PURPOSE OF PRAYER

Ephesians 1 :15-19. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us –ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.

The purpose of prayer is to develop intimate communion with Jesus Christ; this intimate communion is the divine vehicle that moves us from the outer court into the Most Holy place. The ultimate end of our journey from the outer court into the Most Holy place is not to have a relationship with God; it’s more than a relationship. It is not to become a friend or servant of God; it's more than friendship and servant hood. It's not even to be a son of God, it's deeper and higher than sonship, it’s to become a chaste virgin bride of Jesus Christ. Paul the apostle in his epistle to the Corinthians says; For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. [2 Corinthians 11;2]. For a believer whose passion and hunger from the outer court is the fullness of Christ, he will discover that the depth and simplicity of his prayer changes as he moves from the outer court to the holy place and from the holy place to the Most Holy place. Prayer is not a means of asking and receiving earthly things from God, it's through prayer that a man can be restored into perfect union with God. The purpose of prayer and ministry is to present people as chaste virgin bride to Christ. Intimate communion through prayer brings us into this bridal union with Jesus Christ.

Prayer restores the glory of God into the souls and body of man; prayer became a necessity because Adam fell short of God’s Glory, if Adam had not fallen, we would all have remained eternally in glory and there would not have been a need to pray. The earliest time prayer was mentioned in the bible was in Gen. 4:26…..then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. Men began to seek that which they lost in Adam through their prayers; in the place of communion with Jesus Christ, we inhale and absorb the substance of Christ into our soul and body; intimate communion fills the soul with measures and measures of glory day by day until the soul and body become transformed into God’s eternal nature and character. We learn how to behold God in the place of prayer, and as we behold Him, we are changed and transformed into Who we are beholding. Prayer moves us from Glory to Glory. [1 Corinthians 3:18] .

The place of prayer and communion is not where to get anointing for service to minister to people, it's not a place to prepare sermon and messages to preach; its an holy ground meant for those who want to be full and intoxicated with the glory of God, on this most holy ground men become intoxicated with the love, joy, peace, patience, faith, meekness, temperance, goodness, righteousness and truth of God to the point that nothing on earth matters to them anymore. The Apostles understood perfectly the purpose of prayer and in all their writings, the subject and object of their prayer was not earthly things; they all craved and prayed for the resurrection of God’s glory into the souls and bodies of men. Epaphras, one of the followers of Paul, and a faithful minister of Jesus Christ was always labouring fervently in prayers for the Colossian brethren, that they may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. [Colossians 1:7, 4;12]. A fact we must not fail to realize is that it is the Spirit that does the prayer in us. Prayer is not what we initiate by ourselves, prayer is absolutely the responsibility of the Spirit within us.[Romans 8:26] The Spirit helpeth our infirmities; our soul is weak in it's fallen state and cannot grasp the ultimate purpose of God; when the soul prays, the object and subject of it's prayer is centered and focused on where it has fallen ; which is the earth. The soul prays and craves after earthly things and for the soul, having earthy possession abundantly in store is a sign and proof that God is answering it's prayers. Let us understand this clearly that the Spirit prays and the soul also prays, the difference is in the subject and the object of their prayers. The Spirit lust and craves after the restoration of God’s glory into the soul and the body of man, while the soul lust and craves after acquiring earthly things. Gal. 5:16-17 captured this perfectly; the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit lust against the flesh, these are contrary the one to the other. The flesh here, refers to the soul life in it's fallen state. Most prayers offered unto God in different assemblies and meeting are soulish prayers centered on earthly achievements, earthly glory, earthly riches, wealth and pleasure. The more the soul acquires, he longs and craves to have more, the soul can never be satisfied with earthly and material things; what a perverted life!!! O ye people of God, rediscover the Spirit purpose of prayer and pursue it undistractedly.There is great peace and joy for the soul who will abide in rest and allow the Spirit to make intercession for him.

Intimate communion with God was the lifestyle of Jesus Christ while He was on earth;in Mark 1:35;And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed to a solitary place ,and there prayed. Hallelujah!! Jesus Christ loved and lived intimate communion with God, and He has given us an example that we should follow His steps. Jesus Christ died and was buried as a Son Of God, He resurrected to become the Bridegroom of every bride that will be born by resurrection from the dead. When a man is born of water and of the Spirit ,he becomes a child of God; as he advances in his intimacy with Jesus Christ, he will grow up into a son of God, and when sons die and are buried, they will resurrect to become the Bride of Christ. These glorious union with God are birthed in the place of Intimate communion with HIM.

We engage in intimate communion with Jesus Christ through prayer by withdrawing our soul from the distractions of the world into the realm of the Spirit where God dwells; this might appear difficult initially because the soul has acquired and accumulated so much burdens, cares and deceptions from his experiences in the world. As the LORD directs; we may apply external efforts such as praying the scriptures and praying in the Holy Ghost for as long as HE leads. These external efforts are meant to help the soul learn to withdraw into the secret place of the Most High God; and once the soul is withdrawn unto God; every external effort ends. The soul loves activity and activity will deprive men from entering into intimate communion with God; but by withdrawing the soul from the outward to the inward, the soul will start learning and mastering the ways and nature of God. When a man is able to abide and keep his soul in the inward life; he will begin to experience great change and transformation within him. Pride, carnal desires, self, flesh, love of money, sickness, fear, worry, anxiety, cares of life, ungodly foundations dies naturally when the soul of man is withdrawn into the secret place of the Most High God .Jesus Christ said in Mathew 6:22; The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. The eye of the body is the soul; a single eye is a soul that has been withdrawn from earthly distractions and totally focused on God.When the eye of a man become single, the light of God will flood his entire body and he will be completely changed and transformed.

Remember the word of Jesus Christ in Luke 17:20;And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo there! for ,behold the kingdom of God is within you. It is through the prayer of intimate communion with Jesus Christ that we are able to engage and explore the kingdom within us. The purpose of God is that the kingdom within us should grow out of our Spirit and soul to subdue and have dominion over the earth. The kingdom of God is always within; but God’s deepest desire is that His kingdom within us should come into the earth and dominate the earth. Hallelujah!![Numbers 14;21,Habakuk 2:14] ;As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the Glory of the Lord. The Glory of God is an inward life ;an inward kingdom that is growing out of our Spirit and soul to fill the earth with the knowledge of the will of God; when this is realized then the kingdom of the earth shall be the Lord’s. Hallelujah!!!The good news is that God's Kingdom is already covering the face of the earth,the earth is being filled with measures and measures of Glory day after day;God's Holy ones have resurrected and are now walking upon the earth,there is a Glorious energy entering into the earth through the presence of the Holy and resurrected ones on the earth.The Lord’s prayer has come to pass; Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven[Mathew 6:10 ].These are the days of God’s kingdom, power and Glory.

Prayer is not a ritual, nor a routine, but a means of engaging God’s kingdom and Glory within us. In Hebrews 4:-9-11;We were admonished to labour to enter into rest; Let us labour therefore to enter into rest; lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. We labour to enter by praying the scriptures and praying in the Holy Ghost; but when we enter into rest, we are to cease from all effort, labour and activity so that our soul can truly enjoy perfect peace and rest. Communion is an outpouring of Love from the soul unto God, and God in return pours out Love from His Spirit into the soul; it’s a divine transaction between the Spirit Of God and the soul of man. The soul's communion with God will bring him into endless depth in Glory. God can be likened to an ocean of infinite depth; the more peaceful and restful the soul becomes ,the more he communes with God and the deeper he falls into the ocean of God. The soul experiences different depths in eternity as the strength and intensity of his communion with God grows.

The more the soul is drawn inwards, the more peaceful and restful he becomes; the stronger the soul communes with God, the deeper he falls into eternity. The soul has all eternity to experience and enjoy God; when the soul has been eternally withdrawn from the distractions of life unto God, then the purpose of prayer is realized. Prayer enables God to conquer and possess the Spirit and soul of man and then allows Him to move into his body. The movement of God into the body is what Paul described as “CHANGE” in 1 Corinthians 15;51;Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep ,but we shall all be changed. When the body is changed, it moves from mortality into immortality and from corruption into incorruption; it becomes a Glorious body that can live eternally. This Glorious experience is happening life and real in This Day called the THIRD DAY.