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PREVAILING IN PRAYER BY THE WORD (4)

Date: 
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Bible Meditation: 
Proverbs 16: 1-9

All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the LORD WEIGHS the MOTIVES  Proverbs 16:2

SINCERITY of Heart is crucial to PREVAILING IN PRAYER BY the WORD: All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the LORD WEIGHS the MOTIVES (Pro.16:2). God is more concerned about Sincerity of the heart in Prayer, than the confession of the mouth or the utterance of the lips. Believers must always pray with sincerity. Prevailing Prayer comes from a committed heart. It is not a cold or careless prayer made with an indifferent attitude. Jesus rejected the prayers of the scribes and Pharisees saying, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Mt.15:8).

Part of being sincere is being focused, deliberate, and intentional when we pray. The more we know and understand the Word of God, the more intentional our prayer would be. Prayer is conversation with God, so we must be engaged mentally in what we are saying. Intimacy with God and His Word will reflect in better communication and more effective communion with Him. Some ministers advise that in practice, we should pray out loud whenever possible. This is not because we want to be heard by others, but because it helps us to be conscious and concentrate on the contents of the prayer. The act of hearing oneself speaking reinforces communication.

Of course, sincerity in prayer and right motives of the heart, sometimes transcend articulate words. There are times when words are not enough to express what we feel inside. The woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment did not say one word, but communicated with her whole being: For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour (Mt. 9:21-22). She touched Jesus with her heart, and that was her unspoken, but powerful prevailing prayer.

Hannah’s account in 1 Samuel 1: 1-17, also attests to the essentiality of sincerity to the Power of Prevailing Prayer. Hannah cried out and touched the Heart of God with her heart and not words. Though her prayer was silent, it was fervent. The tenth verse says: “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD and wept in anguish.” Her prayer was full of consecration also: “Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if Your will indeed look in the affliction of Your maidservant, but give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and, no razor shall come upon his head” (1Sam.1:11).

Those around Hannah, including Eli who watched her mouth, couldn’t hear her prayer. Verse 13 says, “Now Hannah spoke with Her HEART; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard,” but God heard. Even the priest thought she was drunk, but she told him, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have POURED OUT my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now (1Sam.1: 15b-16). She poured out her soul, yet nothing came out of her mouth.

Prepared hearts are vital before God: The PREPARATIONS of the HEART belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord” (v.1). Pride in the heart will hinder prayer: Everyone PROUD in HEART is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished (v.5). The Heart is Life’s Design Station: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (v.9). When we cry out to God in focused and sincere prayers from our whole heart, He will hear and answer. The Prayer of Faith based on God’s Word and pouring out from a rightly-motivated heart of sincerity will always prevail!

Adetokunbo O. Ilesanmi (Meditations)

Prayer: 
Lord, deepen our intimacy with Your Word and grant us Sincere Heart Motives to PREVAIL IN PRAYER BY YOUR WORD, in Jesus’ name.
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