PREACHING ON JANUARY 26, 2025:
Pastor Antonio Russo
THE POWER OF PRAYER
This week, we continue with the theme of the "Threefold Cord," focusing on prayer after discussing firstfruits and fasting. Today's title is "The Power of Prayer," in which God invites, encourages, and urges us to pray because prayer enables the manifestation of His power. The rhema for this year is "Line Up," meaning to align with God's will, and if we were out of alignment, God is calling us to return. This concept was even confirmed by a planetary alignment that took place on January 25th, manifesting in nature what God is doing spiritually: aligning us with His plan. Let's start by stating that prayer is powerful: when we pray, hell trembles, and heaven rejoices. God has given power to our prayer life, allowing heaven to intervene in our situations because prayer is the license we grant for heaven to act on earth. Praying according to God's Word is essential because prayers that do not align with it are ineffective; praying in agreement with Him brings transformation because, through prayer, God has established a partnership between Him and us. In the Book of Genesis, God gave mankind authority over the earth.
Genesis 1:28; 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
No one can be fruitful without God's blessing, which is the key to multiplication. God has given us dominion, establishing us as rulers of the world, but Adam and Eve did not exercise the authority they had received. Even though they had the power to drive out the serpent, they were deceived. We must understand the importance of exercising the authority God has given us through prayer because when we pray in faith according to His Word, we invite heaven to intervene. We have received authority in Christ, who restored what Adam lost when he sinned and forfeited the dominion entrusted to him. The devil also tried to deceive Jesus, telling Him in the wilderness, "I will give you the whole world because it has been given to me," but Satan was never given anything he stole what did not belong to him. This is his deception: trying to lead us away from God's voice. But Christ reclaimed the victory where Adam failed.
Amos 3:7; 7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
God wants to involve us in His work, but how many times do we ask Him to do everything on His own? This is the problem when we don’t pray, we prevent God from moving. The devil wants us to believe that difficulties are part of God’s will, but God has given us authority to exercise it through prayer. God does nothing without revealing His plan, and prayer is the means by which we allow Him to intervene. In fact, when we pray, we ask Him to step in and take control, whereas when we don’t pray, we are tying His hands. Prayer is powerful, and we must understand its value in order to fully live out God’s will.
1°Thessalonians 5:17; 17 Pray without ceasing.
Prayer should not be merely a reaction to problems but a continuous way of life. As Jesus said, certain situations can only be resolved through fasting and prayer. In the face of an emergency, we must act immediately with the authority we have received, but this is only possible if our life is rooted in prayer, which, as Jesus taught, must be constant.
Luke 18:1; 1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
When we pray continuously, God moves continuously; but if we pray sporadically, God moves sporadically. Today, God reminds us that prayer is as essential as air, food, and water just as we cannot live without breathing, we cannot do without a life of prayer, because it is not an option but an absolute necessity. Jesus shows us that without prayer, we surrender spiritually, because not calling upon God means excluding Him from our lives. When we stop praying, it is as if we are telling God not to intervene, whereas when we pray, we invite Him into our situation and ask Him to act in our lives. Jesus not only spoke about prayer, but He lived it, teaching that praying continually is essential so that we do not grow weary spiritually. Our life of prayer must become a continuous flow that allows God to manifest His power in us and through us. We have received a precious gift the key of prayer which enables us to open and close spiritual doors, bind and loose, and release God’s blessings in our lives. Therefore, we must not leave it unused but exercise it with faith and perseverance. Prayer transforms our reality, changes situations, and brings healing, prosperity, and peace. For this reason, we must choose to be men and women of prayer, determined to see God's power manifest in every area of our lives. We have prayed to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to remove the veil from revelation, because this is not a mental understanding but a spiritual realization that must take place in our hearts. Prayer is the means through which God moves in our bodies, our souls, our homes, our families, and our work. By declaring our dependence on His presence, we acknowledge His dominion and His rule, for God has given us the keys to spiritual authority, placing them in our hands.
2°Chronicles 7:14; 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Here we see the established principle: if we do four things, God will respond with three. The first is to humble ourselves, because if we do not humble ourselves before God, it is as if we are telling Him not to intervene. Humbling ourselves means recognizing our need for God and understanding that without Him, we can do nothing, just as Jesus Himself declared. This is the essence of humility: knowing that our intelligence, strength, and abilities are not enough without God's intervention. Pride, which is the opposite of humility, claims that we can do things on our own and rejects God and His help. But God has established a covenant with us: if we do these four things, He will respond with these three. If we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, God will hear, forgive our sins, and heal our land. When we fulfill these principles, God does His part because He cannot ignore a sincere and humble prayer. What we read in 2°Chronicles 7:14 confirms the principle in Genesis 1:28 the authority and dominion that God has given us over the earth. We cannot delegate prayer to others because we are the spiritual leaders of our homes. God has placed us as authorities and priests in our families. What we allow in our home will be allowed, and what we forbid will be forbidden, according to the principle of spiritual authority. 2°Chronicles shows us that God does not act without first revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets, and prayer is the means through which we receive His revelation and direction to be guided by His plan. Many people seek answers everywhere, but their real need is to return to God with a stable and persevering prayer life, because without it, our spiritual life is incomplete. This is not just about words but about spiritual action our lives demonstrate our faith more than any verbal declaration. If we do not pray, we are blocking God's power and stopping His intervention in our situations. The question to ask ourselves is: What are we willing to do in this new year? Do we really want to change? Prayer is the first step toward transformation. We cannot wait for others to pray for us we must take responsibility for praying for our lives, our families, our work, and our health. Prayer activates God's power on our behalf, which is why we face so many difficulties when we decide to pray. The enemy knows that prayer brings results and tries to stop us from practicing it. The threefold cord consists of fasting, prayer, and giving principles that Jesus practiced before teaching them. In the Gospels, we see Jesus praying constantly: He prayed early in the morning, He prayed at night, He held prayer vigils, and He withdrew to be alone with God. As a man, He knew He needed the Father’s guidance and strength. If Jesus, the Son of God, prayed continually, how much more should we pray! He lived in total dependence on the Father. His life of prayer allowed God to move continuously through Him, and if we want to see God move in our lives, we must do the same. We must set a fixed time for prayer, just as we do for eating and resting, because prayer connects us to God and releases His power into our lives. We have been given a key prayer and if we do not use it, we remain outside of God's blessings; Jesus said:
Matthew 16:19; 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
This key gives us the authority to declare sickness, poverty, and distress illegal, and we must exercise it with faith and perseverance, declaring God's Word over our lives. Today, we choose to be men and women of prayer, eager to see God's power manifest in every area of our lives, opening the doors to blessing and closing them to the enemy’s deceptions. Prayer is the means God has given us to exercise our spiritual dominion, and we must take a stand, use our authority, and allow God to work through us. In the Gospel of Luke, it is emphasized that Jesus prayed continually, showing that prayer was not an isolated act but a constant way of life, through which He allowed God to actively intervene in His life and in the world.
Luke 5:16; 16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
This verse is set in a context where, in the previous verse, Jesus is preaching and drawing crowds of people eager to hear Him and be healed by His miracles. However, instead of staying with the crowd, Jesus withdrew in solitude to pray. Continuous prayer was the means by which He allowed the Father to intervene constantly, preventing His life and ministry from being reduced to occasional moments of prayer. Prayer is the means that enables us to enter into intimate communion with God, and when we understand this reality, we can truly taste His presence. The Bible invites us to "taste and see that the Lord is good," and when we experience His presence, our hearts are filled with gratitude, recognizing His goodness and longing to spend more time with Him, making prayer a fundamental necessity, not an optional addition. Another crucial theme is the revelation of the keys of the Kingdom, illustrated in Matthew 16:15-18. In this passage, Jesus asks the disciples who people say He is and then directly asks them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter responds with a profound revelation: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In response, Jesus tells him, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." However, it is important to note that the rock on which Jesus builds the Church is not Peter himself but the revelation that Peter had regarding Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. This revelation is the foundation on which the Church is built. Jesus does not give the keys of the Kingdom to Peter as a papal figure but to anyone who receives the revelation of who He is. The keys represent the spiritual authority given to us to exercise power in different areas of our lives. They are not merely a symbol but a spiritual principle, a law, a concept that pertains to the Kingdom of God. When Jesus gives the keys, He is not just granting general authority; He is giving us a means to act with power, particularly in declaring what is legal or illegal in the spiritual realm. The keys that Jesus gives us are spiritual principles based on the Word of God, which, when applied, allow us to have victory in our lives. The Bible says, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,” which implies that what we declare illegal on earth will also be illegal in heaven. This principle reminds us of the loss of the key by Adam in the Garden of Eden due to sin, but also of the recovery of this key by Jesus, who returned it to us. The keys of the Kingdom give us the authority to act, just like a key grants access to a house or a vehicle; if we do not use it, access remains denied. In the same way, if we do not exercise the authority that has been given to us, we do not fully experience the power and blessing of God. The key therefore represents not only authority but also access and freedom. When we face sickness, poverty, or family problems, we can confidently declare: “I have the key.” The key gives us the authority to declare certain situations illegal and to fight them in the name of Jesus, allowing us to walk in victory and face every challenge with courage, knowing that our authority is confirmed in Christ. It is necessary to exercise this authority: when fear or discouragement try to overwhelm us, we must remember that we have the authority to cast them away, declaring our victory in Christ. Jesus gave us the keys of the Kingdom not to keep them stored away or unused but to use them actively. We are called to exercise this authority against every form of attack from the enemy: sickness, poverty, fear, discouragement, and any other difficulty that tries to weaken our faith. We must declare that all these things are illegal because the key gives us the ability to open the doors of God's blessings and close those of curses.
In conclusion, the keys of the Kingdom are a powerful gift that Jesus has given us, and their effectiveness depends on our commitment to using them. If we exercise our authority, we can live a victorious life, walking in God's blessing and facing every difficulty with the certainty that our authority, given by Christ, is greater than any force that tries to hinder us. The key to the Kingdom is an invitation to live in the power of God, declaring His victory on earth as it is already declared in heaven.
