The Origin and Purpose of Prayer

By Caesar Benedo

They say when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. We can’t really make the most of prayer unless we understand its origin and purpose. Whatever exists has a purpose, and an origin.
For us to produce better result through prayer, we have to understand how God works, the principles that govern the heavens and earth, how the notion of prayer came about, the principles on which it was established, and the laws that govern it. We need to also understand why prayer cuts across all boundaries, be it religion, race, nationality, culture, gender, age-group, language, geographical location, social ranks and so on.
The book explains how the concept of prayer came about, when and where it started, who initiated it, why it was established, the principles and laws that govern it. It also points out some reasons prayer cuts across all boundaries, and why humans pray regardless of who they pray to. Lastly, it teaches some techniques for effective prayer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Caesar Benedo
• Release date: Apr 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532374869

Caesar Benedo

Dr. Caesar Benedo is a preacher, teacher, writer and author with a profound knowledge of the word of God. He is endowed with a unique anointing for strategic prayers. He served as the national prayer director for Action Chapel International (ACI) Benin, and the leader of intercessory group in Ganhi branch for nine years. He teaches and preaches with passion in seminars and conferences to heal hearts, win souls, and transform lives. His charisma and inspirational messages have changed the lives of many. He is the founder of "CFN" (Changing the Face of Nations), a reformation and transformation ministry with a mandate to heal hearts, win souls and change lives through the power of prayer and the word of God. He teaches biblical truths, concepts and principles, trains intercessors and prayer warriors to be more effective in prayer.

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THE ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OF PRAYER

Rev. Dr. Caesar O. Benedo

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright 2017 by Caesar Benedo

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given way to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Note: personal pronouns for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are lowercased in keeping with the different Bible versions used in this book.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Authorized King James version © 1991 by World Bible Publishers, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the New International version © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James version © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New America Standard Bible © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to everyone who desires to know and understand how prayer came about, when and where it started, why it was established, the laws and principles that govern it, why humans pray regardless of who they pray to, and some effective techniques for effective prayer.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter One

Understanding the concept of prayer

Key points

Laws and principles of prayer

Chapter Two

5WH prayer technique

What

Important questions

Who and Whom

Why

Where

When

How

Chapter Three

Personal devotion

Answers

How to start personal quiet time

Hints for personal Bible study

Chapter Four

Morning glory prayer

Chapter Five

Family altar

How to initiate family altar

Importance of family altar

Chapter Six

Prayer retreat

How to plan prayer retreat

Important question

Chapter Seven

Prevailing power of prayer

Chapter Eight

Holy cry

About the book

About the author

Other books by the author

Prayer of salvation

INTRODUCTION

When people say God is sovereign, he will act when he chooses to, he knows my needs, he is a loving father, he created me and he will give me whatever he planned to give me, he has the power to do whatever he chooses to do at any time, silver and gold belong to him and he gives them to whoever he wills, heaven and earth belong to him. I do not necessarily have to pray for him to act in my life, and so on, it implies they do not understand how God works.

It is true that God is a loving father, and that he has the power to do whatever he chooses to do at any time. However, what many people don’t understand about God is that he respects principles, and he would not violate his word for any reason.

When God speaks, it becomes a law says Dr. Myles Munroe. From the very moment God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground, (Gen.1:26), he gave the earth realm to humanity and excluded himself in the daily management of earth affairs.

This simple act of God in the beginning legally put mankind in charge of the earth, and excluded God in the right to act within the earth realm without the cooperation of humans. Psalm115:16 says the highest heavens belong to God, but the earth he has given to mankind. Once God gives a thing, he doesn’t take it back declares the written word of God (Rom.11:29).

Consequently, the only one who has the legal right (authority) to do things on earth is human (a spirit with body). John4:24 informs us that God is spirit. And since God is spirit, he doesn’t have the right to do things in the earth realm in accordance with scriptures and principles, without the cooperation of humans that he gave the earth to in the beginning.

Have you ever asked why the Lord Jesus, and John the Baptist taught their respective disciples how to pray? I believe one of the reasons is that there are laws and principles that govern prayer, which can only be learned through teaching. Whatever is taught can be learned. And the only way to learn these laws and principles is by teaching them. So that one can learn and use them to produce positive results in prayer.

If there is nothing to learn about prayer, the Lord Jesus, and John the Baptist wouldn’t have taught it, and the disciples of Jesus would not have asked him to teach them how to pray. There is something you need to know about prayer, in order to be more effective. The knowledge you have about the subject determines the kind of results you produce. You can only talk about what you know.

To be more effective and consistent in prayer, you have to know, and understand how God works, the principles that govern the heavens and earth, how the notion of prayer came about, and the principles on which it was established, why prayer cuts across all boundaries, how it was instituted and why humans pray regardless of whom they pray to. In addition, we need to know the basic principles and laws that govern prayer, and learn different techniques that make it work.

There is a saying that when the origin and purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. We can’t really make the most of prayer unless we understand its origin and purpose. Whatever exists has a purpose, and an origin. For us to produce better result through prayer, we need to understand the concept, why it was instituted, how it came about, how it works, the need to pray, and how to pray.

In my previous book, Understanding the Art of Prayer (Revisited), we addressed some of the reasons many pray without receiving answers, and what to do about it. We also spoke about what prayer is, why we pray, how to pray, the secret place of God, levels of prayer, hindrances to prayer, mechanism of prayer, keys to consistent prayer, dynamics of prayer etc.

There has been a lot of testimonies about how the book has impacted many lives since it was launched. At the same time, many have also asked me about the origin of prayer and why God instituted it. Having explained what prayer is, why we pray, and how to pray, it becomes necessary for us to also understand how the concept of prayer came about, why it was instituted, how it works, and the principles that govern it.

The goal of this book is to add to what has already been done, cover new grounds, throw more light on other important prayer-related issues, and help others to enhance the effectiveness and consistency of their prayer life.

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CHAPTER ONE

UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF PRAYER

In my previous book on prayer, I mentioned that prayer is one of the most taught subjects in the Christendom because of its importance. However, it is perhaps the most misunderstood. More work has been done on the need to pray than on how to pray. Most of us know we need prayer and we can give many reasons why we have to pray. The major problem Christians are facing today is the proper understanding of the how-to of prayer. To produce better results through prayer, you have to know the techniques that work.

Apart from understanding the how-to of prayer, it is very important that we understand how pray came about, the principles on which it is established, and the laws that govern it. To do this, we must return to the book of Genesis where everything started.

Genesis1:1-25, recounts how God created all the beautiful things we see in the world today. The passage also points out that God saw the things he had created and that they were good. In verse 26, God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

We notice in the passage that when God created everything, he took part in the work, but when it comes to the management of earth affairs, he handed it over to humans and removed himself in the dominion mandate. He said, Let them have dominion… By this, God made the earth human’s domain, territory or jurisdiction and made human race the governor and manager of the earth.

The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to all humanity.

(Ps.115:16NLT)

I think one of the reasons God gave the earth to humans is that it was not intended for spirit being, since no spirit can dwell legally on earth without a body. In fact, nature demands that every living being, including animals coming to this planet must go through the womb (born), in order to gain legitimacy on earth. Otherwise, it will be cursed for breaking the rules of nature.

Genesis1:2 shows how the Spirit of God hovers over the surface of the waters. He couldn’t dwell on earth because there was no human body for him to dwell in. For God to make man legal on earth, he had to form a body for him.

Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

(Gen.2:7-8ESV)

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface