I have discovered that there is a serious misunderstanding when it comes to prayer. I had an awakening that it was much, much more than what I had been led to believe. I received a challenge around the middle of the year of our Lord 1999 from a member of the Rehoboth Baptist Church named Djuana Jackson Tomlin who, at the time, was wrestling on how to pray effectively. She came to me as her pastor and asked, "Will you teach us about prayer?" I somewhat ignored her and said within my spirit, "Everybody know how to pray." All she needed to do is get on her knees at night before she goes to bed and pray. That was my understanding because that was the way I was brought up, as a child. My parent taught me before I went to bed to say my prayers. I would pray, "Lord, lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Now bless Mama and bless Daddy, amen."
Evidently she had been doing that and more, but she was still unfulfilled. So she just kept on troubling me with the question, "When are you going to teach us how to pray?" This went on for some four to five months. Upon her persistence to be taught on prayer, a study of teaching on prayer began in December 1999 on the topic of "What is Prayer" and the preaching on prayer began in January 2000 with a seven-part series of sermons entitled "Barriers to Answered Prayer." The Holy Spirit continued to inspire sermons on prayer for ten months. The teachings on prayer continued for better than eleven months. What God revealed to me concerning prayer revolutionized my life.
