Study in Prayer

As a whole, we’ve gotten pretty lazy as Christians. We’ve gotten pretty good at having someone else do our studying for us. Getting someone else to do our praying for us. Getting someone else to do our believing for us. Then – we claim WE got some great victory when our prayers are answered. Amen! Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good. Glory to God!

The bottom line though, is what you keep after you receive it. Just like in the military, if you fight a huge battle and push the enemy off of the hilltop, you can’t kick back and start to clean up and grab a bite to eat. No way. You need to prepare for the counter-attack. Because the enemy is just a little more than upset that you gained the victory. He wants to come back and take back what you just took from him. Amen!

The same thing works in the world of Faith. Amen! When you receive the answer to your prayers, that is only half the battle. Now you have to keep it. Amen!

And if you are not the one that has been doing the studying…if you’re not the one who has been doing the praying – or at least MOST of the praying…if you’re not the one who has been doing most of the believing – you are NOT going to hold onto any victory you have received for very long.

You may have received your miraculous healing from cancer. Praise God. But just because your pastor has prayed and laid hands on you and now the doctor says it is unexpectedly in remission or is gone does not mean it will never come back.  It will stay GONE – IF you have the Faith to believe. Praise God!

When you do not have the foundation of personal Faith to back up your Faith Claims – you are operating on wishful faith, at best. Oh, you may see some low level demons respond to you and flee – just like pushing the enemy off of a hilltop in war.

But what does the enemy commander do once he’s had a unit pushed off of a hilltop. He pulls his forces back, reorganizes, rearms them and sends in an even larger force to try and take that hill back, doesn’t he?

The devil works the same way. He does not use any new weapons of warfare under the sun. He operates the same exact way he always has.

What did Jesus say about this situation?  Look in Luke 11:24-26 and see…

"When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.”

You see, if you keep asking a preacher to pray for you, to believe with you to receive whatever it is you are praying for, you will end up losing it. Guaranteed.

I’ve seen it in my own ministry. I’ve prayed for some folks that were on their death bed with cancer. One woman I was thinking of, they were going to send her home. Nothing the doctors could do. They figured 10 days to two weeks, tops. “Go get your affairs in order.” My wife and went to visit her in the hospital. She and her husband was there. After we ministered faith to them for a few minutes we prayed. 

Three days later, the doctor said she was in remission. Sent her home. But two months after being sent home, she started slipping back into sickness again.  We prayed with her over the phone and she got better. Two months later, she started slipping again. This time, the prayers didn’t work. She did live almost six months longer than the doctors told her. She was feeling better part of the time. 

But why didn’t she get healed and stay healed? She didn’t have the Faith for it. She was relying on the preacher. Just like Jesus said in Luke 11 that we read. The devil sent doubt, unbelief, painful symptoms – she didn’t know how to run those demons off so they took up residence. The last state was worse than the first. 

Folks, YOU are 100% responsible for YOUR FAITH. Nobody else. Not your momma or daddy or grandma or grandpa. Not your pastor. Not your husband. Not your wife. YOU. Period. Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good. Glory to God.

If you do not get into the Word of God and get before God in prayer – you, yourself…you will LOSE anything you get in prayer.  Now, everyone is appointed once to die and then the judgement. No argument there. But don’t let the devil decide the quality of life you will have when it is your time to die.

If your time is age 10, 50 or 100, wouldn’t it be a lot better just to go to sleep and not wake up? Don’t let sickness, disease, crime or anything else come into your life. Now, don’t get me wrong…YES, bad things do happen to good people.

We live in a fallen world. There is nothing you can do about it when the Lord says it is your time. But if you start standing against something and you see a Spiritual breakthrough occurring in your life – that is a clue that whatever was against you was demonic. Amen. 

Stand and having done all to stand – STAND therefore. Amen!

I want to pray for you right now to take your rightful place. Stand in the Power of God and the Faith of Jesus. Don’t take a stand because I said so. Don’t take a stand because your pastor said so. STAND because JESUS said so. Amen!

Let’s pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

One of the most important things in prayer to “believe you receive when you pray.”  Let’s look again at Mark 11:23-24. “For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say to 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 said shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he said. Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe you receive them and you shall have them.” 

Mark 11:23-24 has produced more victories, more answered prayers, for myself, my family members and others that I’ve prayed for, than just about any other scriptures I use as a basis for answered prayer.

I always share, in my Brother Bob translation where Jesus says in verse 24, “I say unto you…” I say, “Jesus is saying here, ‘Listen to me, I’m telling you to listen to what I’m saying here. I AM SAYING TO YOU…” and I use my name (if it is something I’m praying for) or I use the name of the person I’m praying for.

In my Bible, in verse 23, where the word “whosoever” is written, above it, I have THIS MEANS ME written. In verse 24, where it says, “I say unto you” – I have written, “Bob.”  What am I doing? I’m personalizing this scripture to speak directly to me.

“Well, brother Bob, you can’t do that?”  Really?  Really?

So, you are saying the Bible is not written for you? Personally?  Is that right?

So, if that is the case, you can’t lay any claim at all to John 3:16 that says, “…whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have ever lasting life…”  That can’t belong to you, according to your theology.  So, have a nice time in hell…

Sorry to blunt…but that is what you are saying. 

If you can transliterate John 3:!6 to you personally, because that is what it says, “whosoever,” then you should be able to make the same correlation to other scriptures as well.

And that includes Mark 11:23-24. Amen!

Jesus said, “I SAY UNTO YOU…” Who is Jesus talking to? ONLY His disciples? Is that it? Or, according the same principle you use to identify with John 3:16, is Jesus speaking to whomever He said He is speaking to? It is written right there!  YOU – Praise God!  Amen!

Just take God at His Word. He wrote it in that manner for a reason. B-I-B-L-E – Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Amen!

Jesus is talking in this verse about what YOU desire to take place. Healing? Command that mountain to leave your presence and cast itself into the sea.  Finances, lack of finances? Same thing. Some kind of provision needed in your life? Call it forth! Amen!  

Remember what we have covered in detail these last several days. Praying to the Father IN JESUS NAME brings results with answered prayer. Here, Jesus is just reinforcing that concept. To believe in our heart and not doubt! Praise God!

Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good. Amen!

This belongs to you!

Let’s Pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

One of the most important things in prayer to “believe you receive when you pray.”  Let’s look again at Mark 11:23-24. “For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say to 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 said shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he said. Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe you receive them and you shall have them.” 

Notice it does not say, “believe that you shall receive.” That’s believing for something in the future. You can’t believe God will answer your prayer in some distant time in the future! You can’t believe that way and expect any type of results!

Faith in God in believing that God is immediately working to answer your prayer. Not because you are some great man or woman of Faith. But because you prayed IN JESUS NAME in Faith. Believing that what Jesus said would come to pass. God is answering your prayers because of WHO Jesus is and your Faith in Him. Amen!

You need to believe you receive your answer NOW! Not some distant time in the future. You need to believe the answer is yours the instant you pray and say AMEN! God put the emphasis on FAITH and on believing, simply because He is a FAITH GOD! Amen!

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without Faith, it is impossible to please Him…”

You can have good works and good deeds all day long and never see your prayers answered. Why? Because your good works and good deeds do not please God. You would be more pleasing to God by having more Faith. And then your good works would be a result of your Faith. Faith is what pleases God. Not works.

Smith Wigglesworth once said that there is something about believing God that will cause Him to pass over a million people to get to YOU. Amen! I like that!  God is a Faith God. And we are children of a Faith God. We are saved by Faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you are saved through faith. Not of works, lest any man should boast.” 

It is praying in faith that works with God. That is the ONLY prayer that does work. When you pray, believe you receive. That’s it. Jesus said you will have the desires of your heart when you do that. But most people miss it because they want to receive BEFORE they believe. It does not work that way!

Believe you receive from God WHEN you pray. There are not too many people who do believe they receive from God WHEN they pray. You can tell. How? Because they keep praying for the same thing, over and over, day after day.

If they truly believed, then they would receive their answered prayers already and would not have to keep asking day after day!  

“Well, brother Bob, what if we don’t see the prayer as being answered?”

Oh, I’m so glad you asked me that question!

Once you have prayed in Faith, you are supposed to believe you have already received the prayer as answered. Start acting like it. How? By NOT asking God about it again! Just start praising Him for answering it! Glory to God! I hope you see the difference!

You are not supposed to come to God again and again asking Him for the same thing over and over. When you come to God with the same petition the second time, come in Faith that He heard you the first time and that you are coming now to THANK HIM for the answer! Praise God!

Now, you can and you should put God in remembrance of His Word and thank Him in Faith that He is working on your behalf because of His Word (who IS Jesus)! Amen! That is the kind of Faith that will produce results, tangible results. Amen!

I have experienced and I truly believe, that if people would stop coming to God asking repetitive prayers over and over, and just come to Him in thanksgiving for answered prayer, they would begin to see things come to pass in their life like never before.

This is a bit more difficult when it comes to healing. Why? Because our bodies are sensitive to physical pain. We have these feelings that also need to be contended with. But was does scripture say? To “keep our bodies under subjection.”  The body, with its symptoms, will try to pull us back into unbelief. Pull us back into focusing on the natural realm. 

Most people only want to believe in healing when the physical symptoms are gone and they can see the condition as healed. But anyone can believe that when they are healed. The God kind of faith will praise Him for the answer even when the body is still suffering. Because it is reacting to the natural. But we operate on the SPIRITUAL, supernatural level of Faith! Amen!

I want to pray for you right now, that you will start to Praise God for the answer to your prayers right now, without waiting for the manifestation. Just start praising Him for the answer and then watch how fast the manifestation actually shows up!

Let’s pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

We have been studying these past few days about the importance of praying IN JESUS NAME. Notice in John 16:24, which we have been studying extensively, that Jesus said, “Ask, and you shall receive, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL.”

This verses has to apply to everything that touches your life and everything you need, or Jesus would have had to put a qualifier in that verse.  For instance, how in the world could your joy be full if your children are sick? How could your joy be full if  your rent was not paid. How could your joy be full if you could not pay your bills?

If you were about to lose your home or have your car repossessed, or your children are hungry because you could not buy groceries, could your joy be full? No!

You would not call that a spiritual blessing, would you?  NO! What you need is a MATERIAL BLESSING! Am I right? Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good!

That means John 16:23-24 apply to MATERIAL things as well as Spiritual things. Amen!

But yet, we see Christians going around with long faces, burdened down under natural circumstances, wondering what they are going to do… The perplexity and confusion on their faces affect their countenance. They have no hope and definitely NO JOY. Amen.

They have no joy because they either don’t know about this verse or some preacher at some point told them it only dealt with spiritual things and they were on their own when it came to material things.

I remember a story that Smith Wigglesworth once told. I shared before that I’m a student of Smith Wigglesworth. I read all I can find on him. Amen. But in this story, he related how one woman came up to him at some point and said, “You act like you are so full of joy, why?”

He related that just that morning, before he was getting to leave, his wife told him that their two children were upstairs and sick. They both went upstairs and laid hands on the little ones and prayed and they were instantly healed. Both children came downstairs and had breakfast with their parents. He said that his joy could not be full if he knew his children were sick. So they ASKED in JESUS NAME for their children to be healed and stood on the scripture so THEIR  JOY COULD BE FULL. Amen!

I believe that is the way it should be with all Christians. We need to stand on scripture as if it were true! Not just read it and wish it were true. Amen! People need to realize that the Joy of the Lord is IN the lives of believers. We have it already! We just need to start acting like it is so. Amen!

Remember too, that when you ask, you have to maintain that joy even BEFORE the manifestation comes! But just knowing that, according to God’s Word and the promises of Jesus, you already HAVE what you have asked for, IN JESUS NAME, that should cause you to have “joy unspeakable!” Glory to God. 

You should have a bounce to your step and a thrill in your heart, KNOWING that the God that created the Universe is YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER and He wants you to be FULL OF JOY! Amen!

Know that when you receive your prayers manifesting, no devil in hell will be able to steal your joy from you. So, start walking in that victory as soon as you pray. Jesus said IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU of our Father in Heaven! Amen!

Let’s pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Scripture For Today:

We have been studying these past few days about the importance of praying IN JESUS NAME. This one thing can move you from wondering IF God hears your prayers to KNOWING GOD hears your prayers! Why? Because Jesus said so! Amen!

When some people read Mark 11:24 where it says, “What things soever you desire, WHEN you pray, believe that you receive them and YOU SHALL HAVE THEM…” they believe that the verse only refers to spiritual blessings. 

Like yesterday, we covered this from John 16 verses 23-24 as well. 

But you would not call “whatsoever you desire” just a spiritual blessing would you? What things you desire refers to desires of the heart. Amen!

Jesus is not talking only about spiritual blessings here. They are included, of course. But He is teaching on having your material, physical things being met as well. Physical blessings as well as spiritual blessings. So what He is teaching in Mark 11:24 is both, PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL desires. Amen!

Some people even claim that Jesus doesn’t answer personal prayers. He’s too busy or something I guess they believe. But I don’t see that ANYWHERE in the Bible. But yet, they mistakenly believe it in their heart. So they go without. When they do pray, they don’t really believe their prayers will be answered. So guess what? They are right! Because what they are believing is exactly what they receive. They believe in their heart their prayer is not answered and they receive their hearts desire – no answer.

How tragic! And the worst part is, there are people today (even preachers) who believe that way. Someone will come up and ask the preacher to pray because they have cancer or some such thing and the doctor says there is nothing they can do. So they call the preacher to pray. 

They don’t believe God hears or answers their prayers. The preacher doesn’t believe God hears or answers their prayers. Oh, they believe that GOD CAN answer their prayers. They just don’t believe HE WILL answer their prayers. IF He does, “it was an act of Divine Will.” 

Excuse me. Can you show me where that is located in the Bible? I can’t find one spot where Jesus taught that way. I can find several that said HE WILL HEAL. I can find several where He said, “Be it unto you according to your faith.” I can find several where He said, “IT SHALL BE DONE UNTO YOU.” Etc. 

But yet, misguided preachers are teaching misguided scriptural ideas against what Jesus taught.

What do we have. Two misguided people, praying in agreement together, believing they will not receive an answer to the prayer from God. What do they receive? The exact thing they are believing. NOTHING.

Don’t be misled by that!  Pray IN JESUS NAME and BELIEVE YOU RECEIVE WHAT YOU ASK FOR AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU BY OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN! Amen and Amen!

I want to pray, in agreement with you, right now that your spiritual man, the real you, has grasped this concept and that you will start to believe it and act on it. In Jesus Name…and that you will start to see your prayers as answered. Amen!

Let’s pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2