[…] The Church of God has to understand the power that they have. We must not joke with it. Some of us think that there is really nothing that we can do, especially when we cannot help situations physically. Some of us think, “What can prayer really do? What can I, really do?” But let’s look at Acts 12, when Peter was imprisoned. The Bible says that the church prayed night and day and an angel walked him out of the prison.
So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God… And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” Acts 12:5,7,9-11
There is a gift of life that will come through when we put in our efforts in prayer. You must never joke about the power that you have, people of God. You must never joke with it. You have authority to help situations that you cannot help directly. What happens when we pray is that we keep dialing God’s phone number and sometimes we have conference calls in the spirit, and God’s hotline is bombarded. So He goes, “Alright. Let’s do something before these people burn our lines.” And He acts. It’s real authority that the righteous has. John 9:31 says: We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to Him.
Similarly, James 5:16 says: Therefore, confess your sins to one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in it’s effect.
1 Peter 3:12 says: Because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.
The Scriptures above emphasize that God answers the prayers of the righteous. 1 John 3:7 shows us what it means to be righteous. “Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.”
We must therefore direct our focus and energy to living an obedient lifestyle; a righteous one. The words of God are the standard of what is right and wrong. 1 Timothy 2:8 says; Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up HOLY HANDS without anger or argument.
The ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the righteous. There are all sorts of unrighteous people trying to pray but God does not listen to them. 1st Peter 3 repeats what is in the 34th Psalm. Psalm 34:12-17 says:
Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long, happy life? Then make sure you don’t speak evil words or use deceptive speech! Turn away from evil and do what is right! Strive for peace and promote it! The LORD pays attention to the godly and hears their cry for help. But the LORD opposes evildoers and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. The godly cry out and the LORD hears; He saves them from all their troubles.
So if you want to see good life and enjoy good days, keep your mouth from speaking evil, be at peace, don’t tell lies, speak what is good, pursue peace with all men. Don’t seek to be angry. Look at what is happening in the world. In Nigeria, in America. Look at the rage, look at the anger. When it started in America, we thought it was an America-Trump problem. But then the #BlackLivesMatter protests spread. Became riots that even got into the UK and other countries. Now, in a sense Babylon is being judged, but there is trouble and the demons are having a field day. They are stirring up mayhem and violence.
For years, I have said that the earth is coming to a season. And plagues are not the only things that are coming. On TV, there was Racism: Whites against Blacks. But it doesn’t end there. There’s also Blacks against Blacks, Yorubas against Igbos, The northerners against southerners, Fulanis against Nigerians, and even Annang against Ibibio. In all of these, the spirits of violence, anger and rage are active.
So there is trouble everywhere, all over the world. Babylon is being judged; the Babylonian system, the government and different things. The same way the Coronavirus pandemic came and kept everyone at home unexpectedly in the strangest fashion, is the same way different things will be toppled and changed in society in ways that we don’t know. BUT WE MUST PRAY. And why? So the devil does not take too much advantage.
The devil is already doing a lot. He is happy with anything that involves lots of anger and rage and wrath. The devil gets very excited, and demons love to step into those kinds of places and stir up things. It’s their job. So we must be careful. We must not allow things get out of hand, where we can influence them. Many times, God allows something to happen, and then the enemy takes it and distorts it. Christians have the power to pray and put restraints on demonic activities. When the #BlackLivesMatter protests were on, people looted stores and supermarkets in the United States and one would wonder what the connection was between the looting and black lives mattering. So people screamed, “Black lives matter!” and then vandalized supermarkets and stores, stole beverages, foodstuff, etc. People were emptying supermarkets; it was just so bad. How was the looting connected to anything President Trump said? No, it’s the devil that had been looking for an opportunity to come out. He saw a chance and he jumped at it…(contd)
— Pastor Ita Udoh
10th June, 2020
This is only an excerpt. Download the full audio message below.