The Principles of Prayer XXXV

 We remain rooted in Christ, knowing He is the source of life. Prayer facilitates our remaining in Him, keeping us connected just as a branch remains attached to the vine. If we do not abide in Christ, all our plans, endeavors, and pursuits will come to naught as far as producing fruit goes. One cannot be separated from the life-giving presence of Jesus and still expect to produce good fruit.

In order for a seed to produce a harvest, it requires good soil, water, and sunlight. These three are essential, and without them, whatever you’ve planted will not come to full maturation, producing the desired outcome. If one’s heart is the soil, then the water and sun are God’s word and prayer. We nourish ourselves daily with the Word of God, knowing it is the source of spiritual sustenance, and entreat Him daily, strengthening our bond and fellowship with Him, knowing it produces life.

If your desire is to grow in God, the blueprint is simple. There is no second option, and the study of scripture and a life of prayer are indispensable in this pursuit. As one grows, they begin to incorporate fasting into their walk, likewise understanding its benefits, because as far as our spiritual man is concerned, stagnation is never an option.

We serve an infinite God, and for anyone to insist that there is no more of Him to discover reveals an abject ignorance of who God really is. It’s more a pride thing than anything else. Men feel as though they’ll be seen in a certain light, lauded and looked up to if they claim they’ve reached the mountaintop and acquired full knowledge of the unfathomable God they purport to serve.

Were we given a thousand lifetimes, we would still fall short of knowing the fullness of God in all His majesty, grandeur, and wonder. Every morning is a new opportunity to know more of Him, to feel His presence, and grow in His love, and this can only be accomplished by coming before Him in prayer and supplication.

What terrifies the enemy isn’t opulent buildings, popular worship teams, fancy lighting, or using props to get a point across. What terrifies the enemy is a church body or an individual who has consecrated themselves to prayer and fasting, to pursuing God at the expense of all else, and making Him the focal point of their existence.

You can have all these things, the opulence, the overflowing building fund, the fog machines, and a coffee shop in the lobby, and still be wretched, poor, miserable, blind, and naked. Conversely, you can have none of these things, none of the trappings or the baubles men use to define success, but have a vibrant prayer life, and you will walk in the authority reserved exclusively for the children of God.

I’m not saying you can’t have both, or that if a church is large and has a beautiful building, it is automatically absent a culture of prayer. However, most people today gravitate toward the easy thing, the comfortable thing, the experience for its own sake, rather than the presence of God.

Walk into any church and within the first thirty minutes of the service, you will know what their focus is. You will know their purpose, whether it is to grow in God or to grow in numbers. It is expedient to sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity, and once you start on that path, it’s difficult to redress and refocus on the things that matter.

We choose to seek the favor of God or the favor of men, understanding that we can’t do both, as they are often at odds with each other. When we desire God’s favor exclusively, it is bound to rankle those who want to displace God and make of themselves something they were never meant to be.

The world can do as the world does. Men can seek the favor of men, stroking their egos, and undeservedly flattering them, pretending they agree with some sentiment or another, even when they don’t, but when it occurs within the household of faith, when a shepherd sees himself as something more than a servant but someone who must be praised and lifted up, the showing of favoritism to those who inflate their egos to bursting is inevitable.

Great or small, prince or pauper, once we surrender and submit, once we humble ourselves at the foot of the cross, we are all bondservants of Christ, none greater than the other. The only thing that differs from one individual to the other is accountability, for to whom much is given, much will be required.

Matthew 6:5-7, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

These are instructions not from second-hand accounts, not from someone who heard someone repeat what they thought they heard Jesus say, but from the mouth of Christ Himself. You can doubt men’s take on certain issues, you can doubt men’s opinions or declarative statements, but as followers of Christ, one thing we cannot doubt are the words of Christ.

One of the most overlooked aspects of Christ’s words took place in the opening sentence. Jesus began by saying, ‘When you pray, not if you pray.’  This isn’t a distinction without a difference, but something far deeper-reaching. Jesus saw prayer as such an indispensable part of one’s spiritual walk that He did not allow for the possibility that those who followed Him wouldn’t have active prayer lives or spend time in prayer.

That one sentence should cement the importance of prayer in our hearts and minds, and encourage us to dedicate ourselves to it, not like the hypocrites who do so that men might see them, but as true sons and daughters of God whose only desire is more of His presence.   

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Posted on 28 May 2025 | 11:59 am