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Content page

page 3: Introduction

page 5: describe prayer

page 6: chapter 1, practice of prayer

page 9: chapter 2, the power of prayer

page 16: chapter 3, disappointments and prayer

page 20: Growth and forever

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”

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I’M A TEEN ON MY KNEES: Prayer guide for teens & young believersThe bible teaches that each and every one of us was made by God, what a refreshing and powerful thought. We are not the will of our parents but the will of God. We are not designed by any man but made in the image of God.

Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

This means we are made to function like God. This is very important in understanding prayer. Each and every creature that God created, he also created an environment for that being to fully express itself. For fish and all the marine creatures he gave the vast and deep waters, for the eagles and all the wonderful birds that decorate the sky he gave the limitless open sky. He also created creatures that enjoy the belly of the earth, such as earthworms, lizards and other creatures that live in holes in the soil. For man he gave us his presence, in his presence we have full fellowship with him and begin to enjoy and know who we truly are.

When God first created man he placed him in the garden to care for and enjoy, to eat of its fruits and rule over all the living things. He did so by his physical body which God had made from the mud. Our bodies interact with the physical world to live and function. This though good creates a limitation. Where is God we wonder? I cannot see him anywhere. Is he in the tall and powerful mountains? Is he in the powerful sea? No! You find him when you close your eyes and pray.

God is a spirit, so in order to associate and interact with him as we do with people around us, we need to interact with him in our spirit. Have you ever seen your spirit? In the same way God is there, more alive than ever. His presence is full of love and ready to receive and help us, however the only way to meet with him, is through a process called PRAYER. So prayer is a meeting spot between God and man. In prayer you limit the flesh in order to give God more space for God to move, for instance the process of prayer needs you shut out the world and believe God. The bible teaches that you must be in a quiet place, cut out all interaction and technologies, close your eyes which means relying not on your sight but what God says and begin to speak to him as you would a friend or any other person.

Mat 6:6-7 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

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In this short booklet we will discover what a wonderful and simple privilege prayer is. You will learn how to pray to the father in confidence and see better results in you prayer life. The plot of the enemy is to make you think that you are too young to pray, you don’t know how to pray or that praying is difficult. That’s a lie. Prayer is communion with God and will give you wisdom and power to win over trials and temptations. You will become a light to others because God will be fully alive in you! You will be like a fully charged cell phone, able to handle more tasks at the same time, reach more people with the Love of God. I remember waking up at 5am each morning as a 12 year old just to pray. My prayer at that time was very short but God began to work in my heart and I became more and more aware of him.

All men of God including our saviour Jesus made time for prayer, so this shows us that we also need to make time for prayer so that we can be as effective as them.

Luke 5:15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Luke 6:12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new Organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men of prayer. EM Bounds from his book “power through prayer”

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DEFINE AND DESCRIBE PRAYER, twitter feed

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Chapter one: PRACTICE OF PRAYERWhen I was still in school I used to play sports like many children. We would practice each day in order to improve our skills, we would often have so much fun that we would not realize we are getting better. Soon after when playing with other teams we would be amazed how much we have improved and were able to compete with other teams.

Prayer similarly is a practice that makes you stronger and makes you better able to deal with challenges that come your way. Challenges are part of a Christian’s life, even Jesus had challenges as people tried to kill him. They spoke lies about him and extremely hated him. How was he able to cope in such a stressing situation? The practice of prayer was continually making him stronger and giving him strength. A Christian who does not pray is like a sport man or woman who knows the rules of the game but takes no time to practice, when the day for the competition comes they talk a lot about how things should work but fail miserably because they have not worked up the momentum. Please don’t be this kind of a believer because you will fail to receive your rewards, and even worse find yourself helping the opposing team because you are unable to fulfil your tasks.

Make prayer your daily routine and allow God to fill you up. I don’t know about you but whoever is special in my life I like to spend my time with them, how often do you see or speak to your best friend? Most of us would say every day. How often do you watch your favorite TV show? As often as possible. Why? Because we enjoy it! Have you ever thought if those experiences help you at all? Prayer has unlimited gains and therefore should be scheduled. Like practice, give yourself time each day and do it. Set time when you are not doing school work or when your parents don’t need you for chores, perhaps for you it’s early in the morning or before you go to sleep.

Pray daily and connect with the heart of God, at first it might seem strenuous or even lonely, the body always wants to be entertained and does not want to be quite, don’t let this distract you, continue in your prayer life and soon you will be flowing in the spirit. Remember that God is there, you are not hunting him down he is waiting for you to make time to meet with him. He wants to tell you about your future, he wants to reveal secrets and hidden things. He wants to empower you to overcome all challenges and fill you up with such love that temptations will look like child’s play and you will easily defeat them.

1Th 5:17-24 pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything;

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hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

The bible teaches that those who don’t receive are those who don’t ask (James 4.3). This is a very strong statement as most people will argue that we do ask. However complaining is not defined as asking, depending on people is not asking, even always putting pressure on parents is not asking, but asking is turning to God in prayer. The bible teaches that we need to do so with a grateful attitude. You need to first realize how much God has already done for us (Philippians 4.6). If we deeply think about how far we have come and the provision that you have received you will realize that even before you fully knew the Lord his hand was on you, but now he does not want a partial relationship with you. He wants to be intimate with you. He wants to know everything about you.

John 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Mat 7:7 - 11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The practice of prayer has many important purposes. I will only mention a few. Firstly It allows us to see the hand of God in our life. God wants to show his strength in your life. He is jealous about your life and he confidently wants you to see that he is your provider. He is ready to provide the biggest and the smallest needs when we pray and continue to pray to him. He reveals himself in ways we could not even have imagined, the only limit that exist in what he can do is in our expectations.

You see God is not happy with what others can do for you, he is not satisfied if you are relying on your own strength, in fact he does not want you to rely in your strength but in his strength. We must consider the strength of God as a section of how we live, let me give you an example. None of us worry about certain functions of our lives when we have a mother in a home, we know she cooks and maybe cleans when in good health, in fact though she is not attached to your body you confidently rely on her to do those things for you. In a way she is your other arm because she does what you cannot do. Your other legs because she goes where you cannot go. Similarly this is how we must rely in our heavenly Father! He goes where no man can go to represent us. He does what no other man can do to represent us. He feels what no other man can feel in being our friend! He is your other much stronger arm, your other much

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stronger feet. You’re much other wiser brain when you need wisdom. You don’t have to entirely rely on only what you see. Your true strength is in reference to the ability of God in your life, you begin to tap into this when you pray.

We disappoint God when we leave him out of our thinking, our planning and consider him only after we have failed many times. Yes he will still help us however he wants us to approach him first. He is a good friend, a father who is always there. Think about who is the kindest and sweetest person in your life. They cannot even compare to how Good God is, he is much more loving and gentle in nature. He wants to reveal his strength in your life, remember he is not limited by any situation only our expectations.

1John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

The other value of prayer is also highlighted in the above scripture. “We ask according to his will” this is not a catch or an excuse for God not to do anything. This is not a tactic to manage our disappointments. God has a nature or a character and he only does things in a certain way.

Have you ever had a dog at home? Did you ever wonder why this dog does not stand up and walk like us? Or maybe why the dog does not take a Bath every morning, or perhaps why it does not wear clothes. What a funny thought. Well the answer is simple it’s not in its nature to do so. It does not even consider that as a possibility. It does not affect how it functions. You see God has no evil in him. It’s not in his nature, he cannot even imagine doing evil things, he can only do good things. So If i come to him and say “God please hurt Sfiso, he hurt my feelings” God cannot hurt him for it’s not in his nature to revenge. If another says God ”I hate him” what about you? God loves everybody. There is no evil in him.

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one ...

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

To commit ourselves to an effective prayer life we must also commit ourselves to be like God. To pray according to his will, in so doing we are able to pray even for those who hurt us, to pray for those who speak evil against us. This is the kind of Christian who defeats the devil, the Christian who prays according to the will of God. In other words we must allow God to change our sinful nature and thoughts into his nature. This happens when we read the bible, pray and spend time with like-minded people.

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The Bible is a mirror for us to see what we look like (1 Corinthians 13.12). Remember when you go to school or somewhere important you always go in front of the mirror to look at yourself? The bible is the same. When we read the bible it reveals our character in comparison to the person God wants us to be. It gives us an opportunity to fix things which are not right and have the possibility of embarrassing us. That means you need to read the bible daily as you need to look at the mirror daily not only once a week. The bible is alive and is the breath of God. When you read it it’s not like reading any other book. God will personally speak to you and reveal things which affect what is happening in your life. There are different types of people in the Bible and many of them experienced what you are experiencing today. Some of them have no parents, some have no food, some had money some did not and God spoke to all of them, he also wants to speak to you. Read the Bible as you look at the mirror of the word! God will speak to you today.

As we conclude this chapter i want to remind everyone out there to persist in the practice of Prayer. Pray daily, about everything. For the big things and the small things! Trust God especially for the impossible things. Limits appear when we take our eyes of Jesus! Prayer reveals to us the true reality which is what Jesus says.

Chapter two: THE POWER OF PRAYER

Mr. Kevin Malarkey in his book “The boy who came back from heaven” writing about his son Alex who was disabled in a car accident says “My son couldn’t function in the physical world, but it was difficult for me to function in the spiritual world. Who had the greater disability?”Power can be defined in many ways. The sea is powerful in that when you are in it, you are at the mercy of its strength. It can easily pull you away and you find yourself far from the shore and unable to come back. That’s brute power without control and mercy, except of course under the control of God. However power is also a guy or girl who walks in a situation that is lustful where people are flirting hard and refuses to participate, loving the sinner but hating sin. That also is a form of refined and purposeful power. So power is not only shaking and breaking things, power can also be quite, still and achieves and defend against the impossible.I start with this description so we can all begin to think anew when we refer to power that is found in prayer. The power of prayer is able to turn enemies into friends, not

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just kill enemies. The power of prayer is able to touch hearts and turn a stern “no” into a “yes”. Through the power of prayer we connect with God’s unlimited resources and meet our needs. When we find ourselves facing an impossible wall of Jericho with no weapons, we again turn to prayer and God gives us inside information and brings down those impossibilities. Just believe.

TESTIMONY.

My earliest child hood memory of answered prayer was when I was in standard 1, what we call grade 3 in the modern South African Education system. When I was still young we used to have church at home. Every Sunday there would be about 4 old women who came by for Sunday fellowship service in our dining room. Dad would call us in to sit for church, but one day when I was at school my friends told me about Sunday school at a near by community church called Shingwedzi Assemblies of God. I asked my mom if I could go and she ironed my Christmas clothes for me, i dressed up and went. I was a bit scared to go in because I was late but I went in eventually. The Sunday school teacher welcomed me and set me in and we continued with the Sunday school service.

I remember the teacher told us to close our eyes and ask anything from God. It’s quite interesting because I remember every word that I said in prayer that day. I said God, may you please make me to be number one at school… The next term came and I was number one. I never realized that God answered my prayer at the time. So from standard 1 till standard 5 I was always number one in my class. I passed and went to High School. In standard 6 first term I was in position 6. My dad was not happy about it. He wanted me to be number one but i was in a class with one of the best learners that I still admire today.

I worked very hard in that competitive environment but I was always in position 3 or 4 from standard 6 till standard 10 what we call grade 12. When I was in Grade 12 I remembered my standard one prayer and thought to myself that how about I pray the same prayer again. I prayed again and asked God to help me be the best in my class. When the result came; I think it was September I was in position 2 with 80% class average and the person who was in position 1 had 80.1% and I remember the school principal making an emphasis about it just to rub it in because the person in position 1 was a lady, a very good friend.

ON FACEBOOK:Wisani Leibnitz

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Continued

When the matric final results came the same lady achieved 4 distinctions and I didn’t even achieve one distinction. My results even had a problem with Mathematics that needed to be re-marked. After matric I had to stay out of school for a year upgrading Maths with UNISA. But matric results meant a lot to me, I was really heart broken by my matric performance particularly those maths results. I would pray to God in my own space and ask him if it was possible to reverse time for me to be in matric again in order to do better. Honestly my prayers didn’t really make sense to me, someone would have said I was crazy or mentally disturbed or something if I told them about what I was praying for. That was just an expression of the deep hurts in my heart.

Well, sometime in August of the same year when I was out of School still studying with UNISA; my dad called and said congratulations. Right away I knew that it was about my matric results even though I can’t explain this inner knowing of things. My dad said to me over the phone that you passed maths with a C symbol in Higher grade, we just received your matric certificate. I was not even excited about it because I knew. A week before that I had a dream, and in this dream it was like a hand was handing over my true matric certificate to me. I was as though I had a false matric statement of results. Weeks later my mom was called for awards ceremony when she was given a trophy and a certificate by Umalusi on my behalf for me being a top candidate in my district. Later on the school invited me in their awards ceremony where I was given an honor award by the school for academic excellence at the school. It was the first time that they issued such an award. So indeed I was number one in my matric.

There are many prayers that I made in my teens that were answered by God. A lot of them keep rushing in my mind as I type this. I remember also when I was in standard 7. I used to get headaches every single day. One day I kneeled before the lord next to my study desk and said before God that I don’t want to have headaches in my life. I asked the Lord that if my body needs to report something about my health let it be through other means not headaches. Then I told my mom that I will never have headaches again. My mom and I used to get these headaches so it was a norm for us. But ever since that day I never had any headache till I was in standard 9. One evening I felt the most painful headache in my life. I couldn’t even tell my mom about it because I was shy since I told her that I will never get headaches. That pounding headache made me cry tears that night. I wept before the Lord and asked him to take it away. The more I prayed was the more the headache increased. But as I continued to pray it got to a point where the headaches just stopped instantly. I never had a headache ever since through out my high school years. The last time I recall having a headache was in my 3rd year of studies. Ever since then i don’t recall having headaches. There are countless times when i needed God to come through for me and he was faithful. The Lord is good.

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Before we get carried away with the flame throwing and violence of prayer warfare let’s look at one of the biggest achievement of prayer as defined by Jesus.

Mat 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

If I be honest I’ll have to admit that, if there is a person who has given me the most trouble with their behaviour and character is me. Yes me! Living a Godly life is not an easy thing, the fruits to denying yourself and not losing self-value is not allowing people to just walk over you, rather is sometimes being in those situations, yet rejoicing because of the strong relationship you have with God.

The Christian life is pre-dominantly marked by self-sacrifice, this will not be possible if you don’t pray. It seems like falling into temptation has become part of a normal life, we have all accepted it to a certain degree saying things like “we are all human”. However according to our Lord Jesus we have in our disposal an ability not only to avoid but overcome temptation. Overcome lust, overcome desire for other people’s property, overcome sexual and homo-sexual feelings and tendencies, overcome in a sex mad culture. Overcome the desire to taste and experiment with all the dark things pulling us from the inside (James1.13), that way is through prayer! That way is power! It takes tremendous power to be chaste, that power is available not in yourself, not because you are a special personality or grew up in certain conditions. Tremendous power becomes available in affecting our personality and character when we pray. The enemy would like us to believe that we were born with certain sins and will never overcome them, some people actually believe that the weakness in their character is genetic and therefore beyond the ability of the Lord. That is not so dear friends; the power that God holds and yields in our lives is unlimited (Ephesians 1:19-20).

We have established that “the quite” power that God holds is in changing us from the inside through prayer. This is very important as it’s pointless to seem like you are winning in other people’s eyes, yet knowing that you are being defeated behind closed doors. Prayer is a form of fighting, this is true. The bible teaches that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces (Ephesians 6.12). How else can you oppose spiritual forces but in the spirit. Prayer becomes a way we battle against the enemy’s domination in our lives, our loved ones, our dreams.

Ephesians 6:18-19 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all Perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Prayer is a way God uses for us to oppose the influence of the devil in our lives and in the lives of people we love. Prayer has different stages of battle which you will discover as you continue in the practice. Almost every miracle Jesus did began in prayer, to show us that though Christ was a perfect human being still he relied on the power of God to change his circumstances. Let’s look at some of the prayers of Jesus to see the power that is in prayer. This will also serve to demonstrate to us what we can achieve in prayer, you see Jesus came as an example of Who we are and what we can do in this world.

TESTIMONY.

I did my matric in 2010, and in 2011 i stayed at home because my mother didn’t have money for varsity/college fees. She couldn’t even afford the registration for NSFAS applications. We together prayed to God believing for open doors in 2012. Indeed God heard my prayer and he responded. One of our relatives approached me and asked what i wanted to study, i told her and then she decided to sponsor me. That for me was the answer from God because my hope was in him alone and we never told this person that i needed money for school, but she just decided to be keen about my education.

I don’t really remember when I asked God for something and he didn’t answer. If i asked God something and he doesn’t respond then i know that it can be for these two reasons. It’s either what I am asking for is not for me or my request lacks faith. Sometimes we ask God for things that don’t suit us, for example, at my age i can’t ask God to give me a loving girlfriend, because if i get a girl friend at my age, i will be tempted into sleeping with her and that will be a sin. God won’t grant me that request. God knows what is best for us more than we know it ourselves. Again God is pleased by faith of the requester. If i ask God something and then doubt, i won’t get it because i don’t believe i will get it. For this reasons i know why God doesn’t answer some of my prayer

ON FACEBOOK:Edmond Saint Masemola

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With prayer we can cast out demonsMar 1:23-26 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

With prayer we heal the sickJohn 5:5-9 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

In prayer we see supernatural provision Luke 5:4-7 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

In prayer we can calm storms and our situationsLuke 8:24-25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

In prayer we command our situations to changeMark 11:13-14 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Mark 11:20-23 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

The Lord in his infinite wisdom and grace knowing all that we will face in our day was exposed to similar and even worse situations to us. He gives us these examples to show us that we are not victims of situations, in fact we are always victors. As he prayed and saw changes we can also pray and see great changes in our lives. Are you ready to commit yourself to the practice?

John 14:12 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father

TESTIMONY.

Prayer loosened ties and broke covenants As a born again teenager I got exposed to ancestral worship. I got visitations from spirits I believe to be my ancestors in my dreams. They would communicate with me during broad day light. They appeared to be so real, the instructions they gave me I obeyed. As Christian as I was, I reached a point whereby it was either God or them however when I went for consultation at Sangoma during a season I was critically sick He assured me that I can worship God and ancestors all at the same time. I fell into the trap because I was desperate for help, medically the sickness I had could not be diagnosed and I was getting weaker and weaker by the second, I went along with whatever was put before me.

I settled it in me that I will do it, whatever it is my ancestors communicate with me in dreams I vowed to do them I said to myself. I wanted to undergo the initiation process in order to be well in all areas of my life. After all, the traditional healing spirit was genetic from both my mother and father’s sides of the family. Never had I believed in them however during such a season as that it all became believable, my belief was twisted, shifted and divided. In all this however I never neglected the prophetic, God himself and the gifting however little did I know I was getting myself into much more trouble. The confusion that came along, the pain and the exhaustion was unbearable. I began to believe that the gifts were from them. I allowed the devil to dominate my mind. I obeyed all orders and instructions he gave. This is how he wanted to steal the gifts, and sabotages the operation of God.

ON FACEBOOK:Phemelo Ramaroane

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This for me was a struggle and it needed the direct intervention of God. Amazing how the movement of God lead the way for me. I went into prayer, I went back to God in prayer and that was my ticket out of the situation I was in. Through prayer God took me out, He realigned me, renewed me, restored me and made me right with him because of his faithful grace. At this point it takes still meditation upon the word, constant communication with the creator and declaration to keep the devil at bay. I realized that he is always willing to attack, but the intimacy, oneness and the presence of God through prayer does the trick. Prayer broke the Covenants with the ancestors. As I declared change, I began to see it.

Chapter three: DISAPPOINTMENTS AND PRAYERWithout doubt we all have experienced unanswered prayers, isn’t it? I think we have all made grand attempts to receive elegant houses, cars, equipment and fashion items via prayer and are still waiting. Some of us of course have prayed more for things we really needed and people we love and have not received the kind of response we anticipated.

If this can happen then what’s the use of prayer? If the Lord will not move when I want, or rise when I need him the most why should I still pray? I myself have asked this question when pondering at loss and family discomforts, when focusing on pain that could have been avoided. I wonder God why where you not there? A young lady and relative once asked me “where was God when my mother died” I had no smart answer for that question.

We experience unanswered prayers because of a number of reasons, none of them because God does not care or is uninvolved. No one can describe the father’s heart for us, nor by song or poem can’t even be described by words only demonstrated in how God gave with his only son Jesus to die on the cross. In addition to that God loved us while we made mistakes and rejected him. Even in that state he would not punish us as we deserved. If you ever experience an answered prayer, don’t allow the devil to lie to you and say “God does not care” Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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one of the reasons we have unanswered prayers is what I have already eluded to in the beginning of the book. We experience unanswered prayers when we pray with wrong motives. What is a wrong motive?

James 4:3-4 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

This means that God does not want us to ask for things that excite our bodies but might lead us to sin. He wants us to ask for things which are of heavenly good, things that bring good to us and others. While people see only the outside, God has an ability to look deep into our hearts (1 Samuel 16.7)and see why we really want something. If we ask because of selfish motives or if his plan is to give you something better or correct your heart he might deny your request for your own good. If you are in close fellowship with God you will quickly understand this and see it clearly, sometimes it might even take years for you to understand. You need to trust him and remain close to his loving heart.

God has better plans and might deny your request because of this. The bible says: (Isaiah 55:9) For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. God can see and understand so much more. He knows what will happen five to ten years from now. God always has good in mind for you. He has good ideas about who he wants to be your friend, good ideas not easy but good ideas about the school you will go to, about where you will live and the bright future you will have. The secret is to be close to him so that you will ask for what you want according to his standard, according to his good heart. When you do so you will be like Jesus who experienced only few unanswered prayers. You mean our Lord Jesus had unanswered prayer? Yes! The bible teaches that the night before he was arrested he asked God to help him avoid the cross because he was afraid of the pain. You see he was here on earth and knows exactly how we feel because he also experienced it. Like Jesus God will allow you to go through hard situations. He knows you will overcome and through you people will give him glory forever and ever. That is more important to God than you to be popular among you friends, who by the way are also desperate for God’s true love. Even if you experience an unanswered prayer, God has not denied or rejected you. God is love.

For me it was more of a lesson than an unanswered prayer. God prunes the ones he loves.I was praying to God for a cell phone, believe it or not I prayed to God for a blackberry torch. It looked like everyone around me had a blackberry and I was the only one that had a phone that didn’t even have a polyphonic ring tone. To other people it may seem funny that I could ask God for something like this. In his word in Genesis he said he made men to rule over the things of the world so I did not understand why all those that are not saved have this cell phone and me a child of God that is highly favoured not have this. I was angry and mad at the world, my mom and at God, I kept asking why me?, do I really have to suffer like this just to get a mere cell phone that would enable me to be able to browse the internet and talk to my friends via social networks. But then the Lord showed me things for me to be grateful about, like the fact that I had a laptop and life under his protection, but even though I was shown all those things still I was not grateful of the blessings I had. I just saw them as little blessings and to me a bigger blessing would be getting that cell phone. For a while I even stopped praying because I asked myself the same question again why me.

But God then revealed to me that worldly possessions do not matter only heavenly possessions matter, and God reminded me that there are more bigger things to come and I shouldn’t focus on worldly things. I began to pray again and began to trust God and not to blame my situation but be thankful for the little I have because to someone they are bigger things. From then on I still haven’t received the phone but I haven’t stopped trusting God for it for I know that God’s time is the best time and I am patiently waiting.

Sometimes we can ask for things which need the maturity we don’t have.I doubt if a twelve year old prays for his own house God will grant that prayer when he is thirteen. You might find that God will grant the prayer when you are mature and ready for that responsibility. Do you want God to trust you with more? Make sure you are faithful in your current position. If you are faithful God will trust you with more, if you fail to care for the shoes and clothes you have, how can God give you more expensive ones? If you fail to take care of your sister or brother, will you really be able to care for a husband or wife in future? If you are not disciplined working in an entry level job, how can God make you a manager? Ask God to help you grow and he will give you more.

ON FACEBOOK:Lebogang Carol Mailula

TESTIMONY.

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With that said I don’t want you to give up. If you know what you are asking for is good and you need it. Please don’t give up! Keep praying and trusting God. You must have a forceful attitude because the enemy can resist your requests because he knows it give you confidence. Use the principles we learned about in other chapters and believe it will come to pass.

Mat 7:7-8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

I remember growing up i made so many demands from God, I asked him to help me work in certain industries and also to appear in certain programs on TV. i really wanted to study abroad, i also asked him to give me certain friends. I asked him for a new TV, a new house at home I wished for so many things. When a new brand of shoes came out I prayed and asked God. I remember asking God for certain gadgets for a long time which I never received, I have come to learn from an advantage of growth and age that those requests where not necessary. They were not things that would have added to my spiritual growth. The human heart has so many desires and wants they are unlimited. On the other hand I also realize God provided so much for my family, we never lacked food, or chance to go to school, we grew up healthy and safe. We had favour in many ways that I am thankful for. The lie is that if you don’t get everything you want it means God is not providing. He is doing miracles every day. I hope you will take time to be thankful for them and say God you have done so much. Every day we meet people who have less and should be complaining, somehow they are rejoicing with nothing yet we complain with so much more. As you continue to grow in God and prayer remember to be grateful. Philippians 4:12 says 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Remember whatever you need, healing, food, clothes or opportunity to study. Pray God will provide.

Phil 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

ON FACEBOOK:Paul Soo

TESTIMONY.

I remember when I was a young newly born again Christian praying alone during weekdays at lunch time in an empty church hall.I can recall asking God to provide me a wife of His own choosing.I did not know how to choose by myself so I asked Him to help & just choose for me.Then I relaxed knowing that its no longer an issue in my hand but rather God would take care of it on my behalf & that my humble duty would be to keep myself /my life pure for her.

Today, about 12 years after making that request to the Lord, I recall the day I made my request as a great turning point of my life.

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Chapter four: GROWTH AND FOREVER These are my personal notes to you. I encourage you to keep a prayer journal to help you see and remember all the good things that God will do for you as you pray. Write the prayer request down with the date, and also remember to record when the Lord answers. I personally did this for years when growing up. Whenever I had a tough challenge I went back to this book to remind myself God will not fail me.

How long is life? Life on earth is temporary; however life after death with God is forever. When you are watching TV and you see a person fight another person you are not so alarmed or scared because you know it’s fiction or it’s not real, however if you see the same scene outside your door it will be a big deal because it’s not acting but its real.

Do you know that the spiritual world is more real because it is permanent? The physical world is temporary that is why we have death. There is no death in heaven. My question to you is this; in your life are you going to respond to the temporary things or are you going to respond to the real things? The things of God are real, but the things of the world are FAKE. Those who trust the things of the world are going to be disappointed because what they have believed their whole lives will not be able to help them when it counts. Those who trust in God will find help even when things are very hard.

Don’t sacrifice your future for sin will make you to hate the things of God. You will pray but not see good results. Sinning seems like fun when you are young. The people who disobey and say bad things are the most popular. Don’t be surprised! They are of the world and that’s why your friends like them! You are called for a greater mission! To serve God and be a light, if you are not leading people to God you are leading them away from God! Choose to be a light!

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Make sure in your life you trust in God! God is forever Entertainment is not

God is forever! Tv stars and idols are not, that is why they can fail

God is forever! Money is not, that’s why even with money people still don’t enjoy their lives

God is foreverFashion is not, that is why even with fashion people are not satisfied

God is forever, he will not fail you, he will not disappoint youHe will not forget you, he will not throw you awayHe is the best friend, when you pray he will come.

You are never alone, God is always by your side

Pray aloud:Jesus we are your children

We trust you with all our heartsWe give you our hearts, our lives and our everything

Make all my dreams come trueHeal me and my family in Jesus name

Be with me every day, with you I will not failThank you Jesus for loving me

For choosing meAmen

You have a gift. Do you know that you have a God given powerful gift? All of us do. For some people it’s very obvious if they can sing, or play sports or are naturally tall and beautiful. People quickly admire them for these qualities but a gift is greater than that. A gift is an ability and strong desire that God gives you. The best time to fulfil this gift is now! Don’t wait. God will give you people to help you. If you are a preacher do it, if you can write do it! If you are a dancer do it now! If you can act why are you still waiting? If you can sing, draw, pray for the sick! Do it! Be like Jesus, do it while you are young! At twelve years old Jesus had a revelation of who he was and was always at the temple/church! Receiving strength and sharpening his calling.

1Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

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THOUGHTS AND MEDITATIONS OF MATOME H KGATLE

@DearworldMK / fb: Dearworld Kgatle

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