Rhapsody of Realities August 17th 2025, PERSIST IN PRAYER

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome DSc DSc DD

Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Prayer is part of our priestly service or ministry as Christians. Therefore, you must be a man or woman of prayer. You must be persistent in prayer. This is sacrosanct. Certain things will not change until you pray, and that’s because of the power and effects of prayer.

Revelation 5:8 reveals something powerful about our prayers. It says, “…the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.” In the Old Testament, the Lord gave instructions to the priest to burn incense morning and evening in the Tabernacle. But the Bible says all that was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 10:1).

Many years later, the apostle John, by the Spirit, sees into the heavens and is shown this amazing truth: “…golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.” When you pray in the earth, it goes before the Lord as incense. King David had a revelation of this; the Lord had guided him to understand that our prayers are actually set before God as incense. So he said in Psalms 141:2, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense….”

Your intercessory prayers go up to God, topple the plans of the enemy and change things in the heavenly realm, resulting in positive changes in the earth. That’s why you should always pray. Our opening verse says, “Pray without ceasing.” Take prayer seriously and you’ll be amazed at the changes in your life and the greater influence and impact of the Holy Spirit in and around you.

Whenever possible, separate yourself from everything else and pray. Speak in tongues at every opportunity you get. And if for some reason you miss your scheduled time of prayer, make sure you pray soon afterwards. James 5:16 AMPC says, “…The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”

So, pray and persist in prayer. Don’t say, “I prayed yesterday; that should take me through the whole week”; no! The injunction is for us to pray without ceasing. The stakes are much higher than ever. Therefore, we must persist in prayer until the last soul that must be won is reached and brought into the Kingdom before the rapture of the Church.

PRAYER
*Dear Father, thank you for the privilege and power of prayer through which my spirit is aligned with your perfect will to walk in ever-increasing glory. My life is orchestrated by your Spirit, and I’m continually strengthened, guided and positioned for success. No situation is beyond me because I operate from a place of victory and triumph always, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY
‭‭Luke 18:1 KJV
And he spake a parable unto them [to this end], that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

‭‭Colossians 4:2 KJV
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

‭‭Acts 1:13-14 KJV
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James [the son] of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas [the brother] of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
1-Year Bible Reading Plan
1 Corinthians 2 & Psalms 107-108

2-Year Bible Reading Plan
Luke 17:1-10 & 1 Samuel 2

DAILY AFFIRMATIONS:

Good things are coming my way today, I feast on his abundance, I drink of the streams of God’s pleasures and I walk in unmistakable and undeniable favour. Now is my time of bringing forth all that the Lord has said concerning me and all that He has put in me. This is my time of evident advancement, of favour, completion, and fulfilment. I have been positioned for the glory-life, and I have in me everything I need to excel and live in perpetual health and victory on earth to the glory of God. I am lifted above this world, its deterioration and decadence, and I continually abide in the realm of life and glory that God planned for me from the foundation of the world.

I am God’s hands of love, mercy and compassion to the world. I’m strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. I keep His Word in my heart and in my mouth always and therefore discomfit all the stratagems, schemes, manoeuvres and manipulations of the devil. I have been vested with all power and authority in heaven and in earth to subdue, dominate and take charge of my world. I therefore declare, in the Name of Jesus Christ, that my progress is unstoppable. I’m an associate of the God-kind, in vital, inseparable oneness and union with divinity.

Poverty is not and cannot be a part of my life. I am an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ my Lord. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine; the world belongs to me. The ability of God is at work in me today, and I’m conscious of it! I don’t function in my own ability or strength, for God’s inherent ability is in me. My strength is renewed daily, and I’m divinely energized at all times for victory. My mind is yielded to God’s Word, and my heart is regulated by the Word. The Word of God is my life. The life of God is at work in every fiber of my being, in every cell of my blood, and in every bone of my body. In the name of Jesus Christ, I live triumphantly, over and above circumstances and the perils of this world. I live in perpetual peace, prosperity, health, success and greatness in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Speak in tongues.