11TH JANUARY 2022
MINISTER: DCN. PAUL OLOTU
The aim of this teaching is for us to know that prayer is pivotal in accessing the glory and the riches of the Kingdom. To achieve this, understanding our identity and the culture of the kingdom we belong to is important.
In Daniel 6:7-11, Daniel found himself in a kingdom yet he did not forget that he belonged to another kingdom. He did not allow his identity to be restricted to the nature of the kingdom he found himself. For the kingdom he belonged to, there is a culture of prayer. He did not just cultivate the culture in that land; he had been acquainted with it even before he got there. In addition, he understood he was called for a purpose and he stood with that. One of the purposes of our calling in this kingdom is for us to explore and enjoy the glory and the riches of the kingdom.
Daniel had confidence in his identity unlike the Gentiles that Paul described in Ephesians 2:11. The identity of a Gentile is uncircumcision. Just like Daniel, we also have an identity and there is a culture in the kingdom where we belong. We should be confident in our identity. As believers, we now share the same commonwealth of heaven because Christ came and became a link for us to be part of the family of God as established in Colossians 1:20-22. Hence, we should not live like mere men because all that we need to enjoy has been made available through Jesus Christ.
As much as we have been called to be citizens of this kingdom, the Devil will not want us to come into those benefits. This is why we need to contend for those things through prayer. Daniel understood this well enough. The more reason he didn’t joke with his hours of prayer. Prayer was one of those things that helped him to stay and enjoy all that had been prepared for him. Prayer is one of the things that give license to the release of God’s blessings for us.
As humans, we will naturally yield to what we believe in. Hence, if we believe that God has blessed us, we will be blessed. We have access to the portion of the glory of God by the reason of our identity. It should keep ringing in our mind that we belong to God’s kingdom. There is an allocation of God’s blessing upon us and there is a calling for us to come into it. As such, there is a need for us to actively engage.
We must understand that the Devil does not play according to rules. That a thing belongs to you does not justify him not to come for it. You are the one who will actively contend for it in prayers.
Interestingly, the Devil Himself is waiting for you to engage. The Devil is an unruly being that needs to be put in order by you placing a demand on heaven through prayer.
Prayer is one sure route through which you come into divine allocation of glory. There is an allocation of glory for us as believers but it is through prayer that we can access it.
Jesus, in Hebrews 5:7 was recorded to have harnessed His allocation through fervent prayer. As a growing child, He could not comprehend the allocations given to Him at His birth but while growing, He understood fully and He possessed these allocations through prayers and supplications. In Luke 22:42, He asked that the will of God be done but for Him to come into that will, He had to offer prayers and supplications to God. As answer to His supplication and prayers, in verse 43-44, He was strengthened and as He was strengthened, He prayed more.
The Devil will always find every means possible to terminate your allocation. It will take believers who can pray to prayerfully guard their territory. The Devil would have successfully terminated Jesus’ assignment if He had not prayed and received strength. It took the ability to engage in prayers and the strength of God to endure the cross.
One sure means to curtail the activity of the unruly Devil is through prayers. A negative counsel that has been pronounced concerning Reuben was overruled in Deuteronomy 33:6 by a man who carried God’s authority. In the place of prayer, spiritual resources are released to do and undo many things.
Note that you cannot pray effectively and see it come to pass when you don’t know what the will of God is. Although the mechanism with which the will of God is enforced is prayer, understanding this will of God will help us to pray effectively. For instance, it is the will of God that we should be in good health as is recorded in Isaiah 53:3-5 but when if we don’t understand this will, we will continue to have ill-health. Also, in 2 Corinthians 8:9, it is God’s will for us to be rich but we will not come into this blessing except we pray. Even the Kingdom of God has to be taken by force according to Matthew 11:12. I am sure we don’t want to joke with this. We have to pray passionately to claim what belongs to us.