That year, I would normally end my quiet time at 7am, from 5am. As I was about rounding up, the Lord ministered to me to press more in prayer that He wanted to speak to me. I thought I had prayed enough, but the next 6 hours spent praying would define my life and ministry forever. I needed to stretch in prayer.
Friend, you need to stretch in prayer. You cannot exhaust the possibilities that lie in prayer (Luke 5:16-17, 6:12). A lot of times, you have to stop praying because you have to attend to other schedules. Sometimes, we are too lazy to push more and press further in prayers. You can pray more than you are currently praying.
Effective prayer requires a stretch. Until you are stretched, you won’t step into deeper levels in God and waters of your destiny (Habakkuk 2:1-4). The disciples of Jesus missed their opportunity to be stretched at Gethsemane. They kept sleeping instead of stretching in prayer (Matthew 26:40-46). It later showed in their response to what would come later.
How are you responding to what life throws at you (1 Corinthians 10:13)? Are you stretching enough in prayer so as to prepare for what lies ahead? God will always prepare you in prayer before your hour of temptation. What you do with such preparation will determine your victory or defeat (Proverbs 24:10).
Be sensitive to seasons when the Holy Spirit is stretching you to pray more. Sometimes, you would not know the reason, but you need to give yourself to it. Prayer failure is the real failure (Luke 22:31-32). If you are failing in prayers, you are already failing in destiny. It’s only a matter of time.
You need relationships that stretch you in prayer, not the ones that spare you (Esther 4:13-16). Run away from people who make you think that you are praying too much. When you think you are praying too much, just know that you are not praying enough. When you think you have finished praying, remind yourself that you are not done yet. You need to stretch in prayer.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria