The ministry of prayer part 2 — Prophet Cherub Obadare

We thank you, we love you be thou exalted. All praise, all honor to you. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Praise God. Yeah, we thank God for another opportunity to study at His feet this evening. Last week we were looking at the ministry of prayer and we were able to see how important prayer is to the life of a believer and how we should pray, there is how to pray. The Bible says you pray and you don't receive because you ask amiss. The problem is not that people don't pray. People pray. But a lot of people pray wrongly. You can pray and actually be praying the wrong way. And you see people move from one mountain to the other, people go by the beach side, people you know do all kind of things in commitment to prayer. But at times, they do it wrongly. Praise God. We are going to be looking at the same topic today. We are going to be looking at you know three reasons why the devil wants to stop you from praying. One of the greatest, the greatest assignment or desire of the enemy or of the devil is to hinder your prayer life. The devil can succeed to get anything into your life even as a believer if it takes away your prayer life. If the devil is able to interrupt your prayer life, he can make you fail. He can cause a lot of obstacle on your way on your path. And you see the disciples took prayer very serious, especially in the early church. That was why for them prayer was like a priority. Prayer was one of the things that they must do. The book of Acts chapter 6 verse 4, they said it is good that we give ourselves to the ministry of the word and prayer. They were praying people. They were people who gave themselves fully unto prayer. Praise God. And that was why they succeeded. The book of Acts is called the Acts of the Apostles. They would not have had the Acts of the Apostles if there were no prayer of the apostles. The reason we have the acts the acts means the doings, the miracles God wrote through their hands, the testimonies they have the the the the the the power of God that walked through this man was what was all that we have recorded in the book of Acts and we call it the acts of the Apostles, but the secret of the acts of the Apostles, if you check last week I showed you in Acts chapter 13, the Bible say and they ministered to the Lord and fasted. That is the secret behind the Acts of the Apostles. The secret is that they give they even did Now if you look at from Acts chapter 1 to chapter 6 if you go until Apostle Paul emerged in the picture, they didn't know so much, but they prayed so much. They didn't know so much when they went into the temple in Acts chapter 3, they met a man that was sitting by the gate called the beautiful gate and they were going actually the Bible called the the call it the hour of prayer. They were going to pray. So prayer was an habitual attitude of the disciples. They didn't know so much. When when as at that time Peter was still preaching and still thinking salvation is designed only for the Jews. They didn't know so much about spiritual gift. They didn't know so much about salvation. They didn't even know so much about the Holy Spirit. It was Paul that came and began to teach them certain dimensions, starting level of understanding, starting from 1 Corinthians chapter 12, you see how he taught them he taught the church of Corinthians about the gift of the Holy Spirit. He taught about the Holy Ghost. Even Peter didn't know so much. That was why he was surprised when he was given his experience in the in the house of Cornelius. He said as I was speaking to them, the Holy Ghost all of a sudden came upon them. He said without the baptism. So it was a mystery unto him that how can the Holy Ghost come upon the Gentiles? They didn't know so much, but they prayed so much. You can see some of our fathers in faith, some of the things we know today they didn't know. But they are praying people. I was reading about Smith Wigglesworth. Andrew Wommack wrote about him. He said some of the things that the body of Christ teach today, men like Smith Smith Wigglesworth didn't know these things. But they were they had something. They were committed to what we call the prayer of faith. They were praying people. Even some of our fathers in in in in in in Nigeria in the CINs, one of the one of the one of the things that gave some of our fathers an edge, they wrote miracles. They did wonderful. They didn't know so much like we know, but they were men given to prayers. They were men given to prayers. Some of them they would bring food for them to eat. They want to pray on the food just less bless food. For hours they are still praying. It's not it's not that they are trying to impress anybody. The spirit of prayer got hold of them. If we pray like they have prayed the kind of result and so if you look at the results the apostles generated in the book of Acts, you will be surprised. The secret is in Acts chapter 6 and verse 4. Let's look at Acts chapter 6 and verse 4. The secret of the dealings, supernatural dealings of God through the Apostles. Look at it. Acts chapter chapter 6, I would like to take it probably because of our time from verse okay, let's take it from verse four. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. This is the secret, secret. This is why we have all the all the records of miracles, all the all the all the all testimonies, the supernatural healings, the the the things that happened through the hands of the Apostles. People like like Philip, literally disappeared in a place and appeared in another place. They were men given to prayer. Praise God. And so you you will begin to see that they followed the example of Jesus. They were distracted with church in quotes, church activities. People need to eat. At a point they came to their sense. They said, no, let's appoint 12 people. Let's appoint seven men of honest reports full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business. So they appoint people to take care of administrative and mineral things, distribution of food and they dedicated themselves. See, if you want to generate any good results in your lifetime, in your ministry, in your career, you must be a man of prayer. Must be a man of prayer. So this is the secret. This is how they now they started this from as soon as the Holy Ghost came upon them, their prayer life transformed. Their prayer life just went up. And so if you look all through, as soon as as soon as the Holy Ghost came upon them in Acts chapter 2, they were praying when an entire city gathered. They were praying, literally praying in tongues. And from there the Bible says, according to the hour of prayer, they went into the temple to pray. And they met a man by the gate. Praise God. I pray I pray on on unusual happenings we happen through our life through the ministry of prayer in the name of Jesus. If you are saying amen amen be the loudest. And so, now, I want us to look at few things, few reasons why at all cost the enemy want to stop you from praying at all cost. The devil is threatened. The devil is so fearful anytime a believer attempts to pray, not even when you start praying. That's why when you want to pray, you see a lot of distractions coming your way. All of a sudden you just remember you you you some you need to call somebody. All of a sudden you just all kind of distraction just you just remember somebody that you you need to okay, let me let me call this person. Before you know it, your phone is ringing. Why is it that it is when you are you are about to intensify your spirit in prayer that somebody who had not called you for three months remembered to call you. The devil wants to put all he wants to deploy all his devices to stop a believer from praying. Look at what happened. The same acts of the Apostles, the Bible says and Herod took James. The church kept quiet waiting for God's intervention. And the Bible says and Herod killed James meaning, you know, the church permitted the killing of James. Why? They didn't pray. Listen to me. You will permit the enemy to do anything in your life when you keep quiet in the place of prayer. So, it was not in God's design that James should die. So, the church was waiting on God and God was waiting on the church. God is waiting on us to pray. Now, you may not have heard this before, but I want to shock you. God cannot and will not do anything on earth until there's a man to pray. It doesn't matter how many people are being killed. It doesn't matter the number of people that are dying per day, until there is a man to stand as an intercessor, because God will not break spiritual protocols. Why? He said, I have given you authority. So, God will not come and help you use the authority He's given to you on earth because as this terrestrial world is concerned, man is in charge. So, for God to effect a change, to cause a revival, to bring about healing, or to bring about an economic transformation, there must be a man praying it into reality. A man prayed for a nation. I can't remember if it's it was Holland or Scotland. It was Scotland. One one now, it was not too many, one man prayed. He prayed for Scotland that the Lord should give him Scotland, that the Lord should restock Scotland and deliver Scotland. A woman said, she said, I fear his prayer more than the entire army of England. The Queen said so, that the prayer is 5 minutes prayer. Now these men have pushed, they have pushed in the place of prayer that his strength in prayer cannot be compared to an army of a nation. You can push to that point in prayer, that your prayer can hold the army of a nation captive. Praise God. And so, if you look at all these generals, all these apostles, they were men given to a life of prayer. Praise God. And so, now, I want you to see this, in Acts chapter 12, the Bible says, after he took James and heard James and killed James, he saw that the Jews were happy about it. Can I talk to you? Anytime you keep quiet in the place of prayer, you give the enemy a reason to rejoice. Anytime you don't pray as a believer, anytime the church of the Lord keeps quiet, they have just given the enemy an opportunity to rejoice. The Bible says in Acts chapter 12, he says, and when they when Peter was taken and was kept in the prison, the church came together and make intercession. So, if the same intercession was made for James, the same angel that went into the prison to deliver Peter would have delivered James. But because the church it means angels are waiting for us all the time to manifest our priesthood ministry on earth and they are discharged into work. Because the Bible says these angels have been given for for for for for them to minister for the saints. That's their assignment. So, our priesthood ministry, every believer has the priesthood ministry of prayer. So, our priesthood ministry is what dispatches angels into work. Let me show you the scripture, very important. 1 Timothy 2, and from verse 1. I exhort you therefore that first of all, these are areas where God wants to make things happen, where He wants to effect change, where He wants to bring transformation. Apostle Paul was now telling Timothy, these are areas you should center on when you are praying. Why? God needs your prayer to do something in those areas. Look at it. I exhort you therefore that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. All men should be prayed for. Now, let me show you. Very interesting. In 1 Timothy 2, and from verse 1. 1 Timothy chapter 2, and from verse 1. Verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loose in heaven. And again, I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything, this is why we do prayer conference, when you gather together as believers. Because there's a scripture that gives us an advantage when we come together. He says, look at it. And again, I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything. The devil depends on your lack of prayer to destroy the world. If God depends on your prayer to change the world, the devil depends on your lack of prayer to invade, to cause trouble, to make a horrible things happen. He depends on your lack of prayer to do that. So, he will do everything to stop you from praying. Now, number two reason the devil wants to interrupt you from praying, the prayer of faith is the biggest threat of the devil. That a man stands and pray is what? He's one. He's one. He's one. He's one. did the devil fear most. Maybe if you don't know that even the devil can be afraid. Yes. Have you not heard the Bible say resist the devil and he shall flee. So, anybody that flees means the person is afraid. Even the devil can be fearful. He knows what fear means. That's why he uses fear. James chapter 5. And from verse 6, very powerful. The prayer of faith. The prayer of the righteous is the biggest threat. Of the devil. It's like you are bringing war to his doorstep. You are bringing war into his kingdom. Anytime believers gather to pray. Let me read to you James chapter 5. It says, confess your fault one to another and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, avail less much. One version says, the prayer of the righteous make tremendous things to happen. The art felt prayer of the righteous make unusual happenings. Cause things to happen. So, while the devil is in darkness, trying to, you know, plan some accidents along the highway. Maybe one young believer is just living close to that place and start praying. Every activity of the devil around this, I stop it now. It doesn't matter his age, he might not even be a pastor because he's a righteous man. That accident will be averted. Do you know how many accidents did not happen because you are in the place praying. You are in the right place at the right time. interceding. Do you know how many people did not die? When you get to heaven, you will see how many souls you delivered from the like David literally delivered a lamb from the mouth of lion. God has used our prayer to deliver many people. You don't know. Many people have been delivered because you pray. They have been set free from satanic oppression because you pray. The heart-fed prayer. The heart is a life is a man subject to like passion as we are and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rain not on earth by the space of three years and six months. Verse 18 and he prayed again. This is an apostle. In in the place is an apostle in the place of prayer. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the end is seeing God is what the scripture is telling is that you are in church. The way Elijah took charge of his city, you can take charge of your city. He did not say God stop it. He say Elijah prayed that there should not be rain. If I be a prophet of God, let rain cease. God had to honor it. Why? Authority to control the earth is with man. So, God is like let it be. He said, when it's when it's when he was ready to let go, he said, let there be rain. I don't know if it was Elijah or Elisha. I can't remember now. Oh, the came the the soldiers of Syria came to invade his city. And they heard that Elijah is the one that is leaking their secret. Because why they are planning, he is seeing what is happening. Is that It was Elijah, right? Elisha. It was Elisha. And listen, he said, who is that? Who is telling? Who is a spy amongst us here? One of them say, ah, there's a prophet that sees you in your secret when you are thinking, when you are planning. The Bible say, they caused armies to come, and the armies came to capture the prophet, and his servant saw it, and his servant said, my father, my father, see these armies of Syria, they have come to take us. And he said, God, open his eyes, that he may see those who are with us. Listen, when you…