Watch and Pray
The Sunday service began with prayers of thanksgiving unto the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness. The congregation, both in-person and online through ZOOM and YouTube Live, joined in asking for the forgiveness of sins and inviting the Holy Spirit to take control of the service.
Following the moment of prayer, the congregation were ushered into a powerful moment of worship and vibrant praises unto the Most High God.
Watch and Pray
The Man of God Apostle Éloge began his message by telling the congregation that when one looks at the highway of life, what they will see is nothing but evil. He said what they will see is satan and his hosts using man’s unrighteousness as a material for their purpose and that their purposes are to cut off our dependency on God, to cut off our communion with God, to overthrow our position as a child of God and to distract us from running a straight race with God. For this reason, a believer is called to always watch and pray.
His sermon titled Watch and Pray emphasized on the importance of staying alert and prayerful to stand firm against the traps of the enemy. He explained that to watch does not mean not to sleep or to keep our physical eyes open always but to be spiritually vigilant and alert at all times. We can only be spiritually vigilant and alert when our heart is grounded in God’s Word and always listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will communicate to us what is of God and what is not of God. He urged the congregation to keep their heart at alert because this is where the real spiritual battle takes place. Reading from Proverbs 4:23, the man of God highlighted that whatever we allow into our heart will manifest in our daily lives. He told the congregation that the enemy is looking for a way into our heart and that God likewise wants a place in our heart. Due to this, there is always a constant battle in our hearts. A battle between Light and darkness, faith and doubt, love and hatred, faithfulness and unfaithfulness, righteousness and unrighteousness. It is the duty of the believer to choose to whom they will submit, to whose will they will yield.
From 1 Peter 5:8-9, Apostle Éloge tells the congregation to be wary of the enemy’s lies, that satan often uses our situation to cause us to begin to doubt God’s Word. He stated that we are all fighting the same battle but only camouflaged differently since we have a common enemy. We become easy targets for the devil when our hearts are weighed down by worldly concerns. To avoid this, he advised the church to always listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit at all times. A Christian is called to remain in meditation at all times in the heart because the Holy Spirit talks to us through our spirit. If we are constantly in communication with the Holy Spirit, He will be able to alert when danger is coming our way.
On the issue of prayer, the Man of God explained that prayer is not just saying words or speaking eloquently but a communication between us and God. Since God is our interlocutor in prayer, we must not approach prayer based on conventions or methods taught to us by others because the way and manner God interacts with each one of us differs. How then can we approach God? Apostle Éloge stated that our approach to God will depend on our proximity with Him. He said a person who is not close to a king cannot just waltz in the palace and begin to address the king without appointment but those who are close to the king need no appointment. As children of God, we have free access to the Father so we must always approach Him with thanksgiving, praises and humility.
It is in the moment of prayer that God communicates to us which entity of darkness to wage spiritual war against and when. He will communicate to us which of our brethren need support in prayer. We must not wage war in prayer without receiving instructions from God first. The Man of God said there are some of our situations where God is not requiring us to pray but if we pray we might’ve acted in disobedience. He gave the example of Moses who disobeyed God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Prayer should be led by the Holy Spirit and not by emotions otherwise prayers will not work. For prayer to work, it must be accompanied by our act of obedience.
If we are not listening to the voice of God before we act, we will always miss the target. We must not pray against our situation without first receiving confirmation from God on whether to pray or not. Citing the case of Job, Apostle Éloge said our situation could be to stop us for a while in order to draw us back to God, it could be to reform us, to strengthen us or to prepare us for extraordinary services. So one must not pray against their situation without hearing from God first.
Quoting Zechariah 4:6, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord." The Man of God reminded the congregation that success in prayer depends entirely on the Holy Spirit. He encouraged the church to stay connected to God through prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to guide their lives.
The move of God
God’s power cannot be limited by time, space or matter. The Man of God Apostle Éloge proved these words as he stretched out his hand to pray for the congregation. God’s power was visibly seen being manifested in the church among those who were on the zoom and on-site. Through His anointed servant, Jesus Christ set His people free from their affliction and burdens.
Celebrating in God’s presence
Before sharing the grace, the Man of God took time during the service to celebrate members of the church whose birthday took place in the month of November. The cake was cut in Jesus’ name and the church gathered around to offer prayers and sang Happy birthday song to the celebrant.
Join us again next Sunday whether on-site or on-line via ZOOM or YouTube Live. Please comment and share. God bless you!
