Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  --Mark 1:35

When Jesus was on earth, His message was that the Kingdom of God was at hand, repent and believe. He went about preaching the good news of the Kingdom everywhere He went. He was the King, and He had to come to the planet to bring the Kingdom into being.

While He was on the Earth, Jesus showed the disciples how to pray, teaching them to pray as He prayed, because they had asked Him to do so. His life, including His prayer life, was an example to them and to us.  Now only did He show them how to pray but also He taught them what to pray for. The prayers of Jesus, along with those of His disciples, helped the Kingdom of God to actually come about.

Prayer does several things.

First: Prayer Brings Manifestation.  This means that even though you are in a season of breakthrough, you are going to have to put some time in prayer before you get the full manifestation. For you to walk in breakthrough--whether in your church or in your personal life--you are going to have to help usher it in through your prayers.

Second: Prayer Brings Direction.  Jesus was getting wisdom from God about the twelve that He would call to be His apostles, and God gave Him that direction. Obviously, God was calling him to a special time of prayer; He was saying, "Come up here."   Whatever your station in life, you'll always find reasons not to pray. If you're a parent with young kids, they'll keep you awake at night and tired during the day.

If you have a demanding job, that job will require all the energy you give it. There will always be some reason that you can't find time to pray.  Satan, of course, is behind all those reasons not to pray, because when you pray you receive more power, and more power means he is in trouble.  There will always be turbulence when you fly from one level to a higher one.

Third: Prayer Brings Anointing.  How did Jesus get that anointed? He prayed. Prayer brings forth the anointing. Prayer causes the anointing to manifest in your life. Now, holiness helps, too, because sin will short circuit the anointing, but if you live holy and then spend time with God in prayer, that anointing will rest on you like a coat. You can resonate with the anointing because you spend time in prayer. When you get in God's presence, God rubs that Holy Ghost anointing on you.

The more you stay in prayer, the more the anointing stays on you. Prayer opens the door for breakthrough in your life and in the lives of those whom you touch!

So be like Jesus and pray as He prayed!

Pastor Andre Butler is senior pastor of Faith Christian Center, located in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia area. Pastor Andre is also the founder and president of Andre Butler Ministries and Six20 The Gathering Campus Ministry. He is a devoted husband and father of three girls. For more information about Pastor Andre Butler, log onto www.andrebutler.tv or www.myspace.com/pastorandrebutler *Pastor Andre Butler is a 2009 StreamingFaith.com Guest Columnist.

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