Apostle Joel Obuobisa

Luke 1:26-56
- God is certainly smarter than us, having made the universe and us. Even when His instruction look absurd to us, they are higher than our thinking.
- Mary's attitude of 'be it unto me according to thy will' is one we'd be wise to adopt
Isaiah 55:8-11
- God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours
1 Corinthians 1:20-21
- The foolishness of God is wiser than man

1. It seems that God will not act on our behalf until we pray. Ezekiel 26:37, Matthew 6:8 - Even when He is saying that He knows what we need before we pray, He is mentioning expecting that we will still pray.

2. It seems that God wants us to ask about the same things that we have asked for before. 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Luke 18:1,7-8

3. Even though God wants us to keep asking, it seems that He finds some prayers boring and repetitious. Matthew 6:6-7

4. It seems that some prayers need to be very long and others very short. Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12-13, Matthew 26:40-41
- So when should we pray for a long time and when should we pray for a short time? From Jesus' example, He prayed ling when He was going to take big decisions - like when He was going to choose the disciples, or when He was going to encounter challenging times - like when He was about to go to the cross.

We need to become prayerful as 2013 ends. A lot of accidents, sudden deaths and other strange occurrences happen as the year comes to a close. Therefore it is very important to pray every day. Prayer is mysterious because God is mysterious.

Genesis 20:1-7 (KJV)

¹And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.²And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.⁴But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?⁵Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.⁶And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.⁷Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

God’s involvement in our lives is restricted to our prayer. God will become involved in our lives if we pray and ask Him to help us. He will not do anything about our problems if we do not pray. Many situations in our lives will change if we decide to be prayerful.

1 Peter 5:8

⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

We need to become prayerful as 2013 ends. A lot of accidents, sudden deaths and other strange occurrences happen as the year comes to a close. Therefore it is very important to pray every day. Prayer is mysterious because God is mysterious.

Genesis 20:1-7 (KJV)

¹And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.²And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.⁴But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?⁵Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.⁶And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.⁷Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

God’s involvement in our lives is restricted to our prayer. God will become involved in our lives if we pray and ask Him to help us. He will not do anything about our problems if we do not pray. Many situations in our lives will change if we decide to be prayerful.

1 Peter 5:8

⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.