This morning, as I was praying and seeking the Lord, I was reminded of the many women in Africa and other countries whose babies are constantly dying of malnutrition. Because of the nutritional deficit in the mothers' lives, their milk supply is often insufficient to keep their babies alive. I also remember being told by someone that it is often more economical to feed the mothers so that they can develop a good milk supply to feed their babies themselves, than it is for them to feed their babies artificially with bottled formula.
In the same way, the Lord then spoke to me, saying,
“Start teaching the women how to pray!”
The above analogy is likened to the well-known catchphrase: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
We can either keep doing all the praying for other people, or we can teach them how to pray for their own families, children and situations, so that their children, in turn, will also learn how to pray. What we pass down to our children needs to be given by God. Let it be the truth that we speak and not a lie. What we do now matters for a lifetime.
The Apostle Paul instructs all of us as believers in Christ,
“Pray without ceasing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Keep on praying for all the saints.”
1 Ephesians 6:18 NIV
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications (requests, entreating, asking), prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks (In faith, that what we have prayed for is already accomplished – See Philippians 4:6) be made for all men.”
1 Timothy 2:1 (parentheses added).
“I will pray with the spirit (by praying in tongues – “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” v14), and I will also pray with the understanding (the understanding God gives me – “let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret” v13).”
1 Corinthians 14:15 (parentheses added).
For Jesus says to all who will believe in His Name,
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
Mark 11:24
