PRAYER
10 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
REGARDING PRAYER
- Decide what you want from God
- Get the Scriptures that definitely promise you these things
- If the Scriptures don't promise you what you want, you shouldn't be praying for them.
- You shouldn't want anything that the Word of God says you shouldn't have.
- You shouldn't pray beyond your faith. That is for more than you can truly believe for.
- It's the Word of God that gives you faith. So, if you are lacking faith in an area, begin to study the word and meditate on Scriptures concerning those things so that your faith will grow.
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence which we have before Him,
that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in
whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from
Him.
- Be ready to use the Word against doubt, fear, unbelief, etc. You answer the devil the same way Jesus did - "IT IS WRITTEN."
- This is fighting the good fight of faith and keeping the "birds" out of the covenant.
i.
Remember, if God's word says it is yours then it
belongs to you. If God hadn't intended
for you to have it, then he never would have promised it.
ii.
Ephesians 6:13-14
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, ... Having done all to stand, STAND.
- Ask God for the things you want and believe that you have them.
- The word says that we
have to ask even though God knows our desires and needs.
- Mark 7:7-8
'But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' 8"Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the
tradition of men."
Mark 11:23-24
"Truly I say to you,
whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does
not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it
shall be granted him. 24"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray
and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted
you.
- God has so designed His covenant to include responsibility on our part.
- When you have prayed through in a situation and received direction and/or confirmation from the Lord regarding your situation, then it is your responsibility to pray it through to victory.
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ,
- The Lord told Thomas, "Blessed are those who have NOT seen and yet believe."
- Let God be true, and every man a liar - Romans 3:4. Ask for it, when God confirms His will, believe it, and you'll have it. Now, where things are already confirmed in the word - like a sound mind - we don't have to ask God what His will is - we just ask, believe, and receive.
- Let your every thought, word, desire, and action (faith is an action word) affirm that you truly believe you have what you asked for.
- Be positive, not negative. Watch yourself and guard against grumbling, complaining and unbelief.
James 4:7
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will
flee from you.
- Uproot and remove everything that does not contribute to faith.
- Act on God's word in every area of your life.
- Thoughts are governed by observation, association, and teaching.
- Guard against every evil thought that enters your mind.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is
honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,
let your mind dwell on these things.
5.
Meditate constantly
upon the promises upon which you based your prayer.
- Attend to God's Word
Proverbs 4:20-22
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your
ear to my sayings.
21Do not let them
depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of
your heart. 22For
they are life to those who find them, And health to all
their whole body.
- The Hebrew word for attend is Qashab and it means to prick up your ears.
- In your waking moments, think on the greatness of God and His goodness.
- Count your blessings and
not only will your faith increase, but so will your love of God.
Lamententations 3:21-26
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have
hope. 22The
Lord's
lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His
compassions never fail.
23They are new
every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.
24"The
Lord
is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."
25The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who
seeks Him. 26It is good that he waits silently For the
salvation of the
Lord.
Psalm 103:1-5
A
Psalm of David.
Bless
the Lord, O my soul; And all that
is within me, bless His holy name. 2Bless
the Lord, O my soul, And forget
none of His benefits; 3Who pardons all your
iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; 4Who
redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and
compassion; 5Who satisfies your years with
good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
- Don't let worry, anxiety
or fear have a place in your heart.
Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
- Nothing means
NOTHING!!! Guard your heart for
out of it flow the issues of life!
- Make all prayer relative to what you've asked a statement of faith and not unbelief!
- It is thinking faith thoughts and speaking faith words that leads you out of defeat into victory.
- Remember your faith is in THE WORD (or Person) of GOD!
- Forgiveness
- If you have anything against anyone, forgive immediately. This is a sure hindrance to prayer.
Mark 11:25-26
"And whenever you stand
praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also
who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions. 26["But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your
transgressions."]
- This scripture is the condition upon which the reality of the former verse is based. Prayer cannot be answered with known sin in your heart.
- You can't be forgiven if you don't forgive.
Matthew 6:14-15
"For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15"But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will
not forgive your transgressions.
- This is a spiritual law -
a principle that cannot be broken or gotten around. Forgiveness for yourself requires
forgiveness of others.
Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often
shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" 22Jesus said to him, "I
do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23"For this reason
the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a certain king who wished to settle
accounts with his slaves. 24"And when he had begun to settle them, there was
brought to him one who owed him ten thousand talents. 25"But since he did
not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along
with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26"The slave
therefore falling down, prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with
me, and I will repay you everything.' 27"And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released
him and forgave him the debt. 28"But that slave went out and found one of his fellow
slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke
him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' 29"So his fellow
slave fell down and began to entreat him, saying, 'Have patience with me
and I will repay you.' 30"He was unwilling however, but went and threw him in
prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31"So when his fellow
slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to
their lord all that had happened. 32"Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked
slave, I forgave you all that debt because you entreated me. 33'Should you not also
have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?' 34"And his lord,
moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all
that was owed him. 35"So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of
you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
- We can throw people into prisons of Unforgiveness by not forgiving them and holding resentment toward them. If we do that, we will soon find ourselves at the mercy of evil spirits that will torture or torment you.
Proverbs 25:21-22
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22For
you will heap burning coals on his head,
And the Lord
will reward you.
- We don't treat our enemies like the world does. We love them.
- Ask the Father in Jesus Name.
John 16:23-24
"And in that day you will
ask Me no question. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for
anything, He will give it to you in My name. 24"Until now you have
asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be
made full.
- Jesus came to bring us TO THE FATHER. Our relationship is with the Father through the Son.
- We certainly can talk to Jesus, love Him, and worship Him, but when it comes to asking for help we go to the Father.
- Use the right kind of prayer for every situation.
Ephesians 6:18
Pray
at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all
(manner of) prayer and entreaty. To that
end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in
behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people).
- There are different kinds of prayer. We have to be sure we are praying the right kinds of prayer in the right circumstances.
- You cannot pray the prayer of faith or agreement for a particular mate.