And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD… (Jeremiah 29:13-14).
God never ignores a strong desire—a strong desire to know Him, walk with Him, and do His will. That strong desire births an unquenchable urge for prayer. That’s what we mean sometimes when we say someone is taken over by the “spirit of prayer.” It means the Holy Spirit has brought an overwhelming atmosphere and influence of prayer on your heart.
When that happens, prayer becomes all that you do and think about. That influence could stay with you for a prolonged period of time. However, this isn’t just something that happens when God chooses to; rather, it’s what you invite by desire. The Bible says He satisfies the thirsty soul (Psalm 107:9).
When you begin that fellowship of prayer, it won’t be long before that spirit of intercession comes on you, and you find that you’re constantly praying. Every now and then, the Spirit will pull you to His motivations, visions, plans, and purposes, the things that He cares about and wants to do. He’d be expressing himself through you in prayer.
This is something that should be evident in the life of every Christian: a strong desire for the Lord, His Word, and His influence in your life. When you have it, you can easily influence those around you with it.
So, cultivate it. Stir your heart to have a strong desire and maintain your zeal, love, and passion for the Lord at all times. David, inspired by a strong desire for the Lord, said, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Psalm 63:1).
Any kind of positive change you might desire is possible in the Name of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Looking through the Scriptures, you’d find examples of people who were desperate for a change and what they did. You too can learn what they learnt, act as they did and get what they got.
How compelled are you to change your financial status? How compelled are you to change your health situation? How compelling is your desire to move to the next level and experience the supernatural in your daily walk, in your ministry, academics, business, or career?
Success and progress in any area require very simple, basic principles. One of these is a strong, compelling desire. Let your desire be strong enough to compel you to take the right and necessary actions. In Mark 5:25-29, we see another striking example of an actualised desire for change. It’s the account of the woman with the issue of blood who, having suffered for twelve long years, made up her mind to receive a miracle.
Compelled by her desire, she pressed through an impossible crowd to get to Jesus, defying the injunction that forbade her from having physical contact with other people. The haemorrhage she suffered made her ceremonially unclean; therefore, she stood the risk of being stoned to death if found in public, following the Jewish law of the day (Leviticus 15:25-27).
However, her desire for freedom, for her healing, compelled her to act on her faith, and she got a miracle. In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, “…all things are possible to him that believeth.” So, it makes no difference where you are in your life today; anything is possible. Act on God’s Word. Act your faith and be absolute about the result that you want, and it shall be so.
There’s a promise of a higher realm of life for you, regardless of where you are presently. But until and unless you have a compelling desire for it, you may not move to that new and higher realm of life.
Let’s look through the Scriptures for two examples of those whose lives were transformed as a result of their compelling desire for a change in their circumstances. In the early period of the history of the nation of Israel, some had become comfortable with the Egyptian lifestyle and possibly forgotten about the land God promised their forebears (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
However, it wasn’t until they were subjected to slavery, and the Egyptian whips bruised and tore into their skin that they remembered God’s promise. Suddenly, Israel’s desire for a change grew, and God heard their cry and sent Moses, a deliverer, to bring them out of slavery and lead them into the Promised Land.
There’s another inspiring story of a woman named Hannah in the Book of 1 Samuel 1:1-21. She had no child because she was barren and had been in this situation for many years. Her situation seemed bearable because her husband loved her very much. However, the tide turned for her when her rival began to goad her with her condition.
Suddenly, she became sad and very desperate. This time, her husband’s effort to assuage her grief was meaningless; her desire for a child had become overwhelming. The Bible says, “…she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore” (1 Samuel 1:10).
In these two situations, God’s response came as a result of a strong desire for a change. So, do you desire a change in your situation today? Do you want the power of the Kingdom of God to produce results for you? Then, your heart must reach out; you must be bursting with a burning desire.
And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us (1 John 5:14 AMPC).
Sometimes people pray, “Father, let your will be done,” without realizing the import of this statement. It isn’t one to be made casually. You don’t just say, “Thy will be done”; you have to know what that will is. When Jesus prayed and said the same words, He knew exactly what the Father’s will was, and He mentioned it.
There’s a difference between a will and a desire. The fact that something is God’s will at a particular point in time doesn’t mean it may be His desire. I’ll give you an example from the Bible. In Isaiah 38, the Bible tells a story about King Hezekiah who was sick. The Prophet Isaiah was sent to him by God to tell him to set his house in order because he was going to die. At that moment, God stated His clear will for King Hezekiah’s life.
After receiving this message from the prophet, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to God, weeping. The Bible says, “Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, go, and say to Hezekiah, thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years” (Isaiah 38:4-5). Praise God!
When Hezekiah was told he was going to die, if he had replied, “Thy will be done O Lord,” he would have died. But he knew that wasn’t God’s desire for him. He knew God created him for His praise. So, in his prayer, he said to the Lord, “…the dead cannot celebrate you. Only the living can praise you as I do this day” (Isaiah 38:18-19).
When you’re praying about the will of God on a matter, find out how consistent that thing is with His character. Only then will you know how best to pray about it.
For instance, in the Old Testament, God led the children of Israel in several battles and fought wars on their behalf, yet the Bible tells us He’s a God of peace. He’s more known as the God of peace than any other name in the Bible. This shows us His desire; what He really wants is peace, not war. This kind of understanding will help you pray always in line with His desires as revealed in His Word.
–GSW–