The Call to Pray

By Vuyisile I Vena

This book is about drawing believers back to the practice of prayer which is a weapon that God has given the church. In this book you will learn about how prayer can change the course of events in our personal lives, ministries, businesses, nations and the human governments of our times; how through prayer Christians can get God involved in human affairs and ensure that Christians live in an environment of peace and are able to advance the Kingdom agenda wherever they are.

Furthermore, this book outlines key principles that Christians need to observe in order to ensure that they are fruitful in the area of prayer and they get the results they desire. Above all, this book is written as a prayer manual that can be used by churches to teach and equip the saints in accordance with Ephesians 4:12.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vuyisile I Vena
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005801991

Book preview

The Call to Pray

The Call to Pray

Vuyisile I Vena

Copyright © 2021 Vuyisile I Vena

First edition 2021

Published by Vuyisile I Vena publishing at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Vuyisile I Vena using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Sue Taylor for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.org

E-mail: [e-mail]

Vuyisile I Vena

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.vuyisilevena.org

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Call to Pray

2. Our Spiritual Battle

3. Praying in Accordance with God’s Will

4. Pray for All People

5. What Prayer Does

6. We are the Salt of the Earth

7. Praying All Kinds of Prayer

8. Praying in the Name of Jesus

9. Prayer and Fasting

10. Prayer and Faith

11. The Lord Jesus and Prayer

12. The Apostles and Prayer

13. Prayer in the Early Church

14. Hindrances to Answered Prayer

15. Persistence in Prayer

About the Author

Introduction

Dear Reader, I pray in Jesus’ name that every chapter of this book will edify you and catapult you into higher levels of a life of prayer, obedience and faith. May you be established in the principles discussed below and be able to live the life of prayer God ordained for you, and become fruitful in all areas of your life. Prayer to a Christian is like breathing, it is life. Fruitful and victorious Christian living is dependent on the quality of your prayer life. People have life as long as they still breathe and their life ends the moment breath lives them and they become lifeless. That is exactly what happens when Christians stop praying, they become lifeless. What I have just said applies equally to the church, the Body of Christ; a prayerless church is a lifeless church. Remember that every living organism must produce because it is living. A Christian who is not praying cannot be fruitful. A church that is not praying cannot be fruitful. Everything a church does – be it the teaching and preaching of the Word, evangelism, praying for the sick – is dependent and is connected to the prayer life of that church. A Christian cannot live without prayer; and a church cannot function and thrive without prayer. Jesus told us that His house shall be a house of prayer and He chased out those who were trading in the temple. He was sending a message that a church is primarily a place of prayer.

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves (Matthew 21:12-13).

In doing what He did, Jesus has helped us understand how we are to set right priorities. Prayer is top priority and without prayer nothing moves in the life of a believer or in the church. Dear Saint, please note all the good preaching, teaching, evangelism and church projects come to a standstill and become useless if they are not backed up by prayer. Also, without prayer the dark world is left on its own, unhindered, and as a result, souls cannot be delivered from the hands of Satan and brought to the light and be saved.

In this book I show you how prayer is a priority and what the key nuggets and principles are that as believers we need to know, so that we pray with understanding and get results from our prayers. In this way, our lives and those of others are transformed.

Chapter 1

The Call to Pray

Prayer is a top priority for a Christian and the church. Without prayer nothing gets moving in the right direction. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving must be made for all people.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1 Timothy 2:1-2). 

I want to highlight to you the words first of all in verse 1. These words indicate to us that prayers must be made a matter of priority. This verse gives us an understanding that out of all the things that the church and individual believers are doing on a daily basis, prayer must be one of them; and must not be just part of the mix but must take priority. When we look in the later chapters at what prayer does, it will become clear why prayer must be the top priority of the church and individual believers. The Lord Jesus made a very profound statement about prayer in Matthew 21:13:

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

In this verse, the Lord Jesus made it clear that the primary work of the church and believers, alongside other priorities such as preaching and teaching, is prayer. Jesus’ statement in this verse was also prophetic (Scripture is prophetic), in that He was pointing to the church He had come to build. He was saying he had come to build a praying church. He drove out of the temple those who were selling and buying, overturned the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold doves. This is a picture of spiritual cleansing and preparation for prayer. In order for prayer to be effective and bring results, we must reflect and repent where necessary so that we come before God with the right attitude and heart. Bible scholars say the traders that were trading in the temple had become corrupt; they were cheating many people who were buying their goods. Jesus said, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.’ People had shifted the focus of the temple to trading rather than worship and prayer and had gotten involved in corrupt activities right in the temple. The focus on money had eroded the most important thing that the temple existed for: worship and prayer. The corrupt trading activities were violating the sacredness of the temple. For a New Testament believer, the temple is your body that has been bought by the blood of Jesus. Any sin you commit with your body affects your spiritual health and is offensive to the Master, the owner of your body. There are lessons to be learned from Jesus’ dealings with the traders in the temple. Are there things in your life or in your church that have taken the place of prayer and worship? Do we have practices that we can say are modern day church ‘trading’ that can hinder the focus on prayer? I believe we do. The trading of the modern church may not necessarily take a physical form, as in selling and buying items in the church, but there are activities that are reflective of a culture of trading in the temple. Nowadays, churches have many ‘fellowship’ gatherings. These gatherings are well attended compared to the prayer meetings. In some church circles people even organise very colourful events to celebrate some of the pagan days such as Valentine’s Day right in the church and these events are generally well attended compared to prayer meetings. Church camps with a focus on social activities are great fun for many church people and are well attended. Breakfast meetings, coffee chats for church groups, business meetings where business cards are exchanged and people network with each other, are common in many church circles. These may become modern day church activities of trading if they are not kept in check and properly balanced off. These activities are not necessarily wrong, but if they become a key feature of the church and they are given a position of greater importance than prayer, then you have problem. Your priorities become skewed and wrong. I always say not all things are important and not all important things are equally important. Some important things are just more important than others. The Bible tells us that we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added (Matthew 6:33). Again, the word ‘first’ in Matthew 6:33 signifies that there are things that are a priority and must be given more attention and time because they just are more important than the rest. Fellowship of the brethren as in lunches, coffee meetings, outings and relationship-building camps may be necessary and helpful, but will never be more important than prayer. Prayer should take precedence over all fellowship activities. The early church had a great fellowship and breaking of bread culture. However, the early church fellowship of the brethren was done in an environment of prayer and strong teachings and preaching. Fellowship was part of the revival that was going on. Their fellowship was Holy Ghost driven and was a result of the prayer and unity of the saints that started when the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven. Prayer kept the saints of the early church glued together as you can see in this verse.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place (Acts 2:1).

These saints waited for the Holy Spirit in prayer and were of one accord. Even after the Holy Ghost had come, they continued in prayers. The revival they experienced was a result of their prayers and was also sustained by their prayers.

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42).

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (Acts 2:46-47).

The point I am making is that fellowship does not bring revival by itself. You need prayer, good doctrines and the breaking of bread added to your fellowship. If the emphasis is on fellowship the approach is skewed; and not in line with Scripture’s pattern, and therefore cannot bring the desired results. Prayer is like an engine that keeps things moving in a believer’s life and the work of the church. Prayer is one of the foundational things in the process of building the work of God – and we know that a house without foundations cannot stand in hard times. A church that is not praying cannot stand against the wickedness of Satan. A believer who does not pray will remain spiritually weak, and that is why Jesus admonished us to pray so that we do not enter into temptation. Praying gives us strength to keep moving and doing what God called us to do.

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).

This verse clearly confirms and shows that we cannot live without prayer. The reason why many are weak and easily get entangled in sin is because of lack of prayer. You become weak and struggle to fight temptation when you are not in prayer. Prayer revives you and gives you spiritual sharpness that will keep you above your enemy. Prayer will not just keep you afloat but will enable you to advance the kingdom agenda and the things that we are called to do by the Lord. The strength for these things is rooted in prayer. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. However, what you have faith to do or achieve you must still speak out in the form of prayer. Prayer is pivotal in the life of a believer and the church. I call prayer and the Word twins for fruitful Christian living.

Setting Right Priorities

The early church apostles set the right tone from the onset and prioritised prayer and the Word.

Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:3-4).

These apostles realised very early in the life of the church that if they are to be fruitful in their ministries and fulfil their ministries, they must set right priorities from the word go. They refused to serve the tables and wisely delegated this function to the deacons and openly declared that their focus will be prayer and the ministry of the Word. It is in this area that some ministers miss it. Some pastors are comfortable with being with people all the time and desire to be more with the people than with God. They are comfortable spending more time with their congregations, friends and colleagues than they spend time with God. This is the wrong order of things and can result in barrenness. A praying minister begets a praying congregation. People do what their leaders do and value. If his life is very spiritual, people sense a person of prayer. They do not need to see your closet life but they can feel it. If a minister attaches very little value to prayer, the people under that minister will not see prayer as important. When the apostles said they would focus on prayer and ministry of the Word, they sowed a good seed and as a result prayer permeated every activity of the early church because the leaders of the people were in prayer. When a minister sows a seed of prayer by actually spending time in prayer consistently, he will pull to himself an army of prayer warriors and his church will turn into a praying church.

No child of God can have a fruitful life without prayer. No church can be fruitful without prayer. Nations can be preserved through prayer; a course of events can be changed through prayer. Revivals come through prayer and are sustained through prayer. The call to pray is set out in Scripture clearly and must be heeded by all saints and the church. Let us look at this verse which tells us about what our Master, Jesus Christ, said on the subject of prayer:

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1).

The Word and Prayer

However, I would like to highlight something that is very important for building a life of prayer as a believer and also as a church. Your depth in the Word of God increases your prayer capacity. Many people do not pray as much as they ought to