The Bible teaches us that there are different kinds of prayers- “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Eph. 6:18a NIV). In this article, we shall be looking at the “Prayer of Fellowship.” Jesus said He is the Vine, we (the Believers) are the branches, and the Father is the Vinedresser or Gardener; “and just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.” (Jn. 15:4 AMP). He seems to be speaking here about the fruit of prayer (inasmuch as it applies to other areas too); because in verse 7, He said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Jesus wants us to bear much fruit- even in prayers; He said the Father is honoured and glorified by this; and we also show ourselves to be His true followers! Jesus promised to do whatever we shall ask in His name (Jn. 14:14); and also that the Father will give us whatever we shall ask Him in Jesus" name (Jn. 16:23). Notice that these are two different kinds of prayers- asking in Jesus" name and asking the Father in Jesus" name. For instance, in the healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful, Peter commanded the man to rise up and walk, in Jesus" name; he didn"t ask the Father. (Acts 3:1-10). However, when Peter was taken to be killed by Herod, “the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” (Acts 12:5 NIV). The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, absolutely, that we cannot bear fruit unless we abide in Him, or being vitally united to Him; i.e. being in fellowship with Him. We already have a relationship with Him, by believing in His name; but for us to be fruitful, we must abide in Him. How then do we abide in Him; that is, how do we maintain that vital union with Him? One, by the Holy Spirit, and two, by His words. Jesus said to His disciples, “However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].” The Holy Spirit was to be, not only with them (as Jesus was), but to also be IN them; and not just for a limited period, but forever! (Jn. 14:1618).

The apostle Paul also prayed for the Corinthians that the fellowship (or communion) of the Holy Spirit be with them all. (2 Cor. 13:14). Jesus called the Holy Spirit, the Helper; and one major way He helps us is in the area of prayers. “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”. (Rom. 8:26-27).

The Apostle Paul said when he prays in a tongue, his spirit- by the help of the Holy Spirit within him- prays. (1 Cor. 14:14 AMP). Jesus said, If we live in Him and His words live us, we can ask whatever we will, and it shall be done for us. (Jn. 15:7). It seems that our prayer life cannot rise above the level of the words of God abiding (that is, actively living) in us! The Bible says, we ask and do not get, because we ask amiss. (Jas 4:3). God"s will is revealed in His words to us. No one who has the words of God living in them, asks amiss; because he will know how to ask according to God"s will! “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1 Jn. 5:14-15). It"s also important to note the partnership between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God; and the roles they both play in helping us pray according to the will of God. The Holy Spirit gives life to the words of God; and He also guides us into the truth of God"s words- so we can rightly and accurately handle the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15). The Holy Spirit will never contradict the

words of God. The Basis of our Fellowship. Before we go on to discuss the Prayer of Fellowship, it would help a great deal to examine the basis of our fellowship. The Bible says our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 Jn. 1:3). God is our Father, and that is the basis of our fellowship with Him! Whereas you could have a relationship without being in fellowship; you can"t have any meaningful fellowship without having a relationship in place, first and foremost. Jesus taught His disciples to pray to their Father. He said, “pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” (Matt. 6:6-9). We must therefore know God as our Father, see Him as such, and address Him in that manner; to have that fellowship with Him in prayers. God is the Father from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. (Eph. 3:14-15). That is the basis upon which we pray and expect Him to hear us, and upon which we ask Him for our “daily bread” and other needs. You don"t just turn up in someone else"s father"s house, expecting them to feed, clothe and house you! Jesus" Example in Prayers of Fellowship: Jesus, throughout His earthly Ministry was in perfect fellowship with the Father. He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness (or lonely places) and prayed. (Lk. 5:16). It was after one of such times in prayer, that His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray (Lk. 11-1-5). Someone said, the way to get your people to pray, is by you being a prayer person yourself! In another instance, the Bible says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mk. 1:35 NIV). Jesus spent the night praying to God, and in the morning, He chose His twelve apostles from His many disciples. (Lk. 6:12-13). At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me,” (Jn. 11:41-42) Truly, Jesus did nothing of Himself; His works and words flowed from His fellowship with the Father! We Can Come Boldly To The Father! Because God is our Father, we have access to His presence. We have an open and standing invitation to come boldly- that is, fearlessly and confidently, to the throne of grace, to obtain whatever we need- whenever we need it. (Heb. 4:15-16). We"ve been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus; i.e. we have a right-standing with the Father. We are now God"s children- not slaves; and we did not receive the spirit of bondage that makes us to fear, but we received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (Rom 8:15-16). We"re part of God"s family; we are members of His household- how comforting and reassuring! God loves us, and His love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 Jn. 4:18). Even when we sin and miss the mark, we can still come to God; because “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15). We mustn"t allow our sins to hinder or break our fellowship with the Father; the Bible says, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 Jn. 1:5-6). We already have an Advocate with the Father- Jesus Christ, the righteous; so all we need to do is to

humbly confess our sins to our Father, and “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The Bible says, “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” (1 Cor. 11:32). Our Fellowship with other Believers: In addition to knowing that our fellowship is with the Father; we also need to note that the word, “our” isn"t singular- it"s plural! God is the Father of a family; it isn"t therefore just about an individual"s fellowship with Him, but our fellowship with one another also. For instance, the Bible doesn"t just talk about us confessing our sins to God, but to one another also- “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (Jas 5:16). God"s blessing is commanded where His people live in harmony or unity. (Psa 133). When they were all with one accord in the upper room, the promise of the Father- the Holy Spirit, came in like a mighty rushing wind. (Acts 2:14). As the people lifted up their voice (not 'voices") in unity, the prayer room was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 4:24-31). And the church, at the beginning- “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47). The Bible says Faith works (i.e. activated and energized and expressed) through love. (Gal. 5:6). And on the other hand, wherever you find envying and strife, you also find every evil work! (Jas 3:16). The Prayer of Fellowship- Seeking God: Now we can begin to examine the prayer of fellowship. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you”. (Matt 7:7). Most people can relate with the fact that there are things they"ve asked God for, that they haven"t yet received- though they"ve done all they know to do! Could it be that it"s time to seek the Lord concerning those things?

The psalmist said, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.” (Psa. 27:4). God wants us to seek Him- 'When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (Psa. 27:8). To seek the Lord also means to inquire and require of, the Lord. After David became king over Israel, the Philistines came against him, so David inquired from God if he should go up against them, and if the Lord will give him the victory over them. God gave him a go-ahead, and the victory. When they came against him once again, David inquired from God again and God gave him the strategy for the war and he got the victory again! (2 Sam. 5:17-25). When Jehoshaphat was told that a great multitude was coming against him, he set himself to seek the Lord- he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. “So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” (2 Chron. 20:4). And as they prayed, they heard from God, and they got the victory; they spent 3 days gathering the spoil of war, and God also gave them rest all around from their enemies. After the Amalekites had raided David and his men; David inquired of the Lord, saying “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And the Lord gave him a go- ahead; so David pursued and overtook the Amalekites, and he recovered all they had carried away. (1 Sam. 30:18-19). Notice that every time they sought God, He spoke to them; and whatever He said to them always brought about victory in their situations! Jesus said, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4c).

Coming Into Rest- On Every Side! When Judah sought the Lord, during the reign of Asa, He gave them rest on every side; and they “built and prospered.” (2 Chron. 14:7). And when the king of Ethiopia came against them with an army that was more than double their number; Asa cried out to God, and He gave them the victory. Notice that when they sought God, they had rest on every side; but when they didn"t, they had no peace- they had one trouble after another! (2 Chron. 15:3-6). Many times we just want to rush out there and do stuff, but it always pays to seek God; the psalmist said, “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;” (Psa. 40:16b). God wants to give us rest- peace and quiet; in spite of the troubles, pressures, anxieties, fears, uncertainties and worries, that we have around us in the world. But that peace doesn"t happen automatically, we must allow Him to lead us- “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams.” (Psa. 23:1-2 NLT). God told the Israelites, “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river,” (Isa. 48:17-18). When the apostles returned to Jesus, with the report of what they had done and taught; Jesus told them to come away just by themselves to a deserted place and rest a while. The Bible says, there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat! (Mk. 6:30-31). We must know when to stop for a break. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30).

How do we come into that rest?

a. We must take HIS Yoke upon us- by casting off ours!

We must cast the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. (1 Pet. 5:7 AMP). It also means realising that, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones.” (Psa. 127:1-2 NLT).

b. We must learn from Him- the Master Himself, through the Word.

Jesus said “Let Me teach you” (NLT); God gives grace to the humble! Jesus lived a stress-free life; even in the storms, He was so deeply asleep that His disciples had to wake Him up! He didn"t lose His peace when He was told that Lazarus was terribly sick; neither did He when they ran out of wine at the wedding He attended. What was the secret? Jesus Himself said, “the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does;” (Jn. 5:1920). He said it again, “I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.” (Jn. 8:28). That was the key to His successful and stressfree Ministry; i.e. His fellowship with the Father. It was in that place that He saw what the Father was doing; and was also taught by the Father. And that was why He said we too can do nothing, except we abide in Him and His words abide in us. While Martha was worried and troubled about many things; Mary sat at Jesus" feet, hearing His word! (Lk. 10:38-42). That is the best place to be; the Psalmist said, “I"m asking God

for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I"ll contemplate his beauty; I"ll study at his feet.” (Psa. 27:4 MSG).

c. We must Believe His Word.

God"s promises are meant to bring us into the rest God wants for us- if we would believe them. For every concern, worry or anxiety, there is at least a promise of God to counter it; but unfortunately, a lot of believers don"t believe! Just like the Bible says, 'but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, (Heb. 4:23a). God keeps us in perfect peace, when our minds are fixed on Him and trust in Him. (Isa. 26:3).

d. By Praying in the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, when you"re agitated or you sense the anxiety coming over your soul; you may just need to spend some time praying in the Spirit. 'For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”;" (Isa. 28:1112a). The Bible also says the one who prays in the Spirit edifies- that is, builds up himself. (1 Cor. 14:4). When we pray in the Spirit, rather than give in to anxieties, we can build up our faith- “[make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher]”, above the situation. (Jude 1:20 AMP).

Keys to Seeking God Effectively:

a. Seek God with a pure heart. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). Don"t seek God with idols in your heart- i.e. with your mind already made up, or a hidden agenda, or a wrong motive, or a preconception, etc; or else He will answer you accordingly! (Eze. 14: 1-4). Do you know we hear God according to the contents and disposition of our hearts? We are told to seek the Lord while He may be found, and to call upon Him while He is near; and because His thoughts and ways are higher than ours; we must forsake our own ways and thoughts, and take on His. (Isa. 55:6-9). God says two people can"t walk together, except they are going in the same direction or are in agreement (Amos 3:3); and it only makes sense to know that we are the ones to align our ways with His- not the other way round! King Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, because he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images; and then commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. (2 Chron. 14:1-4). So it"s time to pull down the strongholds of preconceptions, contrary mind-sets and belief systems and the high things, etc, in our lives; so we can see and hear God clearly.

b. Seek Him diligently. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6). We mustn"t seek God just anyhow or carelessly or haphazardly. Jesus said, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” (Matt. 6:33 AMP). First things first; the Kingdom of God comes ahead of every other thing! Notice the same trend in how Jesus taught His disciples to pray; before it came to us and our needs, it was first about God- His name, His Kingdom and His will. (Matt. 6:9-13). We don"t have to be legalistic, but we shouldn"t be reckless either! We are told how to approach God"s presence; to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psa. 100:4). No wonder, David- even after he had lost everything, had to first of all encourage himself in the Lord, before inquiring from Him about how to recover all. (1 Sam. 30:6-8). David"s first attempt to bring the ark of the Lord ended up in a disaster, in spite of his good intentions! Rather than inquire to know the right way to do it, he acted presumptuously; he moved the ark on a new cart, instead of on the shoulders of the Levites. (1 Chron. 15:12-15). The Bible says, “Desire without knowledge is not good— how much more will hasty feet miss the way!” (Pro. 19:2 NIV).

c. Seek Him humbly. “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (Matt. 5:3 NLT). It"s interesting to note that this is the first, in the Blessedness series! God resists the proud, but gives grace to (i.e. favours) the humble. (Jas 4:6-7). When the king and the people of Nineveh repented, at the preaching of Jonah; God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them. (Jon.3:10c). God said when He shut up the heaven and there is no rain, if His people will humble themselves, and pray and seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will He hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chron. 7:13-14).

The psalmist said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psa. 51:17). The Bible, however, talks about two kinds of sorrow; namely, godly sorrow- which leads to repentance and salvation; two, worldly sorrow- which leads to death. (2 Cor. 7:10-11). Peter typified godly sorrow, as he remembered the words of Jesus when the cock crowed- because he had denied the Lord three times. Peter repented, and was converted indeed. Judas, on the other hand was filled with worldly sorrow, when it dawned on him that he had betrayed innocent blood; but he went on to hang himself. (Matt. 27:3-5). God never gives up on us, even when we miss it; He promised never to leave us nor forsake us. “So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.” (Joel 2:12-14).

So, we mustn"t give up on ourselves; we can get up and get going again. We must never allow our past blunders to hinder our future destiny; there is still a lot more we can achieve in God, in spite of our failures. Don"t forget that a failure isn"t one who failed, but the one who quit! “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. (Heb. 12:12-13).

d. Seek Him with all your heart- i.e. wholeheartedly. God said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:13). We must mean business with God, to get the kind of results we desire to see in our lives. The psalmist said, “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.” (Psa. 63:12).

Hannah was an example of someone who sought God with all her heart; the Bible says, she was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made a vow, that if the Lord will give her a son, she will give him back to the Lord. (1 Sam. 1:10-11).

When Hezekiah became terminally ill, and was told by the prophet that he was going to die; the Bible says he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord; he pleaded his case with Him and wept bitterly. God responded to Hezekiah; He sent the prophet back to him with these words- “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.” (Isa. 38:5). Some of us give up too soon, and some don"t put up any fight at all; like Eli, they say, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.” (1 Sam. 3:18c). And that is the most defeatist, though very religious, stance to take; when God Himself has invited us to plead our case with Him- bringing forward our strong reasons! (Isa. 41:21).

Jacob wrestled with the Angel throughout the night; he said to the Angel “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (Gen. 32:26c). Jacob was blessed; his name was changed from Jacob (sup-planter/deceiver), to Israel. (Triumphant with God). It is such tenacity that gets result; Jesus said people ought to pray and not give up, or lose heart. He said, “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Lk.18:7-8).

Faith pleases God, and it is also the victory; we must always remember that the Israelites were overcome in the wilderness because of their unbelief! The woman with the issue of blood, the Syro-Phoenician woman, Blind Bartimaeus, were also examples of those who sought God with all their heart; and they found Him in their different situations.

In subsequent teachings, we will be looking at the Benefits of The Prayer of Fellowship. Just to mention three of them: Divine Exchange- “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;” (Isa.40:31b); Revelation- 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jer.33:3); and Keeping ahead of the devil and circumstances- “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” (Psa.37:19). In a nutshell, engaging in the prayer of Fellowship constantly, will help you walk in the victory that is already yours in Christ Jesus. God bless you.