Let us be concerned with prayer, as we must take advantage of the fact that God answers it. In Psalm 65:2, the psalmist says: “O you who hear prayer! To you all flesh will come.”

I have heard some say that most of the time, Christians waste their time praying. Know then that if you do not “waste” time in prayer, you will only rely on your own power and personal strength to make things happen.

There are moments in a person’s life when their strength and abilities are not sufficient: the divine factor is needed!

Mark 1:35 shows us how Jesus, rising early in the morning, went to a deserted place to pray. If Jesus, who was a perfect God and a perfect man while He was on earth, rose very early each morning to seek God’s face, then we have no choice but to follow His example. We, too, must continually seek the Lord’s face in prayer. It is no wonder that Jesus performed miracles and did marvelous things in His ministry: He always prayed!

At Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus said: “… Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me…” (John 11:41-42).

When did His Father hear Him? In the morning, when He sought God’s face. To perform miracles, Jesus did not need to spend time shouting about what He had to do; He simply declared the Word… and things were accomplished.

After God called me into the healing ministry in 1983, He told me: “Charles, if you seek My face and pray, you will not have to visit people; I will take care of them.” So, I rarely visited our members, and when we started our church in Accra in 1994, after our first healing services, we tried sending letters to all those who gave their lives to Christ. We spent a lot of money on postage, and the Holy Spirit corrected me: “Charles, you cannot follow all these people; leave them to Me, and I will take care of them.”

Thus, for six years, we no longer visited members until God revealed to some of our ministers that they should return to visiting people and ministering in their various localities.

When I began my ministry, I decided not to meet with people before ten o’clock in the morning. This way, when I wake up, I can spend time in prayer and studying the Word before meeting with people. From three to six o’clock in the afternoon, I would also see no one, until I had rested and prayed to seek God’s touch upon my life so that the anointing would work in favor of others.

I try to spend at least three hours a day in prayer, although sometimes I cannot. Yet, I still pray regularly and always before facing serious situations. I seldom make long public prayers for people.

One day, a woman who had suffered a health problem for fifteen years came to me. After telling me her story, I said to her: “Go, you are healed!” She asked: “That’s all? Won’t you lay hands on me? Won’t you do more?”
I replied: “No!” She left but returned that same evening to testify of her healing.

A man named Francis sent me his testimony dated May 31, 2001, saying: “Archbishop, Florence and I were recently married, and we suffered five miscarriages. On April 2, 2000, during a service, you said that fifteen couples would have children.

The next day, I made a vow to God: ‘If within a year I become a father, as Your servant predicted, I will give my monthly salary as a thanksgiving offering.’ Florence gave birth to a baby girl naturally in the hospital, to the great surprise of the doctor who was preparing for a cesarean section. Jesus did not allow the operation. Note that the prophecy and vow date back to April 2 and 3, 2000, and the delivery date is April 5, 2001. Our daughter is named Francisca.”

You sometimes see a Christian who, when confronted with a problem, begins to stomp, call for help, yell, and cry—then you know they have not done their duty: praying in secret. If you pray daily, you will learn that it is not by might nor by power but by God’s Spirit that you overcome difficult situations.

If God can do it, then you no longer need to rely on your strength or shouting. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:25 and 3:19: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” If it is something only God can do, then let Him do it!

During our crusades, we do not shout for the sick to be healed. It is rare for us to lay hands on the sick. We simply make a request in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord; and it is done! I am not the healer; He is the healer. He can heal without my shouting. When you go through a difficult situation, the Bible says in Romans 10:8-9:

“The word of faith is near you, in your mouth. It is the word of faith that we preach. It does not say that Jesus must die and rise again, nor does it say He must descend from heaven. All you need to do is proclaim the Word because there is power in your word!” (My paraphrase).

When you are in contact with heaven in prayer, the power of God is within you, and whatever request you make, you will get results.

When Jesus came to earth, though He was God, He never used His divinity to show us how to serve. He prayed every day because He knew that without prayer, He would get no results. That is why God commands us to pray without ceasing. The solution to all our problems is prayer. The Bible declares in Psalm 50:15:

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

Jesus says in Matthew 7: “You have not received because you have not asked.”

A songwriter once said: “What a privilege we forfeit by not bringing everything to God in prayer!” Why do we forfeit privileges that belong to us, when all we need to do is bring everything to God in prayer?

This text is an excerpt from the book “POWER IN PRAYER” written by Bishop Charles Agyinasare.

We invite you to read the next article, “PRAYING FOR THE END OF WARS”.

DISCREET PRAYER. DISCREET PRAYER. DISCREET PRAYER. DISCREET PRAYER. DISCREET PRAYER.