FIVE PRINCIPLES IN PRAYING IN FAITH A. I identify five principles related to having a biblical perspective for praying with faith. There is no place in Scripture that provides a 1-2-3 guide to prayer. I present these five steps as a biblical framework to help us understand how faith and perseverance relate to prayer. B. STEP ONE: Verbalize your requests to the Father. Many think about a prayer request without actually praying for it. God knows our needs (Mt. 6:32), but requires that we ask Him for them—asking causes us to connect with His heart and to recognize specific blessings as His answer to our prayers. Asking causes us to know that what we say both moves His heart and matters to Him. …in everything by prayer… with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God… ~ (Phil. 4:6) Yet you do not have because you do not ask. ~ (Jas. 4:2) C. STEP TWO: Receive your requests in the spirit realm. When Scripture states that God hears our prayers, it means that He approves of our requests. When we pray according to God’s will, we know that He approves of the request, so we are to receive it in the spirit realm with confidence. This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ~ (1 Jn. 5:14) 1. God has already given us every spiritual blessing that exists in the heavenly realm (Eph. 1:3). These blessings include the indwelling Spirit, the right to use Jesus’s authority, the promise of God’s provision, protection, and direction to do His will, and more. Father… has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. ~ (Eph. 1:3) 2. We often pray for things that are not specifically promised in Scripture, but that are not in opposition to the Word of God either. For example, a person may pray that it will not rain on their wedding day, or that they will be accepted as a student at a prestigious university, or that they will be accepted on a worship team, or get the job they applied for. D. STEP THREE: Engage in faith that you have received what you asked for. Jesus spoke of the necessity of continually believing that we have received the “title deed” (in the spirit realm) to our prayer requests as the condition for receiving them in the natural realm. “Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them [in the spirit], and you will have them [in the natural]” ~ (Mark 11:24). E. STEP FOUR: Ask with persistence (Lk. 11:8), or thank God, or remind Him of His Word (Isa. 62:6). We ask the Lord to release a blessing in a greater measure in the natural realm, or we thank Him for it or remind the Lord consistently of what He has already given us in the spirit realm. “…you who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes [what He promised]…” ~ (Isa. 62:6-7, NASB). 1. In prayer, put the Lord in remembrance of His Word and what He has given us in the spirit realm in Christ–that which He has promised to give us related to our circumstances. Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case… ~ (Isa. 43:26) 2. Prayer is not about informing or persuading God, but about conversing and connecting with Him relationally. We believe God has approved of our prayer and released it to us in the spirit realm; therefore, we never stop reminding Him of it and thanking Him for it. 3. Jesus emphasized the value of perseverance in asking Him to release His blessings in a greater measure in the natural (Mt. 7:7-8; Lk. 11:5-10; 18:1, 7). Jesus taught a parable (Lk. 11:5-10) to show the value of asking with perseverance. The verbs Jesus used are in the present continuous tense, meaning that we are to ask and keep on asking (v. 9). …because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs… ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find… ~ (Lk. 11:8-9) 4. We ask persistently that the request be manifest in a greater measure in the natural realm. We do not ask God to give us the spiritual blessings that He has already given to us in the spirit realm; rather, we ask Him to release them in a greater measure in the natural realm. 5. Paul called us to pray with all perseverance. Therefore, we should never stop asking, reminding, and thanking God until we see the answers to our requests with our eyes. We do not earn answers to prayers by our persistence or obedience. …praying always… being watchful to this end with all perseverance… ~ (Eph. 6:18) F. STEP FIVE: Receive your requests in the natural realm. Prayers that are in God’s will are always answered in God’s timing and way, so do not give up too quickly if the answer is delayed. G. How does faith grow? By hearing and speaking God’s Word. We are to confess the Word over our heart and our circumstances and against the works of the enemy. We ask with persistence (Lk. 11:8), or thank God, or remind Him of His promises (Isa. 62:6) for what He has given us in the spirit realm.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 00:54:22 +0000
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