*Revelations 5:8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people*. NLT
The Holy Spirit reminded me about the fulfillment of some prayers I and a brother prayed back in 2006/2007 while on campus. It was a time of personal prayer revival for me. Those days, myself and brother Joshua entered into a prayer agreement at certain times of the night by the roadside in front of our hostel.
God used brother Joshua to lead that personal revival in my life and till date, I'm still benefiting from that revival. At that time, it seemed foolish to me that bro Joshua led me to pray about marriage, ministry, children and other issues that weren't pertinent at that time. I did not know I was crediting my prayer bank. We prayed all manners of prayers that seemed irrelevant at that time as students but now I understand.
I expected our prayers to centre around academics and other immediate areas of concern. Though we prayed for spiritual growth, insight and other very important things too but then it sounded strange whenever he delved into issues that were in my future then. I can say that there were things we prayed about that I'm yet to see because I'm not in the season for those things yet but prayers have gone ahead of me. However, in this present season, I can see the fulfillment of some of those prayers and I'm grateful to God that someone led me to credit my prayer account for a time I'll be needing them.
In all, I learnt a great lesson. We all have a prayer account with God. There's a prayer bank with an account that can be credited with prayers from time to time. When you save money in a bank, you're saving for the day you'll need it to meet a need. Same applies to prayer.
There are prayers that don't meet your immediate needs yet the Spirit of God might lead you to pray such prayers. You may be wondering the relevance of those prayer points to your life in the immediate. What the Holy Spirit is doing is to help you credit your prayer bank awaiting the day you'll need it. The day of withdrawal is coming sooner than you think.
You can pray about the next season of your life long before you enter into it. It is not too late to pray for the next 20-30 years of your life. That's not anxiety, that's wisdom. Often, we miss God in certain areas of life because we haven't credited our prayer bank sufficiently. Our spiritual preparation for those seasons is not up to par.
*Some singles only pray about marriage a few years or months to marriage whereas they should have saturated that season of their life with prayers long before getting there*.
In the 17th chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus credited the prayer bank of the church: *"I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me*"(John 17:21 NLT). You and I are beneficiaries of that prayer he prayed over 2000 thousand years ago. Jesus saw ahead and prayed ahead.
Reading the annals of men that prayed, it was revealed that men like Apostle Ayo Babalola, Savonarola and the likes prayed for a time and season they knew they won't witness. They credited prayer bank of the church and the nation ahead for those that might need them.
Some of us are enjoying the prayers of men who didn't know us. What stops us from crediting the prayer bank of our families, children, church and ministry?
*True prayer doesn't affect time only, it affects eternity*.
That's why believers of old often prayed about eternal issues and ending well in the race long before they got to the finish line. You can pray for your unborn children, your grandchildren, your old age, where you want to live, that ministry you've not started, and other issues.
*Prepare the next phase and season of your life with prayer*.
Father, I receive the grace to credit my prayer account in Jesus name. Amen