THE GREATEST PRIVILEGE you will ever have in your life is the privilege of being able to pray boldly and directly to God the Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, empowered by God the Holy Spirit, anytime anywhere in the world. Thankfully, this greatest privilege is not for a chosen few Christians but it is for all true born again believers in Jesus Christ of all ages in all places all over the world. So it does not matter whether you are great or small, young or old, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, male or female: this greatest privilege is yours to enjoy if truly indeed you are a true born again believer in Jesus Christ who is truly and eternally saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior. Now, if it is considered to be a great privilege and a great honor for the citizens of any country in the world to be able to meet and talk one on one with the president, or the king, or the prime minister or the senior most leader of their country who is a human being like them, how much more should it be considered a great privilege and a great honor for any one of us human beings to be allowed and even encouraged to boldly and directly talk to God the Father in heaven who created us and in whose hands our lives are. No doubt, it is a great privilege and a great honor to be able to do that. In fact, it is not just a great privilege and a great honor but it is truly indeed the greatest privilege you and I will ever have in our lives. So while this greatest privilege of being able to pray boldly and directly to God the Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, empowered by God the Holy Spirit, anytime anywhere in the world is earmarked exclusively for true born again believers in Jesus Christ: God the Father is however so gracious and merciful that He does also allow all unsaved people all over the world to pray to Him because He hears and answers some of their prayers, particularly any of their sincere prayer of repentance whereby they ask Him to forgive them of all their sins so that they too can become truly and eternally saved (see Acts 10:1-48; 11:13-14 the story of Cornelius). But you must always remember that, except for that prayer of repentance to be saved, God the Father hears and answers any other prayer of unsaved person as an exception rather than the rule. And this is because the Bible teaches that, “1Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). And then the Bible goes on to teach that, “The sacrifice of the wicked [unsaved person] is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Proverbs 15:8—bracketted mine). Moreover the Bible adds, “The LORD is far from the wicked: but He hears the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29). Also the Bible teaches that, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).
It is therefore in keeping with these scriptures and many more such scriptures found all over the Bible that I am fully persuaded that this greatest privilege is earmarked exclusively for true born again believers in Jesus Christ because they have been forgiven completely and totally of all their past, present and future sins courtesy of their living and lasting faith in Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior. So in order for you to enjoy this greatest privilege of being able to pray boldly and directly to God the Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, empowered by God the Holy Spirit, anytime anywhere in the world, you must be a true born again believer in Jesus Christ. In other words, you must have come to a point in your life when you sincerely repented all your sins and then truly believed and willingly received Jesus Christ into your life to become your personal lord and savior. By the way, that is the main reason why I established this website so that I could help all unsaved people all over the world to know why and how they can be saved from Satan’s kingdom of eternal death and darkness and be saved for God’s kingdom of eternal life and light by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior. And to help you do exactly that (if you haven’t done it already), I have published on this website the following web pages. The first web page is THE GREATEST DISCOVERY which explains in great details “WHY” you must be saved. There you will see from the holy Bible that you are sinner both by nature and by choice in urgent need of salvation. The second web page is THE GREATEST GIFT which explains in great details “WHO” alone can save you. There you will see from the holy Bible that only Jesus Christ (the true Jesus Christ of the Bible) can truly and eternally save you because He is Yahweh God of the Bible Himself who came in the human flesh as fully God and fully man all in one person, the second person of the holy trinity, in order to seek and save us sinners. And the third web page is THE GREATEST DECISION which explains in great details “HOW” you must be saved. There you will see from the holy Bible that in order for you to be truly and eternally saved you must sincerely repent all your sins and then truly believe and willingly receive Jesus Christ into your life to become your personal lord and savior. With that fact clearly underscored that this greatest privilege is for all true born again believers in Jesus Christ, let us now take a closer look at what is required in order for you to enjoy it anytime anywhere you are in the world.
So what follows next are some of the most important biblical truths you need to know and apply in your life so that you too can be praying boldly and directly to God the Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, empowered by God the Holy Spirit, anytime anywhere you are in the world.
1. PRAYER GIVES YOU GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH GOD
Prayer is talking or communicating with God. It is a two way process whereby you talk with God and God talks back to you most of the times through His written, inerrant, infallible and inspired word taught in all the 66 books of the holy Bible. Notably, prayer gives you instant access to God the Father in heaven anytime from any place you might be in the world whether it is in the gorgeous palace of a king or it is in the horrible darkest cell in a prison. As you pray boldly and directly to God the Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, empowered by God the Holy Spirit, anytime anywhere in the world, you get to express in spoken words or at times in writing: 1) your praise, adoration and worship to God; 2) your thanksgiving to God; 3) your sincere confession of all your sins and trespasses to God; 4) your petition to God by making your requests directly and specifically known to God of any need you might have so long as it is in accordance with the revealed will of God in the Bible; and 5) your intercessory prayers to God for other people starting with your family members, friends, colleagues at work or in business, neighbors, fellow Christians, your country, etc.
Regarding giving praise, adoration and worship to God, the Bible says, “Let every thing that has breath praise the LORD. Praise you the LORD” (Psalm 150:6). Then the Bible gives us a classic example of how the Psalmist worshipped God saying, “1Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, You are great; You are clothed with honor and majesty. 2Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment: who stretches out the heavens like a curtain: 3Who lays the beams of His chambers in the waters: who makes the clouds His chariot: who walks upon the wings of the wind: 4Who makes His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire: 5Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever” (Psalm 103:1-5). You too like this Psalmist should have a daily habit of praising, adoring, magnifying, exalting and worshipping Yahweh God Almighty who created you, saved you and in whose hands your life is.
Regarding giving thanks to God for who He is and for what He has done in your life, the Bible says, “1Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3Who forgives you all your iniquities; who heal all your diseases; 4Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s… 8The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. 10He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. 12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:1-5, 8-12). Just as this elaborate scripture in Psalm 103 shows how King David gave thanks to God for who God really is and for what God had done in his life, you too ought to develop such a daily habit of giving thanks to God for who He is and for what He has done in your life.
The Bible is full of prayers of sincere confession of sins and transgressions which faithful servants of God prayed to God when they sinned against God and against other people. Here is the prayer of sincere confession of sin by king David who sinned against God by committing adultery with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah and then killed Uriah and married Bathsheba to cover his sin: “1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness: according to the multitude of Your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight: that You might be justified when You speak and be clear when You judge. 5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which You have broken may rejoice. 9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation; and uphold me with Your free spirit” (Psalm 51:1-12). Likewise, whenever you sin by thoughts, words or deeds, do not seek to hide your sin but do as the following scripture encourages all Christians to do, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1st John 1:9). Furthermore, Apostle John inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote the following, “1My little children, these things write I to you that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And He is the propitiation [full and satisfying payment] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1st John 2:1-2—bracketed mine). So this scripture encourages us Christians not to sin but if we sin, we are strongly exhorted to immediately go to God in sincere prayer of repentance and humbly ask Him to forgive us of all our sins being fully assured that He will forgive us. First, because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross (i.e. He paid in full for all our sins). And secondly, because of what Jesus Christ does for us right now in heaven (i.e. He is our intercessor and our righteous advocate before God the Father in heaven). Lastly, the Bible reminds us that, “He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
Now, caution need to be employed here to underscore the fact that while all true Christians are day by day being saved continuously from the power and the practice of all sins (because they can and they do actually sin by thoughts, words and deeds), this does not serve as an excuse for us Christians to live habitually in sin. Any person who claims to be truly born again and yet he or she habitually lives in sin must know that no matter what position they hold in the church or however much or loud they profess to be a true born again believer in Jesus Christ, there is high chance that they are not truly saved. Hence they ought to seriously examine themselves to find out whether or not they are truly saved just as the following scripture encourages them to do, “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates?” (2nd Corinthians 13:5). So if you are living habitually in sin, you therefore ought to examine yourself whether or not you belong to that group of false Christians spoken about by our lord and savior Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:21-23 who profess to have saving faith in Jesus Christ when in actual fact they do not possess any saving faith in Jesus Christ. Hence they deceive themselves that they are saved while in actual fact they are not truly saved. Therefore examine yourself whether or not you are a self-deceived false Christian who was deceived by just repeating a prayer to “receive” Jesus Christ in your life while you did not actually have true saving repentance toward God which should have led you to have true saving faith in Jesus Christ, which then should have culminated in you making true saving confession that Jesus Christ is LORD your God and thus be truly and eternally saved. Also, avoid attempting to make grace of God a licence to live habitually in sin totally ignoring the following scripture which teaches that, “11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12). Therefore the grace that truly saves also teaches a person who is truly saved to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. Consequently, grace can never ever be a licence to live in sin because if you are truly saved you should be truly changed just as this scripture reveals, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2nd Corinthians 5:17). This means that once you become truly saved, the old lifestyle of living habitually in sin ought to pass away and you embrace new lifestyle of loving righteousness. That is why the Bible categorically says the following regarding living habitually in sin, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1st John 3:9).
Once again, the Bible is full of prayers of petitions made directly and specifically to God by His people pleading with Him to intervene in their lives in one way or another. You too can present your petitions to God in keeping with the clear instructions given in the following three scriptures. The first scripture urges you to simply ask God to meet you at your very points of need saying, “7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: 8For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. 9Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10Or if he ask a fish, will he give him as serpent? 11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:7-11). The second scripture reminds you to pray in God’s will in order for your prayers to be answered—which simply means that you pray in accordance to the revealed will of God in the Bible. Here is that scripture, “14And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us: 15And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1st John 5:14-15). The third scripture urges you to pray boldly and directly to God in heaven saying, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Now, here is a prayer of petition to God for protection which king David prayed earnestly when he was in distress, perhaps, when he was temporarily dethroned by his son Absalom, “1Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. 2From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1-2). This prayer of king David agrees perfectly with what the Bible teaches in the New Testament regarding how to deal with fear, anxiety and distressing situations where it commands all Christians to, “6Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
The Bible has a lot to say and teach regarding intercessory prayers that you can pray to God for other people: whether those people are your immediate nuclear family members or they are extended family members; whether they are saved or unsaved; whether they are known to you or they are unknown to you; whether they are your friends or they are your enemies. So you are encouraged by the following scripture not to remain bewildered or perplexed about any issue regarding you or other people simply because God encourages you to, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not” (Jeremiah 33:3). This is a divine encouragement which God originally and specifically gave to Prophet Jeremiah urging him to call to Him in prayer and He would answer him, which you can also employ in your life whenever you do not know what to do in a given situation. Also our lord and savior Jesus Christ taught His disciples that, “Men ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Secondly, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that we should pray for well being of other people inasmuch as it teaches that, “1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1st Timothy 2:1-4).
Only to YAHWEH or JEHOVAH God of the Bible—the one and the only true and the living God there is—should you pray to. And this is simply because He alone is all-powerful, all-knowing and is everywhere present hence He is the only one who is able to answer your prayers. As we have seen throughout this website, Yahweh God of the Bible is one God who eternally exists in three distinct but equal persons namely: God the Father, God the Son also known as Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit. In that regard, your prayers should be addressed boldly and directly to God the Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, empowered by God the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what our lord and savior Jesus Christ taught us in following scriptures. The first scripture is Matthew 6:6, 9-13 where Jesus Christ Himself said: “6But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut the door pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly… 9After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10Your kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” From this scripture we learn that all prayers should be addressed to God the Father. The second scripture is John 14:12-14 where Jesus Christ Himself said, “12Verily, verily, I say to you, he that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to My Father. 13And whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If you shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” From this scripture we learn that all prayers should be addressed to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—which simply means that prayers should be prayed in keeping with the nature, character and reputation of Jesus Christ. This does not mean just concluding your prayers with the phrase “in the name of Jesus Christ” but rather praying in total agreement with the perfect will of Jesus Christ as is clearly revealed throughout the Bible (See John 15:7 and 1st John 5:14-15). The third scripture is Romans 8:26 where we read the following regarding how God the Holy Spirit helps us to pray in a God-glorifying way, “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered.” From this scripture we learn that as you pray you should be empowered by God the Holy Spirit by simply relying in God the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your prayers using the word of God so that you can pray in a God-glorifying way. Therefore, even though prayers can be addressed to any of the three persons of the triune God either God the Father or God the Son known as Jesus Christ or God the Holy Spirit, the Bible instructs Christians to pray directly to God the Father through Jesus Christ guided by God the Holy Spirit through the written word of God in all the 66 books of the holy Bible. However, there is nothing inherently wrong if a Christian prays directly to either Jesus Christ (God the Son) or to God the Holy Spirit as we can clearly see in Acts 7:59 where Deacon Stephen prayed directly to Jesus Christ.
Your prayers will certainly be hindered if you have any sin or sins that you are practicing openly or secretly that you have refused to repent and turn away from. For the Bible says that, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). And then it goes on to reiterate that, “1Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Lastly, the Bible says that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1st John 1:9).
Your prayers will certainly be hindered if you do not trust and believe that God is able and willing to hear and answer your prayers. This is because, the Bible in Hebrews 11:6 categorically states that, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Then the Bible also declares that, “6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. 8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8).
Your prayers will certainly be hindered if you pray motivated by wrong, evil and selfish reasons. For the Bible says that, “You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).
Your prayers will certainly be hindered if you do not forgive other people who have sinned against you. For the Bible says the following about a Christian who refuses to forgive those people who sin against them: “24Therefore I say to you, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. 25And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:24-26).
Your prayers will certainly be hindered if you are a proud, self-consumed and self-deceived person. This fact is clearly revealed in the following scripture: “10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14).
Your prayers will certainly be hindered if you are unloving and uncaring husband who mistreats your wife just as is clearly stated in the following verse, “Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (1st Peter 3:7).
These are some of the things that can hinder your prayers; therefore see to it that you do not have any of them whenever you pray. Otherwise all your prayers will be hindered thus they will not be answered in affirmative.
As you pray you ought to remember that your prayers can only be answered in the affirmative if truly indeed you pray those prayers in accordance with the revealed will of God in the Bible. Here is how the Bible reiterate that fact, “14And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us: 15And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1st John 5:14-15). Also Jesus Christ Himself said, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you” (John 15:7). So the key to have your prayers answered in the affirmative is to cling to the word of God and pray your prayers guided and directed by the word of God itself other than what you strongly feel or want. In other words, whenever pray you should always be PRAYING FOR GOD’S WILL TO BE DONE IN GOD’S TIMING AND FOR GOD’S GLORY IN YOUR LIFE AND IN THE LIVES OF OTHER PEOPLE. All other kinds of prayers are bound to fail because God will never ever go against His revealed will in the Bible. Therefore in order to pray effectively you must not only know the word of God taught in all the 66 books of the holy Bible but also you must know how to apply that word of God in your life. Therefore learn to pray simple prayers guided and directed by the word of God.
For example, here are some prayers I usually pray which I also encourage you to be praying and you will greatly improve your prayer life. The first prayer you can be praying is this prayer I regularly pray asking God the Father to teach me to do His will adopted word by word from PSALM 143:10, and which I have recently learnt from God how to be singing it as a prayer song:
“Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God,
Your Spirit is good,
Lead me into the land of uprightness.”
The second prayer you can be praying is this prayer I regularly pray to God the Father humbly asking Him to fill me with the Holy Spirit every single day of my life:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I ask You to fill me with the Holy Spirit in accordance to Your promise in Luke 11:13 where You promised to give Holy Spirit to any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who asks You. I pray this believing and trusting in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
[So whereas some Christians are busy arguing about why, when and how one should be filled with the Holy Spirit and are therefore missing out on this blessed promise, choose rather to be enjoying this glorious experience every single day of your life by simply believing and practicing what Jesus Christ promised in Luke 11:13 where He said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”]
Another prayer you can be praying is this prayer adopted verbatim from the prayer of king David recorded in Psalm 139:23-24 which I regularly pray asking God the Father everyday to search me and know my heart, to try me and know my thoughts and see whether there is any wicked way in me and then lead me in the way everlasting:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I ask You to search me and know my heart: to try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. In Jesus’ name I pray and give thanks. Amen.”
Moreover, another prayer you can be praying everyday of your life is this prayer I normally pray asking God the Father everyday to keep me in the centre of His perfect will for my life full of joy and peace:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I ask You to keep me in the centre of Your perfect will for my life full of joy and peace as You provide, protect and prosper me in every facet of my life. Help me to continue to grow everyday both in the grace and in the knowledge of my lord and my savior Jesus Christ. For it is in the name of Jesus Christ I do pray and believe. Amen.”
And whenever you face uncertainty in your life, when you do not actually know what to do, you can pray this prayer adopted from Jeremiah 33:3 which I pray seeking guidance and direction from God the Father whenever in need:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I call upon You believing and trusting that you are going to answer me as You promised in Your word in Jeremiah 33:3, and show me great and mighty things which I do not know about ----------- that I am currently facing in my life. I pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
More importantly, you can be praying this prayer which I regularly pray on daily basis unreservedly surrendering to Jesus Christ who I am (my body, my soul and my spirit), what I have (my material possessions and my immaterial possessions) and what I do (my occupation, my vocation and my vacation) every single day of my life:
“Dear Lord Jesus Christ, You are my Lord and my God in whom I trust. I therefore welcome you to sit on the throne of my life as the master of my own destiny ruling and reigning over who I am (my body, my soul and my spirit), what I have (my material possessions and my immaterial possessions) and what I do (my occupation, my vocation and my vacation) every single day of my life. I pray all this in Your precious and holy name, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Regarding praying for salvation of your unsaved family members as well as all other unsaved people whom you interact with in your life, you can be praying this prayer which I also regularly pray on daily basis for all my unsaved family members as well as all other unsaved people I get to interact with that God the Father would draw all of them to the Lord Jesus Christ to be truly and eternally saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for salvation of ---- that: 1) You would soften their hardened hearts so that they can be willing and able to examine what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about; 2) illuminate their darkened minds to understand spiritual truths and historical facts about the gospel of Jesus Christ; 3) open their blind spiritual eyes to see that they are sinners in urgent need of salvation; 4) open their deaf spiritual ears to hear the still small voice of Jesus Christ calling them to repent and believe in Him so that they can be saved; and 5) raise me and many more other true born again believers in Jesus Christ to share the true gospel of Jesus Christ with all these unsaved people so that they can repent all their sins, believe and receive Jesus Christ into their lives to become their personal lord and savior . I pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Remember, there is no one else who is better placed to be praying fervently for salvation of all your unsaved family members than you who is a true born again believer in Jesus Christ and belongs to that family as one of their own. Definitely, like Queen Esther who was graciously placed by God in the palace of king Ahasuerus as the Queen in order to protect the Jews, likewise you too were graciously saved by God so that you can be praying fervently for salvation of all your unsaved family members in addition to doing your utmost to bring the true gospel of Jesus Christ to each one of them so that they too can be truly and eternally saved as you are. For, who else should be more moved, more touched and more concerned than you who is a true born again believer in Jesus Christ to know that your beloved husband or your beloved wife is not saved but he or she is ignorantly or arrogantly cruising through this temporal life here on earth sadly unaware that they are on their way to hell? Also, who else should be more moved, more touched and more concerned than you who is a true born again believer in Jesus Christ to know that your beloved children are not saved but they are ignorantly or arrogantly cruising through this temporal life here on earth sadly unaware that they are on their way to hell? Similarly, who else should be more moved, more touched and more concerned than you who is a true born again believer in Jesus Christ to know that your beloved parents are not saved but they are ignorantly or arrogantly cruising through this temporal life here on earth sadly unaware that they are on their way to hell? Likewise, who else should be more moved, more touched and more concerned than you who is a true born again believer in Jesus Christ to know that your brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, uncles and aunts, grandfather and grandmother are not saved but they are ignorantly or arrogantly cruising through this temporal life here on earth sadly unaware that they are on their way to hell?
Regarding praying for the local church where you regularly attend worship services and where you should be having authentic Christian fellowship with other true born again believers in Jesus Christ, you can be praying the following prayer which I normally pray every day for our church CALVARY CHAPEL AMAZING GRACE THIKA which my lord and savior Jesus Christ has been graciously guiding and directing me to establish here in Thika town in Central Kenya since 2 October 2016:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you very much for our church, CALVARY CHAPEL AMAZING GRACE THIKA.* How I pray that it will forever remain a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching and a Bible-practicing church. So, may you help us to remain a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led and a Spirit-empowered church of God where Jesus Christ as the Head of our church freely works in us, for us and through us to make us His faithful and fruitful disciples! In addition, help our church to remain a God-glorifying church that actively reach unbelievers with the gospel of Jesus Christ while faithfully equipping believers with the word of God so as to become a community of faithful and fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ who know and practice the Bible, faithfully share our faith in Christ and willingly give of our time, talents and treasures to Jehovah God exclusively to the praise and glory of His holy name. Finally, may you continue to grow us in the grace and the knowledge of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ while increasing us in numbers. I pray all these in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ my personal lord and saviour! Amen.”
*Of course, replace CALVARY CHAPEL AMAZING GRACE THIKA with the name of the local church where you regularly attend worship services. Moreover, feel free to be using this prayer to pray fervently for that local church since you won’t be guilty of plagiarism. And this is because I (Stephen Njoroge Kigo) the author of this prayer gladly invites all true born again believers in Jesus Christ all over the world to be using this prayer so that they can eventually find and also be engaging faithfully and regularly in authentic Christian fellowship with other true born again believers in Jesus Christ in Bible-believing, Bible-teaching and a Bible-practicing churches. For that is God’s perfect will for the whole Body of Jesus Christ: that is, the Universal Church of Jesus Christ all over the world and throughout all the ages since the birth of the church.
Finally, regarding praying for your country, you can be praying this prayer for your country, which I regularly pray for my country Kenya that Yahweh God Almighty would rule and overrule in Kenya stopping everything that is contrary to His perfect will for my country, Kenya:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I ask You to rule and overrule in Kenya stopping everything that is contrary to Your perfect will for our country based on Your word in Ezekiel 22:30-31 where You revealed that you would have stopped the judgment and the plague You poured upon the Southern kingdom of Judah if only there was one person who stood in the gap before You in fervent prayers, supplication and repentance just as Moses did as is recorded in Psalm 106:23. In light of these two scriptures, I therefore stand in the gap praying for Your perfect will, O God, to be done in Your timing and for Your glory throughout Kenya. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
This word of God in Ezekiel 22:30-31 which says, “30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31Therefore have I poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My anger: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, says the Lord GOD,” should motivate you who is a true born again believer in Jesus Christ to be praying fervently for spiritual wellbeing of your country. For, if God could have spared the Southern Kingdom of Judah from His judgment if only one person “made up the hedge” and “stood in the gap” before Yahweh God Almighty praying fervently for spiritual wellbeing of that nation, how much more should you be motivated to “make up the hedge” and “stand in the gap” before Yahweh God Almighty praying fervently for spiritual wellbeing of your country? So what plague or judgment is facing your country? And what are you intending to deal with it as a born again believer in Jesus Christ living in that country? Will you “make up the hedge” and “stand in the gap” before Yahweh God Almighty fervently praying for spiritual wellbeing of your country? Coming closer home, my fellow Kenyans who are truly born again: what plague or judgment is facing our country? You don’t have to look far. First, the fact that there are thousands upon thousands of people in our country who are turning away from the truth and turning to falsehoods of all kind and manner heaping to themselves false teachers who are teaching them to have a form of godliness while denying the power that is in Jesus Christ when He is truly indeed their personal lord and savior, that is a plague aimed at our country according to 2nd Timothy 3:1-5; 4:3-4 and 2nd Peter 2:1-6. Second, the fact that many people in our country both saved and unsaved people are espousing the unholy trinity of greed, covetousness and the love of money which is the root of all evil is a plague aimed at our country according to 1st Timothy 6:1-10. Third, every anti-Semitic statement uttered by any Kenyan against the Jews living in the nation of Israel or anywhere else in the world is a plague aimed at our country according to Genesis 12:1-3 and Zechariah 2:7-9. Fourth, any support our country may give to individuals or groups or nations attempting to dispossess Jews their God-given land of Israel by partitioning it will be a plague aimed at our country which will attract severe judgment of God according to Joel 3:1-15. And the same can be said about any other country all over this world. When such things are happening in any country anywhere in this world, then that is a plague aimed at that particular country.
But instead of lamenting and calling press conferences to denounce and decry such vices in our country, there is a potent weapon called intercessory prayers we can use to victoriously deal with such vices and plagues in our country. Use it. And do not think that you must gather many other intercessors so that you can prayer together. You can do it alone. Remember what God said in Ezekiel 22:30 that He was looking for only ONE PERSON to “make up the hedge” and “stand in the gap” before Him and He would have stopped the judgment that came upon the Southern kingdom of Judah. Today, God is looking for ONE PERSON and you can be that person. He is looking for just one person. Not two, just one person. And one is enough in the eyes of God. So have you noticed a vice in the society or even in your country that bothers you? Don’t worry about it. Don’t immediately take to the socio media to denounce or decry it. But instead right there and then turn to the King of king and the Lord of lords and make your requests known to God through fervent intercessory prayers. That is what I do and I have seen crises which loomed large in our country and seemed almost insurmountable and unstoppable, dealt decisively by Yahweh God Almighty. So you too can in your country. Take courage from Moses, the trusted servant of Yahweh God Almighty and faithfully follow after his footsteps in offering intercessory prayers. This is what the Bible records about Moses and the intercessory prayers he prayed on behalf of the nation of Israel, “Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, less He should destroy them.” (Psalm 106:23). He interceded for the offending Jews and averted the judgment of God that was due them. So to my fellow born again believers in Jesus Christ from Central Kenya, who are deeply concerned about the plague of drunkenness in this region, pray for these drunkards in the region to be truly and eternally saved, as you also do your utmost to bring the true gospel of Jesus Christ to them. For, should all these drunkards become truly and eternally saved, there will be no need to be pouring illicit brews because these people will no longer have any desire to drink.
As you can easily notice, all these prayers are drawn directly from the scriptures. Therefore, develop a habit of using in your prayers portions of scriptures that you are reading or studying so that you can be praying in the will of God FOR GOD’S WILL TO BE DONE IN GOD’S TIMING AND FOR GOD’S GLORY IN YOUR LIFE AND IN THE LIVES OF OTHER PEOPLE.
In short, you are supposed to be praying to God on daily basis in accordance with His perfect will that is clearly revealed in the Bible so that your prayers can be heard and answered in the affirmative. Therefore, you should not pray to any saint, dead or alive. Neither should you pray to Mary mother of Jesus. Instead, pray directly to God Himself. Yes, you can do it. You can pray for yourself. You can take yourself boldly and directly before the throne of Yahweh God Almighty in prayers and make your requests known to Him (see Hebrews 4:16). You do not need some intermediary, the so-called special anointed person(s) to pray for you. Nor do you need any objects like prayer beads or rosary, because use of prayer beads or rosary in prayers is a pagan practice which has nothing to do with biblical Christianity. God will hear you just the way you are. Moreover, you do not need to change either the tone or the pitch of your voice when you pray to God. Neither do you need to wear certain clothes, robes, head-coverings, etc., so that God can hear your prayers. Most of those claims that you have to be dressed in a certain way so that your prayers can be heard and answered by God emanate from misunderstanding and therefore misapplying some of the Old Testament scriptures where what was exclusively meant for Aaron and all other Old Testament priests, is ignorantly applied to all Christians. So, remember this simple biblical fact that your outward covering cannot commend you before a holy and a righteous God!
As you pray, you do not need to use anointed oil, neither the so-called “anointed prayer cloths” supposedly from anointed servants of God. You simply do not need any of that stuff. That is actually idolatry. It is witchcraft dressed in Christian terms. Stay far and away from such kind of stuff. Simply pray the way you are! Talk to God like normally you would talk to a person seated next to you. So you do not need to shout as you pray to God. God is not deaf: He can hear you. Therefore do not wake up all your neighbors at the odd hours of the night praying at the top of your voice simply because people from other religions do that. So when you pray at night, pray silently in the quietness of your heart in such a way that you do not disturb or even wake up people sleeping in the same house with you. Remember you are praying to God not to people. Remember also that Christians behave differently! Their God is different from all other gods. In fact, He is the one and the only true and the living God there is. And as such, He has taught us clearly in Matthew 6:5-15 how to pray in a God-glorifying way. Therefore, you should always pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ empowered by God the Holy Spirit. And once you do that, you can rest assured that you will be praying God-glorifying prayers for God’s will to be done in God’s timing and for God’s glory in your life and in the lives of other people.