RADICAL PRAYER

Recently I was listening to a teaching by Mary Alice Isleib as she taught on Apostolic Prayer .I wanted to share some of her teaching with you, and many of her words are included in this message.  I felt this to be a powerful truth and at times we need reminders to pray. But not just to pray but how to pray, and to pray radically.

Why we pray radically. Radical prayer has power, Acts 1:8 tells us that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power, and you will be His witnesses! It is His witness, experiencing and showing forth the power of God in your life. That word power is translated as dynamite! The explosive power of God is able to tear down the enemy’s plan, and to make you larger in the spiritual realm where real battles take place. How important this power is that the Lord Jesus Himself instructed His disciples to wait for Him before they went forth with the good news of Jesus Christ. Prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit is your tool, your real equipment beyond your personality and education.

Acts1:14 and 2:1 They were all together in one place, spending a lot of time in prayer, not in committees. They only got it from God when God gave it to them. This is the same standard today. Prayer is a pillar of the Apostles doctrine, an absolute in church life. The Apostles doctrine included the Baptism of the Holy Spirit along with correct teaching, fellowship and the Holy sacraments. Praying in the Holy Spirit gives power for witness, power in gifting, power in prayer language with new dimensions in prayer, and power given for prayer ability.

We choose to do prayer. Jesus always prayed, but He went to the Father in secret, in fellowship. In Luke 11 Jesus taught His disciples how to pray and even gave them what to say in prayer and to expect the help of Holy Spirit. Prayer is first from the heart, out of our fellowship with Him, out of our innermost being flows rivers of living water. The Lord spoke to me about the scripture 1Corinthians 14:15 “Well then what shall I do? I will pray in the Spirit and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the Spirit, and I will sing in words I understand.” He showed me that if I will begin in the Spirit I will also end in the Spirit even if I pray in words I understand. For the Holy Spirit will prompt my sayings and I will pray more effectively for I will pray according to His will and not my own, nor my own wisdom. The disciple said “Lord teach us to pray”. He did not say teach me to preach, teach me to prophesy, teach me love, but teach me to pray! All of our teaching, preaching, witnessing, and loving come first through prayer. For we build ourselves up in our most holy faith by praying in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Jude 20)

Reverend Deborah Cain