the new testament pattern of prayer warfare

111 Pages·2015·1.17 MB·English

Second Edition

THE
NEW TESTAMENT
PATTERN
OF
PRAYER WARFARE

By

Samuel O. Osaghae

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Samuel O. Osaghae
Spiritual Head and Founder
Believers Ministries Inc.,
159/161 Upper Owina Street, off Agho, off Ekenwan Road, P.O. Box 8517, Benin City,
Edo State, Nigeria.
Tel: (sms only) 08030809339
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.believersministriesinc.org

The New Testament Pattern of Prayer Warfare (Second Edition)

Published by Believers Publishing House

Copyright (c) Samuel O. Osaghae 2014
Second Edition
ISBN

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or translated into any language or computer
language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, chemical,
thermal, manual or otherwise, without the prior consent in writing of the copyright
owner or Believers Publishing House.

DEDICATION
To the body of Christ.

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CONTENT
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Preface
Introduction
Chapter
1. What Really Is Prayer?
2. The Reason For The Change
3. The Evil Of The Old
4. How To Enforce The New
5. Enquiry Prayer

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I humbly wish to acknowledge the presence and continuous assistance of the Holy Spirit
who not only gave the instruction for this book to be written, but also gave me the
inspiration and grace to write this book.

INTRODUCTION

Between 2009 and 2010, Toyota, one of the world's leading brands in the manufacture
of automobiles, recalled about 14 million Toyota vehicles worldwide due to a fault with
the gas pedal system that caused unintended acceleration of the vehicle while in
motion. This unintended acceleration of the vehicle while in motion caused lots of
accidents worldwide, causing death in some situations. Toyota had to recall these cars
from those that had already purchased them so that the discovered fault could be
rectified.

Just imagine if some people who already purchased these cars refused to stop using
them and return them for the fault to be fixed. Such people would have placed
themselves at great risk of avoidable accidents and even death. The affected vehicles
became high risk vehicles until the discovered fault was rectified in all of them.
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Just like in those Toyota vehicles, a fault was discovered in the Old Testament method of
prayer warfare which was based on vengeance. The New High Priest came to fix the
discovered fault in the Old prayer pattern by establishing a new prayer pattern which is
based on love and on the dividends made available to believers by the sacrifice of Jesus
on the cross. The old has become obsolete and the new is what is now in vogue. Christ
has done away with the method that was faulted and has established a new method
that has no fault.

Just like those high risk Toyota vehicles, they appear beautiful, appealing and desirable
on the surface, but the fault in them made them dangerous to the users. A lot of people
are still praying wrongly because the Old Testament method of prayer warfare is sweet
and enjoyable. Such people are using a high risk method of prayer and are therefore in
the line of fire. Such people cannot avoid suffering casualty.

God works with seasons; the method you used in the last season may be obsolete in the
new season. It may have been relevant to God’s yesterday, but can be irrelevant to His
today. A lot of people are doing new things with an old memo. Such people are yet to
discover God’s new agenda. What makes you always relevant to the Father is getting
closer to Him daily to discover His present agenda and method and then aligning
yourself with His agenda. Only by praying right will you make yourself relevant to
God’s today.

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men
everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30

Our problem is trying to be free when we have been made free already. The bible says
in John 8:36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

A bible scholar once said: "You desire to be free, yet it is your desire to be free that
imprisons you". Allow God's love (intimacy with God) to be your only desire and you will
be free from all pains and sufferings.

I heard the intriguing story of an expert lock breaker who delighted in setting himself
free from every form of bondage. He was so good at breaking locks that his prowess
became a sort of entertainment for people. He would be placed in a cage and the cage
would be locked. Within minutes, he would break the lock and set himself free.

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There was a young man who had been studying the methods of this lock breaker and
soon decided to put the lock breaker to his own test. He boasted that he would be able
to lock up the lock breaker in such a way that the lock breaker would be unable to set
himself free. The lock breaker made a mockery of the young man's boast and a
competition was staged between them. On the agreed day, the locksmith was placed in
the cage as usual and the young man worked on the lock. Then began the lock breaker
to work on the locks with intention to set himself free. The lock breaker worked and
worked, but it seemed like the more he worked on the lock, the more complex the locks
became. For several minutes he worked on the locks but was unable to set himself free.
He finally gave up and the young man opened up the lock and set him free.

Everyone was amazed that for the first time, the lock breaker had not been able to set
himself free. The young man was asked what he had done and to the amazement of all
present, he announced that he had not locked the lock. All along the lock was opened.
In an effort for the lock breaker to force open an already opened lock, he complicated
the locking system and got himself locked up.

This is the sad case of many children of God. Christ has paid the price for your victory
and has set you free. If you do not believe the fact that you have been set free, you will
keep fighting battles with your enemies, trying to set yourself free. Those battles you
fight incriminate your salvation and get you deeper into the dungeon of oppression that
Christ already rescued you from. Those that use the old method of prayer warfare in a
new dispensation complicate their lives and will certainly suffer casualty. They live in
fear and suspicion, and are always moving from one evil experience to the other. Having
declared war on their enemies, they are never at peace. They have been given liberty
from the oppression of the enemy but unbelief has blinded them from seeing the
opened lock and has made them continue to complicate the lock in a bid to open an
already opened lock.

This book was written by the instruction of the Holy Ghost to correct the error that has
placed believers perpetually under the oppression of darkness. As you read it with an
open mind that is willing to embrace change, you will see reasons why the New
Testament pattern of prayer warfare is preferred over the Old Testament pattern of
prayer warfare. You will also be taught how to carry out the new method of prayer
warfare which is the prescribed and approved method of prayer warfare for this
dispensation.

Dearly beloved, the prison wall is open; what are you still doing behind bars? Change
your pattern of prayer warfare today and begin to pray the new method prescribed by
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the Master Himself. Your life will become peaceful, you will live in joy and satisfaction,
you will enjoy the dividends of salvation and the devil will no longer be able to oppress
you.

CHAPTER 1
WHAT REALLY IS PRAYER?

Prayer is a meeting point between humanity and divinity. It is a very powerful tool in the
hand of the believer. Prayer can be defined as a fellowship with God for the purpose of
honouring Him and receiving grace for the actualization of His purpose. Prayer is a very
important means by which children of God communicate with their Father.

The number one instrument that cements any relationship is communication. When
there is no communication, a lot of things can go wrong. You cannot claim to be in
relationship with a person that you do not communicate with. It is through
communication that we make people aware of the issues of our hearts. When a problem
is communicated, the solution to the problem is soon provided. But when issues are
bottled up and not communicated, the solution may be just close by, but will remain
elusive.

There are various ways we can communicate with a person that we can see. We can
communicate by sign language and by gestures. But for a person who is not seen, we
will have to speak to the person. God is not seen physically and so our primary means of
communicating with Him is by speaking to Him in faith, believing that He hears us.
Prayer is speaking to God and is the best way to communicate with Him. When we talk
to Him in prayers, He hears us and is able to respond to the issues of our hearts, by
either supernaturally providing a solution or showing us the best way to tackle the issue.

Prayer is not a monologue (not a one way thing); it is a dialogue i.e. not just telling God
the way you want it, but also listening to find out how He wants it. Prayer is not all
about complaining and reporting problems to God, but reminding Him of His promises.
It also involves thanking and worshipping Him.

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Adam and Eve had the privilege of communicating face to face with God, but they lost
that privilege when they disobeyed His instruction not to eat of the fruit of knowledge.
Thereafter, mankind had to communicate with God by faith, believing that the
omnipresent God hears us every time we call upon His name.

The Old Testament is filled with stories that reveal God's ability to hear and respond to
prayers:

When Cain cried unto God that the punishment upon him was too much, the Lord
responded to him by putting a mark upon him so that he would not be killed (Genesis
4:13-15).

Isaac prayed to God on behalf of his barren wife, Rebekah, and God blessed them with
twin boys (Genesis 25:20-24).

At Shiloh, Hannah cried unto the Lord to wipe away her barrenness. God heard her cry
and used the Priest, Eli, to bless her with a son. This son opened up her womb and she
had more children thereafter (1Samuel 1:9-20).

When a huge army came against Jehoshaphat to battle, he proclaimed a fast throughout
all Judah and they sought the face of God. After Jehoshaphat's prayer to God, the Spirit
of God came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, and he prophesied victory for the army
of Judah. The army of Judah won that battle without a fight. As they began to sing and
to praise the Lord, He set ambushments against their enemies and they were thrown
into confusion and slay themselves (2Chronicles 20:1-23).

When God sent Prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah with a message of death, King Hezekiah
did not trade words with Prophet Isaiah. Rather, he went into his inner chambers and
communicated with God in prayers. God heard him and sent Prophet Isaiah again to him
to let him know that fifteen more years had been added to his life (Isaiah 38:1-8).

The above illustrations are but few of the many times in the Old Testament when the
children of God cried unto Him in prayers and He heard their cry and sent solution to
the issues of their heart.

Also, in the New Testament, we have lots of stories that also reveal God's ability to hear
and answer His children:

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In Acts 4:23-31, the believers came together to pray to God for boldness. God heard
their cry and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spoke the word of God
with boldness.

God sent Ananias to bring healing to Saul and show him what he must do when Saul
prayed to the Lord (Acts 9:11).

At Joppa, Peter knelt down and prayed for the dead Dorcas, and she came back to life
(Acts 9:40).

When Peter was arrested by King Herod, the Church came together to pray for his
release. The Lord heard their prayer and an angel was sent from heaven to effect his
release from prison (Acts 12:1-10).

Paul and Silas prayed and then sang songs of praise to God in prison and the Lord
responded to them by sending an earthquake which shook the prison walls, and all that
were bound in the prison were set free (Acts 16:16-26).

All of the miracles that Jesus performed in the gospels were possible because He was a
man of prayers. He began His ministry on earth with a forty days fast and prayers and he
was always going to solitary gardens to spend time with the Father in prayers (Luke 4:1-
2; 14-15; Luke 9:28-31).

The disciples of Jesus knew the importance of prayers that was why they asked Him to
teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-4).

The sample prayer taught by Jesus, which is popularly referred to as the Lord's Prayer,
gives us a prototype of what the New Testament Prayer pattern should look like.

ANALYZING THE LORD'S PRAYER
The Lord's Prayer, as taught by the Lord Jesus, can be found in the books of Matthew
6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.

After this manner therefore pray ye… This implies that the Lord’s Prayer is the ideal
sample pattern. This also means that it contains certain information and specific
guidelines that comprehensive private prayers should reflect.

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The Lord's Prayer can be classified into eight (8) distinct guidelines with their respective
implications:

PART ONE
…OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN… Matthew 6:9b
Jesus always prayed to God as Father, this is the only name He called God. This is a clear
evidence of the Father-Son intimate relationship that existed between Jesus and God.
Jesus could therefore relate with God with the knowledge that as His Father, God would
not withhold any good thing from Him. This is the kind of mindset Jesus wants us to
have in our relationship with God. He wants us to see God as our loving Father, not as a
stranger.
There are seven (7) implications to part one:
 The phrase “Our Father” as used in private prayers implies that a closer and more
profitable realm of fellowship and discourse exists, and that the privilege can only
be enjoyed when a Father/Son relationship is established between man and the
God he is trying to communicate with. This relationship is not foundation
membership of any particular church, family or fellowship, it singularly stems
from your being born again. This relationship is established when you accept
Jesus, not just as Saviour, but as the Lord of your life. John 1:12, Hebrews 4:16,
Hebrews 10:19, Luke 11:7-13.
 The second implication of Part 1 is that prayer must be done to the first person in
the Trinity (God the Father) John 16:23.
 The third implication is that your prayer must not be for your personal benefit
alone. God does not encourage selfishness in prayer. Consider again the
statement, “Our Father”, this shows that we are but a part of a large family. God
is the head of our family. He is not Father to us alone, but to all other members of
the family. Only as you discover God as Father can you enjoy the fullness of His
love like Jesus did, John 17:26. Only as you discover God as a Father can you pray
correctly and gainfully. Jesus has set the example for us by praying to God as
Father, Luke 22:41-43, John 11:41, John 17:1, 24-26, Luke 23:46, Matt. 16:16-19,
Matt. 7:7-11, Matt. 6:25-33. You must therefore see yourself as God’s precious
baby and relate with Him in this light. Just as a baby has implicit confidence in the
love of his daddy and in the ability of his daddy to meet all his needs, so also must
you trust God implicitly. Relate with Him as your daddy. Address Him by that
name. For, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings has God perfected praise
Psalm 8:2, Matthew 21:16. Only those who relate with God as His babies by
calling Him and relating with Him as Father will succeed in offering perfect praise
to Him. They alone will be able to still the enemy.
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 The fourth implication is that you have accepted Him as your source and
sustainer. Father is from the Greek word Pater which means source and
sustainer. John 16:23-24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
 The fifth implication is that in your private prayer, you must be conscious of the
fact that this Father you are praying to is different both in ability and integrity
from any earthly father. This way, your reverence can be expressed correctly and
your trust and confidence heightened.
 The sixth implication is from the word ‘Heaven’. This is a call to holiness and
cleanliness which are vital ingredients for effective prayer. Matthew 5:8, Psalms
24:3-6, Hebrews 12:4, John 9:31, 2Timothy 2:19.
 The seventh implication is that it is a call of separation from all earthly
distractions unto God who resides in heaven. It is therefore an experience of
‘rapture’ from the physical plane into the spiritual and from the earthly into the
heavenly. It implies that successful prayers call for a total focus of one’s attention
on the one being prayed to. It therefore calls for the creation of an environment
where communication with God without any form of distraction is possible. This
also implies that prayers should not be made in order to impress any earthly
personality.

PART TWO
…HALLOWED BE THY NAME… Matthew 6:9c
This is a call to serious worship as you begin your prayers. Hence, the emphasis is on the
name of God, the identity of God. In fact, a name has a strong effect on the bearer. As
you meditatively adore His name, He is glorified. It places upon Him the anointing for
performance. Psalms 100:4 and Psalms 105:1-2 reveals the five ingredients that make
worship very comprehensive.

Thanksgiving should be given to God for
i. What He has done
ii. What He is yet doing
iii. What He is yet to do
iv. His promises in the scriptures
v. The fact that our name has been written in the book of life
vi. The bad situation we are experiencing now, and the redemption that must surely
follow.

Call upon His name. Proverbs 18:10 tells us that the name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous enters into it and is saved. Psalms 44:5 says, “Through thee we will push
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