfare. Prayer is also peace producing, a joy and a delight. Prayer is a struggle, a labor, and requires commitment. Prayer also releases power, strength and comfort.

Don’t be confused; prayer is all the above and must consist of all the above. Those who find prayer to be only a battle and fight are not engaging the victory won by faith. Others who only experience prayer as a joy and delight, have forgotten that we are at war with the forces of hell. Fight on! Pray on! Laugh through tears and celebrate the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

Fast AND Pray. I can personally testify that all the most significant breakthroughs in my life have come during, or just after, a serious extended season of fasting and prayer. My best ideas come during prayer times. But the financial miracles, supernatural direction, and Heavenly Blessing that have marked my life have always been linked to prayer and fasting. There is a release of power, anointing and authority that is only available through prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21) *

It is an astounding realization and a holy obligation to recognize that we have an audience with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Creator of all that is. The ‘sweet hour of prayer ‘ is the Christian’s highest calling.

*Excerpted from “Fasting  for Breakthrough – A Guide to Praying in Faith” by Myles Holmes, 2015

Myles Holmes is the lead pastor at REVIVE church in, Collinsville, Illinois, and works to put a smile on the Face of GOD & give the devil a migraine everyday! Myles strives to be a holy terror to mediocrity, get the hell out of people & the Heaven in.