APOSTLE PAUL OUR PATTERN IN PRAYER

By: Bishop Albert Gran

Ephesians 6:17-19

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

¹⁹ And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Colossians 1:8-10

King James Version (KJV)

⁸ Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

¹⁰ That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Prayer is one among many doctrines greatly misunderstood from our beloved friends in the old faith who embraced the traditions of men in consonance with the general belief especially in the doctrine of physical intervention.

I pray this simple task would lead to you my fellow laborers a desire to compare spiritual things with spiritual neither basing things from God in line with fleshly understanding for it only stands behind bar of lies and hypocrisy. 

Purity of grace doctrine adheres prayer in view of the mystery truth, thus, we pure grace believers dare not entertain the idea with the so-called supposition accordingly as how we should no longer pray in this age of grace.

WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO PRAY

Ever since the time Paul started His ministry from the road to Damascus until his last breath, there's no point in his life that he stops praying. There were times he prayed for physical safety and deliverance. Thrice he besought the Lord for the healing of his physical infirmities believing God could do what he seems similar to what he used to do to His people Israel. The fact is that he knew Christ had responded him only through the sufficiency of His grace, experiencing the demonstration of God's power and might through overcoming sufferings and afflictions in the natural process and way without miraculous drama.

In my above mentioned statement, I already stated at first that Paul also prayed for and about his flesh in the gradual process of revealing the doctrinal point of truth in accord to the mystery plan of God in this dispensation of grace.

"We do not know how to pray as ye ought", this is a phrase Paul make mentioned why he included himself knowing that he once prayed a nonsense and unknown prayer, which caused him to understand the how and what's the  real sense and most significant view of prayer in our times following Paul as a pattern of praying an "unknown prayer". 

All of us including myself previously prayed an unknown prayer and also once followed Paul as a pattern who also didn't know how to pray. All of us too became under the yoke of bondage which is the law as Paul once became under the law in fact he  was on the seat to that of Gamaliel's. 

Having thought of the progression in view of consideration to some points of significant changes in the doctrine of prayer as visible and evident in Paul's epistles such as: "When ye pray, pray with understanding", "I besought the Lord thrice and he said;"My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness";"Praying always with all prayers in the Spirit", "Set your affection on things above, not on things on earth", so on and so forth, it is enough to consider that the doctrine of prayer is something we have to consider dispensationally transcending from physical point of view towards the future hope of glory with current provision of His grace and blessings on the account of faith in the cross work of Christ, and apart from the notion similar to the blessedness of the nation Israel with physical prayer responses which God acted upon in blessing them and their land. 

Great thoughtful consideration in view of our understanding of which our prayer must not cling to the idea how God himself viewed prayer significant to the strengthening of our inner man enabling us to also have His inner might which I perceived the power of God brought by the gospel of the mystery.

The "working out of our salvation" is how God acted upon today, that means the source is within the inner man. Basically, when we view the doctrine of prayer dispensationally considered, most especially when you began to understand the eternal operation of God, you would see how it works in the realities of our present world wherein what you see is but the appreciation of His magnificent wisdom through the Spirit of God working in us upon His word.

HOW PAUL BECAME A PATTERN IN PRAYER?

Much thought in Paul's prayer was to far from the idea that Pure grace believers would no longer pray. We prayed and let's all pray together. However, sensible workman of God who understood the way of the Lord in our current time more perfectly advice you to pray no longer in an "unknown prayer" but a "prayer with understanding". As the truth of the mystery continues to increase in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding our apostle Paul prayed a right prayer which we have to follow today. What was his prayer?

Mediate and ponder the things he wrote for you today folks!

I do pray you will now start to pray a right prayer with understanding. Believe it and surely it will work.

Grace and Peace to you!