VB091 On Fire With Prayer
On Fire With Prayer
[2Tim 1:6; Jer 33:3; Acts 1:14; 3:1; 4:31; 8:15,17; 9:10-18; 10:1-2; 12:5]
We’ve already seen that the first fuel to keep your life on fire for Jesus is the Word of God. The second fuel you need to remain spiritually on fire is prayer.
If you want to be fired up for the Lord, you’ll have to add fuel to your spiritual flame. And prayer is a powerful fuel you need. When you call out to God in prayer, it puts fuel on the spiritual flame in your life and causes you to be on fire with the power of God.
You’re the temple of the Holy Spirit, but if you are not adding any spiritual fuel to your life, you’re running on low spiritual power. Without wood in the fireplace, you will have a cold house.
The Bible says that God makes His ministers a flame of fire (see Ps 104:4). If you’re a child of God, that describes you. There is no “Clergy” or “Laity” in the Bible. God wants you to be a flame of fire. It’s the will of God for your life.
You might say, “Can I really be spiritually on fire for Jesus?” Yes, you can! If you add the right fuel to your heart, you can build a fire that burns bright, and you can sustain that fire so that it burns brighter and brighter the longer you walk with God.
Honest assessment and intentional action is what Paul encouraged the young pastor to do.
2Tim 1:6 (NKJV) –Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Those words “stir up” is anazopureo (a-na-zo-pï-re’-o)[G329] is a triple compound word in Greek. The word ana[G303] means to intently repeat an action or to do something again. The word zoon (zo’-on)[G2226] is the word for life or to be lively. And the word pur (pïr’)[G4442] is the Greek word for fire. These three words form the single word anadzopureo, which in this context means to do what you used to do to put life into your fire again.
What more fire? You don’t have to ask others to pray for you, or to lay hands on you. This is a D.I.Y. (do it yourself) action. You add the fuel to your heart by intentionally adding prayer to your life.
Stoke the fire with the fuel of fervent prayer. Prayer is absolutely essential if we’re going to remain on fire for Jesus for the rest of our life.
We have God’s promise that if we will call to Him, He will answer us and demonstrate great and mighty things which are inaccessible to ordinary people1 (Jer 33:3).
Jer 33:3 (NKJV) –‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
Listen to these words in Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” In this verse, we have God’s promise that if we will call unto Him, He will answer us and He will demonstrate amazing, phenomenal power in our life.
When you study the book of Acts, you find that when the early church prayed, there was a release of divine power. They called unto God, and God answered them and showed them great and mighty things.
When we rely upon social groups, education, or government, we get what man can give. But when we faithfully pray, we get what God can give!
In today’s world, we depend upon education, organization, machinery, etc. But we have largely failed when it comes to prayer; therefore, we don’t see a lot of supernatural results. The early church didn’t have many of these distractions, but they had Jesus and Jeremiah 33:3! They believed that if they called on God, He would answer them and show them great and mighty things.
The devil laughs at our humanistic ambition and religion. He mocks our natural wisdom, but when we pray to the Father in the anointing of Holy Spirit, he trembles!
When you activate prayer in your life, it literally stirs your embers and causes you to reignite your passion for Jesus.
The book of acts is more than a history book — it’s a pattern book!
In books on theology it’s easy to see when a particular theologian is limited to history, and what he has learned from man. It is easy to see if the author is spiritual and how much he knows God
Many people view the book of Acts as a history book, and indeed it is. But it was not intended to be only a history book. The book of Acts is a pattern book. It shows us the pattern of how God worked then, and how God wants to work in our life now, and until the coming of Jesus. And when we come to the “pattern book,” we find that the early church had a total dependency upon God. As a result, they experienced an outpouring of God’s power. They called unto God, and God answered them and showed them great and mighty things. Their lives were literally on fire because they called out to God in prayer.
Consider the following passages from the pattern-book of Acts:
Acts 1:14 (NKJV) –These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
This verse is describing the 120 who had gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem waiting for the Day of Pentecost — and for ten days, they continued in prayer. They continued in supplication. In accordance with Jeremiah 33:3, they called out to God. God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “You call out to me, and I will answer you. I will show you great and mighty things beyond your comprehension.” And they reaped the result in Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. God showed them great and mighty things!
Acts 3:1 (NKJV) –Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
Peter and John had gone to the temple to pray. And as they entered the gate, there was a man lying there who had been lame since his birth (See v.2). Peter and John simply used their authority in the name of Jesus, with faith in God, commanded healing. And just like Jeremiah 33:3 says, God answered them and showed them great and mighty things as this man, who had never walked, suddenly jumped up and God’s power was released (vv. 7,8).
Acts 4:31 (NKJV) –And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
How would you like to have a Holy Ghost meeting where the power of prayer would shake the house like it was in an earthquake? That’s what happened in Acts 4:31. At that prayer meeting, they were praying according to Jeremiah 33:3. They were calling out to God, and He answered them with a great and mighty shaking power. They got stirred up and on fire for Jesus, and spoke the Word with boldness.
Acts 8:15,17 (NKJV) –Who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit…. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
The Bible tells us that Philip had gone to Samaria and preached Christ, and people repented, and there was great joy in that city (See vv. 5-12). Then Philip baptized them. Then the apostles came down from Jerusalem, and when they prayed for the people, calling out to God (v. 14), those people who had been saved then received the Holy Spirit (v.15). Gloriously, God showed them great and mighty things because they prayed!
Acts 9:10-18 (NKJV) –Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” [11] So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. [12] “And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” [13] Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. [14] “And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” [15] But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. [16] “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” [17] And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” [18] Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
In this passage, we read that Ananias was praying. And as he was calling out to God, God spoke to him and said, “I want you to go to a street called Straight, to a house where there is a man by the name of Saul. Lay hands on him and pray for him, that he might be filled with the Holy Spirit and receive his sight.” And the Bible tells us that in response to God’s voice as he prayed, Ananias obeyed.” He went to where Saul was, laid hands on the new convert, and you know the rest of the story; Saul later became the great apostle Paul.
Because Ananias prayed, he received direction from Heaven. He then obeyed and laid hands on a man who would become the legendary apostle Paul. God heard Ananais’ praying and showed him, as well as the one he prayed for, great and mighty things!
Acts 10:1-2 (NKJV) – There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, [2] a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
This passage talks about a man, who even though he was a pagan, he was seeking God, and Jeremiah 33:3 will work for anyone who prays. Cornelius was calling out to God, and God answered him. And God directed Peter to go to his house, and as a result of Cornelius’ praying, the Gentiles experienced the first Pentecost. They were gloriously saved and filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues. (See Acts 10:3-46).
Acts 12:5 (NKJV) –Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
Peter was in jail, and a home group of believers prayed fervently for his release. They were calling on God, and God answered. He sent an angel to set Peter free. Peter showed up at the house where people were praying for him. They were stunned and amazed by things that had been done in response to their prayers. God is faithful to His promise, and showed them “great and might things” (see Jer 33:3).
From beginning to end, the book of Acts is a pattern of the early church praying, and God responding to their prayers. Believers on fire for Jesus, is a fervent Church. God showed them great and mighty things – His promise to anyone who will add the fuel of prayer to stir up the gift of God in their hearts.2
If the church is too busy for prayer, we’re too busy for power.
We have to do what Jeremiah 33:3 says — call unto God, and call unto Him vigorously, without giving up. And He will answer us with great and mighty things!
God bless you my friend,
1Walvoord & Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary, O.T. Dallas Seminary (SP Pub., 1985), 1175.
2See Topical Study, Decrees, Declarations, and Proclamations.
