“Pastor, I prayed that rain should not fall during my wedding, yet it rained heavily and a lot of things were affected. Why didn’t God answer?”

A common response or consolation would be “God has a reason” or “God used it for your good”. Ofcourse, both answers still works fine, since nobody can question God. However, let’s approach the matter with spiritual intelligence.

Did it ever occur to you that while you were praying against the rain because of your wedding, a farmer somewhere was praying for the rain because of his crops? Now think about it, which one will God answer?

Doctors want patients, and as weird as this may sound, they pray for sick people to come to their hospital. On the other hand, people pray against sickness, which means they don’t want to spend money on health care. Which one will God answer?

Why does a coffinmaker produce caskets and open his shop everyday? Yet people pray not to die on a daily basis. Why does a lawyer pray for cases yet people pray not to get into troubles that will require a lawyer?

Before you answer any of that, remember that God is no respecter of persons. In other words, there’s a dimension of God that doesn’t consider feelings or reputations, a dimension where He acts as Judge, a dimension where he who presents a stronger petition wins.

When matters of advantage and disadvantage arises, you need to be aware that you can’t command things to your advantage just like that. Although there’s a level of yielding to God where this is naturally possible, but most of the time you’d need to petition the court of heaven, which means presenting your case before God and letting Him judge between you and the other believer who wants what you don’t want.

There were cases where I literally commanded rain to stop and it stopped immediately, but there are other times when my command felt empty, because the rain became heavier. The rain may have stopped because I was doing a kingdom assignment that carried an anointing that rainfall respected, but as long as I’m not on duty, then I’d have to present a petition to the courts of heaven if I don’t want rain to fall. Remember how Elijah commanded rain to cease for 3 years? That’s a possibility when you’re on a divine assignment. But when you’re not on an assignment, you have to pray about it.

The reason why you have to pray or petition God about it is because you were never given natural dominion over rain, or even the sun. So anything you don’t have control over, the wisdom is to petition God for or against them.

Yesterday I told you that a prayer of petition is simply a request made to God on the basis of His word. I also told you that a prayer of petition can come in two forms, supplication or intercession. While supplication is the request you make for yourself based on God’s word, intercession is the request you make for others based on God’s word.

Isaiah 41:21 says, “Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob”. What this means is that whoever produces a stronger reason between both believers would win. For instance, if a Christian is careless about his or her health, then the doctor has a good reason to receive answers from God. You may be praying against sickness, but you’re violating God’s greatest wish, which is for you to be in good health as you prosper. So if God has to answer the doctor’s prayer just so the doctor can help you stay healthy, He will do it. On the other hand, if you’re not violating God’s greatest wish for your health, then it’s very unlikely that the doctor will win.

If a Christian drives recklessly, then the coffinmaker may have a deal any moment. My point is, you’d lose your chances of winning if you violate God’s laws.

Remember how God sent the prophet to inform Hezekiah of his coming death. As soon as he heard the news, we all know how he petitioned God and won extra years. God had good reasons why Hezekiah should die, but apparently, Hezekiah had better reasons.

So, the next time you want or don’t want something that isn’t within your control, present a petition. When God told David that his son would die, David presented a petition. But apparently, God’s reason was stronger and David lost the child. Don’t just assume that God used it for your good, present a petition and ensure you win.

Bishop Oyedepo’s last daughter was sick and had defiled medical treatment. According to him, he searched his Bible and found 5 scriptures he engaged in prayer, and that’s how his daughter regained her health. Although this is a case between himself and the devil, but we have to understand that whoever presents a stronger reason wins. Two Christians may appear for a job interview, they may both be intellectually competent, but the one who will get the job is the one who presents a better reason to God.

GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS…

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

#EmekaAnslem