Transcription
By the grace of God, we want to share the second and concluding part of our message.
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Titled, "The Most Effective and Rewarding Prayer Points." In the last week, in particular, we looked at the first part of this very, very important message. And today, we shall look at the second and closing part.
Our text is taken from First Chronicles, chapter 4, verse 9 to 10. First Chronicles, chapter 4, verse 9 to 10. I read two versions: Contemporary English Version and then Living Bible.
And so, Contemporary English Version, First Chronicles 4:9-10. It says, "Jabez was a man who got his name because of the pain he caused his mother during birth. But he was still the most respected man, a son in his family. One day he prayed to Israel's God, 'Please bless me and give me a lot of land. Be with me so I will be safe from harm.' And God did just what Jabez had asked."
Living Bible, First Chronicles, chapter 4, verse 9 to 10. "Jabez was more distinguished than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because she had such a hard time at his birth. Jabez means distress. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, 'Oh, that you will wonderfully bless me and help me in my work! Please be with me in all that I do and keep me from all evil and disaster.' And God granted him his request."
And so, taken up from point number six, we emphasize and share the scripture in Proverbs, chapter 22, verse 3. The Living Bible, Proverbs 22, verse 3 says, "A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them. But the unwise goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
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So, some important prayer points. There are some important prayer points that you must pray ahead of time. If your desire concerning those things will be fulfilled, you would need to pray ahead of time against such things happening. You will need to pray ahead of time for those things to happen.
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For instance, you will need to pray ahead against sickness and disability, especially terminal disease, severe injuries, and hereditary sickness. Two, you need to also pray ahead against common vices that have ruined the lives and prospects of many people. For instance, alcohol addiction, smoking, drug abuse, gambling, sexual immorality.
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As a parent that is strong in the Lord, you don't wait to see any of your children begin to engage in these things, these vices, before you begin to pray. There are some prayer points. Certain things that we should, it's better to prevent it than to pray for deliverance when it has started happening.
Another prayer, another thing you should pray ahead about is against, make some negative trends, negative trends. For instance, you will need to pray against certain adverse experiences or bad habits that manifested in the life of the parents of one or good parents in a family. You need to pray against such bad experiences or habits or attitudes literally occurring in the lives of any of the children or in your own life if that had to do with one of your parents.
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You need to pray against hereditary disease, hereditary sicknesses. And talking about negative trends, you look at what is happening now. What is happening now that is not, you know, a good thing to behold. And so, you, one of those things, for instance, you need to pray about, pray against late marriage or late conception for yourself or your children.
Number four, you will need to pray ahead against costly mistakes. This one is so important. You must pray this prayer point every day because if also true spiritual attack, spiritual manipulations, one of the major strategies that demonic spirits will use to try and rubbish you or bring you down is to influence you to suddenly make a very costly mistake. So you need to pray ahead against costly mistakes, against serious errors, and things that could lead to painful regrets. I pray this morning, once again, for you and your family, that you will never make a costly mistake. Let the Lord hear your amen.
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You will not make any serious error. You will not engage yourself in anything that will subsequently lead you to serious regrets in the name of Jesus. The Lord will help you.
And number five, you need to pray against all of these are under types of proactive prayer points that we need to raise ahead of time. Pray ahead against negative tendencies that manifest suddenly. For instance, hasty reactions, hasty decisions. Oh, they just offended you, so instantly you resigned. And when you show up at home much earlier than your closing time, members of your household or family are asking you, "What happened?" Finished work for the day. And the next thing they hear from you is, "I have resigned." If your that spirit was married, that means it was never discussed even with your spouse before you took such a major decision. But these are things that have happened a lot of times.
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Under the influence of anger, offense, provocation, disappointment. And in most cases, it turns out to be a wrong decision. And so, you need to, because one of the reasons why you need to pray is that if you look at some of the circumstances that makes people react the way they reacted, you would almost want to excuse them as they narrate them for doing, for acting the way they acted. Even though their reaction was wrong. And it will be clear to you that a lot of people would have done the same thing, even though it was also wrong. So, one way you can save yourself from such hasty reactions, hasty decisions, use of wrong words, use of hurting words, abusive words.
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That you would even later regret yourself saying, is to pray against.
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Engaging in such things, or your loved ones doing likewise. You also need to pray ahead against negative or evil events that happen, that usually happens suddenly and unexpectedly. For instance, road accidents. When it happens, nobody sees it coming. Plane crash, helicopter crash, train or boat mishaps. And even domestic accidents, fire outbreak, electrocution of someone dear to your heart, drowning, even in a swimming pool, in a residential, in a residential environment, fatal injuries, heart attack, cardiac arrest. And then things like falling ill, critically ill, seriously ill at a very, very critical time. For instance, when your child or yourself or a loved one is supposed to be sitting for a critical final exam. That is a wrong time, very wrong time for such a person to be ill. Because you would observe most of the time, the kind of illness will be something that will certainly go. But if it happens at such a critical time, it will have done a very, very serious damage. You need to pray ahead against certain circumstances that lead to sudden death. Circumstances like violent attacks, mob attacks, becoming a victim of a riot, becoming a victim of stray bullets, robbery attack. And sometimes the victims of robbery attacks are not even, you know, the target of such a robbery. We have seen certain people just go to the bank, and not that unfortunately, the day that he or she was at the bank was when robbers came. The robbers didn't come after him or her, they came to that bank. Assassination attempts, kidnapping. Pray ahead against things like building collapse, bomb explosion, terrorist attacks, rape. Pray against sexual assault, mistaking identity. These are things that you need to pray ahead. And some majority of these things mentioned often lead to sudden death.
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You also need to pray against potential negative developments that have been revealed by divine revelation. You need to pray against him. Sometimes it could be revealed to you directly. Sometimes it could be revealed to you through someone else. God will show it to someone else and will also give that person the release to share with you. You also need to pray ahead for God's grace to always make the right choice and take the best decision at every point in time, especially very important decisions or reactions that may urgently, not may be urgently or instantly required from you. When such circumstances usually arise, it's not every time that you will be expected to make a choice and you will have the freedom and the benefit of getting back with your response in a day's time, two days' time, in a week's time. Sometimes a lifetime opportunity can just come to you and you are required to respond instantly.
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So you are not going to have the time to pray and seek God's face. And if you were to delay your response, you will lose that opportunity.
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But if you've had a habit of praying some strategic prayer points ahead of time, when such circumstances play out, because they will play out sometime in your life, they will play out. The prayers you have prayed ahead of time would have already been answered ahead of time. And so, when the circumstance plays out for that kind of prayer, for the answer to that prayer to be enforced on your behalf, it will happen instantly. May the grace of God always be upon you to make the right choice. May the grace and hand of God always be upon you to take the best decision, even when you have to do so instantly, in the name of Jesus. Let the Lord hear your amen.
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You also need to pray ahead for timely provision of your vital and most urgent needs. So these are some.
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Prayer points, proactive prayer points, some of them, prevented prayer points that you must, you must.
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And as a servant of God, we are calling into prayer and intercession, and also spiritual warfare and deliverance. I can tell you that prevention is always the best choice. Prevention is better than deliverance. Prevention is always the best choice. It's easier to prevent certain things from happening than to correct it when it has already manifested.
And then we go to point number seven. As often as you can, back up your prayer points with strong reasons. As often as you can, back up your prayer point with strong reasons. One of the factors responsible for success in prevailing with God in prayer is the foresight and wisdom behind your prayer points. To prevail with God in prayer, or to move God to do something you desire, you must sometimes give strong reasons. Strong reasons why God should do it, or do it the way you are asking. Drafting prayer points with strong reasons involves giving convincing reasons that God just has to grant your request and make that thing happen.
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In Isaiah chapter 41, verse 21, God's Word Translation, it says, "Present your case," says the Lord. "Bring forward your best arguments." Bring forward your best arguments, says Jacob's King. King James Version, Isaiah 41:21, it says, "Produce your cause," say the Lord. "Bring forth your strong reasons," say the King of Jacob. I pray that the Holy Spirit, more than ever before, would begin to give you uncommon inspiration, wisdom, and understanding to generate the most convincing reasons with which to back up your prayer request every time you are in God's presence in prayer, in the name of Jesus.
An excellent example you will find in Genesis chapter 18, verse 20 to 33. I read from the Easy-to-Read version. "And the Lord, then the Lord said, 'I have heard many times that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are very evil. I will go and see if they are as bad as I've heard. Then I will know for sure.' So the men turned and started walking towards Sodom. And while Abraham stood before the Lord, then Abram approached him and asked, 'Will you destroy the good people while you are destroying those who are evil?'" Abraham did not just say, "Lord, do not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah." He generated a reason by his, by his understanding of the mind of God, of the reasoning of God, will convince God to have a change of mind.
In verse 24, Abraham speaking said, "What if there are 50 good people in that city? Will you destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the 50 good people living there. Surely you would not destroy the city, you would not destroy 50 good people to kill those who are evil." Can you see a strong reason? If that happened, those who are good will be the same as those who are evil, but will be punished. As the judge of the whole world, can you see, you know, the narrative, the wisdom in his choice of words, in the things he's making reference to? Because as the judge of the whole world, the Almighty God has to set a standard for, for us human entities to make the best and the right judgment in circumstances we encounter. At the national level, you have the high courts, you have the appeal courts, and then you have the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court is the final point. So you observe that for any issue that comes up, ultimately reference is made to the judgment, the past judgment of the Supreme Court. So it just has to be right at that level. So Abraham said to God, "You are the judge of the whole world. Surely you will do the right thing."
Now, check out what God said. "Then the Lord said." God would not have said this if not for the fact that Abraham raised this strong reason. From today, you will grow in wisdom.
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From today, you will say things that will convince God, in the name of Jesus. "Then the Lord said, 'If I find 50 good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city.'" Now, God is making reference to the point that Abraham profiled. That when Abraham saw that he had gotten a breakthrough, you know, he decided, he decided to take it, to take it, you know, to the ultimate direction. And where was he going? He was going somewhere. He said, "Then Abraham said, in verse 27, 'Compared to you, Lord, I'm only dust and ashes.'" Can you also look at his choice of words? There are times when a prayer point would not, it would not be too, it would not, it would not sound right if you do not add the word, "please." "Please, Lord, release." There are times when that will sound a bit, you know, it would to sound somehow. This your spirit will, would, would give you a signal that a better way to present is, "Please, Lord, Lord, please release. Please release. I am only dust and ashes." But let me bother you again. I ask you this question, "What if there are five less than 15? Will you destroy a whole city because of just five people?" The Lord said, "If I find 45 good people there, I will not destroy the city." Abraham went again. He mentioned 40, and God also agreed. Mentioned 30. God also agreed that if he could find 30 good people there, he would not destroy the city. That's you see verse 30. Then verse 31, Abraham said, "Lord, may I bother you again and ask, what if there are 20 good people?" The Lord answered, "If I find 20 good people, I will not destroy." Now, when you give God a strong reason, a convincing reason, God will now act based on what you have profiled. He will change his mind based on what you have not profiled. "The Lord said, 'If I find 20 good people, I will not destroy the city.'" Then Abraham said, "Lord, don't be angry with me, but let me bother you this one." I, as I'm saying this, I know there are people like Abraham listening to this message who always, you know, who always come to God in the same fashion. Praise hear the Lord. Praise you the Lord. "If you find 10 good people there, what will you do?" The Lord said, "If I find 10 good people in the city, I will not destroy it." The Lord finished speaking to Abraham and left. Then Abraham went back home.
So from what happened in Genesis 18:20-33, you can see that it was the strong reason that Abraham gave to support his request that moved God, that moved God to respond positively. The strong reason that Abraham gave to God was sound and convincing. It was sound and it was convincing. Sometimes one of those things that moves God is a vow.
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Vows are very powerful in the spiritual realm.
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God, in 95 percent of instances, will never make a vow. God will never make a vow. Very rare, very rare would you see God vow either to do something positive or to do something that happens to judgment. Because once a vow is made, it should not be canceled, it should not be revoked. It's supposed to be irreversible. And that is why in Ecclesiastes, the Bible says we should not rashly come before the Lord with vows that we would not keep to. Because it has a lot of spiritual implication. When you make a, as a casual promise, and even to God, and it is not done, you pledged, and it is not done. God could just so easily overlook it. But when you make a vow, because a vow can move God to do now, what he would have done in 10 years' time. And I understood the spiritual dynamics of what we are talking about. And that is why in First Samuel chapter 1, at the time with the family at Shiloh, in her desperation to receive the blessing of the fruit of the womb, particularly a son from God, she made a vow. She made a vow. So your strong, your reason must be sound and convincing. And we could see that from the case of Abraham.
And then point number eight. Point number eight. Always round up your prayers with prophetic declarations. Always round up your prayers with prophetic declarations. Your prayer points should always include prophetic declarations.
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For instance, you should, you should declare and proclaim some of the promises of God in Psalm 91 on a daily basis. Psalm 91 is potent. It is time-tested in the reign of attracting and activating God's grace for divine protection, preservation of life, preservation of anything good that God has put in place. And one of the advantages of writing down.
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Your prophetic declarations is that with your consistency, the more you are consistent in declaring them, the easier it is for you to also memorize all of them. And eventually, it becomes part of you. And you do not even need to read and declare them at appropriate circumstances. Prophetic declaration is when you exercise authority over situations and confidently declare God's word into effect. Prophetic declaration is when you exercise your spiritual authority through verbal declarations. Prophetic declaration is when, by faith, you confidently declare what you are expecting God to do. Just as there is need for specific and strategic prayer points, there is also need for specific and strategic prophetic pronouncements. For instance, in Genesis chapter 1, verse 3. Genesis 1, verse 3. God said, "Let there be light." Let there be light. It was very specific. What he desired to see, to see in physical manifestation. So you must be specific in your declarations. In Mark 11, verse 23, where Jesus, our Lord Jesus, taught us on the act of prophetic declarations, he said, "And whatsoever you desire, whatsoever that whatsoever." Now, must be something in particular in your time in prayer. The specific thing we desire to happen matters. In prophecy, the contents of your words in a prophetic declaration must be assigned to specific targets. You see an example in Ex, in Ezekiel chapter 37. Ezekiel 37:5-6. You must also speak for the most relevant scriptures. I just mentioned Psalm 91 when it has to do with divine protection, the preservation of life and good things. You need to proclaim some scriptures, relevant scriptures, at appropriate times in prayer. Finally, you should preferably write down these declarations and proclamations as a mother, for instance. As a mother, your daughter should be able to inherit those things that God helped you to discover that walk in the place of prayer and intercession.
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Your prayer point, your list of prayer points is an eye-opener to anyone. Because it implies that if you have been successful in prayer and intercession over certain types of issues, whatever where those prayer points you, we are always praying with, if any other person also prays with them, God will give them the same results. If there are some specific proclamations or scriptures that are so much on target, every time you proclaim them, when somebody else also uses the same scriptures, just as you have done successfully, God will also give them the same results and effect. So, write down these declarations and proclamations along with a specific request on your prayer list.
Number nine. Some prayer points should include the names of specific people for quicker and better results in prayer. You may need to sometimes pray with the names of some specific people, or the specific name of the type of sickness, the type of problem, or the type of spirit that you want to be removed through your prayers. You need to pray, for instance, with the names of members of your family. You must pray with the name of your wife, your husband, your son, your daughter, your father, your mother. You must pray with the names of your loved ones and address specific issues in their lives. That's part of the benefit of somebody being closely related or connected to a man or woman of prayer and intercession. Because they will not only pray to God over that issue in your life, they will mention your name and sometimes use you as a point of contact for others who have that need, which gives you another added advantage in the spiritual realm. You would also need to pray with the names of some key people in your life, some key people in a particular circumstance that is the subject of the prayer.
And number 10. Avoid duplication of prayer points. Avoid duplication of prayer points.
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Duplication of prayer points is when you take two or more prayer points that all have exactly the same message or exactly the same essence. When you pray with such additional prayer points, there is no added value or effect on the final outcome. There is no added value or effect on the final result. In selecting or drafting your prayer points, any extra prayer point that is to be added to those already listed must have a different purpose or have a different effect.
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In picking the first, the prayer points for a session of prayer, once the first prayer point is listed, any extra prayer point must address something different or add something more to the final outcome. Otherwise, it will be better to make it. And I've done that many times. I look at a list of 50 prayer points, and sometimes I go to God with those 50 prayer points. And in the process of praying, it's clear, you get sickness that these two prayer points are exactly the same thing. These two prayer points have absolutely in the same dimension. So at best, match them together. There will just be one or two key words you need to take from this and add it to the existing one. So merge it with the prayer point that it is similar to, or discard it completely. God, Jesus made this clear when he was teaching on prayer in Matthew chapter 6. One of the things he mentioned is that we should avoid some of these wrong perspectives that people have about what it takes to have a breakthrough with God in prayer. Say, for instance, don't just, uh, pray about a particular prayer, praying for so long, so long, just to give people the impression that you have prayed a very long prayer. He said, "No." The more, even before you raise that prayer point, God already knows. So the moment you raise it, the purpose is already accomplished in the spiritual realm.
So finally, the final notes. One, your prayer points must always be in agreement with God's will. Your prayer points must always be in agreement with God's will. Matthew 26:36-46. I pray your prayer points must always be in agreement with the will of God. Number two, always support your prayer points with relevant scriptures. Always support your prayer points, as much as possible, with relevant scriptures. In the book of Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 to 11. Matthew chapter 4:1-11. The temptation of our Lord Jesus. Lord, where Jesus had his test and temptation from the devil, he won that battle by repeatedly declaring the word of God, taken from the most appropriate portion of the Holy Book. And number three, always select the most important prayer points that time will permit you to pray. This is very important. In Mark 1:35, King James Version, he says, "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out," referring to Jesus, "and departed into a solitary place and there prayed." Not that Jesus deliberately wanted to pray before daybreak, but in the light of what we are sharing right now, there is a limit to the number of prayer points you can take before daybreak. So you always need to choose based on importance, urgency, circumstances, number of prayer points that you can sufficiently pray within the time that is available for that prayer session. In Matthew 26:40, Matthew 26:40, King James Version, "And he commented unto the disciples, and finding them asleep, and said to Peter, 'What, could you not watch with me one hour?'" One hour is a good time to pray. But also note that there's a limit to the number of prayer points that you can take within an hour. In Daniel chapter 6, verses 1 to 3 and verses 10 to 30, we could see that Prophet Daniel was very consistent in his daily prayers. However, he had, he still had a specific duration of time for prayer. Daniel did not just abandon work, his duties, just to be praying, even at office hours and work time. Everything was done in order. So as such, he must have carefully selected the most important and strategic prayer points that he could afford to pray within the time duration of each of his prayer sessions. For instance, midnight, between 12 midnight and 2 a.m., is the best time for spiritual warfare. The best time for spiritual warfare. So if you were to divide your prayer points, some that I just have to do to request from God, you could take them in the second, your second time of prayer, early in the morning or midday. But if you have a pattern of taking, having two sessions of prayer, midnight for an hour or two, and then maybe sometime later in the day, always have it in mind that the best time, the best purpose for midnight prayers is for spiritual warfare.
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Raising different prayer points against all known human sickness and diseases could give us hundreds of prayer points. So because there are different types of sickness and disease, and there are so many, that praying against each one one after the other may always, may sometimes be not be possible within the available time for prayer. So a better way to pray against each of them is by grouping them based on their common negative attributes, or sometimes the way scripture describes them. For instance, sickness, disease, and infirmities, afflictions, disability, pain, that could be emotional, it could be physical, barrenness and infertility, sudden death, or untimely death. Lesson 4. There are some prayer points that must be taken consistently. For instance, prayer points against stealing, killing, and destruction. John 10:10. Prayer points against sickness and affliction. Prayer points against sin, traps, and temptation. So if you are anywhere, whether family prayer time, prayer meeting, somewhere in a fellowship, and you observe that some prayer points always come up, this is the reason. It's not all prayer points that should be taken consistently, but some, by nature of their consistent need, will need to be taken consistently. Also, prayer for divine guidance and direction. Prayer for wisdom and understanding for each new day. Prayer for peace, security, and progress. These are things you need to pray consistently. So this is the reason why certain prayer points are taken repeatedly in the time of prayer at the family prayer altar, fellowship, or church meetings. And five, you may sometimes need to give exclusive attention to a particular prayer point. You may sometimes need to give exclusive attention to just one particular issue in prayer at certain points in time. A classic example you find in Daniel chapter 2, verses 16 to 19. So there are certain times that you may need to focus all your prayer points on just a single issue or need. You may need to give exclusive attention to just that particular issue or need during the entire time for that prayer session, or even a retreat, a time of retreat. Lesson 6. You need to update your prayer list from time to time. One way you would know whether somebody is truly praying or not, and praying from the heart or not, is when you observe that the entire prayer list the person has, or has been given, nothing is ever added to it, even after a very, very long time. And the last lesson, seven, is that you will need to pray in the spirit as often as you can. As often as you can. No matter the number of prayer points we have, it will still not be absolutely sufficient except we also for at least 30 minutes, 30 minutes in a day, pray in the spirit, pray in tongues. In Romans chapter 8, verses 26 to 27. Romans 8:26-27, in the Living Bible, it says, "And in the same way, by our faith, the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don't even know what we should pray for, or how to pray as we should. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. And the Father, who knows all hearts, knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God's own will." So there is no way you can ever be able to fully comprehend all that is going on around you, even around the life of someone, in the life of someone living with you, living with you. You may not know. And that issue in the life of that person needs urgent attention, needs to be raised to God in the place of prayer. And there you are praying morning and night, and you are not talking about that issue. And this happens because you are not aware. But when you are praying in the spirit, the Holy Spirit will help you to pray about all of such things, all of such things, and always in agreement with the plan, the purpose, and the timing of God.
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Finally, another major, still on point number seven, another major advantage of praying in tongues in the spirit is that when you pray in the spirit, the contents of your prayer request, what exactly you are saying, what exactly you are asking God to do, cannot be understood. It cannot be decoded. It cannot be intercepted by demonic monitoring spirits. As such, they cannot also take any negative action to hinder or frustrate the answer to such prayers. In Daniel chapter 10, verses 10 to 13, you see a classic example of what we're talking about. Daniel prayed to God in the understanding, and God answered him day one. And as the angel was coming, because the spirits already intercepted the contents of Daniel's prayer, and they didn't want that to happen, they were able to hinder the angel bringing the answer for a while. Praise hear the Lord. Praise you the Lord.
So, more than ever before, as you begin to approach God with strategic and specific prayer points, the very best that you could ever experience in life would be your portion. The very best that your family, your loved ones, your community, your platform, any organization that you are connected with, and for which you are praying, the very best that could happen through the instrumentality of prayer will begin to manifest. Because when you pray with specific and strategic prayer points, the door is open for the best that prayer can offer. I pray that from this moment you've heard this message, a new dawn will emerge in your encounter with God in the place of prayer. So you.