Praying the Scriptures

By Sidney Edi-Osagie

Praying the Scriptures is a Christian resource that equips the reader with relevant information on the concept of prayer. It also details the necessary connection between understanding Gods will as embedded in the Scriptures and the art of prayer, while providing the reader with tested principles and useful tips on how to effectively pray the Scriptures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490871301

Sidney Edi-Osagie

Pastor Sidney Edi-Osagie is the Founder of the City On The Hill Evangelical Ministries International in Houston, Texas. He has participated in several ministry related efforts, which have culminated in the salvation of souls and the planting of several churches around the globe. Pastor Sidney is a husband and father. He is also a power-evangelist and teacher of the Word of God who operates under an apostolic and prophetic function of the Holy Spirit. He has been in ministry for more than fifteen years.

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Copyright © 2015 Sidney Edi-Osagie.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-7129-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7130-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015903162

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/23/2015

CONTENTS

Welcome Note

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter One The Fundamentals Of Prayer

What Is Prayer?

Other Religions And Prayer

Hebrew And Greek Origins Of The English Word Prayer

The Purpose And Practice Of Prayer

Prayer, A Two – Way Communication

How Often Should We Pray?

Why Prayer?

God’s Expectation

Man’s Expectation

God Is Waiting For Us To Pray And Command Him

God Is Seeking Men And Women To Pray

Chapter Two Effective And Ineffective Ways To Pray

The Power Of Forgiveness

Overcoming Temptation And Evil

Praying In Faith And Without Doubt

Praying In Faith And The Victory Of Faith

No Vain Repetition

Asking With The Right Motive

Prayer Should Be Targeted And Focused

The Importance Of Fasting To Prayer

Your Alliances And Your Prayers

Persistence And Perseverance

Fervent Prayer

Chapter Three Alive And Powerful

His Word, His Bond

The Infallibility Of The Word

The Sanctifying Power In The Word

Chapter Four Praying And Agreeing With His Will

Agreeing With His Will As Written

Chapter Five The Role Of The Holy Spirit In Prayer

Who Is The Holy Spirit?

Helper And Comforter

Power Generator

Divine Advantage

Abiding Presence

Testifier And Teacher

Revealer Of Secrets

Spirit Of Remembrance

Justifier

Chapter Six Faith Comes By Hearing

Understanding Faith

How Does Faith Come By Hearing?

Prayer, A Faith Builder

Chapter Seven The Hidden Power In Memorizing And Meditating On Scriptures

Meditation

Chapter Eight Different Types Of Prayer

Prayer Of Petition

Prayer Of Intercession

Prayer Of Agreement

Prayer Of Supplication

The Prayer Of Binding And Loosing

The Prayer Of Repentance

Prayer Of Thanksgiving

Prayer Of Consecration And Dedication

The Prayer Of Praise And Worship

Prayer Of Deprecation

Prayer Of Imprecation

Prayer Of Faith

Prayer Of Contemplation

Chapter Nine Praying Aloud/Why Pray Aloud?

Chapter Ten The Power Of Obedience

Chapter Eleven Men And Women Who Prayed The Scriptures

Chapter Twelve The Effectiveness And Results Of Prayer

Intimacy With The Holy Spirit

Fellowship With The Brethren

Alertness And Overcoming Temptation

Chapter Thirteen Holiness, Sanctification And Consecration

Holiness

Sanctification

Consecration

Prayer And Power

Bibliography

WELCOME NOTE

Thank you for taking the time to read Praying the Scriptures. If your aim is to learn how to effectively apply the Scriptures in your prayer life and all other areas of life, you have chosen the right book, as it is a book full of practical knowledge for successfully implementing prayer strategies based on Biblical wisdom. I pray this is a life changing experience!

Sidney Edi-Osagie

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my Mentor and Friend, the Dependable Holy Spirit. I love You sweet Holy Spirit!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my wonderful family - Lami, David, Samuelle and Emmanuel. Thanks for your love and support!

To my editorial manager Irene Asante-Boadi Snr. and my editorial team made up of Erhi Oputu and every other person who contributed in one way or the other in making this project a success.

To the entire City on the Hill Church family, I appreciate your encouragement, prayers and support!

PREFACE

The book Praying The Scriptures is a work that carefully outlines the relevance of Scripture to life in general, and the proper and most effective ways to apply the Scriptures for optimal results in prayer.

Praying The Scriptures is a result of years study, devotion and being under the instruction and tutelage of the Holy Spirit.

I believe the book will bless you!

IN MEMORY OF

In loving

memory of my mother

CHIEF CATHERINE NDIDI EDI-OSAGIE

(15 JAN 1934 – 16 FEB 2008)

who laid the foundation for my Christian walk

and willingness to answer

the call of God.

CHAPTER ONE

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PRAYER

WHAT IS PRAYER?

I suppose a good way to begin is to answer the question, What is Prayer? Prayer can be defined as ‘the divinely prescribed means for making our requests, petitions and appreciation known to God’. Also, prayer has been defined as a reverent petition made to God, or another object of worship." According to Cardinal Manning, ‘prayer is the breath of the soul, just as breathing is the sign of life¹; prayer is the sign of the life of the soul’.

As articulately presented by Cardinal Manning, prayer is a vital aspect of the life of every believer. In fact, prayer is so essential to the existence of every child of God, because it is through prayer we are birth into God’s kingdom, and through it we are sustained, inspired and strengthened to the will of God on earth. The great Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ, was a man of prayer. He and prayer were inseparable, in that He prayed ceaselessly, in diverse ways and different places; sometimes in the quiet of His heart, and at other times with vehement public cries such as was displayed when He resurrected Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44). There truly is tremendous power available to the church (Ephesians 1:19), and only through prayer can the bride of Christ come to full maturity and fulfill her divine mandate by having the impact she has been predestined to have on earth (Romans 8:19).

More often than not, prayers are offered in anticipation or expectation of an answer, intervention, deliverance or solution. King Hezekiah took the letter from Sennacherib to the Lord’s temple and spread it before the Lord, while making supplication to him regarding the threat and harassment of the Assyrian King; and God answered Hezekiah’s prayer through a Word from the Prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:8-34). However, if it is true that prayer is often offered in expectation or anticipation of an answer, we must understand we cannot expect answers for prayers not offered (James 4:2B).

We have been able to establish that prayer is as vital to a believer’s well being, as air is to a person’s continuous existence. It is sad though to note how few of us actually engage in this blessed privilege. The church exists in a glorious time in history. We live in the dispensation where the veil of the temple has been torn down and that veil is the flesh of Christ (Matthew 27:51A). The believer now has unhindered access to the Father through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19-20). Faith is ‘Now’ (Hebrews 11:1A), and now is the fulfillment of all things. The Gospel tells us that, ‘The Prophets and the Law prophesied until John the Baptist’ (Matthew 11:13), but now the kingdom of God is here and everyone is pressing into it (Luke 16:16).In our quest to understand prayer, we have attempted several definitions of the subject. Among other definitions of prayer, the Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines prayer as ‘A humble and sincere request, as to God ²’ ‘An utterance, as to God, in praise, thanksgiving, confession, etc.³’

OTHER RELIGIONS AND PRAYER

Myriads of religions exist in the world, the most prominent amongst which are: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and the Baha’i faith⁴. Other significant religious views include atheism and the non-religious, which combined, make up as much as 11.46% of the world’s total population.

In view of these manifold religious belief systems, it is quite remarkable that the basic definition of prayer is largely the same. As revealed earlier in our summarization of the various definitions of prayer, the Webster‘s New College Dictionary defined prayer as ‘A humble and sincere request, as to God; an utterance, as to God in praise, thanksgiving, confession, etc. Strange as it may seem, this definition holds true, irrespective of whether the utterance is being made to God, in monotheistic sense; or to gods or spirits, from a polytheistic, animistic, or ancestral worship vintage point.

HEBREW AND GREEK ORIGINS OF THE ENGLISH WORD PRAYER

If we are to be effective in our Christian faith as well as in the ministry of prayer, it behooves us as professing Christians, to seek to know and understand much more than the consensus definition of the concept of prayer. In the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, several Hebrew and Greek words are translated into the English Word Prayer. I believe careful examination of some of these words will shed more light on the real meaning of prayer.

If we carefully consider the New King James Version of the Bible (NKJV), there are 12 different words that are translated from the original text into the English word Prayer; 7 Hebrew words and 5 Greek words. A close examination of these words reveals more of the true essence of prayer: The 7 Hebrew words and their meanings are as follows:

•  Tephillah: Prayer (H8605)

•  Siychah: Meditation (H7881)

•  Athar: Complaint, Babbling (H6279)

•  Siyach: Enchantment (H3908)

•  Lachash: Judge (H3908)

•  Palali: Supplication (H6419)

•  Chalah: Travaili (H2470)

The Greek words and their meanings are as follows:

•  Deesis: Supplication (G1162)

•  Proseuche: Pray Earnestly (G4335)

•  Euche: Vow (G2171)

•  Proseuchomai: Pray (G4336)

•  Inteuxis: Intercession (G1783)

Given the above symbolic words, we can clearly understand why Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 6:18 admonishes us to ‘Pray always with all manner of prayer and supplication’.

THE PURPOSE AND PRACTICE OF PRAYER

Prayer is a covenant agreement between God and man. Prayer is thus a private arrangement or affair between the Lord and the party or parties offering the prayer or petition. This presupposes that prayer is a very serious matter! When prayer becomes a means of impressing others; displaying our level of passion, aggression or ability to articulate words and Scripture; or an avenue by which we show our superior religious standing or piety, the very essence of prayer is defeated, and its rewards forfeited. The Bible refers to these practices as hypocritical, and goes on to outline what the proper practice and environment of prayer should be. In Matthew 6:5-6, the Scriptures declare the following:

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

The King James Version renders Matthew 6:6 in this manner:

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

From both renditions above, we can deduce that prayer is a secret or closet affair between the one(s) offering the prayer and God, to Whom the prayer is being offered. These verses of Scripture also make it clear that though prayer itself may be a private matter between the covenant parties (man and God), the results of prayer are not at all private; for as Matthew 6:6B states, For your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Therefore, the conception, carriage and labor pains of prayer may be private and unnoticeable, but when the resultant baby of testimony arrives, it is a bundle of joy and a spectacle for the entire world to behold.

Some of the underlying reasons why using prayer as a means of showing off is a no no, is because in the first place, prayer is a demonstration and statement of humility, while showing off to all intents and purposes is a display of pride. 2 Chronicles 7:14 states that, If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

This Scripture confirms the fact that prayer offered in humility satisfies one of the underlying tenets of prayer: If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face (2 Chronicles 7:14A). In other words, this Bible verse is saying God is not obligated to answer prayers offered with a proud heart or attitude. This should not come as a surprise though, because the Scriptures are emphatic when they declare: But He gives more grace Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6); and as a result of this, 1 Peter 5:6-7 admonishes as follows:

Therefore humble yourselves under the Mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

The reason this is crucial to our success in the place of prayer is because prayer itself is an admittance of personal insufficiency, and a total reliance on the sufficiency of God. 2 Corinthians 3:5 states: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. Prayer is or should be a demonstration of the fact that we cannot help ourselves, and are solely relying on the grace and power of God to help us. Prayer should originate or flow from an understanding and attitude of it being a privilege. I say this because prayer presupposes that the Creator and God of the universe, not only humiliated Himself in dying a shameful death on the Cross for the sins of humankind, but has also humbled Himself in tying or binding Himself to the prayers of the saints. In Proverbs 6:16-17A, the Bible says: These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look. We learn from the various Scriptures we have considered that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble; that He hates a proud look; and if we humble ourselves under His Mighty Hand, He will exalt us in due time. If these truths apply to life, I can assure you they apply more to prayer.

Prayer also seeks to humble the flesh, by breaking the will of the soul, and aligning the spirit of man to the Spirit of God. This is why the LORD declares in Isaiah 57:15: For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose Name is Holy: I dwell in high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. So God can only dwell in the high and holy place, which is the same as the secret place of the Most High, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit. This may also be why Psalm 24:3-5 says the following:

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitful. He shall receive blessings from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

These verses of Scripture reveal the qualifications of the one who is allowed to stand in God’s holy place or ascend into the hill of the Lord in prayer. It stipulates that the one who God grants access must be one who has clean hands, a pure heart, has not entertained an idol in his heart, nor sworn deceitfully. This is invariably saying that the one who is able to access and stand on God’s holy hill is the one whose heart is totally submitted to God in humility, brokenness and obedience.

PRAYER, A TWO – WAY COMMUNICATION

Prayer is meant to be a two way, not a one way communication. This is why Matthew 7:7 says, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Also, in Jeremiah 33:3 God’s word states:

Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

I guess the question is how can we receive or hear the answer to our prayers or petitions when we are busy speaking the whole time. My thinking is the most effective way to go about prayer is to speak and then listen attentively and patiently to hear what the Lord God will answer. The Bible assures us that God has not called the seed of Jacob to seek him in vain (Isaiah 45:19B), so as surely as we make up our minds to seek him earnestly in prayer, He has promised to answer or make his response known to us. In Jeremiah 29:12-14, the Scriptures declare,

Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you and you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive.

Therefore the Bible makes it quite clear that sincerely seeking, praying or petitioning His throne of mercy with the right heart will not go unanswered or unrewarded. This may be the reason the Lord instructed the children of Israel in Numbers 10:9 as follows:

When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpet, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God and you will be saved from your enemies.

The Lord’s instruction to the Israelites in this verse of Scripture is to the effect that whenever they are in situations of war or circumstances that overwhelm them, they should sound the trumpet of prayer petitioning Him, and He will remember and deliver them. Even the verse following this chapter (Numbers 10:10) also instructs them that in the days of their gladness, in their appointed feasts, at the beginning of their months, they shall blow the trumpet of the prayer of thanksgiving over their burnt offering and offer sacrifices of their peace offerings; and these sacrifices shall be a memorial for them before their God. What this implies is that in times of desperation and of joy, God expects us to bring the sacrifice of prayer to Him; and ‘as long as we are willing and obedient, we shall eat the good of the land’ (Isaiah 1:19).

The Bible commands us to pray. This is why the first four Words of Matthew 6:7 states, And when you pray, and not If you pray, meaning every child of God has to pray sometime, because prayer is an integral part of the believer’s life, as it is his direct hotline to God. To buttress the fact that we’ve been commanded to pray, Luke 18:1 says, Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. This is letting us know that praying is a better alternative than fainting, becoming overwhelmed or giving up, because the Scriptures reveal in Isaiah 40:30-31:

Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

So we notice from these Bible verses that prayer is a door way to the supernatural which grants us access to the presence and power of God by which we are continually able to renew strength and resolve.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE PRAY?

In Colossians 4:2, the Scriptures say, Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. The Bible further reveals that God expects us to pray without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17). Also, the Scriptures admonish us in Romans 12:10-12 as follows:

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.

Prayer is so essential to our spiritual well being that we can confidently assert that prayer is to the spirit-man what food is to our physical man. And as Hebrews 11:3 rightly puts it: By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. This verse of Scripture affirms everything physical has a spiritual origin or takes its root from the spiritual; and I have come to understand prayer to be the approved means of communication for spiritual transactions. Prayer should not only be a priority for us, but ought to be a lifestyle. Jesus exemplified this truth at different times of his earthly ministry. In Mark 1:35, the bible reveals as follows:

Now a long while before daylight, He went and departed to a solitary place; and He prayed.

Prayer is necessary for the nourishment and growth of every Christian, and Christ our Lord and Savior, who came in the form of man and God was not exempt from this. Prayer is needed not just for renewal of strength (Isaiah 40:31), but for vigilance, provoking the promises of God, overcoming the temptation to sin, and executing the judgment written against the forces of darkness through spiritual warfare (Psalm 149:5-9; Jeremiah 48:10; Job 22:28-29). The reason prayer is so potent is, it raises the stakes, in that it shifts the battle from being a fleshy, carnal or physical affair to a purely spiritual matter where the party draws from the pool of the divinely supernatural to give potency and effect to their decrees and prayers. In Luke 22:40-44, the Bible declares concerning Jesus:

When he came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father if it is your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done. Then an angel appeared to him from Heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony, he more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Our Lord Jesus Christ did not only rely on a life of prayer or make it a priority, but prayer was pretty much a lifestyle for him. In Luke 6:12 we are told, "Now it came it pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Also in Luke 5:16, the Bible reveals: So he himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

In the last two verses of Scripture just considered, the words underlined are ‘all night’ and ‘often,’ which point to the fact that Jesus tarried long in the place of prayer, and this wasn’t just an occasional thing, but something he did often. One of the reasons Jesus lived a life of constant prayer and commands us to do the same may be the fact that He needed to be in continuous communication with His Father to constantly renew strength. Thus the Bible in describing the relationship between the Father and Himself states: I and My father are one. In addition, John 5:30 reveals why Jesus Christ had to rely on God His father, for inspiration, direction and power. It reads: I can of Myself do nothing, as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me. And we must not forget that 1 John 5:14 says,

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

So Jesus needed the direction, grace and power of the Holy Spirit to succeed in His earthly ministry, and continuous prayer was a gateway to a vibrant relationship with His Father and Source. This is why the Bible says How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him (Acts 10:38).

Just as Christ needed God, and had to always connect with Him in prayer for direction and renewal of strength, the believer needs to be continuously connected to Christ through prayer for nourishment, instruction, and strength. This explains why Christ said in John 15:4-5;

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

The preceding verses of Scripture make it