‘Can prayer override good character?’ Quite recently I heard the story of a young man who desperately sought work. He had submitted his CV to a company and waited for the interview date to be scheduled. But he was unaware that he was a preferred candidate because someone in that company had recommended him.

One Day he got a phone call that was to change his life for good. Guess what? He was rude and very impolite to the person at the other end. And so he was by-passed for the position even though he was qualified and with good recommendations.

Anyways, he later got to know about how he messed up big time. Even though he was full of remorse, it was already too late.

So he went to his pastor for prayer and Deliverance.

Can prayer override good character?

According to the pastor, even though he prayed for him, he told him that no matter how much we pray our character must line up with God’s Word in order to get good results.

It is true according to the Scriptures that we should pray about all things and at all times. But we still have the responsibility to develop Christ-like character as well.

A characterless person is like salt that has lost its saltiness. Salt that has lost saltiness  is worthless

This is the truth that we as Christians need to understand. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Just as salt adds value and preserves, the Christian is  to preserve and add value to lives.

As light shines and illuminate darkness, the Christian is to be that burning and shining light in the dark world.

The born again Christian is a participant in divinity. We are possessors of the Divine nature.

We don’t just pray and hope things change. There is a God part and the human part. We are participants in the Gospel and not just bystanders.

Our communication must effectively point others to who we believe in. Our participation in the Gospel must be operative and produce results for us.

The Christian should increase in intensity and in glory.

Therefore your participantion in Divinity should be operative and productive.

Prayer will never take the place of godliness. Both are relevant in the life of a Christian.

Prayer and Godliness shows faith in God.

In an earlier post on my Facebook page where I first posted this content, my friend Joseph Dilly commented thus: “Prayer without good character is akin to faith without work/deed. The scripture enjoins us to “pursue/follow peace with all men and godliness without which no man will see God“. In conclusion, he asked: “So, to whom will the person without godly character be praying?”

Prayer shows who you believe in, while Godly character points to whose child/follower or disciple you are.

The Apostle Peter stated in his epistle that by His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. There is really no excuses for exhibition of ungodliness.

Christians are disciples of Christ and have received the new nature fashioned after God.  That new nature influences godliness.  That is the defining factor.

People often pray for miracles to happen. But Christ-like living causes miracles to happen because it involves living daily in the supernatural.

When you add praying all manner of prayers and speaking in tongues to Godliness, you will experience miracles daily.

God is Spirit. And in His infinite wisdom, He chose to come into the realm of human existence through the God-Man Jesus Christ.

The precedent is already set.

Your blessings will come through human beings. You may argue that he sent ravens to feed Elijah in the wilderness. And I too posit the following:

• You are not Elijah.
• You have not exhibited extraordinary faith like Elijah.
• You are not on the run from Jezebel;
• And most importantly, Jesus Christ had not opened the way for humanity into the Holy of Holies in the days of Elijah.

The Son of Man has come and dominion has been restored to Man! God will use humans to bless you. You need to work on developing good relationships with fellow humans.

God works through relationships.

Unlike other religions of the world whereby people are seeking relationship with a god: Christianity is God seeking a relationship with you!

GOD desires fellowship with you. He wants to communicate and relate with you. Hence humans got created in His image and likeness.

My definition of Christianity is this:

“Christianity is a relationship with God through a daily faith walk with Christ Jesus”.

Examples of how a good relationship/Godly characteristics release blessings:

1. The Shunnamite woman:

The Shunnamite woman had everything. But she lacked the joy of parenting. Even though she was wealthy and well connected, she couldn’t buy a child even if she so desired

But favor became her portion through having a good relationship with Elisha, a man of God. She was respectful, hospitable and kind. Her Godly upbringing showed up. She displayed excellent character! Her Godliness placed a demand on the anointing and there was a release. Elisha the prophet spoke to her situation and her condition changed. She became a mother as prophesied.

Can you even imagine what would have happened if she had been impolite, aggressive, inhospitable and unkind? She would have attracted a curse. And she would then have had the displeasure of doing the circuit of  prayer requests and the seeking of  Deliverance ministrations.

She would have suffered greatly in going from one prayer house to the other and seeking seers/prophets for insight. And  they in turn,  would have recommended praying and fasting, binding and casting out of the demons which got activated by her bad character.

Sometimes, we unwittingly open doors for high powered demon activity against us.

Jesus Christ made a statement to His disciples, which we tend to overlook. He said:

“The Prince of the world is coming and he has nothing to use against me.”(John 14:30; Aramaic Bible in plain English)

There is ongoing spiritual warfare. The devil is going to and fro like a roaring lion seeking for whom to prey on.

Bad character releases a scent that attracts the devil and his hordes of evil spirit.

Bad character magnetizes evil. It is a potent weapon the forces of evil will use against erring Christians .

Bad character is counterproductive. It frustrates the grace of God, short-circuits the anointing that destroys yokes and hinders/terminates progress. You really don’t need to go there.

Some of us have insulted people that were divinely placed to help us.  And we may even not be on speaking terms with our destiny helpers because of some assumed slight.

Deal with your identity issues by finding your identity in Christ.

The Bible states in Philippians 2:7 that Christ Jesus;

“…made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (KJV)

Another translation says “He emptied Himself”. Can you even begin to imagine what that means? The King of glory Himself became nobody in order to make somebody of us humans.  So, what are you so full of?

Some of us are still suffering, not because we lack talents or do not pray enough: But because we lack good manners or Godly character.

Good talents may attract attention but bad character will negate it.

Even if you are talented, but have bad character traits, your talents will be unprofitable. Because no person wants to associate with a disrespectful, insensitive, egoistic and uncontrollable person no matter how talented he or she is..

Good character is required to sustain the attention talent attracts.

Bible tells us that “… evil communications corrupt good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33; Darby Translation). And we are not to “… befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people” (Proverbs 22:24; NLT)

There are Good things in you.   Let us hear about your love for all people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 

Christian living is a partnership with God in faith. And for it to be effective in your world, you have to deepen your understanding of every good thing.  And to share it also with others  for the sake of Christ.

God has high standards. And being Omniscient, He is aware that we cannot attain His standards without help.  Hence He gave us the Holy Spirit to come alongside and help us

But then, He also expects us to work at it: – to press to reach those goals like a runner strains to reach the finish line.

We are not to rest on our oars and say “God will do it” and keep blasting in tongues. But rather, we should work with the Holy Spirit as He is molding us into persons who are characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23; NLT)

Self-control is a Godly virtue. At the head of it is love. Love for God and for others is a choice and a heart attitude. A person who loves will be kind, tolerant, humble and gracious.

Good character attracts favor.

2.  Mary, the birth mother of Jesus Christ.

Although Mary was a Virgin, there were lots of virgins in Israel at that time. You can be sure they were busy praying and fasting and doing all other religious stuff to make them fit for God’s use.  But Mary’s Godly character traits singled her out for the favour of birthing the Saviour of the world!

God has high standards. He expects exemplary conduct from His children.

The goal of every Christian should be to become like Jesus Christ in worship, character and service.

As an act of worship, we are to offer our bodies daily “as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1, 2; NLT)

We are also to no longer conform to the pattern of the world because we are no longer of this world. Our attitudes and behaviour should evidence the characteristics of God which the Holy Spirit is producing in us: known as the Fruit of the Spirit. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23; NLT)

In humility, we should serve others, do good deeds and believe in God’s timing.

Reset your mind. Upgrade your attitude. Start by placing value on human beings. Be appreciative. Respect people. Put value on relationships. Do not despise people. Be courteous. Be kind. Be humble.

The only time you can look down on another person should be when you want to help them up.

I conclude this section with Paul’s prayer for Philemon:

I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. (Philemon 6,NLT)

3.  Naaman

Even though Naaman was a general, he had leprosy. GOD used his maid to point him to his healing miracle.

Although Naaman was a great man, he had great needs.

Who would have thought that his maid could proffer him solution? If he had allowed his pride get in the way, he would have died a leper. But he listened to the counsel of a mere servant girl. He did his part and the grace of God accomplished his healing.

The blessings of God come wrapped up, just like we package our gifts. Until the gift-package is carefully unwrapped, you won’t know what is inside the package. Likewise, the solutions of our problems come packaged.

God can use anyone or anything to help us. But without good character we might miss the solution because of its packaging.

As in the case of Naaman, humility and respect for the views of others yielded dividends.

4. Moses:

Moses faced a life threatening crisis. The Red Sea was before him, the wilderness, the angry and fearful people surrounded him and Pharaoh and his military might were right behind them in hot pursuit.

Moses cried out in prayer to God. But God was like –  ‘guy, why are you crying out to me, man up to the situation- do the needful. You got power right there in your hands, use it man! ‘

What did Moses do? He stretched out his hands over the Red Sea and God’s Omnipotence came into play. The Sea parted for the people to walk through.

As I said earlier, there is a God part and your part in solving a problem.

Faith in God must be accompanied by corresponding action.

In conclusion, I make bold to say: Prayer has its place. Prayer and faith-action are conjoined twins. Faith is seen by what is done in faith.

Development of Godly character has its place also. Work at it. Shine forth. Radiate God’s glory. Let people see that  good in you and be comforted and hopeful.

Let your participation in Divinity be productive for you.

Prayer cannot override godly character but rather it should enhance it.

Therefore, pray always. Then yield completely to the in-working of the Holy Spirit as He divinely controls and directs. Then press towards the goal by applying to your reality, the Biblical Principles He teaches you.

Only then can you  develop Christlikeness in worship, character and service to  attain the Divine Ideal.

Build good relationships with people.

Human beings are very relevant in God’s plan of salvation.

Learn to respect and appreciate people. Change your attitude. Show forth the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.

Let your character point people to God and not alienate them from God.

I need  to hear your own view point.

So what do you think? Can prayer override good character?

Post your comments below. Shalom.

LET US PRAY

ABBA we thank YOU for the entrance of your Word has brought light and understanding to us. We apologise for how we treated people in the past and cast aspersions on YOUR Holiness. We receive forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness.

We ask that your enabling grace help us to receive the lessons in character building from the Holy Spirit.

We declare that the prince of the world will no longer have a claim over us.

We affirm that as YOUR righteousness the communication of our faith is effectual and operative.  We  produce fruits worthy of repentance and of righteousness.

Our lives glorify you. We replicate Divinity in our world.

We order all blockades to be removed now, for we are overcomers in this life.

We receive more grace and grow in knowledge and understanding.

We receive  the anointing of the Holy Spirit that brings upliftment, progress, success and economic prosperity. And declare it is at work in ud now.

Our lives must bring praise to YOUR Holy name, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amein

Hephzibah Christly

My Personal Testimony:                                                                          Dear Reader, you may be alone, hungry, homeless and feeling quite lonely. Or perhaps you have recently suffered loss; and this season is making it all seem so much more unbearable. Please calm down, let my story give you hope.

Let me first reassure you that you are not alone. GOD is always with you. Know also that I am standing with you in prayers.

I understand where you are at and what you must be feeling. I have been there also.

The Reality:

On December 25, 2001, I was alone, hungry, sick, lonely and feeling depressed in my ‘new-home’.

That ‘new home’ happened to be an abandoned ‘public toilet’, which was located at what later became a mission-field.

On that fateful day, everywhere was quiet. Family and friends had no idea where I was! I had been forcefully evicted from my last housing because residents in the estates had objected to our doing ministry there.

Their objection was noise pollution and fear of the unknown.

I had my counselling office and the ministry center in a section of the house. The ministry specialized in healing and deliverance. People brought those who had addiction issues and spiritual problems to us.

And whenever sessions are ongoing, the demons often cried out as they get evicted. The sounds that came out were scary for my neighbors and they lodged a complaint.

I tried to relocate elsewhere, but could not because of financial constraints.

As a love and faith-based ministry, we could not lay any financial burdens on the people. Love constrained us and we could not fleece the sheep.

We lived by faith on God’s grace and the goodwill of those who gave back to us.

Until eventually, we were forcefully evicted, my team dispersed and I ended up in “Baba Shade’s Easy Life Public Toilet”; on December 22nd 2001.

Prior to that, I had gone into a wrong union on January 6^th.

And within three months, I was abandoned for my associate and became single again. Getting into that relationship was one of the worst mistakes of my life as a Christian leader.

And then the eviction came.

I was in disgrace and in deep shame.

It was as if God had failed me.

I felt rejected, betrayed, unloved and unwanted. And the worst was I felt I deserved all the bad things happening to me.

Burdened with a guilt-complex from the facts that I had made so many mistakes in the past; I was too ashamed to even seek help from family or from beneficiaries of past good-deeds.

If the truth be told, I was just tired of me. If I was suicidal, that was a good time. But thanks be to God, I still had a zest for life.

Because I did not want anyone throwing my past at me,  I chose to stand alone with God on this. Besides I did not want to freeload on any one.

I was all alone in my misery until GOD made room for me in that abandoned public toilet.

For bed, I had old cartons.

My companions were my Bibles, concordances and counselling books. I had no computer or phones. Neither did I have drinkable water or food. And of course I had no money!

That was the state of my life, that Christmas day over a decade ago.

In the deafening silence of that morning, I lifted up my voice in teary worship to GOD as I sat on the cold bare floor. And It was during the Harmattan season.

As I worshipped GOD in my misery, I thought of my kids who had been dispersed. I wondered if they would ever understand enough to forgive me for all my mistakes that had unsettled and made them homeless.

Some of my kids were squatting with friends, while others lived with hostile relatives/step moms.

It was a bad time for us.

We were in both physical and emotional torment. And my spiritual self-esteem had nose-dived.

It was as if GOD had forgotten to be merciful.

I worshipped and lamented: I lamented and worshipped until my tears dried up. Weary from hunger and thirst, I fell asleep!! Sleep??? Imagine that!

As scripture says, God gives sleep to His beloved. Since am still His beloved, He gave me sleep.

The Divine Visitation:

Anyways, as the sun was setting while yet drowsy from sleep, I heard voices outside the gate. While a voice was insisting someone was living in there: the other voices were saying to her that the place was an abandoned public toilet, and it was not possible anyone could be living there.

Apparently she forced her way in. As I sat up, I looked into the eyes of a daughter in Christ, Pastor Sylvia Wilcox!!!

How did she know where I was???

This is the story she narrated story to me.

After apologizing for coming later than she should have if she had obeyed the voice of the Spirit, she told how earlier in the day, she heard in her spirit that she should prepare food very quickly to take to me, because I needed food.

According to her, she was at first puzzled and thought maybe she had not heard correctly what the Holy Spirit had whispered to her. She just could not imagine how I could be needing food. So she waved it aside.  Because the last time she visited, she saw I was doing well and in a decent home. So she ignored the voice and went about preparing food for her family.

She was about to eat when she heard ABBA say to her again: “you are about to feast whereas your mom, my daughter, has been without food these past three days; get up and take her some food“.

This time, there was no atom of doubt in her heart Who was talking to her. She screamed and left off eating at once. She then explained to her mom and siblings what had transpired.

Through DIVINE directions, she was able to locate me that day in a place she had never been before.

She came to me with more than enough food, and left me with some money to tide me over for some days.

The unquestionable faithfulness of God

Having read the above story, can you now understand why I can boldly say GOD has not forgotten you???

Be encouraged my dear friend. Your light affliction is a necessary evil that will produce a glorious future for you; and for so many others through you.

From that “Easylife Public Toilet” which was owned and managed by Baba Shade of Morogbo; souls were won to God’s Kingdom. I started a Bible school which offered free courses to pioneering pastors and Itinerant evangelists.

Apart from the theological training center, we opened up a counseling clinic; planted the Love Ablaze Church; gave shelter to numerous homeless and distressed single-moms with their children. We also started a residential therapy center as well for victims of abuses and drug addictions.

Words fail me today as I look back and praise GOD.

We later renamed the public toilet: “CHRIST HIGH COMMISSION” for it became our Missionary headquarters. It was a very humble beginning indeed.

But who but God can bring out the best out of a very bad situation?

At that time, the owner of the public toilet had abandoned it because the sewage system was faulty. It stank! But that was better than sleeping in the streets. One of my counselees had paid a little fee for access to the place and that was what I inherited. Her name is Ann and she was a new convert and  was not aware of my issues.

From that humble beginning, we were favored by the community leader with land where we have developed some buildings for our missionary work.

I lived in that ‘EasyLife Public Toilet” for seven years until we were able to erect a mission-house which we moved into.

The things that exist came out of things that are unseen!

God rolled away the reproaches of my life from that place. He gave me a new beginning.

We confronted occult opposition and were targeted by priests of African Traditional Religions, but we kept the light of the Gospel burning.

We built-up a formidable spiritual warfare prayer team from the abused women and homeless youths, who sought refuge with us.

And our Nightly Intercessory prayers terrorized and uprooted the established forces of evil in that community.

We transformed the environment and destroyed ancestral occult strongholds and set their captives free. Lives got transformed and destinies changed

God is not partial He will visit you also:

This is a real life testimony of how GOD made something out of nothing.

Know you therefore that GOD does convert shame to fame and disgrace to great grace.

Be comforted my friend.

GOD will visit you as he did visit me and mine.

My kids are restored, stabilized, prospering and enjoying GOD’s supernatural favors and covenantal love.

I lost everything so that I might gain everything in HIM.

Today, am representing GOD’s love to a hurting world and adding value to people’s lives.  I am blessed to be a blessing.

Your change is come, in CHRIST name.

Reevaluate your circumstances and change your perspective. God is not finished with you yet. You may be down but you are definitely not out. You may be depressed but not deceased. When there is life, there is hope.

Refocus on God.  Hard roads lead to beautiful destinations. Change your focus to change your course.

The devil fought our fledgling ministry to the oppressed. He thought he had shut it down.

But today, through our various internet ministries, especially through ‘Spiritual Warfare And Tactics Squad-SWATS’ we are healing those who are oppressed of the devil and enforcing the victory of the Cross.

You will not be silenced, in Christ matchless name.

There is no limit to how far you can go when you go with God.

You are not the depressed: you are the blessed.  Rejoice for it is well with you.  God bless you and yours

Contact us:

I am a Christian Counselor and Missionary. I represent God’s love to hurting and troubled persons.

You can connect with me; Hephzibah Christly, on Facebook or Google+ or reach me through the following addresses:

https://spiritualwarrior2016.wordpress.com

Email: spiritualwarrior24@gmail.com

WhatsApp: +234 809 222 8509

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank You for all that we represent by this prayer. We lift up the sick, oppressed, lonely and rejected to You now. We ask that your mercy  prevails over their circumstances, in Christ merciful name.

For those hungry, cold and homeless, visit them with your favor, tender mercies and loving kindness. Send supernatural supplies to them.

We command the yokes of oppression to be destroyed and the burdens of guilt and repeated failures are to be lifted of their shoulders.

Restore them to greater glory, establish them in their own homes, provide economic blessings also for them and fill their lives with love, joy and peace, in Christ most Holy name.

Thank you for always hearing us and for never forsaking us, in Jesus mighty name. Amein.

Shalom! Enjoy the holidays. – Hephzibah Christly

Prayer for Insight and Understanding:   “Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding” (Proverbs 2: 3; NLT).The prayer points are in sections, and easy to flow with.                    Section 1 “Cry out for insight” : Insight is “(the ability to have) a clear, deep, and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation” (Cambridge English Dictionary).      Cry out for a divine re-imaging: the grace to see and act from a Divine perspective.

• Pray God to imprint the image of your expectations in your heart.
• Cry out against all attempts to complicate and cause our lives to be problematic. The forces of evil that have been clouding our minds and filling our thoughts with negatives should leave now.
• Affirm that we have the mind of Christ and are focused to doing God’s perfect will.
• Affirm that the era of error has ended in our lives for we have been imparted with the wisdom of GOD.
• Declare we will not enter a new season carrying negative burdens. We zone out negative influences and anything that is inconsistent with or contradicts God’s Word.
• We receive insight into God’s plans and programs for the upcoming seasons of our lives. We affirm that we are sensitive to the moves of God’s Spirit.
• Proclaim that by the enabling grace of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we frustrate every attempt to ensnare, confuse and destabilize us through our senses.

Section 2 “Ask for Understanding”

Understanding is Perception. It is the ability to comprehend.

The sons of Issachar had understanding of the times. They knew what they had to do. And all Israel came to them for directions. (See 1 Chronicles 12:32).

Understanding gives you the advantage over peers.

• Ask for the grace to be receptive and flexible, and not fixate on how it must happen. Because, fixating on our peculiar expectation hinders prayer.
• Pray for the ability to not focus energy on what is not profitable and then lose out on God’s promises.
• Disassociate yourself from ill-advised and ill-timed expression of anger. Do not be like Michal, David’s beloved wife who did not recognize the time of her visitation. David came to bless her but she allowed her frustrations and anger rub her of the opportunity to be blessed (Read 2 Samuel 6:14-16, 20). And she died childless.
• Like the sons of Issachar, you have understanding of the times, in Christ name.

Section 3: Utilizing Understanding

“He changes times and seasons” (Daniel 2:21; ESV).

Seasons are part of life’s circle. We need insight and knowledge from God’s Word for us to transition the various seasons appropriately. Like Daniel and Christ Jesus did, it is appropriate embark on a fast during the season of transition.

• Ask for more grace in order to utilize the understanding of our season of change.
• Affirm that as the righteous we keep moving forward, and have severed the attachment to the past.
• We disconnect emotionally from past failures, abusers, rejections, trauma, properties, relationships and every other thing that causes stagnation.
• We resist the pull to the past. We declare that we are committed to the future.
• Ask for the release of the supernatural understanding that will establish you as praise upon the earth: Scripture says that; “By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established” (Proverbs 24:3).
• Ask for divine inspiration so that you will not be ‘made subject’ against the will of expectation. (Read Romans 8:18-26).
• Pray that your desire to be mentored will not subjugate you to persons against God’s plan for your life.
• Ask for more enabling grace to make you understand the direction your life should go, and the grace with which to walk accordingly.
• Pray to receive great ideas that would release favor into your businesses, relationships, vocation and ministries
• Ask God to use you mightily to showcase His glory in accordance with 1 Peter 2: 9 which states that you have been chosen to proclaim the excellences of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
• Ask that the Spirit of the LORD, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD rest fully on you (Isaiah 11:2).
• Ask for more grace in order to flow with the intuitive insights GOD is releasing to you.

Pray in tongues and worship God some more. Be thankful for the prayer points you have received. Shalom! Shalom! Have a great new season, in Christ glorious name.

hephzibah christly