Prayer after the cross

Prayer after the cross

By Apostle Felix

1  Throughout our history God has spoken to our ancestors by his prophets in many different ways. The revelation he gave them was only a fragment at a time, building one truth upon another. 

2  But to us living in these last days, God now speaks to us openly in the language of a Son, the appointed Heir of everything, for through him God created the panorama of all things and all time. 

Hebrews 1: 1, 2

Prayer is essential in every believer’s life. Prayer is a common activity  in every every society. People in the remotest village on earth have a deity they pray to. Prayer is a universal activity. People in every religion prays and acknowledges some kind of a deity. Prayer is not a monopoly of the church of Jesus Christ. Hindus pray, in fact they pray more than Christians. In most cases, prayer in religion is a tool for self abasement. Their approach to prayer is a tool used to appease the gods. So, self – affliction is part of one’s prayer life. God answering their prayers is predicated on their  works. That’s why in religion, man’s activities are more emphasized than the works of their deities. In religion, man’s works are required for God to respond. Man has to do something for God to attend one’s prayers. Religion demands performance from it’s adherents. The law of Moses was works based. The demand was on man to perform before God could respond. The day Moses introduced the law to Israel after their emancipation from Egypt, God’s intervention largely depended on their obedience to the written code of conduct, which was the law.

26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. 

Exodus 15: 26

Under the Old Covenant, man was commanded to diligently obey the voice of God for the favour of God. The church today has slipped into works in order to receive from God. Oftentimes, we hear statements that suggest works in order to receive from God. Such kind of approach, has made many to take prayer as a form of appeasing God.  It is no longer a relationship, but an activity for transacting with God.

Rom 5:19  One man’s disobedience opened the door for all humanity to become sinners. So also one man’s obedience opened the door for many to be made perfectly right with God and acceptable to him. 

Romans 5: 19

It took Jesus’ obedience for man to be saved through His death and resurrection. It was not man’s obedience. The blessing is not dependent on human obedience but on Christ’s obedience. We are saved by grace through faith, and every thing from God is by grace through faith. That’s why Christianity is not a religious entity, it is a relationship. Prayer is solely based on relationship. It took Jesus’ obedience to free man from the yoke of sin. The blessing did not come upon your life because you were obedient. It was Jesus who obeyed even unto death. You have been blessed by the Lord the very same day you asked Jesus to come and domicile in your life.

3  Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts! 

Ephesians 1: 3

Prayer is based on relationship, not religion. God responds to your prayers because you are child of God. Do not ask God to  bless you when you are already blessed. There is no gift or offering that can move God to bless you. Before the cross, people prayed to God to bless them. Like Jabez, who prayed to God to bless him, in 1 Chronicles 4: 9. But it is not so with life after the cross. Understanding redemption can help us to effectively pray. Prayer after the cross, acknowledges the finished work of Christ. Thank God, first and foremost for what the Lord has done because of Jesus’ obedience. This is not to say that you do not need to obey God’s instruction. You have to obey God because He is your Father and Lord. What we need to understand is that, God wants relationship rather than contractors. Contractors leave when the work they were contracted for is done. Pray as one who has been redeemed, and not as one who is pleading with God for what the person already has. The prayers of life after the cross are different from the prayers made before the cross.