FAITH CAPSULE: Prayer is the key to opening heaven.
John 3:1-22
If there is anything that will certainly open the windows of heaven, it is prayer.
Prayer is the key to opening heaven.
Prayer before God is the rod of believers.
Among the different ways can be described is talking and listening to God.
Prayer is an act of petitioning God in combination with having faith.
Prayer demands faith and being in the right relationship with God.
Without faith or a right relationship with God, praying will be like attempting to wash a dirty cloth in dirty water.
God will not pleased when there is no faith.
The right relationship starts with asking for forgiveness.
Among the different ways of praying before God are interceding, thanking God, praising God, and confessing before God.
Above all, prayer will open the windows of heaven.
Luke 3:21 states, “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”
Prayer is a heaven-opener.
Jesus, in His entire earthly ministry, repeatedly showed what is all about prayer.
When Jesus went for baptism, He took His time to pray, and heaven opened.
Jesus demonstrated that prayer is the key that opens up the doors of heaven.
Prayer opens heaven at all times, not only at the point of baptism but also at every juncture of life.
When Jesus prayed, heaven opened, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ’You are My beloved Son; in You, I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:22) The prayer by Jesus is a testimony to the fact that when a prayer finds the door to heaven, the Holy Spirit, which represents the presence of God, will come down and descend on the one praying.
With the Holy Spirit descending, the voice of God will then sound in the direction of the one praying.
With the heavens opened, the voice of God will speak direction if the one praying has the ear to hear the voice of God.
The experience of Jesus at baptism is evidence of what happens to one praying before God.
God is not partial. (Romans 2:11)
There is a need for the grace of God to hear His voice when it sounds in the direction of one praying.
When the heavens opened, Jesus heard the voice from heaven saying to Him, “You are my beloved Son: in You I am well pleased.”
Remember, it takes faith to please God.
Hebrews 11:6 buttresses, “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.”
The voice that sounded as a result of prayer demonstrates that prayer rooted in faith is what pleases God.
For without faith, God is not pleased.
Prayer for today: Ask to be receptive when God responds to your petition.