CALLED TO PRAY WITHOUT CEASING (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
The Very. Rev. Michael Mukhwana
Good morning saints. I hope you had a fruitful week; and I must say it’s always a great blessing to have you gather with all of us, at this special assembly marked by God’s presence.
I am sure most of us are aware that the month of January is one of intensive intercession and teaching on prayer, in an effort to soak
ourselves in God’s Word and also equip us for battle and position us for victory in the new year. My experience is such that, when God says, “Pray”, I want to know it will matter. I am not into religious exercises and my time is valuable so is yours. S. D. Gordon once said, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed…Prayer is striking the winning blow…service is gathering up the results.” Was he right or wrong? If on the other hand, John Wesley was correct when he once said: “God does nothing on earth save in answer to believing prayer,” I will lose sleep for that. I will change my lifestyle for that. I will turn the TV off, and even miss a meal or two for that; this in essence is praying unceasingly.
A question many of us grapple with is, “Does a sovereign, all powerful God need our involvement or not? Is prayer really necessary? Is it
therefore necessary to pray without ceasing? If so why? My conviction is that our prayers can bring revival. They can bring healing. We can change a nation. Strongholds can come down when and because we pray. I therefore agree with E. M Bounds when he said, “God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil…The prayers of God’s saints are capital stock of heaven by which God carries on His great work upon earth. God conditions the very life and prosperity of His cause on prayer.”
In view of the above, it is my prayer that you purpose to join the band of faithful intercessors, this month and seek God’s face so as to birth the desired change in our lives, families, church, nation and globe; and may the good Lord really bless you as you make that important commitment
The Very Rev. Canon Michael Mukhwana
PROVOST