I really believe Satan has confused the issue and purposes of prayer. After all if one can muddy the waters you can prevent the truth from being discerned. After all prayer today has taken on more of a petitional character. We come to God with a long list of needs whether they are our own or for others. Petitional prayer has its place and is important but prayer for wants are only part of the issue. There is another form of prayer which also has its place. This is praying in the Holy Spirit. Prayer in the Holy Spirit allows one to speak in a heavenly language. This allows the Holy Spirit to infiltrate spiritual forces and it begins to change things in us and in the heavenlies. It to is an important weapon in the arsenal of prayer. There is a third type of prayer which I believe is probably the hardest and yet if done correctly the most transformational. The prayer of suffering. This prayer of suffering is similar to prayer with fasting. The prayer of suffering simply means that you give up that which is most important to you. One of the reasons prayer with fasting works against the spiritual realm is that it puts the body to death. I won’t go into the reasons for that as it covers a different territory but lets just say that prayer with suffering can be very powerful indeed.

But I will go even further and state that prayer and suffering alone still will not bring about the spiritual changes alone. If it did then those who beat themselves with sticks or whips would be among the most holy of men. Here is my belief. Voluntary suffering comes in several forms. First there are options such as fasting or giving up certain foods that are important to you for a time. Then there is fasting from sex. This too is talked about in the scriptures. Another very tough form of fasting is of our time. Everyone of us has things that are important to us. We want things to go our way and people around us want us to give them time when they want it.

Yet again all forms of voluntary fasting or suffering with prayer may or may not have lasting value if our heart is still not in the right place. There is a purpose for prayer especially in the beginning and that is to help us understand the spiritual process by which we fight. Say what? Explaining prayer, true prayer is this. When a person accepts Christ into their life He becomes their cornerstone. That’s just the beginning. How can one build on a foundation other than Christ? It can’t be done.

True prayer begins to build on that cornerstone with one main purpose at first. To build a basic foundation so that this person overcomes all powers, all authorities, all principalities....to the degree that this person will need to fight. Prayer goes on to overcome all obstacles in our life including the flesh, doubts, fears, uncertainties and the law. This prayer goes on, if we are willing to pay the price, all the way up to Satan. Once we overcome him then God will decide if we are willing to go even further on in our spiritual walk. Trust me there are levels beyond what most of you can possibly comprehend.

But this kind of prayer we are talking about is not easy for it is known as the prayer of suffering. I do not believe God will grant us the fullness of this prayer without complete dedication. Few people have the courage or the desire to pray for more then an hour a day. Fewer people see the rationale behind it. I suspect fewer yet can comprehend the things God has in store for those who love Him if they will spend time with Him. And that is the true secret of prayer. Realizing who you are speaking with and allowing Him to speak with you. That is when real change takes place.

This brings us to Sanctuary. God has made clear to me that the secret to the success of this venture is one thing and that is prayer. Prayer will transform us and transform our circumstances. Sometimes it takes wars and battles fighting not just against ourselves but against the powers of this world. Unfortunately we also face friendly fire along the way. But God knows the desires of our heart. In a recent conversation he showed me that many are poverty minded. Not just those who live in poverty but think small. We must overcome this tiny thinking in order to influence the world. I can tell you if you hang around God long enough your thinking will truly be transformed and you will never be the same again. This is one reason why prayer will become a part of the lives of the people who work on this project even if the first few months are spent in training people to hear God for themselves.