Praying for What Your Really Desire

Reigning in Life with Our Words

David W Palmer

(Romans 5:17 NKJV) For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Because of what Jesus has done for us in his death, burial, and resurrection, this passage states that through him, we will “reign in life.” This appears to be saying that once we are born again and live by faith in Jesus Christ, we will have the authority to do what kings do—control a realm with our words. So today, to ensure we are getting this very clearly, accurately, and with proper understanding, let’s investigate it further.

From the outset of creating humans, God stated that he has given us dominion on the earth; and he wants us to use it to fill and subdue the earth:

(Genesis 1:26–28 NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” {27} So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. {28} Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God’s first spoken words were, “Let there be light.” Scripture records that consequently, “there was light.” In other words, God said it and it was done. The same almighty, creative God spoke regarding man (man and woman): “Let them have dominion.” Because these words were spoken by the same creator God in the same chapter, we must conclude that they carried the same creative power as “Let there be light.” Therefore, what followed this originating statement was that there was a man who has dominion. Yes, we humans have dominion on this earth.

God made us in his image, and he is a great King who rules with his words; so we can rule with our words too. 

Now that we have set the foundation of us reigning by speaking in God’s image, let’s read our opening Scripture again from a different translation for more clarification:

(Romans 5:17 CEV) Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has treated us with undeserved grace, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings.

Because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit says, “We will live and rule like kings.” Are there any other New Testament passages that can confirm our understanding of what this appears to be saying?

(Revelation 1:5–6 NKJV) ...

Restrain Your Mouth with a Muzzle Rather than Saying Anything the Wicked Can Use

Don’t Deceive Your Own Heart

David W Palmer

(James 1:26 NKJV) If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.

This whole series about Jesus’s law of confession originated in his statement about faith and moving a mountain:

(Mark 11:23 NKJV) “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Jesus’s law states that if we meet certain conditions, we “will have whatever” we “say.” We are using the word “law” in the scientific sense like the law of gravity or the laws of motion. If we meet Jesus’s conditions in this verse, we can always have what we say. If you are like me, you will want this law to work in your favour. So, what are Jesus’s conditions for having what you say?

The third and fourth points of these conditions is where we seem to have the greatest challenge. When we consider how easy it is to speak to our cars, computers, appliances, and other inanimate objects, we should have no problem speaking to obstacles like demons, sickness, circumstances, storms, wind, or blockages. But to remove doubt from our hearts and to fully believe that what we say will be done is more challenging.

In today’s opening verse, the Holy Spirit gives us an indispensable key and understanding that can help us. Let’s look at it in a different translation:

(James 1:26 Lamsa Bible) If any man thinks that he ministers to God, and does not control his tongue, he deceives his own heart, and this man’s ministry is in vain.

We note that the Holy Spirit contrasts controlling or bridling our tongues with deceiving our hearts. In other words, if we speak unwisely, we will allow deception into our hearts. And, according to this passage, this greatly hinders our ministry: “this man’s ministry is in vain.” 

Jesus said that the abundant treasure and overflow of our hearts comes out of our mouths:

(Matthew 12:34–35 DKJV) “You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of that which fills [and overflows from] the heart the mouth speaks. {35} A good man, out of the good treasure [collected in and overflowing from his heart], sends out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure sends out evil things.”

This heart and mouth connection that Jesus explained is borne out several times in the the Old Testament:

(Proverbs 15:14, 28 NKJV) The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. ... {28} The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

(Proverbs 16:23 NKJV) The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.

(Ecclesiastes 5:2 NKJV) Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. (See also: Job 22:22, Psalm 19:14, Psalm 49:3)

If we don’t want deception in our hearts, we have to ensure that the words we say, mutter, confess, and repeat are true. And seeing Jesus said to his Father, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17 NKJV), the only way to ensure that we are not allowing deception into our hearts is to speak, mutter, confess, and “swallow” God’s words into our inner being. This is the only way to ensure that what eventually overflows from this process is the truth—that with which God agrees:

(Joshua 1:8 HCSB) This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.

What Can We Learn about the Law of Confession from Elisha

What Is God’s Responsibility and What Is My Responsibility? Part 2

David W Palmer

(Luke 18:1 NKJV) … men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

(John 6:29 NLT) Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

(Luke 18:8 NKJV) “… when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?

These passages show us that our responsibilities in the new covenant include prayer and faith; these are clearly a major part of what God expects of us. What else does he expect of us, and what isn’t our responsibility at all? He has told us directly that we cannot please him without faith (Heb. 11:6) and that we should:

(1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 KJV) Rejoice evermore. {17} Pray without ceasing. {18} In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Along with faith and praying, the Holy Spirit clarifies that our responsibilities before God include rejoicing and thanksgiving. This goes with his many instructions to praise him (See for example: Heb. 13:15). 

These are directives from God, and he expects us to obey them. This leads us to the next of our responsibilities, obedience. As we look closely at the book of Hebrews, we see that obedience and faith are interchangeable; the converse is also true; disobedience and unbelief are also interchangeable in God’s mind:

(Hebrews 4:6 NKJV) Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience.

(Hebrews 4:6 KJV) … they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

In these two translations, we see that one translated the original word as “disobedience,” and the other translated it as “unbelief.” (We see the same interchange in Heb. 4:11.) In other words, faith and obedience are two sides of the same coin; they simply go together. So we see that faith that leads to obedience to our Lord is our responsibility. This is further confirmed in the following passage:

(Hebrews 5:9 KJV) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

This verse implies that our eternal salvation is dependent upon our obedience to our Lord. After all, “Lord” means controller, the one in charge, the one we need to obey. For example, would Jesus’s apostles have caught the miraculous catches of fish if they hadn’t obeyed his instructions: “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4 NKJV); “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” (John 21:6 NLT). Would the three young people have been raised from the dead without instructions from the Lord? “Young man, I say to you, arise” (Luke 7:14 NKJV); “Little girl, arise” (Luke 8:54 NKJV); “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43 NKJV). Yes, obedience to our Lord Jesus is our responsibility; this is the way he saves us eternally; and it is also the way he saves us daily in many temporal dangers. His responsibility is to give commands, instructions, corrections, and teachings, ours is to obey.

Confessions for Sweatless Holiness

David W Palmer

(Romans 1:17 NKJV) For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Parenthesis added)

To some degree, we all know that this is true: “The just shall live by faith.” After all, faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved from an eternally damned destiny:

(Romans 3:23, 28 NKJV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ... {28} Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

We are justified by faith and faith alone. So far in this series, we have seen that the faith that pleases God and justifies us before him is expressed in confessions of faith. In truth, without this confession, we simply cannot be saved:

(Romans 10:9–10 NKJV) That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Once we have been born again by faith, and thus been justified before God, we then have his challenging instruction as our responsibility:

(Romans 12:2 NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

This is a crucial statement in our understanding of how God designed us to operate in his new covenant—as born again new creations. So, let’s read it as it is translated from the Aramaic original to see if that is any different or if it sheds some further light on this vital statement:

(Romans 12:2 APE) And do not imitate this world, but be transformed by the renovation of your minds, and you shall distinguish what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.

In both original languages, Greek and Aramaic, these translations show that the renewing of our mind, or its complete renovation, is our responsibility. God has provided a full measure of all that we could possibly need in the new creation—forgiveness, freedom from Satan’s dominion, weapons, armour, the use of Jesus’s name, etc. But this all-important passage says that in tandem, God has given us the responsibility of renewing our minds to what he has made available through his great and precious promises, as this is the only way we can fully experience what he has provided:

(2 Peter 1:3–4 NKJV)

What Is God's Responsibility and What Is My Responsibility?

Confessions for Life; I Have the Mind of Christ, Part 2

David W Palmer

(1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV) … We have the mind of Christ.

As a new Christian, one of my concerns was about hearing from God accurately and continually. I wanted to be sure that I was really following the Good Shepherd and hearing his voice. I also wanted to be assured that he was guiding me in what I was learning from his word. So, when I found this passage of Scripture, I was both relieved and over-joyed. Instinctively, I took this promise to heart and confessed it until my mind was renewed with it: “I have the mind of Christ.” And, I have been standing on it ever since.

At the time God gave me this revelation, I had been reading a book that highlighted a New Testament prayer that goes with this promise; what’s more, we can pray it for others and ourselves (See: Eph. 1:16–21). 

This was also like a green light for the way forward, as I had begun to realize that some of what we were traditionally praying, and for what we were automatically praying from our own minds, was unwise and counterproductive. It would be ineffective and even hurtful to God if our prayers were based on ignorance of what Jesus had achieved for us, or if our prayers were based on unbelief or fear simply because of ignorance of his covenant promises—not having heard the word on the issue; and thus our prayer would show disbelief in what Jesus had paid so highly for us to have. For example, praying that God would send Jesus to die for our sins would be counterproductive; he has already done it, and his Bible says he will definitely not do it again (See Heb. 6:4–6). We can’t please God without faith, so no doubt, praying in unbelief or fear would not give him pleasure.

For example, praying to become like Jesus, or that he would heal me, is unnecessary, as it is already covered in his promises—as an achievement of Jesus for us. I realised that it wasn’t my job to pray for them—even though James does say that the prayer of faith will save the sick—but to renew my mind to the truth. For example, I should invest in mind-renewal with these truths of Scripture:

So as I said, I was both relieved and overjoyed when he revealed to me through his word that I already have the mind of Christ. This meant that for me to think his thoughts was now not foreign; it was who he recreated me to be. Thankfully, he has set in place a Biblical prayer to help in this process. Other prayers that we hear and copy, or that we pray out of our own un-renewed minds—although quite well meaning and sincere—may be counterproductive; but this one isn’t, and we should pray it like Paul did—for ourselves and others:

(Ephesians 1:16–21 NKJV)

Confessions for Life; God Is Guiding Me, Part 2