John K. Jenkins Sr - Principles of Powerful Prayer - Part 3

A guy once prayed a prayer, saying, "God, I heard You can do anything." He lived in California and wanted to go to Hawaii, but he was afraid of flying. So he said, "Lord, I want to go to Hawaii, but I'm afraid to fly. Can You build a bridge from California to Hawaii ?" The Lord responded, "You know , that's rather selfish of you to ask me to build a bridge from California to Hawaii because you are scared to fly. It would take tons of money , tons of concrete , and years to complete. Why don't you ask for something a little more reasonable?" The man replied, "You know what, You're right, Lord. I'm sorry ." He thought about it, then said, "Lord, can You help me understand my wife?" To which the Lord responded, "Do you want that bridge to be one lane or two?"

All right, I'm sorry; it just came to me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Let me get to the Word: Ephesians chapter 6. I better stay out of the joke-telling business. I'm in a series today; hopefully, I can get through it. This is part three of the message on the principles of powerful prayer. We 've been looking at this sixth chapter of Ephesians, where the Apostle Paul speaks to the church in Ephesus and gives them some specifics on how to engage in warfare with the enemy.

I believe we have already concluded-and I've been telling folks- we are in the midst of spiritual warfare. How many of you know that we're in the middle of battles? I recognize the hand of the enemy : we are battling the devil , who is destroying families , marriages, children 's esteem, and finances are out of whack. We are right in the middle of a battle; it's spiritual warfare, and the devil does not want us to win. Paul told the church in Ephesus, and it rings true for us today, giving them instructions on how to battle the enemy. The devil's opposition is not new; he's been doing this through the ages .

In Ephesians 6, Paul provides the church in Ephesus with specifics on how to fight back. Let me quickly review: verse 12 says we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers , rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places . We are battling against spiritual entities . That 's why the battle is not with your cousin , your husband , your wife, your boss, or your neighbor; it is with spiritual forces. Then Paul tells us how to engage in this battle. He walks through verses 13 to 17 , talking about the weapons to put on. While I haven't talked about those yet, I feel inclined, perhaps in the coming weeks, to go over what those pieces are , their meanings, and how to put them on .

What he concludes with in verses 18, 19, and 20 is the crucial component of prayer. The key component in this battle is prayer. Somebody say prayer! Prayer is a spiritual weapon . I need you all to grasp that: prayer is a spiritual weapon . The devil doesn't like for us to pray; our flesh does not want to pray because the devil recognizes the power present when we cast our burdens before the Lord and when we pray. So, in verses 18, 19, and 20, there are seven points about prayer-seven specific things about prayer.

Let me quickly review: I've covered four points and will try to get through the last three today . Verse 18 speaks about praying always. Do you remember what that means? It means our posture is one of always being ready to pray . We don't need to be in a certain position, face a particular direction, go into a closet , or shut a door; we can pray right where we are. We are always postured for prayer-that's what "praying always" means.

Secondly, with all prayer and supplication refers to petition. We petition God, meaning we bring our requests for Him to supply our needs. That is what supplication means: we're begging God, soliciting Him. Our encouragement is to reach a point where we can open ourselves and pour our hearts out before God, crying out to Him. Gone are the days of little, cute, quiet whispering prayers. God wants to make us people who are unafraid to open our mouths and hearts to Him. [Applause]

Point number three says, "in the Spirit." We need to learn to let the Holy Ghost pray through us, rather than according to our flesh. Our flesh does not know how to pray, amen? Can I ask you a question? I didn't mention this when discussing praying with power. The third point is about learning to pray in the Spirit. Have you ever prayed for something that God did not give you and then looked back and thought, "God, I'm so glad You didn't give me that thing"? Come on now! You saw someone years later and realized how messed up they were. Oh, Jesus, thank You for not giving me that individual! [Applause] That 's why we must learn to pray in the Spirit so that the Holy Ghost can pray through us. Come on, talk to me for a second-that's power!