The Seven Most Important Things in Prayer
Part 2
Chapter 13
John 16:23-24 (KJV) 23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
So 1st, Pray in Jesus’ Name.
Mark 11:23-24 (KJV) 23 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. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
2nd, Believe that you receive them.
We’re going to talk some more about believing today.
Head Faith vs Heart Faith
Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) 1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
Philippians 3:12-15 (AMP) 12 Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. 13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. 15 So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.
So what Paul is saying in verse 15 is that just like children grow and learn naturally over time, we won’t become perfect in walking by faith overnight, so we as Christians grow in our faith. But we have to press on to lay hold of and make our own the truths taught to us in the Word.
In Acts 27 we can read of the account of Paul being shipped back to Rome for trial, the winds and storms had been beating them for a long while, and an Angel of the Lord appeared to Paul and told him to fear not that all souls on the ship would be spared. The sailors were ready to jump ship and try to swim for their lives, even though Paul had told them the word of the Lord. He had to stand firm and tell them that if they jumped ship they wouldn’t be spared. He told them they needed to eat, thanked the Lord for the bread. . .
How many times have we “jumped ship” because of our unbelief in the middle of a storm? The Word says that “when you pray believe,” doesn’t matter if the storm is still raging around us.
So we find in, John 10:10 that. . .
John 10:10 (KJV) 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10 (AMP) 10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
John 10:10 (NLT2) 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
Do a Word search on “thief” and read the verses in context and we find that the thief is the world, the devil, and the flesh. In the verbiage that we are using the “flesh” is the natural man using the five senses, or “head” knowledge. Are we allowing what we feel or hear in our flesh to dominate our belief more than our belief in the Word of God and what it says. Are we allowing the unbelief of the world, which may be our church, or our family, to dominate our belief more than the Word of God.
“We need to constantly be reminded about spiritual things because everything around us in this natural world is trying to pull us back to walk by natural, human sense knowledge, or head faith, instead of by spiritual heart faith.
Many times, everything in your everyday life is so natural that it will pull you back into walking in the natural instead of walking by faith. If you’re not careful, the church to which you go can also try to do that. Some churches take faith out of you, instead of putting faith into you.
Some people will also try to make you doubt and try to make you walk by head knowledge or sense knowledge. But we must learn to walk by Bible faith, or heart faith; that is, by faith that is of the heart or spirit, not the head. I wouldn’t tell you something that isn’t scriptural. And I wouldn’t encourage you to practice something that I haven’t practiced and that doesn’t work.
Not only is it true of healing, but it is true in every other aspect of life. No matter what the need is — spiritual, physical, material, or financial — this is the way you receive from God. Faith is what pleases God (Heb. 11:6).”
Hagin, Kenneth E. Bible Prayer Study Course . Faith Library Publications. Kindle Edition.
Hebrews 11:6 (AMP) 6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
Stir Yourself Up in Faith
If we will start and continue to declare the Word of God’s promises over our lives, everyday all the time if we will learn to speak faith and to NOT speak unbelief, we will see our faith grow and our prayers answered.
The Word says. . .
James 1:5-8 (KJV) 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
We must build up our faith to the point that when unbelievers are around us, we can stand firm on the Word of God and not waver. When we waver we are being double minded, James equates double mindedness with being an adulterer and adulteress.
James 4:4-8 (KJV) 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James goes on to instruct us that if we submit ourselves to God, and resist the devil, he will flee from us. We don’t have to be defeated, if we’ll say what the Word says. We MUST exercise our authority in the Name of Jesus, claim the Word over our lives, the lives of our families, the lives of our churches, the lives of our communities. We claim the Word. Just like Jesus first did, while being tempted by the devil in the desert, take our dominion by claiming the Word. It is an action.
Believing is Not Hoping or Struggling in Prayer
“Prayer is a matter of acting on God’s Word. It’s a matter of believing God’s Word. Certainly, we have to stand our ground against the devil. But we call that the “. . . good fight of faith . . .” (1 Tim. 6:12). It’s not a fleshly struggle. It’s a good fight of faith because if we’re standing on God’s Word, we win!
The Master said that when you pray, believe that you receive your desires, and you shall have them (Mark 11:24). And if you believe you have received, you can go to bed and go to sleep. Even if the situation looks contrary to what God’s Word says, all you really have to do is pray and believe God. Then go to bed at night and sleep peacefully because you know God heard you, and you know you’ve received your answer. You will be able to do this if you believe God’s Word. Jesus said you could.”
Hagin, Kenneth E. Bible Prayer Study Course . Faith Library Publications. Kindle Edition.
A Table of Blessings for Us In the Presence of Our Enemies
“The world is an enemy and the devil is an enemy, and the devil is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). The flesh, or the carnal nature, is an enemy (Rom. 8:7) and we’re living in the flesh. We have to contend with all of these things while we live on this earth. The only way to get away from them is to die and get out of this world.
It’s not scriptural to pray that you’ll never have any more trouble with the devil. But you can learn to take authority over the devil. The Bible says, “. . . Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). You can learn to do something about the devil — exercise your authority over him in Jesus’ Name.
The Bible also says that God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies (Ps. 23:5). That means right in the presence of the devil God prepares a table of blessing for us! In other words, the devil is always present in this world we live in, but he does not have dominion over us as believers.
You can’t get away from the devil without dying and going on to heaven. Also, the flesh, or the carnal nature, is an enemy (Rom. 8:7). Jesus Himself said that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41; Mark 14:38). The flesh has not yet been sanctified or redeemed. Therefore, you must daily keep your flesh under the dominion of your spirit (1 Cor. 9:27). “
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (AMP) 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. 25 Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon wither, but we [do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness] that cannot wither. 26 Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary. 27 But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].
“Keeping the flesh under the dominion of your spirit is an ongoing process. In other words, we never get to the place as long as we are in our bodies, where our flesh doesn’t need to be put under subjection to our spirit.”
“So these are our enemies — the world, the flesh, and the devil. But, thank God, God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies (Ps. 23:5). Right in the presence of these enemies, we can sit at the table of victory and deliverance with Jesus!
Look at the second most important thing about prayer in relation to our enemies: When you pray, believe that you receive your desires, and you shall have them. Right in the face of adverse circumstances, you can believe God’s Word. You can believe you receive according to Mark 11:24.
I’ve prayed for loved ones and Mark 11:24 has worked for me. A man has authority in his own house. God deals with households (Acts 16:15,31). For example, that centurion in Matthew chapter 8 had authority in his house and came to Jesus on behalf of his servant (Matt. 8:5-13). The man in his household was just a servant, but the centurion had authority over him.
The centurion came and told Jesus that his servant was lying at home sick. Jesus said He would come to the centurion’s house, but the centurion said he was not worthy for Jesus to come to his home. The centurion asked Jesus to speak the Word only and his servant would be healed. Jesus told the centurion to go his way and as he had believed, so it would be done unto him.”
Hagin, Kenneth E. Bible Prayer Study Course . Faith Library Publications. Kindle Edition.
Don’t Take Sides Against the Word
As we studied before, if you’re going to keep saying your faith isn’t working, you’re taking sides against the Word; you’re not walking by faith. You’re not believing you have received. You’re believing you didn’t receive and that is what undoes your prayer.
Keep making declarations of the Word in FAITH. Build up BELIEF, not doubt. It’s amazing how much faith believers can have in the wrong thing. Even making statements of “I can’t believe it!” after God does something great. Why, can’t we believe it? Why does it surprise us? Because there is a part of our flesh not brought under subjection to the Spirit in our faith. Keep making declarations of faith. Stand on the promises of God.
“People should take the faith they exercise in the devil and use it instead to believe in the right thing — what God has said in His Word. Then they’ll get positive results.
I’ve had people ask me to pray for them because they believed they were getting the flu. They had already made the statement that they believed they were getting the flu. Why don’t they take that belief and put it on the positive side and believe that they won’t get the flu?
People can pray with them and believe they are healed. But they’ll still have the flu if they keep on believing they’ll have it. Jesus said you can have what you believe for (Mark 11:24). You can believe right, so do it. It’s right believing and right confessing in this area of prayer that get results. We can believe God hears us and that we receive when we pray.”
Hagin, Kenneth E. Bible Prayer Study Course . Faith Library Publications. Kindle Edition.
Number Three: Forgive If You Have Ought Against Any
Mark 11:25-26 (KJV) 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
This is point number three. The third most important thing in prayer is to forgive if you have ought against any. Prayer won’t work unless you have a forgiving heart.
Mark 11:25
Note on Mark 11:25
This same truth is presented in Matthew 6:12, 14-15, 18:23-35; and Luke 6:37.
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 11 at Mark 11:25: Qualifications on believing and receiving are mentioned elsewhere in Scripture (see note 49 at Matthew 7:7). This verse and Mark 11:26, which follow the often quoted Mark 11:23-24, also give restrictions on receiving answers to prayer. Un-forgiveness in our hearts will keep our prayers from being answered.
We should forgive others as quickly as it takes to make the decision to pray. The Greek word for “when” in this verse is “HOTAN,” and it means “whenever” (Strong’s Concordance). When we stand praying, we must forgive if we have “ought” (Greek - “EI TIS,” which means “if any” [Strong’s Concordance]) against anyone.
When we are offended or hurt, we often feel justified in holding a grudge. The Old Testament Law expressed this when it stated, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:23-25). Until the offense was paid, those offended did not feel free to forgive. However, God dealt with everyone’s offenses by placing sin upon the perfect Savior who was judged in place of every sinner of all time. To demand that others now earn our forgiveness is not Christlike. Jesus died for every person’s sins (1 John 2:2), extending forgiveness to us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8), and we should do the same (Ephesians 4:32).
It is doubtful that those who refuse to forgive have ever experienced forgiveness themselves. That would be comparable to the servant who was forgiven over $3 billion and yet refused to forgive his fellow servant who owed him $3,000 (Matthew 18:23-34). The forgiveness that we have received from the Lord is infinitely greater than any forgiveness we could ever be asked to extend toward others. Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Mark 11:26
Note on Mark 11:26
The Amplified Bible put this verse in italics, implying that it is not in the original manuscript. The New International Version, The Message, The Living Bible, Weymouth New Testament, and the Wuest translation eliminate this verse altogether. But this same point is made in Matthew 6:12, 14-15, 18:23-35; and Luke 6:37, and these verses are included in those translations.
Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.
“A person told me (Kenneth) one time that he had some prayers answered, but that he still had some things in his heart against people. I told him that he was a liar. I told him that if he could pray and get results with unforgiveness in his heart, then Jesus lied. But I’d believe that this man lied before I’d believe that Jesus lied.
I told him that some good things may have happened, but it wasn’t his praying that caused them to happen. They were probably natural things that might have happened anyway.
No one can have an effective prayer life and have anything in his heart toward another. You can’t have revenge in your heart, and you can’t have hatred in your heart. You can’t have that old “get even” spirit and continue to prosper.
And you’re not responsible for that other person’s life; you’re responsible for your life. In other words, another person’s heart and what is in it can’t hinder you, but what you have in your heart against another can and will hinder you. That means any grudge or ill will at all will hinder your faith.
You have to guard your heart. You have to watch your inward man with all diligence (Prov. 4:23). Do not allow a root of bitterness, a bit of envy, or a bit of revenge to get into your heart. It will wreck your spiritual life. It will stall your prayer life. It will mar your faith. It will eventually shipwreck you.
It costs much more to be out of the will of God than it does to be in the will of God. Being out of the will of God will cost you your health. It will cause sickness and sometimes premature death. It’ll cost you money and rest.
Don’t ever let a root of bitterness grow in your heart because you have refused to forgive someone who has offended you. Follow the Bible’s command to “forgive one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). As you do, you will keep the channels open for your prayers to be answered and the blessings of God to come into your life.”
Hagin, Kenneth E. Bible Prayer Study Course . Faith Library Publications. Kindle Edition.
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