SPELLING EDITED G-5. PRAYERS THAT GET ANSWERED! BIBLE STUDIES ON PRAYER Here is a list of related Bible studies on PRAYER that covers things like what is prayer, how to pray God's word, praying in the name of Jesus, and praying in the Spirit, as in, praying in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gives you the words to pray. You will learn what things hinder our prayers and how to pray according to God's will. Following this list of Bible studies on prayer is the study “PRAYERS THAT GET ANSWERED!” As always, I suggest that you read the studies “THE OPENING PRAYER” and “THE WHOLE MATTER” not only to prepare your heart to hear from God but also that you know my heart toward you. Also, these studies will help you to learn HOW to study the Bible. And throughout many other studies, I have pointers on how to study the Bible by showing examples. Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you seek the truth of the whole word of God. Here is a list of studies on how to pray and overcome the enemy. And, many of them have some examples of how to study the Bible. And right after this list is the study titled “Prayers That Get Answered!” “THE FAITHFULNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD!” “WISDOM IS THE PRINCIPAL THING!” “JESUS THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES!” “THE POWER AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER” “SOME EXAMPLES OF CONFESSIONS OF FAITH” “WEAPONS OF THE ENEMY---HINDRANCES to PRAYER” “WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD---PRAYING GOD'S WORD” “THY WILL BE DONE---KNOWING GOD'S WILL in PRAYER” “IT IS ALWAYS GOD'S WILL TO HEAL YOU!” “MUST CHRISTIANS SUFFER?---Things like sickness and tragedy?” “HAS SPEAKING IN TONGUES CEASE?” “STIR UP THE GIFT THAT IS WITHIN YOU!---PRAYING IN OTHER TONGUES” Let us begin the study. PRAYERS THAT GET ANSWERED! Have you ever wondered if God has heard your prayers? This study in God’s word will give you confidence that God not only hears your prayer but God will also answer each and every petition which you request of him that is according to his will. Throughout this study and other studies you will find links to other related studies, and in some studies such as this one I will give a list of all the studies that I presently have written on that particular topic. Just click on the title you want to view and a new window will open with the study you have selected. So then, what is it that you desire? What do you desire of God? And did you know that the desire which you have deep within your heart may well have been given to you by Almighty God Himself? The word of God says in Psalm 21:2. “You (Referring to Almighty God) have given him (Speaking of you, me, or whosoever) his heart’s desire, and have NOT WITH HOLDEN the REQUEST of his lips. Selah.” The word “Selah” means to stop and ponder or to pause and think about this. This word is like a sign trying to get our attention, saying to you, Hey, God truly wants to grant you the desires of your heart and answer your prayers. So then, why does it feel at times that our prayers seem to go unanswered? Well, the answer to this question may be different from one time we pray to another time that we pray. In other words, there are many obstacles that prevent our prayers from being answered. We will look at some of the obstacles that hinder our prayers in this study, but for now, let us begin this study in God's word by reading a verse of Scripture from First John chapter five verses fourteen and fifteen. 1 John 5:14,15 reads as follows from the King James Version, which I will use throughout this study unless otherwise stated. 1 John 5:14,15. “And THIS is the CONFIDENCE that we HAVE in him, THAT, if we ask anything ACCORDING to His WILL, He HEARS us: 15. And if we know that He hears us, WHATSOEVER we ask, we KNOW that we HAVE the petition that we DESIRED of Him.” God’s word assures us that we can have confidence that he HEARS our prayers, and not only hears our prayers but also gives us the desires of our hearts by answering our prayers IF they are ACCORDING to his WILL. So what is the WILL of God? Well, the word of God IS his WILL. Therefore, if you find it written in his word, then you will know for sure that what you read in his word IS his WILL. For instance, when we pray for the ones we love who do not know the Lord as their personal Savior, we can KNOW without a doubt that God HEARS our prayer concerning them and that Almighty God WILL, without fail, answer our prayer and bring it to pass IF we trust and believe him to do it without wavering. But always keep in mind that Satan is the HINDERER of our prayers AND that we cannot override the will of another person. For you see, there is absolutely no doubt that it IS God’s WILL for ALL men, that is to say, all mankind, to be saved. His word assures us of this TRUTH in 2 Peter 3:9 but we know that not all people will be saved. And that is why we need BOTH preaching AND fervent prayer without wavering. The Apostle Paul spent three years in one place PERSUADING people to be saved. But if one does not know for sure that it is always God's WILL for ALL people to be saved then they may give up persuading a loved one to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. So let us first root and ground ourselves in the word of God to KNOW God's WILL so that we do not cast away our confidence in our faith. 2 Peter 3:9.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us-ward, NOT WILLING that ANY should perish, but that ALL should COME TO REPENTANCE.”
1 Timothy 2:4, says it like this.
“Who will have ALL men to be SAVED, and COME to the KNOWLEDGE of TRUTH.” So do you desire that someone you love or someone who is close to you to come to the knowledge of the truth, to realize that they have fallen short of the glory of God, and come to repentance and accept Jesus as their personal Savior? Perhaps it is a family member, husband or wife, a mother or father, a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, an uncle or an aunt, a nephew or a niece, or some distant relative. Perhaps it is a friend or a co-worker, or maybe a neighbor. It may even be a complete stranger you have never met, but you were told about by a friend of someone else who asked you to pray for their friend to be saved. It does not matter who you pray for to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved, your prayer WILL BE HEARD and God WILL BRING IT TO PASS IF you believe for God to do it and you do not waver or doubt. God is always faithful to perform His word. But also, remember that God has an ENEMY that is HINDERING people from being saved. And, therefore, that other person's will can also HINDER your prayer from being manifested.
Look at Psalm 37:4,5. “DELIGHT yourself also in the Lord, and He SHALL GIVE you the DESIRES of your heart. 5. COMMIT your way unto the Lord, TRUST in him also and He SHALL BRING IT TO PASS.”
Please understand that the DESIRE you have to want others saved was GIVEN to you by God in the first place. In other words, God GIVES to you His own desire in your heart that becomes your desire, and when you pray the desire of your heart God is answering His OWN desire that He gave to you in the first place. It seems that God NEEDS us to pray and BELIEVE so that He can bring about His own desire. God is looking for Christians to stand in the gap for others and make intercessory prayer for them. Then it goes on to say in the first part of verse 7. Psalm 37:7a.
“REST in the Lord and wait PATIENTLY for Him, FRET NOT YOURSELF…” Here is a little pointer on how to study the Bible. I highlighted verse 7 as 7a to draw your attention to the lower case letter “a”. Also, notice the three dots at the end of verse seven. Now, either one of these notations is to let the reader know that the author has not quoted the whole verse. So please be sure to look up the rest of the verse of Scripture and read the context a few verses before and after the verse to be sure that the comments and the interpretation given by the author agree with the whole verse and its context. The main reason that I have not quoted the whole verse is to teach you this pointer on how to study the Bible while you are learning how to pray prayers that get answered. There is a lot I want to point out in these five passages of Scriptures so that your faith will be built up and made strong and you will KNOW that God HEARS your prayer and that he WILL, without fail, answer your prayer that agrees with His Will and BRING IT TO PASS according to the petition that you have desired and requested of Him. Let’s begin with the word “CONFIDENCE” that is found in 1 John 5:14. Here is another pointer on how to study the Bible. Sometimes we think we already know what a word means so we do not bother to look it up. And we may even know all the meanings of the English “translated” word but we may not know ALL the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words in the original text. For you see, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek. And the meanings of words in other languages do not always translate to their exact meanings. Now, I have found much strength in looking up even the most common words that we use every day because I have come to know other meanings of words in my own language that add to understanding the correct meaning of the Scriptures. The word “confidence” in the Strong’s concordance means boldness, frankness, public openness of speech (inferring to every word we speak, or in other words, not only our prayers which we speak forth to God but also our everyday speech, such as our conversation to our fellow man, especially when thoughts of doubt, fear or worry try to creep in and cause us to waver). Stop and think how many times you pray for something and a fellow brother or sister in the Lord comes along and starts up a conversation with you and you are faced with the decision to speak words of DOUBT that would be in agreement with this other person as opposed to being in agreement with God's word and your prayer? Every word we speak must remain in AGREEMENT with our prayer of FAITH and God's word. Otherwise, the enemy will accuse us before the Father that we are wavering in our prayer. And, therefore, our prayer will CEASE and NOT be answered because we WAVERED. This is one of the main principles that hinder our prayers from being answered. Here is a pointer as to why all Christians should read and study the Bible at home. In other words, if you do not read and study God’s word on your own, you may go years or even decades before you ever read or hear about the Scripture in James 1:5-8. For you see, the pastor and Bible study teachers can only cover so many Scriptures each week, and if you miss a week you missed the verses of Scripture they covered that week. Plus, they might be only “parroting” or repeating what they themselves were taught which is not always what the Bible itself actually teaches.Here is James 1:5-8. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men LIBERALLY, and upbraids NOT; and it SHALL BE GIVEN to him. 6. BUT let him ask in FAITH, nothing wavering. (This means for you to be sure that ALL your words that you speak or communicate in writing be in full agreement with God’s word and your prayer. WHY?) For (Or BECAUSE) he that wavers (Or he that talks NEGATIVELY against their prayer) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7. For let that man NOT think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. (Referring to the Christians that talks NEGATIVELY against their prayer) 8. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
Again, the WAVERING or the NEGATIVE every day talking of Christians is perhaps the number one hindrance to their receiving the answers to their prayers. We will study this verse more further in this study. So for now, let us get back to the meaning of the word “confidence”. The American Standard dictionary defines confidence as being an intimate and trusting relationship, a feeling of assurance or certainty, confidence, being very bold, presumptuous. The word “presumptuous” means excessively forward or confident, arrogant, audacious, having the audacity, the act of presuming or accepting as true in the absence of or prior to having actual proof. These are strong, and I do mean very strong words. We as Christians can have the confidence, the boldness, the presumptuousness, the arrogance, and the audacity to proclaim that our loved ones who we have prayed for, and who we are yet believing will come to the knowledge of the truth. And to the glory of God, we can confidently say that they are already saved even though we do not have any actual physical proof that they are saved. This is one of the meanings of the word “FAITH”. Hebrews 11:1 says it like this.
“Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen.”
Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, that having this awesome CONFIDENCE that God hears our prayers along with the assurance that God will, without fail, also answer our prayers and bring them to pass is, in essence, the true Biblical meaning of FAITH? The Scripture says “FAITH IS the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for, the EVIDENCE of things not yet come to pass.” The truth of the matter is that God has ALREADY saved every man, woman, and child in the world, in that, the price for their redemption has already been paid. Jesus did not just die for this one and that one. Jesus died for the whole world, all of mankind. All that is needed now is for them to hear the truth, come to the knowledge of the truth, and acknowledge this truth in their own hearts to BELIEVE. And then, the FAITH in their heart will rise up and they will confess that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. So rather than beg and plead in prayer with God and pray things like, “Oh God please save my brother. Or, heavenly Father please save my wife. Or, Lord please save my husband” from the mindset of trying to convince God to be on your side, why not find out what the WILL of God IS and get on His side and pray the promises in the Scriptures. Stop praying with the mentality of pleading and begging God to save them. Instead, begin praying the word of God in FAITH knowing you WILL, without fail, be heard and answered by your Heavenly Father. Base your prayers upon the word of God, so that your prayers will be full of faith and confidence that God will hear and answer your prayers.
For example, in Matthew 9:37,38 we read. “Then he says to his disciples, The harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few; 38. Pray you, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he WILL SEND FORTH LABORERS into his harvest.”
Remember that it is God who first gives His desire into our heart to pray. So, in a sense, God desires all people to be saved MORE than you desire your own loved one to be saved. So the word of God here is basically commanding us to PRAY to Almighty God our heavenly Father to send forth laborers to preach and teach the gospel to the lost in order for them to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. Also, we read in John 4:35 which says.
“Say NOT you, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields for they are WHITE ALREADY TO HARVEST.”
Now, this verse commands us NOT to say things like, “Oh there is plenty of time for John Doe to hear the word and be saved” or “Well, I don't think John Doe is ready to hear the word of God as yet, he will surely be turned away from God if I share the gospel with him now.” No, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, we need to pray for God to send forth laborers into the harvest and then believe that they are READY to HEAR and RECEIVE the word of God and be saved. Pray that they will receive God's word. Pray that their eyes of understanding will be opened to understand the truth. So, in other words, one portion of your prayer for your husband, your wife, your son, your daughter, or for whom so ever you are praying for is for them to come to repentance and accept Jesus personally as their Savior. Your prayers for them may be something like the following manner of praying as an example. “Heavenly Father your word says that the harvest is white and ready to harvest. Therefore I believe that my husband is ready right now to come to the knowledge of your truth and accept your Son Jesus as his Savior. Father, I pray and ask you to send forth laborers to preach the gospel to my husband. You know what is in his heart Lord and Father you know exactly what he needs to hear and how he needs to hear so that faith will come and fill his heart. Draw him by your Holy Spirit unto yourself for I know from your word that no man can come unto your Son Jesus unless you draw them. Father, I also thank you for your goodness and mercy towards my husband for your word tells me that it is your goodness that leads him to repentance. I thank you Father for opening his eyes of understanding that he may know you to be the only true God and your Son the only name under heaven whereby he may be saved. Thank you for writing your word upon his heart and upon his mind. I hold up the shield of faith against the wicked one to quench all his fiery darts of doubt and unbelief. Satan I command you in the name of Jesus to remove the blinders that you placed upon my husband's eyes to keep him from seeing the truth.”
“Heavenly Father, your word assures me that it is your will for my husband to come to the knowledge of truth and be saved, so I have confidence that you not only hear my prayer, but you will also bring it to pass. I now consider my husband saved and translated into the kingdom of your dear Son. I commit him into your hands and I am fully persuaded that you are able to keep that which I have committed unto you. I cast all my cares, worries, and fears upon you Lord for I know you care for me. Thank you for the peace that passes all my understanding that you have placed in my heart. Thank you for sending people in his life to preach and teach your word to him that will minister to him personally. On every side, he will hear the gospel. People on the radio will catch his attention. Billboards on the side of the road will speak to his heart. Everywhere he turns there will be something that you bring into his life that will point him to your Son Jesus. I give you all the praise and glory, for you alone give the increase to the words that are planted in his heart. Thank you for bringing my husband into your kingdom.” Now, when praying for other people, their own “free will” enters into the picture, so it may take some time before they submit their will to God's will and surrender their life to him. So write out your prayer and call the person you are praying for by NAME. In other words, do not just say my brother or my friend, but rather, call them by name before God in prayer. Also, pray the prayer out loud, then date and sign the prayer as a witness before God, the angels, and the principalities and powers of darkness, and as your own personal documented evidence of exactly what and how you prayed. This written prayer will then also serve as a reminder of exactly what and how you prayed so that when the devil tries to bring doubt into your mind you can hold up the prayer and remind the enemy that your husband or whoever you prayed for is already saved and therefore it is settled. I know that it is hard to make positive confessions of faith when the CIRCUMSTANCE all around you says the OPPOSITE of what you have prayed. So keep in mind that sometimes when you are praying for others it may take some time. And when I say time, I mean that in some cases it may take years to breakdown the strongholds of the enemy. This is where the word says you have the need for PATIENCE. Look at Hebrews 10:35,36. “Cast not away, your CONFIDENCE, which has great recompense of REWARD. 36. For you have need of PATIENCE, that after you have done the WILL of God, you might RECEIVE the promise.”
God’s will is that you pray or ask anything according to His Will that He Himself has placed in your heart to PRAY. And then when you believe that His promise is to you and that He will bring it to pass, without fail, every time, then we KNOW that God hears His OWN desire of His heart and God sends the answer the very first day you pray and BELIEVE. So, therefore, be patient and wait with CONFIDENCE. God is FAITHFUL that promised. The answer is on the way, so just consider it as ALREADY being done even when there is no actual physical evidence that anything is happening. When Daniel prayed and fasted for twenty-one days he came to know later that God sent the answer the very first day, but it was held up by the ENEMY, the principalities and powers of the air, which kept the answer of his prayer from getting through for twenty-one days. Now to me, there is no doubt that if Daniel had given up at any time BEFORE he actually received the answer to his prayer, then I am convinced that he never would have received the answer. So don’t give up. Keep on believing, do not CEASE in your prayer, because God is bringing it to pass and the answer is on the way. Be excited and delight yourself in the Lord in the same way that you would if you have already actually received the answer to your prayer. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. I did this when praying for a friend of mine to be saved. I rejoiced so much that tears of joy flowed down my cheeks. My heart was so full of gratitude for weeks before the answer was actually manifested that, when the ACTUAL PHYSICAL manifestation of my friend accepting Jesus as his Savior took place, I was not over joyous and did not rejoice and give God thanks when he told me that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior. He told me later that he thought that I would have been more excited about the news of him accepting the Lord. I then had to tell him that I had already been rejoicing for weeks before and already knew that he was saved weeks earlier. You can do the same with every prayer you pray. So, therefore, consider by faith that your husband, your wife, a family member, or whoever you are praying for is already saved even though you have no physical evidence as yet. BY FAITH call things that are not yet seen in the physical realm as being already done in the spiritual realm and begin to give God thanks and praise just as if it already has come to pass. Delight yourself in the Lord. Cast all the care, fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety upon the Lord for he cares for you. Be diligent about giving Almighty God thanks for bringing it to pass by accepting his word as being true without having the actual proof of your husband or loved one being saved. Resist any doubt from the enemy and the doubt will flee from you. And ASK God to form positive confessions of faith in you. Things like these following examples such as, thank you Father for leading my friend to hear your word on the radio. Every time he listens to the radio there will be something he hears that will bring to his remembrance the seed of your word that you planted in his heart through me. And always BELIEVE what you pray by continuing to make these kinds of positive confessions with thanksgiving.
Hebrews 11:6 says. “But without FAITH it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must BELIEVE that he is and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him”
Then in Hebrews 10:23, we read. “Let us HOLD FAST the PROFESSION of our FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING; (for he is FAITHFUL that promised;).”
One of the hindrances to our prayers is that we sometimes WAVER. We need to know and understand that God is ALWAYS faithful to perform His word. So the best type of prayer in our own understanding is to pray the Scriptures, as in, we need to base our prayer on the Scriptures.
Take a look at James 1:6-8 which says.
“But let him ask in FAITH, NOTHING WAVERING. For he that wavers is like the seas driven with the wind-tossed. 7. For let that man (Speaking of the Christians who waver by talking negatively against their prayer) NOT to think he shall receive anything of the Lord. 8. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The word “waver” means to move back and forth, to show irresolution or indecision, to doubt, to be unsure. Irresolution means to be unresolved, which is the opposite of being resolved. The word “resolved” means to make a FIRM DECISION and to dispel any and all doubts and become firmly determined. When someone is firmly determined you just cannot stop them from getting what they desire. Can you see how important FAITH is to RECEIVING answers to our prayers? It is so vitally important that we remain steadfast in our faith, our believing God when we pray. Another meaning of faith is to be consistent in speech. When doubt comes, resist it and refuse to confess that your loved one is lost. Let God be true and every opposing circumstance a lie. Don’t focus on what is seen, but on God’s word, which tells us in Second Corinthians chapter five verses eighteen and nineteen, that God is RECONCILING the world unto himself. This means that God is restoring that broken relationship between Himself and mankind, between your husband and Himself. God is bringing it to pass. Think about it this way, God desires your husband to come to the knowledge of truth MORE than you yourself desire him to accept the truth and believe. When the symptoms of sickness come upon you, God wants you to be healed more than you desire yourself to be healed. Picture God as a runner in the starting block ready to spring as soon as He sees your FAITH. God HASTENS His word to perform what he has spoken in his word. And God has spoken that he is NOT willing that ANY of mankind should perish. God has spoken that He desires ALL of mankind to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. God has spoken that if we ask ANYTHING according to His WILL that he not only hears us but also that we HAVE whatsoever we PRAY. So BELIEVE what God has spoken and KNOW that is waiting and standing by to HASTEN His word to PERFORM it. Jeremiah 1:12 says. “Then the Lord said unto me, You have well seen: for I will HASTEN my word to PERFORM IT.”
The word “hasten” means that God is diligently watching over his word. He is standing guard over his word ready to perform it. No matter what the circumstances or what things seem to be in the natural, do not get into unbelief or doubt, but REST in the knowledge that God is PERFORMING his word and bringing your prayer to pass. He WILL GIVE you the desires of your heart IF you hold fast to the confession of your faith and cast not away from you the CONFIDENCE but patiently wait and rest in the Lord that He will perform His word. He that promised is FAITHFUL.
Isaiah 59:1 says. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.”
God longs to be gracious to us and answer our prayers, but sometimes there are hindrances that keep God from hearing and answering our prayers. Verse two in Isaiah chapter fifty-nine tells us another one of those hindrances. Isaiah 59:2. “BUT your INIQUITIES have separated between you and your God, and your SINS have hidden his face from you, that he will NOT HEAR you.”
In other words, SIN is a serious roadblock to getting answers to your prayers. So in order to expel any doubt of whether or not you have displeased God, you need to go before him before you actually pray a prayer of petition and pray a prayer of forgiveness and repentance. You might pray something like this. “Heavenly Father if there is any sin or iniquity in me, then I ask you right now to cleanse me of any iniquity that is in me. Forgive me of all my sins. Wash me and make me clean. I thank you, Father, for you are faithful to forgive. Thank you for the shed blood of Jesus that cleanses me of all my sins and that has made me in the righteousness of you O' Lord. Write your word upon my mind and my heart that I will not sin against you from this day on.” Now believe that he is faithful to forgive you and pray your petition with a pure heart knowing for sure that there is now no separation between you and God. There are a few more points or approaches to add to your prayer. One of the principles of prayer that I have found that works best for me is to call things that are not as though they were. This principle has gotten “a bad name” so to speak because of the name it and claim it generation which went to the extreme and began using God’s word for worldly gain. Nonetheless, this principle is STILL in the word of God and is one of the best forms of prayer that I have found to receiving answers from God. Let me just say that in the past when the only way I knew to pray was to ask God and simply hope He would answer not knowing for sure that God even heard my prayers, then I would estimate my ANSWERED prayers to be about one out of a hundred. Back then, it seemed that God almost never answered my prayers when I used to pray that way only wondering IF God would answer my prayer. However, after I learned to call things that are not as though they already are and let my request be made known to God with THANKSGIVING, then the answers to my prayers grew to nearly one hundred percent. And when I say one hundred percent I am speaking of my prayers for myself where no other person's WILL comes into play. It would be great if we could simply use PRAYER alone to bring everyone into the kingdom of God, but this is not God's plan. God's plan is to save mankind by the foolishness of PREACHING so that whosoever BELIEVES on His SON shall be saved. You can still use the SAME principles of praying, but I do not want to mislead any of my readers to think that whosoever they pray for will be saved. However, positive confessions of faith calling things the way you WANT them to BE and not calling things the way they are, which you do NOT want them to be will most definitely improve the results of your answered prayer. But never rely on prayers alone. When Jesus could not heal people in his own hometown because of THEIR unbelief he went about TEACHING God's word. Faith comes by HEARING. So teaching God's word is more important than praying, but prayer will ADD more power to the teaching of God's word. We need BOTH preaching and FAITH to get the job done. Read Romans 4:17-21. “(As it is written, I HAVE MADE you a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and CALLS THOSE THINGS WHICH BE NOT AS THOUGH THEY WERE. 18. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall your seed be. 19. And being not weak in faith, he CONSIDERED NOT his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: 20. He STAGGERED NOT (Or he did NOT WAVER) at the promise of God through unbelief, but was STRONG IN FAITH, GIVING GLORY TO GOD; 21. And being FULLY PERSUADED that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” God’s PROMISE to us is that we can have CONFIDENCE that when we pray or ask ANYTHING that is according to his WILL, that is to say, anything that agrees with God's word and does not oppose his word, then we KNOW that God HEARS us and WILL GIVE us the request we have made. We can be FULLY PERSUADED that God will hasten to perform his word. We must CONSIDER NOT the circumstances or that which can be seen in the natural. We must NOT STAGGER or waver in our faith through doubt, fear, worry, and unbelief, but rather we must be STRONG IN FAITH by giving God GLORY, THANKS, and PRAISE for bringing it to pass, even though it has yet come to be. RESOLVE it to be so. Make that FIRM DECISION that it is done. Dispel every doubt. Be firmly determined that it can be no other way than what your heart desires. Be FULLY PERSUADED that God will bring it to pass. Delight yourself in the Lord and rejoice in the truth that your husband is saved or any other desire of your heart. REST in the promise of God, and stay focused on his word resisting every doubt and circumstance that is contrary to what you are believing, and then the peace of God will be given to you that will be above your words to describe. And this peace that passes all your understanding will empower you to wait patiently before him until you actually and physically receive the request that you desired of God. Now here is an example of calling things that are not as though they are. Let’s suppose you have a problem or a habit you are trying to overcome. Perhaps you have a problem overeating or eating the wrong kind of foods. So before you start your day think of positive things that would make a difference or bring about a change. Now put these thoughts and ideas into words that are affirmative, words that create a picture that you can believe for yourself. Do not go beyond what you personally can believe. For instance, if eating donuts is adding to the problem, say something like, “I don’t find donuts to be as good as they used to be. I find that I like them less and less each time.” In other words, do not start off by confessing that you cannot stand the sight of doughnuts and even the thought of them makes you turn away because you know that in reality you really crave doughnuts and could eat a whole dozen for breakfast. Keep in mind that you are calling things that are NOT yet present in your life to be as though they are already actively present. Therefore, you must be able to believe the words you are confessing. Now some would say that you would be lying. However, you are not doing this to deceive anyone, so how is it lying? God said to Abraham, “I HAVE MADE you the father of many nations”. So was God Almighty Himself lying? Absolutely not! So if you imitate your heavenly Father, how is this any different? Notice that when God said, “I have MADE you the father of many nations”, that it is past tense. In other words, God did NOT say, “I am going to make you the father of many nations”. Now I do not know why God does it this way but this is how God has set things up, by saying it first, and then it is manifested or brought into being later after calling it into being. A good follow-up study to read along with these studies on prayer is the study called “THE POWER OF OUR WORDS!” So then, when you start to begin to find that the doughnuts are less and less appealing to you, then you can add to your confession or change your confession to something like, “I used to like doughnuts but I can hardly stand to eat them anymore, maybe one every now and then, or even just one bite satisfies me now. The truth is I have totally lost my appetite for doughnuts and I would much rather have some fruit instead of sweets.” In other words, step by step you can increase what you can believe until you can have total discipline over everything you eat. Every now and then if you want just a bite of dessert you can take just a bite and you will not crave anymore than what you yourself set as your limit by the speaking forth of FAITH filled words, calling things that are not as though they were until they came into being. If you remain steadfast in your positive confessions of faith, you will find that your taste for foods will have changed. You will have changed a bad habit into a good eating habit, all by speaking it into being. I could devote a whole study to just this one principle of praying, but there are more principles to look into. So let's continue this study in God's word on “Prayers That Get Answered” by looking at the principle of binding and loosening found in Matthew 16:19. Matthew 16:19. “And I will give unto you the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
The word of God teaches us that we have been given AUTHORITY over the principalities and powers in the NAME of Jesus. So take authority over the enemy by binding him in the name of Jesus. Command the enemy to take his hands off your husband or your loved one. Command that Satan let loose of the blinders that are upon your husband’s eyes so that he may see and understand what the Lord is trying to show him. If you do not know your authority and how to stand in it, then study what God has to say about this subject. For you see, if you do not KNOW your authority then you have NO authority. In other words, you do not simply ASK Satan to take his hands off of your loved ones, but rather, you COMMAND Satan in the mighty name of Jesus to remove his hands off of your loved ones Please view my study entitled “THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER!” Points to remember: God is ALWAYS FOR you. He has already proven this by sending his Son to die for you and all the ones you love. He has already saved all of mankind and is now waiting for you as a believer to stand in the gap and pray that they come to the knowledge of the truth. You don’t have to convince God to save your loved ones. He desires them to come to the knowledge of the TRUTH and receive his salvation MORE than you do. God is the one that placed this desire in your heart in the first place. Also know that you are called to preach the gospel and not just pray for people to be saved. Know that faith comes by hearing God’s word and so they must hear the word of God preached. This can be done in many ways. Ask for God’s wisdom and direction on what is the best way. Keep in mind that spiritual things can only be discerned by the spirit. Therefore pray that the eyes of their understanding be opened. Also, pray that his or her heart be GOOD SOIL, so that that word of God that is planted there may grow and bear much fruit and remain because it is firmly rooted. Be specific. Remember that the seed of God's word will grow even on rocky soil. Some have prayed, JUST save my brother, and their brother gets saved for a while and when persecution and trials come along he throws in the towel, so to speak, and walks away from God. WHY is this? Well, I believe that the ones who prayed and birthed them into the kingdom were not specific in their prayers and then the enemy took advantage of their WORDS that they chose to use in their prayer. Therefore, pray that they will not be deceived. Satan cannot keep anyone from seeking the truth, but he can sidetrack them to thinking they have found the truth. Then commit the keeping of their souls to God, knowing that he is faithful to keep all that you commit unto him against that day of our Lord’s return. Pray that the Holy Spirit draws him or her to Christ Jesus. Pray that the Holy Spirit convicts and convinces them of their sins. Pray that He leads and guides them into all truth. Pray that the Holy Spirit be their teacher and not the doctrines of men and devils. Know that the angels are ministering spirits to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Then loosen or send those angels to minister to your loved ones, to keep them safe and direct their steps. Bind the enemy and take authority over circumstances in the lives of those around you. Call things that are not as though they are already. Remember to give thanks and praise always, even..., or should I say especially while you are fighting the good fight of faith. Hold fast to that confidence knowing that God is faithful and that he is bringing it to pass. Know that there is power in UNITY. Find someone of like faith who will stand in faith with you and who will exhort you to keep you focused on the victory and not the circumstances. Pray and ask God for wisdom in all areas. Let him direct your prayer. Pray in the Spirit or in other tongues. Prayer for others who have been brought before you by someone else who has a desire for someone who does not know the Lord, knowing that you will reap what you sow. God is faithful to perform His word, therefore, God will raise up intercessors on your behalf for your heart’s desire because you have prayed for others. Pray that examples of your love and kindness be a witness to the one you are praying for, knowing that good deeds speak louder than words. Also, pray that all the negative and hypocrisy be hidden from his or her view. Pray that you yourself, as well as others, will be a light unto him or unto her. Pray that doors of opportunity be opened to minister to him or her, both by you and others. Pray that you and others will know what to say when to say it, and how to say it. Pray that everything around him or her will reveal God to them. Simple things like a smile, a hug, a kind word, a compliment, or even something as small as a vote of confidence will reveal God to him or her. Also, pray that God causes him to be at the right place and at the right time and to be looking in the right direction to witness all these things. Pray that God would reveal the awesomeness of his creation from the big, to the small, or from the small, to the big. Pray that signs, books, papers, magazines, radio programs, TV programs, Bible tracts, and conversations of people around him point him or her to God. This is where calling for things that are not yet a reality to be as though they already are, comes into play. Ask God for ideas to speak out positive things to lead the one you love to God. Pray for wisdom. Pray and ask God how you should pray. Pray that God will prepare their hearts to receive His word with gladness and that they will be hungry to hear the word of God always. Pray that they will not be able to kick against the pricks. Pray that they will not be able to resist the Spirit. And know your enemy. The Bible says we are not ignorant of his devices. Always remember that when praying for others, their “WILL” comes into play. So be patient, it may take a while, but then again it may not. Do not be discouraged. Stay in close fellowship with God for his joy is our strength. May God bless you richly in all your prayers. As he blesses you, bless others. Share your testimonies of how God has answered your prayers. If you find this study to be a blessing to you, then share it with others. Also, take the time to read some of my other Bible studies here on my website at Amatteroftruth.com Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ Jesus, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT BIBLE STUDIES ON PRAYER Here again is a list of related Bible studies on PRAYER that covers things like what is prayer, how to pray God's word, praying in the name of Jesus and praying in the Spirit, as in, praying in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gives you the words to pray. You will learn what things hinder our prayers and how to pray according to God's will. “THE FAITHFULNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD!” “WISDOM IS THE PRINCIPAL THING!” “JESUS THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES!” “THE POWER AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER” “SOME EXAMPLES OF CONFESSIONS OF FAITH” “WEAPONS OF THE ENEMY---HINDRANCES to PRAYER” “WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD---PRAYING GOD'S WORD” “THY WILL BE DONE---KNOWING GOD'S WILL in PRAYER” “IT IS ALWAYS GOD'S WILL TO HEAL YOU!” “MUST CHRISTIANS SUFFER?---Things like sickness and tragedy?” “HAS SPEAKING IN TONGUES CEASED?” “STIR UP THE GIFT THAT IS WITHIN YOU!---PRAYING IN OTHER TONGUES”
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