TRAVAILING PRAYER

By Jemima Rayan

Prayer is a word that almost everyone knows. The religious folks pray. The Bible says that God hears our prayers. There are people who do a lip service. Some pray because they have to, as a part of their tradition. For them, prayer is just a ritual.

But, God is looking for people who pray from their heart. In other words, these people mean what they say. What is a travailing prayer? It is a pouring out of heart that brings about a great breakthrough. You cannot pour out your heart unless it is totally broken.

Search your heart: Before you even open your mouth to pray, search your heart. The Psalmist says, 'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me' (Psalm 66:18). Repentance is a requirement and not a suggestion. There are a lot of things you can do with sin and iniquity in your heart. You can clap your hands, dance, sing, jump, shout and even preach. But you cannot stand before God with sin in your heart.

'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land' (2 Chronicles 7: 14). This verse does not talk about the heathen who have gone astray. It clearly talks about God's people. That is why it is so important that we take an inventory of our lives before we start praying. We must make sure our hearts are right with God.

Specify your request: We need to decide what we want. Figure out exactly you will be asking for. Then we need to know God's will. If you do not know God's will in the situation, then hold on. Search the scriptures and find out what God's will is. Then pray for it to come to pass. You must ask. You do not just think your prayer into being, you must vocalize. Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:23,24).

Realize that the minute you ask anything of God, the devil will immediately tell you it cannot happen. He will even give you enough reasons why it cannot come to pass. Be ready to resist him! He will flee from you. The devil is a defeated foe. Praise God for answering your prayer. Start thanking and praising God for the answer right away. Even if the circumstances look just the opposite of what you have asked for, start praising anyway! Soon you will see the circumstances lining up with God's word.

Pour out your heart: We need to learn how to pour out our souls before the Lord! I mean, we need to learn how to move heaven. We are living in the final days of human history. We are living in the last days. We need to know how to pray! Jesus said in Luke 21:36, 'Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man'.

God gave us two hands for a specific purpose. When we do a warfare prayer, you do not fold your hands and bow down your head. Take the shield of faith in one hand and the sword of the Spirit in the other and look at the enemy square in the eyes and cast him out. (Eph 6:16, 17). Get the enemy out of the way so that you can march into your promise. You have authority in Jesus name! Take your authority! Move those mountains!

Mathew 17: 20 declares, 'you shall say to this mountain move from here to there'. We literally stop the devil from his ability to act against us. We should know the terms, 'Binding' and 'loosing'. Jesus said, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:9). You must bind everything in the spirit realm that is not from God over that situation and loose everything that is God's will for that situation.

Then call the blessings in. Romans 4:17 says, 'call those things which be not as though they were'. Call in your healing! Call in your unsaved loved one's salvation! Call in your finances! We need mountain movers and hell shakers. Let us look into some people who travailed in prayer.

Hannah: This woman travailed in prayer to have a child. It did not come to her easily. Travailing prayers work great victories. 1 Samuel 1:14 says, 'Hannah poured out her soul before the Lord'. Result is this barren woman; Hannah became a mother of three sons and two daughters.

David: David fled for life from his son Absalom. His life was at stake. David says, 'I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill' (Psalm 3: 4). Result is the Lord delivered him. He won many victories after that.

Jeremiah: He was a weeping prophet. He had tears in his eyes when He prayed. Jeremiah 9:1 says, 'Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people'! Result is God promises to refine the people.

Jesus: Jesus did not pray with just words. He cried vehemently with tears when He prayed. Jesus lamented over Jerusalem (Mathew 23:37). He prayed with vehement cries and tears (Hebrews 5:7). The results are so great that cannot be numbered.

When is the last time you prayed a travailing prayer? God is counting on us to cry out for the lost and the perishing people. There are two kinds of intercessors. There are who pray and there are who cry out to God.

Only the desperate ones cry out. Are you desperate? When you cry unto the Lord, the Lord avenges speedily. God gives immediate attention to the people that cry out to God. 'And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them'? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily (Luke 18:7,8)

May the Lord give us a great burden to cry out to the Lord for the salvation of souls in Jesus' name!