TEACH US

TO PRAY
(A Practical Guide on How to Build an Effective Prayer Life)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I acknowledge all the men and women whom God has used to help me come this far. I
am passionately grateful for all your gesture of fire. You shall not miss your reward in
Jesus name.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
Introduction
1. What is Prayer?
2. Ten Things you Should Know About Prayer
3. Why Must We Pray?
4. Persistence in Prayer
5. What about Vain Repetitions?
6. Four Biblical Approach To Prayer
7. Hindrances to Prayer
8. What the Bible Teaches About Fasting and Prayer
9. What about Prayer Postures?
10. The Truth about Long Prayers
11. The Place of the Holy Spirit in a Believer’s Prayer Life
Conclusion
About the Author
 Copyright © 2019 Samuel Akindahunsi

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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of the copyright holder.

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

Scripture quotations are all taken from the Holy Bible, the New King James Version
(Authorized Version).

Email: samuelpublications@gmail.com

Phone numbers: +2348080659269, +2347010142868

 INTRODUCTION
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place,
when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us
to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Luke 11:11
John Wesley said, “God is limited by our prayer life, such that unless someone asks
him, he can do nothing for humanity.” Some believe that God is in charge of all that is
happening in the world therefore, there is no need for prayer, well that’s not true. God
gave the dominion of the earth to His man – Adam, and God told him to rule the earth.
Not that He would rule the earth through Him, but that he should rule the earth. Then
Adam sinned and lost authority over the earth to Satan who now became the god of
this world as stated in the book of 2 Corinthians 4:4. Since then, Satan gained
dominion over this world and he will continue to exercise that dominion till Christ
return to send him out.

God cannot legally move here on earth to take away the dominion over the earth, only
a man can do it. Therefore, God cannot do anything down here unless somebody here
ask Him, hence the need for what we call prayer.

Prayer is a very important aspect of the Christian life and it is something that must be
done correctly, hence the need to be taught. In the text above, the disciples asked Jesus
to teach them to pray: this shows that prayer is something that must be learnt from
both scriptures and those who have gone ahead of us in the faith. Prayer is one of the
most difficult and most misunderstood activities of the Christian life. With prayer, a
believer can make anything happen both in the physical and spiritual realm, therefore
devil is afraid of a prayerful Christian, and he does everything possible to keep a
believer from praying. It seems to me that as bible study is the food of the spirit, also
prayer is the air that the believer’s spirit breathes.
The devil is after the prayer life of every believer because he knows that a prayerful
Christian is a dangerous one. If you know the entire bible without applying them in
prayer and daily living, you’re not different from the person who doesn’t know the
bible at all. Prayer is not a onetime thing for believers but a daily and a lifetime
exercise. In spiritual warfare, correct prayers against the kingdom of darkness, is like
spraying insecticides on insects, hence no force of darkness can withstand the force of
prayer. The fact that you are finding it difficult to pray is enough for you to know that
you are making great impacts in the spirit realm with your prayers.

Sometimes ago, I was discussing with some Christian folks about this subject of
prayer and they were saying that prayer is not necessary because God already gave us
all things in Christ and that God already knows what we want, therefore he doesn’t
need us to ask before he gives to us. This type of belief is erroneous and far from the
scriptures. In fact, the bible teaches that we must pray always and the word “always”
means every available opportunity.

There are lots of scripture references to buttress the importance of prayer as taught by
both Christ in the gospels and the apostles in the epistles.

Matthew 7:7 – 11
7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened unto you:
8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he
give him a stone?
10. Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven
give good things to them that ask him?
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul said, “Pray without ceasing”. This is not an advice, but
a command; which means that prayer for a believer is not what you do if you like, but
rather what you must even when you don’t feel like doing it. As a matter of fact, that
moment you are feeling bored about praying is the time you should pray more. You
don’t wait for an encounter, you initiate it and encounters are initiated through the
force of prayer.

Many reasons inform the necessity of writing this book. Here are some of them:

 Many believers are confused as to what prayer is and what prayer is not; they do
not know what prayer is all about.
 Many Christians don’t understand how to pray effectively with results.
 Many believe or have been taught that prayer is a gift, so it should be left to those
who have the gift.
 Many are getting wearied in the place of prayer, because they don’t know why they
are not receiving the answers to their prayers.

This book will address all these issue about prayer and the prayer life of a Christian.
In this book, we will examine a lot of things regarding prayer and I strongly believe
that after reading this book, your prayer life will experience a great change and
improvement. This book will also teach you:

 How to become better in your daily prayer life.

 The rudiments of bible instructions concerning this spiritual exercise called
prayer.
 The difference between correct and incorrect approach to prayer.
 How to identify and avoid the numerous errors and false teachings about prayer.

Join me in this book as we take a walk together to unravel the power and efficacy of
prayer to a believer, with respect to his or her spiritual and physical environment.

Akindahunsi Samuel
President, Royal Message Ministries
 CHAPTER ONE

WHAT IS PRAYER?
Prayer simply means spending time with God: the location is unimportant. According
to Strong’s Greek dictionary of the bible, the word translated in English as “prayer” is
the Greek word “proseuchomai” which mean to supplicate before God or to worship
God. So, we can see that prayer is an act of making supplications to God and to
supplicate means to make requests. It is also a means of communication between man
and God, whereby man speaks to God and God speak back to him. Prayer is
fellowshipping with God. Therefore it is not a monologue, but rather a dialogue,
because as you communicate with God, He should speak back to you. Prayer can
either be done by just speaking or by singing songs of prayer.

There are several dimensions of God that can only be attained through a good prayer
life. There are several manifestations of the Spirit that cannot be experienced outside a
sound prayer life. If we would not allow certain moves of the Spirit to be lost to our
generation, we must teach every believer the importance of fellowshipping with God
in its fullness. There is practically nothing impossible with the power of prayer.

When we first started Royal Message Ministries, we needed a hall where we can use
for prayer meetings and discipleship classes. Then we got one at the centre of the town
and it was a very good location. I discussed with the man in charge and agreed to give
us the hall for N30,000 per year; believe me, that was a huge amount for us then
because we were just starting and there was virtually no cash available to get anything
done. Because there were lots of people interested in getting the hall, every attempt to
make the caretaker reduce the price for us was futile. Then the man in charge said,
because we want to use it for church, he would give us nine days to gather the money,
which I said, no problem. I contacted some few people I knew then to see if they can
assist in any capacity, but nothing was coming forth. Actually there was no business
or work I could do to raise N30,000 in just nine days, therefore I decided to go for
prayer. From that day, I kept talking to God about it every day. Believe me, till the
morning of the seventh day, there was no sign of anything positive. Towards the
afternoon of the eighth day, I received a call from my mother who told me that she
wanted to give to our ministry and guess what, she was gave a gift of N30,000 – the
exact amount we needed to secure that hall. The morning of the ninth day, I went to
the caretaker and paid the money.

You see, there is nothing impossible to settle through prayer and because many
believer have not been able to tap into this great instrument of change called prayer
(either by ignorance or wrong teachings), they are living a life of defeat when they
should be more than conqueror. Jesus gave us a promise that whatever we ask in
prayer, we should believe and our request will surely be granted. But the truth is that
not all who ask receives. It is my desire to help grow the body of Christ especially in
this area of prayer and that is one of the things that inspired me to put this book
together.

There are several views about prayer, most of which are wrong. Let us briefly check
some of what we call prayer today, which actually isn’t prayer.

Some Wrong Approach to Prayer

1. Repeating words in prayer, believing it will move God to hear you, is not
prayer.

I have seen some Christian folks making this mistake. They believe that it is their
much speaking or their many words that will move God to answer them or do
something about their situation. Some even believe that praying with the King James
bible English can make God hear them more – it sound unbelievable, but I have
actually heard Christian folks mention this thing severally. But the truth is that God is
not moved by your numerous grammars at all. Much talking to try to convince God is
the vain repetitions described by our Lord Jesus Christ in Mathew 6:7&8, But when
ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be
heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

You see, Jesus referred to that kind of approach as hypocrisy; hence it is fruitless and
will only result to frustration, because is prayer outside the circumference of faith. Go
straight to the point and make your requests known unto God your Father. He doesn’t
need you to talk and talk before he listens to you. You have the Holy Spirit
interceding for us, all God wanted from you is only to just ask in faith, that is all.

2. Crying to move God is not prayer.

It is mere self pity and it won’t produce consistent results. God never said cry to me
before I answer you. We are expected of God as sons and daughters to present our
petitions before Him in prayer, not to cry thinking that crying will make Him pity you.
He already had mercy on you when He sent Jesus Christ to die for your sins.

3. Casting out the devil is not prayer

When you get into the place of prayer, you are there to talk to God. You don’t get into
prayer to cast out the devil. Casting out a demon is just an act of exercising your
authority as a believer over satanic oppressions. You are to pray to God, not to any
devil or demon. At this junction, let me quickly ship this in that casting out the devil
should not stress a believer. A believer should not spend more than two statements to
send a devil out of their life, businesses, family etc.

Some folks would stand before a possessed person and then start a conversation with
that demon, you don’t need that. Just cast out the demon, that’s all. Nowhere in the
scriptures did Jesus ever had a discussion with any demon, he simply cast them out.
Some believers also plead with devils to leave; that is unscriptural. That’s shows you
do not understand your authority as a child of God. Look what Jesus said here,
 Mark 16:17
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
shall they CAST OUT DEVILS…
You should cast them out. Some folks also speak to God to help them talk to the devil
to leave. That is not how to get it done. It is your duty to resist the devil. God will not
resist him for you. The bible says, “Submit yourself to God, RESIST THE DEVIL and
he will fell from you” – James 4:7. You don’t pray to God to send out a devil, you
simply cast them out in the name of Jesus Christ.

4. Praying to any other being or entity (be it an angel) aside God is not prayer to
God

We are to bow only to God; we are to pray only in the name of Jesus. Any gathering
where names, apart from the name of Jesus, are being used in prayer is not a godly
gathering and must be avoided. The only means to access the fullness of God is
through the name of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:9 – 10
9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name:
10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
5. Murmuring and complaining to God, isn’t prayer

Many believers are fond of complaining and murmuring to God. God is not interested
in your murmuring and complaints. Just go straight to your request. Engaging in
murmuring and complaining will only strengthen the arm of the enemy against you.
Do away with murmuring against God, come boldly to Him and tender your requests.
He wants you to talk to Him, not to murmur against Him or before Him.
6. Physically assaulting your body, so as to make God pity you isn’t prayer

I have seen instances where people go and lie on a hot rock, facing the hot sun; some
will go and pour velvet beans on themselves because they want God to see their
suffering and must therefore answer their prayers. All these are not needed in prayer.
You are not to inconvenient yourself before God sees that you are talking. Doing this
is an abuse to God’s intelligence and it won’t produce consistent results. He already
pitied you when He sent His only son to come die to for you.

7. Threatening God, isn’t prayer

Many people use threatening tone to talk to God while praying. They say, “God if you
don’t do this, then you are not God; if you don’t do that, I will stop serving you…”
etc. Those are just prayers born out of ignorance and emotional provocation. It is not
Spirit inspired.

There was this story of a woman who would go to the mountain shouting, “God, I will
stop serving you if you don’t do this or that.” Then, she would start doing what she
does not do on a normal day, like dressing as if she is no longer a believer etc. all
those are not the way to approach God for our needs to be met.

Well, the good news is that God CANNOT be threatened with anything or by any
mean at all – He doesn’t need it and you don’t need it either.
 CHAPTER TWO

TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

ABOUT PRAYER
1. God want you to pray

Luke 18:1
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that MEN OUGHT
ALWAYS TO PRAY, AND NOT TO FAINT;
Whatever it is that is discouraging you from praying is never from God. Jesus prayed,
all the disciples prayed. It is obvious that a good prayer life is part of the ingredients
for success in whatever you do.

2. Prayer is a strong force against the kingdom of darkness

The devil is not afraid of you if you are a prayerless Christian and the truth is that
without prayer, you cannot go too far in whatever you do as a Christian. This is
because there are forces in place that have been organized to fight us. Don’t think it is
just enough being born again. Let me tell you that nobody on this planet earth can
make headway in whatever they do without the help of spirits – evil spirits (demons)
or holy spirits (angels). If you must get rid of Satan’s assaults or strategies against
you, you must give yourself to a consistent prayer life. The devil cannot withstand a
man of prayer. Show me a Christian who made great impacts in their generation, and I
will show you a Christian who didn’t joke with prayer.

3. Particular postures are not important

Any posture goes as long as you are not distracted. No scripture dictate the kind of
posture that must be employed in prayer. Lifting up your hands, kneeling, lying down
etc are all good but they are not doctrines that must be strictly obeyed when praying.
Building a doctrine around any posture in prayer is not scriptural. We will still discuss
this extensively in a latter chapter of this book.
4. Asking in accordance to the will of God is more powerful than just asking to
satisfy your fleshly desires

God’s will is king in whatever a believer does and this must also reflect in his or her
prayer life. Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 6 verse 10, “…Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.” God will not bypass His will to attend to you.

A pastor friend told me the story of a man who came to him for prayers. The man said
he needed promotion to certain position in his place of work. My friend told him to
kneel for prayer and while they prayed, the Lord opened the eyes of my friend and he
saw another person sitting in that position. My friend stopped and told the man, that
the position he was seeking to have is being occupied by another person. The man
replied that he knew that someone is there, but he also want that position for himself,
so they should pray that the Lord should remove the person and put him there.
Whereas, this man was suppose to take up the position after the person leaves but he
was not ready to wait for his time.

You see, that brother was just being greedy. The reason many believers pray without
results is because their motives are not pure. God doesn’t just answer what you say,
He listens to your motives also. If your motives are right, whatever you ask for will be
done.

5. When praying, go straight to the point, don’t beat about the bush

I have heard of folks who say they are shy to ask God for certain things in prayer; well
that is why they aren’t walking in the fullness of grace. I do not see any reason why a
son should be shy to talk to his father. Don’t beat about the bush. Remember, you're
talking to God who already knows your needs, why are you feeling shy? Go ahead and
say it. He's hearing you.
6. Your prayer carries weight when done in faith

The bible says, whatever is not of faith is sin – Romans 14:23. So, praying without
faith is a waste of time and energy.

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him.
A man with an unstable heart cannot receive anything of the Lord.

James 1:5 – 7
5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7. FOR LET NOT THAT MAN THINK THAT HE SHALL
RECEIVE ANY THING OF THE LORD.

7. Prayer opens you up to spiritual and divine realities

If you want to enjoy a consistent flow of the supernatural, a consistent prayer life is
non-negotiable. God has secrets, but only reveal them to those who spend time with
Him.

8. If you don’t pray, the enemy will rule you

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you.
The devil will always come after you and the only way to resist the devil is by
confronting him in prayer. The only language the devil understands is violence. If you
don’t get violent with him, he will not leave and he will lord himself over you.

9. Prayer will sharpen your spiritual gifts

Spiritual gifts are given by God, but they must be activated through the instrument of
prayer, most especially, praying in the Holy Ghost. You see, praying in the Holy
Ghost is a very powerful tool that only few believers have been able to maximize. We
will talk extensively about this in another chapter of this book.

10.Prayer ignites your spirit and set you on fire for the Lord

Do you want to be ignited for God in your spirit? Employ the instrument of prayer. It
is very important if you want to be at alert and on fire for God. The more time you
spend in God’s presence, the more He rubs Himself on you and the more you are
transformed into His image.
 CHAPTER THREE

WHY YOU MUST PRAY

Like I said earlier, prayer is compulsory for every believer. No child of God will
survive the hurdles of life and satanic assaults without a good prayer life. Some have
asked, “If God truly knows our needs as the bible claims, why then should we pray to
Him about those needs again? Should he not just do it?” Here I will highlight five
reasons why we must pray.

1. When we pray, we reaffirm our faith in God

Matthew 17:20
…verily I say unto you, If ye have faith AS A GRAIN OF
MUSTARD SEED, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence
to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you.
Praying to God shows the state of our heart. It is a demonstration of our faith in God’s
word and power to make things happen. It doesn’t matter the size of your faith, this is
because the efficacy of your faith is not dependent on the bigness or the smallness of
that faith but on the bigness or the smallness of the Person in whom you put that faith.

2. Praying is an act of obedience to God’s instruction

Luke 18:1
…men ought always to pray and not to faint…
God told us to pray to Him alone. So, prayer is an act of obedience to God’s order.
There are blessing attached to every act of obedience. Therefore, the first blessing of
prayer is the blessing of obedience.

3. When we pray, we give God a legal permission to go into action on our behalf,
anywhere on earth
Psalm 115:16 – 17
15. Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
 16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: BUT THE
EARTH HATH HE GIVEN TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN.
I will dwell much on this area because it is very important we know this powerful
secret about prayer. If you observe any supernatural happening anywhere on earth,
just know that a man somewhere must have permitted it. This is because after God
finished creating the whole earth and its host, He gave the dominion over everything
He created to man. Authority over the earth and everything in it is in man’s hands.
Man became the only being to permit anything to happen on earth, therefore no spirit
being have access to operate anywhere on earth without the permission of a human
agent. God created man and gave man so much power and honour such that man have
both celestial and terrestrial body, making it legal and valid for man to operate, with
authority, both in the physical and in the spiritual realm at the same time.

God then went further to make this dominion over the earth so tight by making the
womb of a woman, the only legal entry into this earth realm. Any being (no matter
how powerful), that doesn’t enter into this earth through the womb of a woman has no
legal right to operate or materialize on earth. So wherever they manifest, a human can
cast them out anytime and they must obey.

In light of this truth, any being that will operate legally on earth must be permitted by
a human being, who has the legal right on earth to allow or disallow anything
whatsoever. This is the reason why demons always seek to possess any available man
so as to gain the right both to be and to operate legally on earth through the possessed
human entity. This is an eternal law, set in order by God Himself.

Therefore when we pray, we give God and the host of heaven, the legal right to
operate anywhere on earth on our behalf. Therefore, whoever you submit to (whether
God or Satan) operate on earth through you. God is a God that doesn’t go against His
own rules and laws (except on very rare and important occasion where He exercises
sovereignty), and He won’t intrude in our lives unless we invite Him. When we have
needs, God cannot come to our aid until we give Him the legal right to do that by
inviting him in prayer. It is therefore important that we pray to Him everyday
concerning our needs.

4. Prayer creates a bond between our mind and our spirit, thereby creating a
strong intimacy between us and the Holy Spirit, who operates from our spirit
We find it very easy to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit in us, when we give
ourselves to a consistent prayer habit. Prayer bows our fleshly desires to the will of the
father, most especially praying in the Holy Ghost. The more you focus your mind on
God in prayer, the more you get used to God’s leading and the sharper your spiritual
antenna becomes and the more you walk in power and grace here on earth.

5. When you're given to prayer, Satan cannot harass you

Jesus had been in prayers for continuous forty days and forty nights. It made it easier
for him to recognize the devil when he came around. This is because prayer helps to
sharpen our sense of discernment. It helps to fine tune our spiritual antenna and set it
on a high spiritual frequency to easily discern the right from wrong and to pick
whatever the Spirit is saying concerning anything happening around us. Don’t forget,
Jesus was God who operated on earth as man like you and I. therefore, we learn from
His lifestyle as a man.
 CHAPTER FOUR

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER
We must persist in prayer because Jesus said, “…men ought ALWAYS to pray, and
not to faint…” – Luke 18:1. Therefore, it is clearly scriptural to persist in prayer. But
why is persistence important?

1. Persistence in prayer is a sign of faith

Persistence in prayer over a matter is not faithlessness at all, but rather a sign that we
believe in the power of God to do what we are asking for. Therefore, we keep asking
till the answer comes through. In John 16:24, Jesus said Hitherto have ye asked
nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL.

2. Through persistence we learn patience

Hebrews 6:11 – 12
11. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence
to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
12. That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who THROUGH
FAITH AND PATIENCE inherit the promises.
Let me say this, that we must never be in a hurry to receive the answer to our prayers.
Sometimes, answers to prayers will take a long time because God will put all things in
order before the answer comes through. God will only come at His own timing which
is always the right timing, not your own timing. Faith and patience is an important
ingredient of a result oriented prayer life.

3. Persistence in prayer help keep us in God’s will till the answer comes
Since prayer helps to keep our focus on God, it therefore help to keep us in the divine
will of God while we wait for the answer to come. Please, don’t fall for the temptation
of relenting in prayer to murmuring against God, especially in trying times. It is a trap
of the devil to push one away from being in the right state to receive their answers.
Relenting in prayer and going into murmuring will only open us up to Satan’s
deceptive suggestions.

4. We learn

Answers to prayers are sometimes delayed because there are some lessons that we
must learn in order to fully enjoy the blessing embedded in the answer that is on the
way. Sometimes, it could be that there are some junks in us that we need to deal with
before the answer arrives so that it will last in our hands. These lessons are patiently
learnt during our waiting periods.
 CHAPTER FIVE

WHAT ABOUT VAIN REPETITIONS?

Misunderstanding what Jesus meant by vain repetitions has caused many to desist
from persisting in prayer over bothering matters. Many believe that mentioning an
issue in prayer more than once means vain repetitions, but this is not true at all. I once
heard a brother say, “If you pray concerning an issue more than once, then one of
those times is in doubt,” but that belief is not true. It is not established in the
scriptures. Jesus said, “Ask that your joy may be full.” This does not, in anyway,
suggest asking for a thing only once. It is like pouring water in a cup: you have to
keep pouring till the cup is full. That is a good example to illustrate what our Lord
Jesus meant there. Vain repetition isn’t praying about an issue over and over again;
No! Many a believer has been robbed of their testimonies because they refused to stay
in prayer till their answer comes.

The issue of vain repetitions was mentioned by our Lord Jesus Christ in the book of
Matthew 6: 7 – 8, when he was teaching about the subject of prayer.

7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:
for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth
what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Jesus, in that portion of the bible, was contrasting the behaviours of the Pharisees and
the heathen during prayers with how prayers should be normally done. Jesus said, a
believer must not use vain repetitions in prayer like the heathen who thought that it is
their much speaking that will make God hear them. So we see that the issue of vain
repetition is not about what you say in prayer or how many times you said what you
said, but about what you're thinking while saying what you’ve said.

So, we can describe vain repetitions as emphasizing a matter in prayer thinking that it
is the emphases you place on it that will make God hear you. If we emphasize matters
in prayers because we believe in the power of God to do what we want, it is not vain
repetition but rather faith repetitions.

We can therefore see that persistence in prayers is not vain repetitions once it is
according to faith. Therefore, persistence in prayers is simply praying about a matter
over and over again while we wait for the answer to come. Vain repetitions and
persistence in prayer are two different approach to prayer, which looks the same but
quite different. Here I have highlighted four clear differences between vain repetitions
and persistence in prayer:

Vain Repetitions Persistence in Prayer

1. It is trying to use many words to
twist God into doing something for
you.
2. It makes you look like the one
moving God to do what you want.
3. It makes your prayer look like God
doesn’t know what your needs are,
so you want to make Him know.
4. It often results in frustration and
anger towards God.
It is waiting before God till the answer
is seen or received.
It demonstrates patience in waiting on
God.
It shows you're sure God knows your
needs and you know He will do it
It increases one’s faith and makes one
learn the blessedness of patience.
 CHAPTER SIX

FOUR BIBLICAL WAYS TO PRAY

1. Pray with a humble heart

James 4:6 – 7
6. But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the
proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you.
Arrogance is a work of the flesh. God lifts the humble and relegates the proud. God is
our Father and he want us to pray to Him, but we must approach him with a humble
spirit. Respect God, both in action and thoughts. God does not take these things
lightly. In the book of Luke 18:10 – 14, Jesus told a story of two men who went into
the temple to pray:

10. Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee,
and the other a publican.
11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank
thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this publican.
12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God
be merciful to me a sinner.
14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather
than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
There’s a great lesson to be leant here. Jesus taught the importance of humility before
God when we kneel before Him to pray. That Pharisee went into the temple to pray
and then started bullying a tax collector who was also praying there, right in the
presence of God, thinking of himself to be one righteous man. Jesus said, he went
back home rejected. We must be careful not to fall into this trap too.
2. We are only permitted to pray to God in the name of Jesus

No other name is permitted to be used to approach God aside the name of Jesus.
Hence, it is unscriptural, it is profanity and idolatrous to pray to God in any other
name of any angel or man, no matter how powerful that angel or man may be.

3. We can pour our mind to God in prayer about people who have offended us,
but we are not permitted to ask that they die
It is true that we can be offended by our fellow brethren or even an unbeliever and be
so disappointed that we feel like sharing the burden with someone, just to ease
ourselves of the hurt and depression, let me tell you that God is the best Person to
share this kind this kind of burden with. You don’t have to go about praying that such
fellow should die or be inflicted with something evil in order to teach them some
lessons. The only person to decide who lives or dies is God alone. But it is scriptural
to talk to God about people who are afflicting us. There is a very good story to
illustrate this in the book of Acts of Apostles 4:23 – 31,

23. And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported
all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
24. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with
one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
25. Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the
heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26. The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast
anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and
the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28. For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined
before to be done.
29. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy
servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
30. By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and
wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
 31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they
were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
The apostles talked to God about the Pharisees who were threatening the church. The
shaking of that building is a sign that God heard them. You may want to ask, “Is God
not aware of those people’s action? Do we need to tell God again?” Well, sincerely
pouring out our hearts to God is never a sin and it is 100% acceptable by God. I'm yet
to see a bible verse that speaks against this. It helps to bring the peace of God into our
hearts and also help us to easily forgive our offenders.

An incidence happened sometimes ago while I was in the university. A brother in our
fellowship then did something to me that really grieved me. As I left the fellowship
that day, I didn’t get myself even till I got to the hostel and I was so sad. Immediately
I got to the hostel, I knelt down beside my bed and said, “Father, brother Marcus (not
his real name) have really offended me and it pained me. I've been trying to forgive
him and get the matter off my mind, but I've not been able to. Father, help me to get
this matter out of my heart and put your peace in my mind as I wholeheartedly forgive
brother Marcus.” Immediately, the burden was lifted off my heart and peace came. I
got to the fellowship some days later and felt nothing against that brother and we even
talked together many times later. I never mentioned to him that he offended me the
other day. I just talked to God about him in my closet and that was all.

So, telling God about people who offends you isn’t a sin at all, it will even help you to
forgive them and hear God more clearly about them on the matter because sometimes
the person that offended you actually needs your prayer.

4. Don’t allow sin to keep you away from praying

Hebrew 4:14 – 16
14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed
into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession.
 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin.
16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
If you think you’ve sinned, well what a sinner needs is mercy and that can only be
found with God. In the book of Hebrews 4:16, the bible says we should come boldly
to the throne of grace so that we can find mercy when we need it. When you sin is
even the best time to stay close to God. So, you have sinned, but how will you find
mercy when you are staying away from the throne of grace. Your sins are against
God, He said He has forgiven you, so what else do you want? How do you intend to
gain back your confidence in God when you are avoiding Him? It is therefore
unscriptural to stay away from God because we have sinned.
 CHAPTER SEVEN

HINDRANCES TO PRAYER
Many things can be responsible for praying without receiving an answer. I’ll mention
the most important ones here:

1. Asking amiss

James 4:3
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
consume it upon your lusts.
Many of us pray and don’t receive answers, not because we don’t need what we are
praying about, but because we asked or are asking amiss. In the scripture above, we
see the Holy Spirit saying many ask and don’t receive because they ask amiss, that
they may consume it upon their lust. It is obviously stated here that asking amiss
doesn’t mean we are making the wrong request. The point made in that verse is
addressing the motive behind the request. You need to answer the question, “Why do I
want what I want? Is it to oppress others physically, spiritually or emotionally?”
This implies that if we set our hearts right, we will receive what we are requesting for.

2. Pride

Many come before God with a haughty spirit and that is why they ask and don’t
receive. They talk in prayer like they deserve everything they are asking for. They talk
as if Christ’s coming doesn’t matter to them. Many even command God like He’s
their boy and must do what they want, whether He likes it or not and this is the reason
why they have been praying without consistent results. The bible says, God resists the
proud but give more grace to the humble. We only command devils, not God or the
Spirit of Christ. Be humble before God. Pray in a humble spirit always.
3. Praying in doubts

Praying in doubts is a sin, because you won’t always receive from God, if you doubt
whether He will do it or not. Whenever you're praying, believe that God is listening
and that He will do what you are asking for.

4. Living in disobedience

Answer to prayers can come in the form of an instruction to follow, if that instruction
is not followed, results of prayer will not be seen. So when you are praying and results
seems to be delaying more than normal, it is wise to ask God if there are any
instructions to follow that id being neglected or unknown.

5. Exercising faith without works

James 2:14 – 26
14. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith,
and have not works? can faith save him?
15. If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16. And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and
filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are
needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me
thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my
works.
19. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils
also believe, and tremble.
20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had
offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was
faith made perfect?
23. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed
God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was
called the Friend of God.
24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith
only.
 25. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when
she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another
way?
26. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also.
Some prayer requests have equal demands that must be met by you before you can
have the result you desire.

There are also some godly reasons that could cause delay in answers to prayer or even
denial of answers to prayers. These are:

1. When is the right moment?

Sometime, what we are asking for isn’t right for the moment. So the answer can be
delayed till the right time comes. Delay in this context is actually a blessing. I have
had several times in my life that I needed something seriously and I would pray about
it. That thing will not come at that moment, but after a long while, the answer will just
come at a time when I actually needed it the most.

2. God’s will must stand

Sometimes, it is necessary for certain things to happen, but we keep praying to stop
those things from happening, because of our ignorance of God’s plan for us. In this
case God won’t listen to our petitions, but will rather go on with what He wants to do.
At that moment, we might feel hurt, but we will be happy we didn’t get the answer we
desire to get. I call this act of God, “The Judgment of Love.”

I have had the opportunity to pray for certain people over certain issues and nothing
happened. I once prayed over a woman for healing in her body, the woman later died
– she didn’t survive the ailment. I was unhappy and I went to ask the Lord why it was
so. The Lord showed me the woman needed to go because another terrible attack had
already been programmed against her in case she survived that one: this one was
meant to make her become an atheist and because this woman was not a strong
believer who would be able to face it, she needed to be taken off the scene in order to
save her from the coming calamity. Just to show me that this was true, few weeks after
she died, the case of another person with the same ailment was brought to me, the
state of this one was even worse; I prayed and this person got healed. God have His
way of doing things and He is willing to reveal it to you, if you care to know.

3. There could be lessons that are needed to be learnt

Some situations are meant to teach us certain lessons of life. This type of situation
makes us stronger in the faith. In this instance, we pray without response, till we learn
the lesson that is needed to be learnt.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES

ABOUT FASTING
Fasting is very important for every believer. There is no hard rule in the epistles
concerning fasting. That doesn’t mean we should not fast. Many believe that without
fasting, certain things cannot happen. Well, the answer is yes and no. Fasting does not
change God. He is the same before, during and after we fast. Fasting only affect us –
our concentration and focus on God. Before we conclude, we need to answer the
question, why fasting? When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable.

A man in Kenya wanted to engage in a forty day and night marathon fasting like Jesus
did in the wilderness. He left the city and went into a bush, but eventually he died on
the thirtieth day. Many people have died untimely death because they do not
understand this matter of fasting very well. A man I know here in Nigeria recently
died from ulcer because he fasted so much that his intestines were seriously damaged.
Eventually he died and couldn’t fulfill the ministry committed into his hands. This
chapter will address this issue of fasting very well and it will help you to grow the
more in your prayer and fasting life.

Before we proceed, I will tell you five things I know about fasting.

1. Fasting is a spiritual thing, not just a Christian thing. It is not only Christian who
fasts, every religion do.
2. Fasting does not guarantee answer to prayer. That you fast do not mean that answer
will come, because God’s will is always supreme.
3. Fasting is very necessary in spiritual development. It helps consecration.
4. Fasting does not necessarily mean going without food.
5. Fasting sharpens our spiritual antenna.
 What is fasting?
Fasting simply means to abstain from pleasure. It is staying away from anything you
cannot do without for the purpose of fellowshipping with God over a period of time.
Fasting is denying self in order to focus on God. This is the reason why fasting
without having time for God cannot produce any result whatsoever. The purpose of
fasting is to weaken the flesh by denying it of its cravings. If your flesh is much more
alive compared with your spirit, you cannot do much for God, because the Holy Spirit
operates from your spirit and flows through your body. Therefore, your body can
either be a conductor of the flow of the Spirit or an insulator. Your flesh must be kept
in subjection to your spirit and nobody will do that for you, because it is your duty and
you achieve it only by denying the flesh of pleasure, hence the need for fasting.

Fasting is very important to every believer. But the best type of fasting is living a
fasted life. A fasted life is one where you do not pick special days to restrain from
certain things but, you instead, make it a daily routine to deny yourself of some
worldly pleasure in order to weaken your flesh.

What does fasting do?

Fasting help us to focus on God. What moves God is our faith in God. Faith simply
means, focusing on God alone. So fasting helps to focus on God. When you deny self,
your spirit is lifted and when your spirit is lifted, your focus will be gathered on God,
hence you do a lot of things by your spirit.

It is not the fast that God sees, but the focus that was shifted on Him. God honours
faith, especially when it is sacrificial. Whatever you do to subdue your flesh in order
to focus on God is fasting. So, the best kind of fast is to live a fasted life, that is, a
daily denial of self to focus more on God.
Does fasting have any effect on answers to prayers? I say, no because it is faith that
God sees not the denial. I say yes because it helps us to maintain focus on God and
God honours it. Therefore, fasting is a must in the Christian walk.

The Right Way to Fast

When Jesus was teaching about fasting he used words that suggest compulsion on
fasting.

Matthew 6:16
Moreover WHEN YE FAST…
You see, “WHEN you fast, not IF you fast.” So, you are expected as a believer to fast.
It is true that many have died fasting, but the truth is that what killed them is not the
fast, but how they did it.

Let me quickly bring it in at this point that, taking water or any form of liquid when
on a food fast is not a sin – it doesn’t affect you or your fast in any way. Let me also
tell you that you will do your body more good by taking fluids like water, fruit juice
or wine etc, when fasting. Please note that your body is precious to God and you must
take good care of it, because once you are outside your body you are no longer useful
here on earth. It is not God’s desire that you die an untimely death.
 CHAPTER NINE

WHAT ABOUT PRAYER POSTURES?

Prayer posture is also one of the numerous issues that we need to examine when we
talk about prayer, because it confuses many. Someone asked me sometimes ago,
“Brother Samuel, which posture is the best to take so that I can receive quick answers
to my prayer?” I was listening to a brother saying that answer to prayer is faster when
you pray on your knees or when we lay face-down. Well, the truth is, every posture is
right when praying. No particular posture determine when your answers would come,
you will always have your answer at the appropriate time. You can choose to take a
walk, knee, stay on a spot etc. What is important is your concentration – any posture
that takes away your concentration is not too good. I did not mean that God cannot tell
you to take certain posture, but it is personal and therefore cannot be taken as a
doctrine. Hence, you can pray on your way to work, in your room, at work anywhere
as long as you are convenient.

The bible shows us different prayer postures adopted by people who prayed. I will list
some of them here.

1. Kneeling down

Psalm 95:6
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the
LORD our maker.

Kneeling down is mentioned in the bible and it can be adopted in prayer. This is the
most common prayer posture and it is still being used till today. Everyone is familiar
with this prayer posture and it is the most adopted one.

2. Lying on the face

1 Corinthian 14:25
 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so
falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that
God is in you of a truth.

Lying face-down in prayer was used in the bible as sign of reverence to God and as a
form of worship.

3. Putting the face between the knees

1 Kings 18:42
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

This was seen to be done by the prophet Elijah when he wanted to pray for
rain to fall. How he did it was not clearly described, but it was recorded that
he put his face between his knees.

4. Facing a place of worship

Daniel 6:10
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went
into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber
toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day,
and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did
aforetime.

This is the mode of worship adopted by the Israelites when they went into
captivity in strange lands. They would stand, facing the direction of
Jerusalem and even whenever they were to build a synagogue, they build it
facing the temple at Jerusalem, because they believed, that was where God
lived.

5. Lifting up of hands

Psalm 134:2
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
Listing up of hands is also very common postures adopted when fellowshipping with
God, especially when worshipping or singing. It is believed to be a sign of total
surrender to the almightiness of God.

But at this point, I will like to emphasize that postures do not matter in prayer.
Whatever posture you choose has nothing to do with the answers you get to your
prayers. No scripture teach or suggest that there are certain prayer postures that speed
up answers to prayers.

Three truths about prayer postures

1. It is sometimes an outward expression of reverence to God in the place of prayer.
For example, when we worship it is often our custom to lift up our hands. The
lifting up of those hands is not the real deal, but just an outward expression of our
emotional from the inside. So, prayer postures are sometimes in response to the
state of our internal environment.
2. Prayer postures don’t determine whether God will answer you or not. It is not a
factor to give much attention to when praying to receive answers.
3. Pick the posture that is more convenient to you. When praying, it is best to keep a
posture that is convenient in order to avoid unnecessary distractions. While
praying, once you lose focus, your mind will wander or even start feeling sleepy or
uncomfortable.
 CHAPTER TEN

THE TRUTH ABOUT LONG PRAYERS

Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they
shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be
weary, and they shall walk and not faint.
Waiting on God; waiting upon God; waiting for God; waiting with God – are different
terms but they all mean the same thing. They all mean a life of oneness and union with
the Creator of the universe. This is what we do when we spend long hours in prayer to
God.

Many times we have been thinking about how people who spend hours in prayer are
doing it. You hear people saying that they spent six to twelve hours praying and then
you wonder what they could be saying for that long. Most of the time, you will notice
that when you start praying, within a short time, you’ve already exhausted all your list
of requests. You close your eyes and you think you’ve spent 3 hours, just to open your
eyes and see that you just spent only ten minutes and you wonder how people are able
to stay for hours in prayer and not get tired or bored.

The reason why you find it difficult to spend hours in prayer is that you go into prayer
with the mind to ask, not with the mind to fellowship. Imagine Moses on the mountain
with God just making requests for forty days and forty nights, what a moment of
boredom would it have been for him. He was not the only one doing all the talking
rather, he was having a dialogue with God. It was a two way conversation.

Like I said earlier in this book, prayer is not just asking, asking and asking. God want
to speak to you too. The truth is that those who spend hours in prayer, do not spend all
those hours making requests; they worship, they commune, the fellowship with God
and sometimes, they study the bible too. That is the secret of Jesus’ prayer life.
The prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in the book of John 17, is a perfect
example of how the personal prayer life of a believer should be. Let us look at it
together:

John 17:1 – 26
1. These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,
Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may
glorify thee:
2. As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do.
5. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out
of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they
have kept thy word.
7. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me
are of thee.
8. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and
they have received them, and have known surely that I came out
from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou
hast given me; for they are thine.
10. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in
them.
11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I
come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those
whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those
that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son
of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that
they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that
thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
 17. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them
into the world.
19. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified through the truth.
20. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word;
21. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.
22. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they
may be one, even as we are one:
23. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and
that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them, as thou hast loved me.
24. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me
where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have
known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the
love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
This public prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of how to
fellowship with the Father. It shows us the private prayer life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You will notice that he was not just making requests. He was speaking with God as if
they were having a discussion. He rehearsed the ministry before God, how the
ministry went, what he had done and what he desired of the Father to do for the
disciples etc. That is what is called fellowship.

The secret of long prayers is simply fellowship. Don’t just go and make requests at all
time, have a heart to heart talk with the Father. Tell Him about your hurts, gist with
Him. He’s hearing and listening. You will be surprised that He will reply you. You
can pick some prayer or worship psalms and begin to read them out loud to yourself in
a prayer mood. You can also use some of the prayers of Paul in the epistles and read
them loud to yourself. These are some of the things we do when we stay long in
prayers and that is what I'm sharing with you right now. There are no secrets in the
kingdom, we only have men who withhold revelations to themselves because they
want to be the only one enjoying the benefits and the blessings and the lord
themselves over others.

Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights with God on the mountain, it was clear in the bible
that he was not just there, praying alone in those numbers of days. He was having a
conversation with the Father, day and night. They were talking and talking. He didn’t
spend 40 days and nights making requests. Himself and God were talking, discussing
about the children of Israel. God was telling him about His plans and they were
discussing the divine agenda. That is the true fellowship that the Father wants. You
can be praying in tongues too.

Give your heart, mind and thoughts to God. That is the secret of long prayers that
brings consistent results.
 CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE PLACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN A

BELIEVER’S PRAYER LIFE
John 14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will
send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
The Person of the Holy Spirit is a very important aspect that we cannot do away with
when discussing this subject because an effective prayer life is not achievable without
the help of the Holy Spirit. Talking about prayer without mentioning the Holy Spirit,
would make the discussion incomplete. This is because the Holy Spirit is the
circumference of everything that has to do with Christianity, most especially this
aspect of prayer. It is impossible to fellowship or pray correctly without the help of the
Holy Ghost. It is the duty of the Holy Ghost to teach and help us to live a victorious
prayer life.

There are lots of misconceptions concerning the Person of the Holy Spirit: some
believe that the Holy Spirit is meant for some set of people – maybe those in the
ministry alone, some believe that a believer have to fast and pray before the Holy
Spirit can come upon him or her etc. Well, the truth is none of these beliefs are true.
The Holy Spirit is meant for all believers. Once you are born again, you can have the
Holy Spirit.

In this chapter, I will try as much as I can to explain certain things about the Holy
Spirit and the contributions He is to make in the personal prayer life of a believer.
Because the Holy Ghost is God and inexhaustible therefore He cannot be totally
explained, but I will try as much as I can to say some things that are revealed in the
scriptures about Him. There is no way we can effectively talk about the place of the
Holy Spirit in a believer’s prayer life without addressing certain misconceptions about
this great Personality.
 Five truths you must know about receiving the Holy Ghost
1. Born again experience is not same as baptism of the Holy Ghost

To be born again and to be baptized in the Holy Ghost are two different experiences.
To be born means to become regenerated in one’s spirit. This is quite different from
being baptized in the Holy Ghost. Someone can be born again and not yet baptized in
the Holy Ghost. There are several instances in the bible to justify this truth, but for the
sake of space and time, I will use only one event.

Acts 19:1 – 7
1. And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul
having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: AND
FINDING CERTAIN DISCIPLES,
2. He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye
believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And
they said, Unto John's baptism.
4. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of
repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on
him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus.
6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost
came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7. And all the men were about twelve.
Here we see the story of certain believers who have heard and believed in the gospel
and were saved, but were yet to receive the Holy Ghost baptism. Paul was at Ephesus
at this time when he met them. He asked about their salvation and Paul saw that truly
they were saved, but they said they had never heard of anything called Holy Ghost
since they got saved. The bible never said, they were not saved because they were not
yet baptized in the Holy Ghost, because salvation is by believing and confession.
Once you believe the gospel and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, you are saved. But
the baptism of the Holy Ghost (which should come after salvation) cannot be gotten
by mere confession, you must ask for it. In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, “If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” It is obvious therefore,
that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is not the same as the born again experience and
can only be gotten by asking, not just confessing.

2. Christ promised the Holy Ghost to every believer

Every believer can receive the promise of the Holy Ghost. It was a promise by our
Lord Jesus Christ to all who believe in His name, not only to the apostles or the early
church. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Then, we know
that when the Holy Ghost came upon them in chapter two of that book of Acts, there
were about 120 people in the upper room and the apostles were only twelve in
number. This shows to us that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is not for the apostles
alone, but for all who believe the gospel. Also, the baptism of the Holy Ghost is not
for the Jewish Christians alone, but to every believer all over the world. For example,
Cornelius and his household got baptized in the Holy Ghost and they were all gentiles
(Acts 10), the Ephesus disciples were all gentiles (Acts 19:1 – 7), the Corinthians
church were not Jews too. There are lots of instances in the bible to prove that the
promise of the Holy Ghost is to every believer.

3. You can be baptized in the Holy Ghost without a laying on of hands

Another area where many believers miss it is this area of receiving the baptism of the
Holy Ghost. Let me emphasize it here that as much as laying on of hands works for
Holy Ghost baptism, also we must know that it is not compulsory in order to be
baptized in the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is not given by men, but by God, hence
you can receive it without anyone touching you. The importance of laying on of hands
is just to help you faith to receive it. If there is anyone around you to lay hands on
you, it is good and you can go for it. But if there is none, just trust God for it.

When Apostle Peter went to the house of Cornelius in Acts 10:44, the bible says,
“While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the
word.” You see, no one laid hands on them. They received because their faith was
stirred by the words of Peter and the Holy Ghost came on them all. You too can
receive this baptism right now without anyone laying hands on you.

I got baptized in the Holy Ghost right in our living room; I was 18 at that time. I
finished reading a book written by papa Kenneth Hagin (Holy Ghost Baptism) and
immediately, I laid face-down on the rug there and asked for the baptism of the Holy
Ghost and there it came on me and I began to speak in tongues from that time, till
today.

Sometimes ago, I also heard of some folks who went to a preacher to pay in order to
receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the truth is that this thing cannot be bought
with money or anything. It is free and all you need to do is to ask the Father and He
will give it to you. It costs nothing.

4. Tarrying for days to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost is not necessary

Another area we must mention is the issue of tarrying. Some folks believe that a
Christian must tarry in the place of prayer for months or years in order to get baptized
in the Holy Ghost. Well, the good news is that this belief or teaching is not true. This
erroneous belief is based on the words of Jesus to his apostles before his ascension.
Let us examine it together:

Luke 24:49
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but
TARRY YE IN THE CITY OF JERUSALEM, until ye be
endued with power from on high.
According to strong’s Greek dictionary of the bible, the Greek word translated “tarry”
in Luke 24:49 is the word “kathizo” which means to sit down somewhere or to
continue to wait for something. This does not in any way infer that the waiting of the
disciples is necessary for the Holy Ghost to come upon them, but that they should not
go out to start the ministry without receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

We need to also understand that the disciples did not wait for many years but only for
ten days before the Holy Ghost came upon them. Jesus was arrested and crucified
during the Passover and the Holy Ghost came on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:1 – 4).
Pentecost was always celebrated, fiftieth days after the Passover. Jesus spent forty
days after his resurrection revealing himself to his disciples before his ascension and
Jesus told them on the day he ascended – being the fortieth day after Passover, that
they should wait for the promise of the Holy Ghost to be fulfilled, which did came to
pass on the day of Pentecost – being the fiftieth day after Passover, which equals ten
days after his ascension. It is therefore clear that the issue of tarrying for many months
or years, as taught by many, is not scriptural.

5. You don’t have to be flawless in character before the Holy Spirit come on you

The Holy Spirit is a gift from the Father to help believers become better in their
relationship with God. No scripture say that you must be flawless in character before
you can receive the Holy Spirit. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit in you that will
help you to grow and be better in your Christian walk and as a matter of fact,
perfection is unattainable without the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a helper.
Someone who doesn’t need help doesn’t need a helper either. God knows we need
help that’s why He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us.

Receive the Holy Spirit

In light of all we have seen through the scriptures, I believe you are now convinced
that you can receive the Holy Ghost right now as you are reading this book. Just
believe with all your heart that the Holy Spirit is for you and that He has been sent to
you already and you can receive Him right now. Just believe and pray this prayer
wherever you are right now:

“Father, I thank you for the gift of the Holy Ghost that you have sent to me to help me
in my relationship with You, through your son Jesus Christ my Lord. As you have said
in your word that You will give me Your Holy Spirit whenever I ask, I therefore ask
now that you send the Holy Spirit upon me. I receive the Holy Spirit right now in
Jesus name…amen.”

That is it. You don’t have to feel anything coming on you, but you will have a deep
conviction in your spirit that the precious Holy Ghost have rested on you.

How the Holy Spirit Help us in prayer

The Holy Ghost helps every believer to pray or fellowship with the Father. He
strengthens us to pray as stated in Romans 8:26:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought…

We are weak by nature and by knowledge. Because of this, the Holy Spirit strengthens
us to pray and show us the right way to go about prayer. Sometimes, you might want
to pray but feel very weak, the Holy Spirit can strengthen you to pray. One of the way
to get this done is by praying in the Holy Ghost (we will discuss this later in this
chapter).

Also, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us through groanings that cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:26
…but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.
These groanings that cannot be uttered is talking about moments when the Holy Ghost
will just prompt us to pray. There would be this craving to pray, even though you
might not know what to pray about.

An incidence happened sometimes ago before I got married. A fellow was living with
me at that time. One day, I went out and where I was, I suddenly began to have an
urge to pray, which I do not know why. I tried to figure out why, but since I couldn’t,
I decided to start praying in tongues. Not knowing to me that the other person at home
was almost setting the house on fire because in the course of cooking, the cooker
exploded and everywhere was on fire. It was after I got home that I heard the story of
what happened and I was told that the fire was quenched mysteriously. Then I knew
why I was prompted by the Holy Ghost to pray.

Whenever the Holy Spirit prompts you to pray, you don’t have to know why or what
to say, just continue praying in tongues till the burden is lifted. Sometimes, you may
wake up in the middle of the night and find it difficult to sleep back again: this could
be the Holy Spirit prompting you to touch certain issues in prayer. Most of the time
when we wake up in the middle of the night and sleep was immediately taken away
from us for no reason, it is God prompting us pray. In situations like this, it is best to
start praying in the spirit i.e. praying in tongues.

Also, the Holy Spirit can direct we children of God on which area to focus our
prayers. We don’t know how to pray correctly.

Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we
know not what we should pray for as we ought:
Many times, what we take to be the source of a problem is actually far from what it
actually is. We need the Holy Spirit to discern the right from wrong. If the content of
our prayer is not right, answers to prayers may be delayed, especially during spiritual
warfare.
 Praying in the Spirit
Praying in the Spirit: praying in the Holy Ghost: praying in tongues all means the
same thing. Every believer should pray in tongues because Jesus gave us this promise
when He was about to ascend into heaven.

Mark 16:17
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
shall they cast out devils; THEY SHALL SPEAK WITH NEW
TONGUES;
Even though not all believers who are filled with the Holy Ghost will speak in tongues
(because of ignorance) nevertheless, we should all do. We deprive ourselves of many
blessings and benefits of the kingdom if we cannot pray in the Holy Ghost. It is the
purest way to pray and you cannot pray amiss when you pray in tongues. It unlocks
the doors to endless possibilities. Praying in tongues is the fastest means to activate
the gifts of God in a believer. This is because when you are praying in the Holy Ghost,
you are not the one praying, but the Holy Ghost inside of you.
A sister who got converted from witchcraft, in one of her testimonies said, in the
kingdom of darkness they often tell them that they must not stay around any believer
praying in tongues. Because a believer praying in tongues is like a soldier carrying an
Ak47 riffle and shooting it in every direction, hence they are much more dangerous
compared with others who prays in understanding.

Jude in his epistle said, praying in the Holy Ghost helps to build up the faith of the
believer. Therefore, it is important for every believer to pray in tongues. It edifies the
believer and it is a means of communication between God and the believer.

1 Corinthians 14:2
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto
men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in
the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
When you are praying in the Holy Ghost, it is a conversation between you and God.
No demon or devil understand what you are saying. It is an heavenly language and it
is the Holy Spirit praying in you.

The gift of tongues is the gift of the Holy Spirit to the believer. We must maximize
this gift in order to grow in the revelation knowledge of God.
 CONCLUSION
The subject of prayer is a very important subject in the body of Christ. The
information in this book was gathered through deep study of the word of God and
personal experiences. If you put them all to action, you will definitely have strong turn
around in your prayer life and have more results than before.

God bless you.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samuel Akindahunsi is a Prophet of God, with a divine mandate to minister the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ to the nations of the world. He is the founder and president of
Royal Message Ministries (RMM) – a global evangelical outreach ministry with the
mandate to raise believers into the full stature of Christ through sound biblical
teachings and also taking the gospel round the world through open air evangelical
outreaches/crusades and local assembly revivals. He had pastored eight different
churches for several years before obeying the call to proceed with Royal Message
Ministries.

He has been to many villages, town and cities across Nigeria on evangelical
outreaches and church meetings and still pressing on with the work of the ministry.