Positioning For Effective Prayer by Pastor Anwinli Ojeikere: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Identity as the Foundation of Prayer

Faith conviction — not emotional conviction — is what makes you accept and walk in your true identity in Christ. By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. You cannot reject a false identity until you have discovered your true one. There are prayers you cannot pray effectively until you know who you really are.

Hebrews 11:25

There are things until you refuse, you cannot choose. He refused first — then he chose. Anything that is not established in Christ concerning your life, you must refuse it. And this refusal is not out of anger or frustration. It is not emotion — it is faith conviction.

Look at the story of Jephthah in the book of Judges. He was the son of a harlot, but his identity was that of a mighty warrior. Even though he was thrown out by his siblings, they eventually came looking for him. Circumstances around his birth did not define his destiny. He knew who he was.

When you have found who you are — discovered your identity in Christ Jesus — there is a certain way you pray. You pray with confidence. You pray with effectiveness. When you know who you are, they cannot govern your success except God.

Matthew 4:3-4

The devil came to Jesus not primarily to tempt him about bread — the real temptation was an attack on his identity. "If thou be the Son of God..." He was questioning his identity. Jesus knew who he was. He said, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

Every identity has a mission and a lifestyle. When your life is hidden in Christ, you live the life of Christ — you do not prove a point. You point people to Christ. And you cannot live your life from a source of physical provision alone. When flesh becomes louder than spirit, you fall into temptation.

Thanksgiving as a Weapon

The communication of your faith becomes effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

Philemon 1:6

Acknowledging is a deliberate, intentional act. Your healing has been settled in heaven. Your marriage is settled. You need to acknowledge — "Father, I come thanking you for my health" — even before it manifests physically. This is how your faith is strengthened. Your faith becomes effectual when you are intentional about remembering every good thing God has done and placed in you.

A woman waited nearly eight years for children. She switched from petition to thanksgiving. She named her babies, bought their clothes, danced in their nursery, and thanked God by faith. Months after, she conceived. Your thanksgiving does not need an explanation, because there are revelations of God that cannot be humanly explained.

Philippians 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing — in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. You can pray intensely and forget to say thank you. Thanksgiving must be joined to supplication — they cannot be disconnected. When they are combined, the result is the peace of God, which is the fruit, the evidence that God has heard.

Praying with Faith, Not Fear

James 1:6

Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. The man who wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. That man should not think he will receive anything from God. If you are trusting God for marriage, stay there. Physical reality does not stop the revelation of God.

James 5:15

The prayer of faith — not the prayer from fear — shall save the sick.

Decreeing and Declaring

Job 22:28-29

"You shall also decree a thing and it shall be established unto you, and the light shall shine upon your ways." Note: it says ways — not one way. Academic way, marriage, business, health — light is shining on all of them. But you have a responsibility: you must decree. When men are cast down, the believer's mouth is permitted to speak — not to be silenced, not to be intimidated. There is a season of lifting up, and it comes as you open your mouth and declare.

Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus. Everything that is not of God in our lives, we cast it out. Sickness lifts from our bodies. We have more than enough. Our businesses expand. Our marriages are established. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus — there is lifting up.

You will not die — you will live. You will live and declare the works of the Lord. Whatever demonic engagement is connected to you, it is broken now. That spirit sponsoring suicidal thoughts, depression, and fear of death — out, in the name of Jesus. Chains are broken. Families are loosed. You are delivered. You will not be the same.