THE DYNAMICS OF PRAYERS – HOW PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED

UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF PRAYERS-HOW PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED

Prayer is both physical and spiritual. It has measurements.

Prayers are expressions of the will of God.

Therefore they must originate with God and be spoken back unto HIm. 

Isa 55:11 KJV So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah uses the picture of RAIN CYCLE to illustrate how the word of God accomplishes its purpose.

This is where the Holy Spirit comes in.

Rom 8:26-27 KJV 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. %v 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Prayers are stored against the day of need

2Sa 15:31 KJV And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.

Before the man Ahithophel was called to give his counsel, David, having heard that the man was part of the conspiracy, had prayed this prayer. By the time they invited Ahithophel to come and give his counsel, David’s prayer worked against the man. Even though his counsel was very accurate and right, it was rejected and the man killed himself. He had never been rejected before because according to the Bible his counsel was like a man seeking an oracle from God 2 Sam 16:23.

Prayers are stored up

Have you heard people saying things like “his cup is full?” It is applicable in prayers too.

Gen 15:16 KJV But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Another instance

Mat 23:32 KJV Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

This is a prediction of what they were about to do.

That is, the measure of your fathers’ sin, (the measure fixed upon by God for punishment.) See Joh 13:27. This expression implies, that there is a certain measure fixed for every nation to which its iniquity is allowed to rise; and that before decisive punishment, amounting to excision, or to the entire overturn of their polity, is inflicted on nations, the measure of their iniquity, or of that of their rulers, must be filled up, by the succeeding generations adding to the iniquity of the preceding, till the measure is full; an idea which receives great countenance from Gen15:16.

The measure – The full amount, so as to make it complete. By your slaying me, fill up what is lacking of the iniquity of your fathers until the measure is full; until the national iniquity is complete; until as much has been committed as God can possibly bear, and then shall come upon you all this blood, and you shall be destroyed. They did and they were punished when their temple was destroyed and Jerusalem burnt by Titus in AD 70.

Sin is measurable so also prayers and every other spiritual thing.

Rev 5:8 KJV And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

The vials are vessels which contain odours of incense which are the prayers of the saints.

So when we pray or each time we pray we are storing up prayers or topping up prayers. No prayer is a waste.

Ecc 11:3 KJV If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

What is our role?

If we understand that prayers are stored up till the cup is full and then answered or action effected then we ought to give earnest work to prayers

The repeated 

Mar 11:23-24 KJV 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Most people think that once you pray for a thing once, you don’t need to pray again that it is unbelief. Actually what the Bible says is whatever you pray believe you receive them and you shall have them. The question is how many times or how long will I have to say it before I believe it?

It is dependent on the individual involved and his or her level of growth in faith.

If you had been using your faith before now and it has been working you would have come to the point where you say it once and you believe it but if not you have to say it continually until you believe it or until the situation responds to it.

Repeated prayers over and over in unbelief is not encouraged.

So we may pray for something and once we believe it then we can pray as many times as possible about it and this is intercessory prayers. intercessory prayers against the devil, hindrances against the answer, obstacles, etc.

What the Lord was against is VAIN REPETITIONS

Mat 6:7 KJV But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

What is vain repetition?

it means to repeat a thing often; to say the same thing in different words, or to repeat the same words, as though God did not hear at first. An example of this we have in 1Ki 18:26; “They called on Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us!”

Here we mention especially rituals which are used at the Lord’s supper, generally called by that unscriptural word “sacrament.” There are repeated phrases like “Lamb of God, have mercy on us,” “Almighty God, have mercy on us,” “O Lord, save us.” These indeed are vain repetitions, and at the Lord’s table when they are used by a believer (who only has a right to the Lord’s table) they are worse than vain. Vain repetitions, however, may also be used by those who use no formal prayers, ritual and prayer book. This is often done when the name of God and the Lord is falsely used in public prayer as well as other oft-repeated phrases. Others have gone into an extreme and have declared that the Lord teaches here that a petition should be made only once, and that if we have asked in faith for something once, to ask again is only proof of our unbelief. The Lord teaches no such thing. Our Lord Himself in Gethsemane made the same petition three times, and Paul with his thorn in the flesh had besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from him (2Co 12:7 )

But repetitions proceeding from a deep sense of our wants, and which express a vehement desire of the divine grace, Jesus by no means prohibits; for he himself made use of such repetitions in his agony, when he prayed three several times with exceeding vehemence; yet, as St. Matthew remarks, using still the same words: and indeed nothing is more beneficial, than to persevere as long as possible in the same act of desire, and to renew it again and again with fresh zeal and intenseness. This is what our Lord both taught and practiced. But to repeat words without intending, or meaning them, is certainly a vain repetition; and therefore we must be extremely careful in our prayers to mean what we say, and to say only what we mean from the very bottom of our hearts.

Examples or instances:

There are three VOICES

Active, Middle and Passive

Active is when the subject does an action

Middle voice is when an action is done  by the subject for the benefits of the subject.

Passive is when the action is done by another person for the subject

Luk 17:6 KJV And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

The word “ye might say” there is 

V-IAI-2P

Part of Speech: Verb

Tense: Imperfect

Voice: Active

Mood: Indicative

Person: second

Number: Plural

Imperfect tense which means you have to continually say it until the tree is moved.

The word “be thou be plucked up be the root” and “be thou be planted” are both passive

V-APM-2S

Part of Speech: Verb

Tense: Aorist

Voice: Passive

Mood: iMperative

Person: second

Number: Singular

The tree is not moving by itself but by another person which is God but the mood is IMPERATIVE which is a command. When you give command, then God moves the tree and plants it elsewhere.

Madman of Gadarene

Mar 5:8 KJV For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

The word “come out of the man” is in IMPERFECT TENSE” which means the Lord repeated the command several times before the devil came out of the man.

V-IAI-3S

Part of Speech: Verb

Tense: Imperfect

Voice: Active

Mood: Indicative

Person: third

Number: Singular

ELIJAH PRAYED SEVERAL TIME

Elijah prayer on Mount carmel. It was done several times until a cloud of rain came. PUSH is the acronym

1Ki 18:42-44 KJV 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,  43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. %v 44% And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

PRAYERS FOR MIRACLES CAN BE REPEATED

Mar 8:23-25 KJV 23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

PARABLE OF UNJUST JUDGE

Luk 18:1-8 KJV 1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;  2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:  3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.  4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?  8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

The parable is not a comparable but a contrast. God is not like that judge but will avenge His elect which cries unto Him day and night. We have to cry day and night.

PARABLE OF THE FRIEND IN THE NIGHT

Luk 11:8 KJV I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

The word “importunity” is shamelessness, persistence, effrontery.

THE BLIND BARTIMAEUS

He kept calling till he was heard and answered.

Mar 10:47-49 KJV 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.  48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

MT 7:7

AMPLIFIED

Matthew 7:7-8 Keep on asking and it will be given you;  keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.

Matthew 7:11 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!

PRAYERS HAS TIME OF AND FOR FULFILMENTS

Joh 7:30 KJV Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

Joh 8:20 KJV These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

Jesus came at the right time when conditions were ripe physically and spiritually, Greek language was the dominant language, Rome government had made roads and relative peace.

Gal 4:4 KJV But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Why was John delayed? Because Jesus who he was the forerunner to had not been born so why will he come? The only issue was that Elizabeth and Zechariah had to wait for a long period of time for them to have a child of destiny.

So were people doing to bring the messiah coming to pass?

ANNA prayed it into manifestation

Luk 2:36-38 KJV36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Simeon

Luk 2:25-26 KJV 25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

COMPARE TO DOCTOR APPOINTMENT

After attending to you, the Doctor asks you to come back again for observation and further treatment. It is the same thing. Healing is a process where as miracle is a fast-forward process.

John G Lake had healing technicians which he deployed to people and they stay there till people are healed.

When I ask people to come for prayer and even though you have been prayed for once and healing has not manifested, you ought to come out as many times as possible until you get the desired result. It amounts to unbelief to stay off and expect that the ONE TIME prayer has done it. Each time we pray we top the bottle and the more fervent we pray the quicker the bottle is filled up.

Different measure for different need

Depending on the glory associated with the need, its purpose and destination, there are different measures to be filled. Take for instance somebody believing to secure an admission into college will have a different measure from someone with need for a marital partner. How quick the measures are filled up is dependent on many factors like the earnestness of the person involved, the grace upon him or people praying with him and the anointing. If one chases one thousand two shall chase ten thousand. So like minded people agreeing in prayers will fill a measure very fast compared to an individual effort.