Meeting: Sunday School
Date: 31st May, 2026
Topic: Prayer of Faith
Minister: Pastor David Kilanko
We will be looking at the burden: Prayer of Faith. God wants us to be able to maximize and stand in faith concerning our lives. Papa Hagin, by the help of the Spirit, was able to identify the different kinds of prayer. For example, praying for children is an intercessory prayer, praying for utterance for a minister is a prayer of supplication, and praying that what is lacking will be supplied. For every kind of prayer, there are different rules and governing principles. We need to understand the governing principles of every kind of prayer, else we will pray amiss.
The prayer of faith is a prayer of petition; Papa Hagin described it as a prayer that changes things. God expects us to harness it when we gather corporately, but much more in our personal closets. There is a responsibility that heaven expects that we be saddled with, especially for certain promises in the scripture. We can actually stand and change things; it’s an ordination that God gives. Some promises are certain and have their Amen; they are irrevocable or sorted already. You may not just know them or believe them, but from God’s angle, it is done. For instance, healing, protection, and finances. You must be able to key into it. But if we don’t understand the different kinds of prayer, we can pray amiss and break laws.
Supplication is a prayer for the supply of that which is lacking at the point of prayer. God supplies based on our lack and what we need. The prayer of commitment is a prayer of dedication; when you don’t want to rely on your own strength concerning a matter (Luke 22:42). Many victories and successes in the place of prayer depend on how much we harness the principle of the different kinds of prayer. There is also the prayer of praise and worship. There is also the prayer of agreement, where we hold someone else and agree on a matter. In a prayer of agreement, all parties must know what the agreement is based on. We can also pray in the Spirit, which means praying in tongues. It differs from diverse kinds of tongues, which is a gift of the spirit whose operation is such that one can be speaking a tongue that is an understanding to another person.
(Mark 11:23-24) – “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” This is God’s word to us. The problem is never on the giving end (from God), but on the receiving end. One major problem we have is our lack of God’s word. If you don’t have God’s word for a matter, you may not be able to believe the promises concerning it, and you definitely won’t be able to receive them; these are principles we must keep to if we will receive answers to our prayers.
Knowing God’s word is knowing His will for your life. Without His word, you are prone to being deceived. Just as you must know why no curse can stand against you by reason of Christ nailing it to the cross. If you don’t know God’s word concerning you, you would be running helter-skelter. What makes a curse look true is that we don’t know the provision of God’s word concerning that matter. Often, information overload erodes belief in the word in our hearts.
(3 John 1:2) – “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” – The word rendered as ‘wish’ in this scripture is ‘earnest desire’.
(James 5:13-15) – “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” Affliction is not supposed to be common, hence the word, ‘is any..’. Calling the elders of the church is majorly for those who have not grown in the faith. But God doesn’t want us to remain there. If we know God’s promise for us, we would be able to maximize His promise for us. Even for the things God has promised us, there are hindrances. Yes, it is the father’s goodwill to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32), but scripture also says that only the violent take it by force (Matt. 11:12). This means there are contentions, activities, and realities in the spirit and in the natural that might want to prevent you from accessing the kingdom.
The reason it is difficult to choose God is that the things of God can be received only by faith. For example, Meekness is one of the indicative natures that you have come into the knowledge of Christ. What made Moses so loved by God was his meekness of heart. Many times, our problem is that the things of God are spiritually discerned.
In addressing some hindrances, it is either that we don’t know God’s word enough. Also, there can be a time taken between actualization and materialization. The difference between when a thing has been done and when it manifests is when Satan takes advantage of us. We would need to stand and contend. Something can be done, and one can still lose it. So, we should not let go of God’s promises until it manifests.
(Mark 11:11-14, 19-24) – “And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.” “And when even was come, he went out of the city. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
(Matt. 21:17-22) – “And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.which is done And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
The sense that heaven was trying to give in the scriptures above is that there can be differences in the time of manifestation. One account of scripture reported that the tree withered the next day, and the other said it started withering immediately. You need to have a sense that there might be a difference in the time of manifestation, but its actualization is always settled. Many times, the delay in manifestation is to try our hearts.
In 1 Kings 18:1, 17-21, God had said it from verse one that He would send rain. In 1 Kings 18: 37-41, Elijah first had to kill all the prophets of Baal before he talked about the coming of the rain. Two opinions speak of a double mind. The prophets of Baal represent the cause of the double mind. Our prophets of Baal can be doubts, information overload, or even the opinions of loved ones. All these must be slain. Doubts will always be around, but as Papa Hagin said, faith will work when it is in your heart, along with doubt in your head. That means doubt will always want to linger, but as long as faith is in the heart, it will work.
(1 Tim. 6:12) – “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
(2 Tim. 4:7) – “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” The fight is to collect faith. We should be able to defend the ground of faith like the man of David, whose sword cleaved to his hand. (Heb. 10:23). You need to get the prophet of Baal out of the way, or else we will remain in doubt. That the answer did not come does not invalidate the word of God. God wants to bring us away from the place where we call Him a liar.
Another hindrance is mental ascent. This is just believing what God said with our heads, but our hearts do not truly believe. Our confession and actions must not be wrong, or else we would hinder our prayer. (Mark 11:23:24) – “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” After praying, your words and following action matters. Faith needs to be part of your daily speech. You must continually speak faith. Actions that contradict faith will always stand in the way of materialization.
The failure of faith is unbelief because God’s word never fails. When we pray, we must understand that it doesn’t end with prayer; our actions and confession must align with our prayer. Our well-being isn’t negotiable, and God doesn’t use our health to afflict us. He doesn’t use affliction to deal with us. So, we must continually stand in faith concerning our circumstances and situations.
Pastor Laide Rounding Up
Faith must be in the heart even when doubt is in the head. Don’t let the facts in your head get into your heart. Guide your heart, for that is where the reality of God’s word is. Ensure God’s word is in your heart. When God’s word is in your heart, you will laugh at the facts in your head because there is a greater reality that you know you have that is in your heart, that is in the spirit. You have to war to stay in faith. Faith is not passive but active; it is active by your word and your action. Faith without works is dead. Faith without action is dead.
Many refuse to add action to faith. Sometimes, for God to bring what He wants to you, He asks you to let go of what you are holding. It is not that He needs it, but He wants to erase your dependence on it; He wants to shift the balance of your life from what is seen to the unseen. That is where the fight of faith comes. To stand on what God has said and what you believe, in spite of everything. Like the blind man whom Jesus told to go and wash at the pool of Siloam, he believed, and that’s why he obeyed. Many times, we believe until there’s a demand for us to build our lives on what we believe.
For a starter, don’t try to use faith in the midst of unbelief; learn to isolate yourself. The fight of faith is to stand on what God has said in spite of anything. You believe until you are able to build your life on what you believe. Unbelief can dampen your faith. Even Jesus could not do many things in the face of unbelief, as unbelief douses the power of God. The proof of believing is that I can put all my eggs in that basket; it can’t fail because my trust is in Him.
The A.C.T of Faith is Action, Confession, and Thanksgiving. Many times, we are filled with complaints and murmuring about a problem. Instead of complaining, let confession and thanksgiving be made on the matter. In the place of thanksgiving, you will receive wisdom of conduct.
Some of us, in believing God, become fools. God can heal you, and you damage the body again because of a lack of wisdom. Faith doesn’t mean you should be foolish. And that you are acting contrary to what you were feeling before doesn’t mean you should go back to bad habits. One of the things God does is give wisdom for wholeness in the place of thanksgiving. Wholeness is different from healing. Gratitude opens the door for wholeness. There are certain wisdoms to help you keep what God has done. Otherwise, you can lose it. One of them is Thanksgiving. When you are thankful, there is wisdom for you to abide in life. The wisdom to keep your way so that the wicked one won’t afflict you is in the place of gratitude. Many people return to their former lives instead of using their lives to serve Jesus, and their ailments return. There is a way God wants us to live so the evil one won’t come to us. It is not wisdom to go back to a life that caused the ailment you were healed of. God gives us the wisdom to live right and free. Your action, confession, and your thanksgiving secure your lot in faith.
THE END