God Is Abundantly Able

For the next month, we will be looking at God’s Ability to answer our Prayer. When we pray, we must expect God to move on our behalf according to His will and purpose for our life. We cannot come to him with ambivalent feelings. Know that He hears us and that he is interested in answering us.

The topic for this coming week is: “GOD IS ABUNDANTLY ABLE.”

... Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." John 11:41-42 NIV

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:20

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Mark 10:27

For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37

Pastor Winston

Prayer Is Simple Part 5

God is greatly interested in you. He doesn’t care for liturgical magnificence, if that’s all it is. He doesn’t want fancy flowing styles or the articulation of the learned. He wants your heart to talk to him. That is true prayer, being with the Father one-on-one. He wants us to be open and honest in our discourse.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Matthew 6:7-9 KJV

Pastor Winston

Prayer Is Simple Part 4

A wonderful aid to simplicity in prayer is a warm acquaintance with the Bible, especially the Psalms. This incomparable book of praise is also a thorough handbook of prayer. Many times the innermost cries of our heart, which you find extremely difficult in putting into words are beautifully and clearly expressed in God’s own prayer book.

Let the words of my mouth , and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 KJV

May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. Psalm 88:2 NIV

May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2 NIV

Pastor Winston

Prayer Is Simple Part 3

The posture of prayer is not too important. It’s good to pray on one’s knees if that’s convenient. Perhaps that promotes the earnestness of prayer. But it’s more important that our hearts kneel.

Nor is the place of prayer all important. Great cathedrals are not a requisite nor are stained glass windows. Just a simple corner in your home or an appointed desk or chair in your study will do just as well.

There is value in united prayer but the numbers need not be huge. Just two or three fulfill God’s requirements. However, in a busy day it’s often impossible to even get alone, not to speak of entering into one’s “closet.” Then one may pray from the street corner, the restaurant, the bus, the store, the schoolroom. God hears your earnest cry from anywhere.

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20 NIV

Pastor Winston

Prayer Is Simple Part 2

One does not have to use “big” words or fancy phrases. God wants genuineness. He wants us to be honest with Him. He wants us to tell what’s on our hearts. Perhaps some of the greatest prayers that ever entered the ears of God had no words at all … they were just inarticulate heart-cries of the desperately distressed. Nor do printed prayers carry the weight of a heartfelt, passionate discourse with our father.

Repetitious prayer, that is endlessly repeating a learned or familiar phrase that is not Holy Spirit born has little effect. Such man-made devices are utterly unavailing and insult God’s love. Let us pray from the heart, inspired by the Word of God.

So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. Romans 8:26 AMP

Pastor Winston

Prayer Is Simple Part 1

Far too often we think that prayer must be meticulously planned and majestically phrased in order to be acceptable to God. Not so. Actually, such “magnificent” prayers, unless they have also the desirable qualities of humility and sincerity, are entirely unacceptable to Him. Prayer is a simple matter. It’s just telling God what we need. It’s asking for Him to meet that need.

To speak to God, is to speak from the heart and ask Him for his comfort and guidance in our life. We must search for Him and as we do so, He meets us in prayer.

12 Then shall ye call upon me , and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. Jeremiah 19:12-14 KJV

Pastor Winston

Prayer is Natural Part 5

The Christian is a child of God and has the very nature of his Father. He has not merely a creature-creature instinct, but he has a child-to-his-father relationship. God has undertaken toward him the father’s part. God has become to the Christian his nearest and dearest relative. While earthly fathers may be more or less ideal in the performance of their responsibility, God is overwhelmingly an ideal Father. He assumes the fathers part perfectly.

Consequently, it is the most natural thing in the world for the true Christian to call upon his Father, for small needs as well as great needs. We call upon Him for blessings upon others as well as personal needs. The Christian may call unceasingly, and in response the Father hears unceasingly. For the child of God, prayer is breath, prayer is food, and prayer is life.

He shall call upon me , and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. Psalm 91:15 KJV

Pastor Winston

Prayer is Natural Part 4

Is it not right then, that God after having given us the instinct of prayer should also stand in readiness to answer our petition? Is it not consistent with God’s righteous character that having caused us to ask from Him, He should plan to supply our needs?

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 NIV

Pastor Winston

Prayer is Natural Part 3

Here we are, creatures of God placed up a world which He has created. Our lungs are filled with the atmosphere which He has made. Our hearts beat rhythmically with the speed which He has set. We daily feed from the bounties of His good earth. We are dependent upon God for everything. We naturally look to Him.

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Revelation 4:11 NIV

Pastor Winston

Prayer is Natural Part 2

Deep in the heart of every human being is the basic instinct to call upon its Creator in times of need. Just as babes cry for their mothers when needs arise, in the same manner men and women quite instinctively look up into God’s face to meet difficulties and emergencies.

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee … Psalm 63:1a KJV

Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. Isaiah 43:26 KJV

Pastor Winston

Prayer is Natural Part 1

Let’s understand right from the beginning that in order to be proficient in prayer one does not require a special course of schooling or even a wealth of practical experience. Prayer is just as natural as breathing. It’s just as normal as eating or walking. It is part of your new life in Christ.

The simple parable of Jesus in Luke 18:11-14 is an example of the heart that reaches out to God in honesty and openness.

Pastor Winston

What Prayer Will Do For You Part 5

Above all, prayer will make our lives Christ-centered. Effective prayer is in His name. We learn to ask as He gives us the desire of heart. The desire He places within us allows us to partner with Him, to work with Him and walk in concert with His plans and purposes. Our petitions are fashioned so that they may honor and glorify Him. In this way we grow into God’s ideal for His children.

Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite my heart [solely, reverently] to fear and honor Your name. Psalm 86:11 AMP

Pastor Winston

What Prayer Will Do For You Part 4

As a child of God too, we find that we have a threefold enemy in life. There is the world system which is selfish and opposed to God’s principles. There is the flesh in us, which comprises everything we were before we met Christ. There is also Satan, himself, who is the Christian’s accuser and adversary. How can we face such strong, supernatural foes. Prayer is the answer. As we pray for courage and wisdom God abundantly provides.

In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. Ephesians 6:10 AMP

Pastor Winston

What Prayer Will Do For You Part 3

In grace we find that we may be a channel of blessings. This, we learn, is the goal of life. But prayer is the doorway to experiencing the blessings of intimacy and relationship. As we continue to look to God in prayer, so He continues to make us channels of the fountains of living waters to others.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38 KJV

Pastor Winston

What Prayer Will Do For You Part 2

Prayer also promotes growth in grace. When we pray to God we become conscious of the character of the One to whom we pray. We come to know that He is great in holiness as well as being great in power. We realize that His righteousness is absolute as well as His wisdom being incomparable. In this realization, we begin to conform our lives to His standards. We seek to know Him better by the means which He has provided, the death of His well beloved Son. So, we enter into grace by the grace of God.

The 1958 Phil Specter song, “to know him is to love him” although secular, embodies what we feel when we came to know our Lord. Indeed, TO KNOW HIM … IS TO LOVE HIM!

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death..." Philippians 3:10 KJV

Pastor Winston

What Prayer Will Do For You Part 1

But prayer will make God real to you. No one has seen His works. Nor can anything make His presence and interest more real in our lives than to receive the answer to our petition. God’s personality in this way becomes an actuality to us. We know He is real because He answers our prayers.

As the old hymn echoes, the reality of God comes to us in our innermost being when we touch him in intimate fellowship.

“My God is real, he's real in my soul, my God is real for he has washed and made my whole, his love for me, is like pure gold. My God is real for I can feel him in my soul.”

Pastor Winston

What Will Prayer Do For You?

Prayer will lead you into a life which acknowledges and honors God. What folly it is for man, who is a creature of God, to utterly fail to honor his Creator. How right it is for God to expect His creatures to acknowledge Him. So, the very exercise of prayer is in itself a mark of respect which the creature pays to his Creator.

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." - Revelation 4:11 NIV

So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations . - Psalm79:13 KJV

Thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations . - Psalm 135:13 KJV

Pastor Winston

Is Prayer Limited By the Miles?

Prayer is boundless. You may pray with assurance for those who live thousands of miles away from you. Space is no barrier. And you may pray for as many things or people as you desire. The amount of petition will in no way invalidate your petition. Nor, do limitations of human possibility apply in prayer. God is both able and willing to transcend the limits of what is humanly possible to gladly exhibit the miraculous. Nor is the time of answer any hindrance. We may pray far into the future. We may pray ahead asking God to provide and protect all the days of our lives.

If I go up to the heavens, you are there ; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there . If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,your right hand will hold me fast. - Psalm 139:8-10 NIV

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life ,and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. - Psalm 23:66 NIV

Pastor Winston

Who Is Entitled To Pray?

Anyone may pray. You do not need to be educated to have access to the throne of grace. The youngster starting out in kindergarten will be heard too. Nor, do you need to be rich in the world’s goods. Whether you’re a bank president or a pauper, it makes no difference in God’s sight. Nor does the color of your skin in any way affect your acceptance in prayer.

Red or yellow, black or white, all are precious in His sight. Age is no barrier. The dear people with lots of silver in their hair no doubt are far more experienced in intercession, but as far as being heard, the toddler can be assured that his lisped prayer will enter God’s ears too.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer … - 1 Peter 3:12 NIV

Pastor Winston

Where Can We Call Upon Him?

You may pray from any place you happen to be. You may lift your soul to God in your home or in your place of business. God hears equally well from the school as from the church. Many pray in their cars, in buses, in airplanes. A very fertile source of prayer is the sick bed, but the athletic field will do equally well.

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you - Psalm 9:10 NIV

O God, my God! How I search for you ! Psalm 63:1 TLB

Pastor Winston

How Much Time Does He Make For Us?

Consider for a moment the time element. Did you know that you may have an audience with God for as long as you desire? You may talk with Him for a minute, an hour, a day if you wish. God is not too busy caring for the things of His universe to deny you and I as much time as we care to spend with Him in prayer.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; - Psalm 34:15 NIV

O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. - Psalm 130:2 NIV

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer … - 1 Peter 3:12 NIV


Pastor Winston

The Amazing Power of Prayer

Prayer is the key to the greatest power in the universe. It is access to the limitless, exhaustless, timeless resources of the God of all ages. It is the door to all success, it is the answer to every need, it is the solution to every problem, it is the ability for every situation.

Jesus, by example, would always recess to the presence of His Father in prayer. After each encounter, there was an amazing presence that manifested in His ministry.

William Temple, a twentieth century archbishop of Canterbury was asked what was the use of praying for others. He is said to have responded that he had noticed that when he prayed, coincidences happened, and when he stopped praying the coincidences stopped.

The Christian's power in prayer is indeed amazing.


Pastor Winston
Friday, May 1, 2009