PRAYER

10 GENERAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING PRAYER

1. Decide what you want from God

a. Get the Scriptures that definitely promise you these things
b. If the Scriptures don’t promise you what you want, you
shouldn’t be praying for them.
c. You shouldn’t want anything that the Word of God says you
shouldn’t have.
d. You shouldn’t pray beyond your faith. That is for more
than you can truly believe for.
e. 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. Pray in the Spirit and ask the Lord to
expand your capacity to believe and receive.
f. You need to pray with confidence and trust.
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.

g. You can’t “Hope” God will do it, or “Hope” it’s His will, you
have to KNOW it.
h. Get the Scriptures firmly fixed in your heart as well as in
your mind. This takes some work – it’s part of planting
your spiritual garden. This is the planting and tending of
the garden that helps make the seeds grow.
i. Meditate on these Scriptures until they become a part of
you.
j. Be ready to use the Word (the Scriptures you have been
receiving into your heart) against doubt, fear, unbelief, etc.
You answer the devil the same way Jesus did – “IT IS
WRITTEN.” Use the Sword!
k. This is fighting the good fight of faith and keeping the
“birds” out of the covenant. Remember when God made
His covenant with Abraham, it was Abraham’s
responsibility to keep the birds from stealing the elements
of the covenant.
i. This takes a little time, but if you don’t take the time
to protect and cultivate what God has given you, you
will lose it!

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 ii. We have to fight we have an enemy. If there weren’t
any hindrances to your receiving, God never would
have told you that you had to fight!
iii. 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.
iv. 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.
When you have the foundation of God’s Word firm
under you, then you CAN stand your ground.
Remember, you are building your house upon the
Rock – the firm foundation of the revelation of Jesus
Christ. He IS the Word.

2. Ask God for the things you want and believe that you have them.
a. The word says that we have to ask even though God knows
our desires and needs. Many times people make the
mistake of thinking, “Oh, I just leave it in God’s hands. He
knows what I want and need.” This is foolish and
unscriptural. It is also lack of responsibility on our part.
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.

b. God has so designed His covenant to include responsibility

on our part. We have to yoke up together with Him in
prayer.
c. 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.

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 d. Once you have confirmed that it is the will of God for
something in your life, THEN (not after you get it, but right
THEN) you are to believe that you have received it.
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,
e. Everything we need has been provided for us in the
spiritual realm. We can’t see the spiritual realm with our
natural eyes, but we’re to believe we have those spiritual
things.
f. The Lord told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have NOT
seen and yet believe.”
g. The natural mind can’t grasp believing what it can’t see,
but we’re supposed to be walking according to the Spirit,
not the natural or the flesh (senses).
h. Don’t make the mistake of relying on people, your feelings,
your emotions, or your mind to confirm things for you –
rely on the Word of God ALONE!!
i. 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. It’s only in
those areas that are not clear in the Word, like should I
move to Florida?

3. Let your every thought, word, desire, and action (faith is an

action word) affirm that you truly believe you have what you
asked for.
a. Be positive, not negative. Watch yourself and guard
against grumbling, complaining and unbelief.
b. Never permit negative thoughts or mental pictures of
failure to remain in your mind. They will cause
discouragement and eventually bring you to hopelessness
and unbelief.
c. Never allow doubt. Come against all doubt and bring those
thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ by fighting with
the Word. Get your mind on the answer.

James 4:7
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee
from you.

d. Uproot and remove everything that does not contribute to

faith. That includes letting God deal with you concerning

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 the sins in your life that can hinder the answers to your
prayers. The first part of James says – SUBMIT TO GOD.
You can’t resist the devil until you have done that.
e. Act on God’s word in every area of your life.

4. Thoughts are governed by observation, association, and

teaching.
a. Guard against every evil thought that enters your mind.
b. Stay away from places, people, and things that don’t
encourage your faith. Be especially careful of those
places, people, and things that actually, openly
DISCOURAGE your faith.
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.
a. See yourself as having what you asked for. Now, I am not
advocating some kind of vain imagination or imagery here.
That borders on occult. I am talking about an attitude of
seeing yourself as having it.
b. 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.
c. The Hebrew word for attend is Qashab and it means to
prick up your ears.
6. In your waking moments, think on the greatness of God and His
goodness.
a. 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.

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 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.
(I suggest you read this Psalm in its entirety.)
b. 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.
c. Nothing means NOTHING!!! Guard your heart for out of it
flow the issues of life!

7. Make all prayer relative to what you’ve asked a statement of

faith and not unbelief!
a. It is thinking faith thoughts and speaking faith words that
leads you out of defeat into victory.
b. Remember your faith is in THE WORD (or Person) of GOD!
Not in your doctrines or traditions. Not in yourself – how
hard you work, how much you believe, how spiritually
gifted you are, how big your ministry is, how powerfully the
gifts move in your life! These subtleties can often
undermine you before you know it.
8. Forgiveness
a. 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

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heaven may forgive you your transgressions. 26["But if you do
not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive
your transgressions."]
b. We all love Mark 11:23-24 about power and moving
mountains and having what we ask for, but we don’t
always like this part of the scripture.
c. 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.
d. 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.
e. This is a spiritual law – a principle that cannot be broken or
gotten around. Forgiveness for yourself requires
forgiveness of others. We will be teaching on forgiveness
in our study on Stewardship.
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

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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."

f. 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.
g. Those coals are not for hurt, but for good. They are to
bring conviction and repentance, that’s why the Lord will
reward you.
h. We don’t treat our enemies like the world does. We love
them. That’s what makes us different from the world – we
love.

9. 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.

a. Jesus came to bring us TO THE FATHER. Our relationship is

with the Father through the Son.
b. We certainly can talk to Jesus, love Him, and worship Him,
but when it comes to asking for help we go to the Father.

10. 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).

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 a. There are different kinds of prayer. We have to be sure we
are praying the right kinds of prayer in the right
circumstances. For instance, you are not going to pray a
prayer of thanksgiving for a broken leg. As foolish as that
sounds, some people do not understand that.
b. You cannot pray the prayer of faith or agreement for a
particular mate. In other words you can’t see a girl or a
guy walking down the street and say I want to marry
him/her and then “claim” that person for yourself. That’s
witchcraft! Again, some people don’t know that.
c. So, if there are different kinds of prayer for different things,
then we ought to know what they are.

SIX KINDS OF PRAYER

1. The Prayer of Faith

2. The Prayer of Binding and loosing
3. The Prayer of Intercession
4. The Prayer of Agreement, or United Prayer
5. The Prayer of Worship and Thanksgiving
6. The Prayer of Consecration or Commitment

Example:
Comparison of prayer to sports – there are different rules for different
games. I can’t be playing basketball by football rules or I’ll be in big
trouble and have little chance of winning.

I. THE PRAYER OF FAITH

a. This could be called the prayer that changes things and
circumstances or situations.
b. Our base scripture is Mark 11:23-24
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.
c. The prayer of faith is generally prayed for things. Things in
the physical world.
i. Things such as homes
ii. Finances
iii. Transportation
iv. Health
v. Or other material needs

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 d. You never put an IF in the prayer of faith because the
promises for these things are in the word of God.
i. The only time you use an “if” is when you are
praying for a specific – such as the green Cadillac at
the local dealer. That is something that has to be
ascertained from God first before you can pray in
faith on it. IS that THE car that the Lord wants for
you.
ii. Otherwise, this prayer is prayed for things in general
– Lord thank you for providing safe, solid
transportation for me, and my family. A car that will
not break down. One that is in good working order.
One that has a tape deck so I can listen to the word,
etc.
e. You find the promise, meet the conditions (this is VERY
important), stand on the promise, and believe it.
f. You pray the answer in the prayer of faith – As in the
example I gave earlier – Thank you for providing a safe,
well-running car.
i. The answer to this kind of prayer is ALWAYS in the
word.
ii. The word says to ask the Greek word there is
actually demand! So we need to demand what HE
WANTS us to have. (We aren’t really demanding of
Him, we’re demanding the devil to release it.)
iii. We don’t pray this prayer in an arrogant tone
because we think we deserve all these “things.”
Rather, we pray with an attitude of trust and faith,
thanksgiving and gratitude, because He has made
these things available to us. Because in His mercy
He has seen fit to provide for us.
1. Come boldly before the throne of grace
Hebrews tells us, to receive that mercy and
grace to help in your time of need.

Isaiah 43:26
"Put Me in remembrance; let us argue our case together,
State your cause, that you may be proved right.
You’re always proved right when your motive is love and your basis
for asking is the Word of God.
Isaiah 48:11
"For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My
name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.
Again, the motive here is love – love for Him, for His Name’s sake,
concern that His Name not be profaned. Moses prayed for God to

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move so that the nations would not say – look, their God couldn’t
deliver them.

Isaiah 62:6-7
I have set watchmen upon your walls O Jerusalem, who will
never hold
their peace day or night; you who (are His servants and by
your
prayers) put the LORD in remembrance (of His promises), keep
not
silence, 7And give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem
and
makes her a praise in the earth.
2. We come and demand because He asks us to!
3. Do you think we have to ask and remind Him
because He can’t remember? No, it’s so that
WE don’t forget! So that WE remain forceful
and strong in our asking.
iv. Ask for the things He has promised. Believing =
receiving!
Matthew 21:21-22
And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if
you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what
was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain,
'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it shall happen. 22"And all
things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."
1. We can have that kind of belief when we, like
Jesus, have heard from the Father and are
acting in obedience.
2. Mountains are governments and authorities.
We can cast the authority of the devil into the
sea and out of our lives when we have HIS
WORD to stand on and HIS NAME to back us.
g. This kind of prayer is a prayer for YOU. It is a prayer that
YOU pray.
i. Things that YOU desire, when YOU pray, YOU will
receive.
ii. This is not a prayer that others pray FOR you. That
comes in the prayer of agreement. This prayer is
personal – between you and God and anyone you
care to have AGREE with you in prayer. This will be
covered under the prayer of agreement later.
iii. This prayer involves a desire on your part, and a
responsibility on your part to pray and believe.

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 iv. You can pray the prayer of faith for a baby Christian
to a point, and it will work on your faith, but after
awhile it won’t work anymore. They will be required
to stand for themselves and exercise their own faith
or they will never grow and mature.
h. This prayer is for THINGS, NOT PEOPLE, AND NOT OTHER
PEOPLE’S THINGS!
i. Whatsoever things YOU desire – a person is not a
thing and wanting other people’s things is
covetousness and greed, and those are sins.
ii. You can’t claim a person as yours. That is usurping
his/her will and you don’t have that right given to
you in the word.
iii. You can’t pray for things like their business to fail
because it is keeping them away from fellowship.
That is witchcraft. You can pray that God will cause
them to realize that their priorities are out of order
and correct them according to HIS will.
i. The Prayer of Faith is a prayer designed to ALWAYS be
answered because it is prayed in accordance with His Will
as revealed in His Word.
i. You have to know the Word to successfully pray the
prayer of faith. This prayer is based squarely on the
promises in HIS WORD!
ii. Psalm 34:4 (amplified)
I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required
Him (of necessity and on the authority of His
Word) and He heard me, and delivered me
from all fears.

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.
1. Whatever you ask ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL,
He hears, and you have.
2. If it’s not promised in the word, or if God has
not given you a specific promise in your heart,
don’t pray the prayer of faith.
j. Claiming people for salvation will be covered under
intercessory prayer. Although there is faith involved in this
type of prayer, there are different rules and spiritual laws
that apply here.
i. Again, usurping people’s wills in prayer is witchcraft
and manipulation. Stay away from claiming people.

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k. All the promises associated with the prayer of faith are found in the
word and the answers are there also. Scripture says they are all YES
and AMEN. 2 Corinthians 1:20
For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are
yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God
through us.
ii. Example – The prayer of faith WILL heal the sick
iii. By His stripes you ARE healed.
iv. Speak to the mountain and it WILL move
v. Whatever you pray according to His will you WILL
receive
vi. Why? Because He promised it, and it’s your Father’s
good pleasure to give you the Kingdom IF you abide
in Him and His word abides in you.
vii. Then, you can ask what you will, according to His
will, and His promises to you, and you WILL receive
when you don’t doubt in your heart!

REASONS WHY YOUR PRAYER MAY NOT BE ANSWERED

1. There are many variables to answered prayer. Some of them
need to be discerned by the Spirit, however, many of them are
given in the word and are easily discernible. So, if you’re
standing in faith and nothing is happening, or you feel that
something is wrong, or you’re missing it somewhere, check this
list:
a. You may be praying amiss.
i. You may be praying for something that God hasn’t
promised or something He doesn’t want you to have.
ii. Check the Scripture for the promise that would apply
to your prayer.
iii. Check with the Holy Spirit for confirmation that you
are praying in the will of God.

b. You may be praying out of a wrong motive.

i. You may be praying greedily without putting God
first.
ii. You may be getting into lust (a strong, overwhelming
desire or longing for) rather than desire.
1. Desire is to want according to Webster’s
Dictionary.
2. To want implies need according to the same
dictionary.
iii. An example of praying with a wrong motive could be
something like: “I desire my husband’s salvation so
that my life will be easier.” God desires your
marriage to be a blessing and a light, a visible

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 example of Christ and the church, so He already has
your happiness in His will and in His plan; but He
desires you to be unselfish and not greedy for self-
gratification. He wants you to be concerned about
the physical and spiritual well being of your husband.
Matthew 6:33
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all
these things shall be added to you.
c. You may not be delighting yourself in God and seeking first
His Kingdom.
i. Check your priorities
ii. If He is not first and foremost in your life and other
people or other things and desires hold that first
place, then that is idolatry and God cannot fulfill your
request for an idol.
iii. Idolatry is an abomination to Him in any form, overt
or subtle. In the Book of Samuel, it says that
stubbornness is as idolatry. Check your attitudes
and your openness toward God’s correction and
direction.
d. You may be allowing your abundance or your lack to
determine how strongly you follow, how serious your
commitment to, and how heartily you worship and give
thanks to Jesus and the Father. That’s a greedy, selfish
attitude and it’s wrong and it’s sin.
e. You may not be living like you’ve been engrafted in God.
i. Sinful habits have to be dealt with
ii. The ways of the world have to be turned away from
iii. Fleshly lusts have to be given up
iv. Self has to be denied. That’s the first term of
discipleship – take up the cross (put the flesh to
death) and deny yourself, and follow me!
f. Are you doing the praying, or are you relying on someone
else’s faith and effort?
i. Are you praying with strong purpose of heart or are
you half-hearted and lukewarm?
ii. Are you willing to be persistent and steadfast, or are
you lazy and passive?
iii. Have you wearied in well doing? If so, call someone
to stand alongside of you, pray for your strength, and
encourage you and repent and get back on the track!
g. Are you believing?
i. You can’t just hope, you must believe (trust, rely on,
cling to, and act on or obey) God and His Word.
There has to be works or fruit of faith to prove your
faith.

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 ii. We need to put the same trust and reliance upon
God that we’ve been taught to put in Dr.’s and
medical science for instance.
h. Are you praying correctly or in unbelief?
i. When you pray the prayer of faith your prayer should
have the answer in it.
ii. You do not pray the problem in this prayer without
praying the answer!
iii. Wrong example: “Lord, please help me get rid of this
sin, you know I have so much trouble with it and I
don’t want it.” That is NOT the prayer of faith.
iv. Right example: “I thank you Father that I am dead to
this sin because your word tells me that sin no longer
has dominion over me. I thank you Father that you
bore all my transgressions and iniquities, and that
the precious blood of Jesus paid the price for this sin.
His sacrifice was complete and in His Name, this sin
has no power over me. I ask your forgiveness for
allowing this in my life, and I willingly walk away from
it and command it to go from me now in Jesus Name.
Thank you for the authority you’ve given me in that
Name. I receive my freedom by faith in Jesus Name!
Devil it is written – submit to God, resist the devil and
he WILL flee. (James 4:7)
v. Then continue to stand against temptation from the
enemy. Be steadfast and hold fast your confession
(the one you made in prayer). He HAS to flee.
vi. Having done all to stand, stand therefore…………

II. THE PRAYER OF BINDING AND LOOSING- OR COVENANT

PRAYER
Matthew 16:18-19
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not
overpower it. 19"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven."
In this Scripture, what was the “Rock” Jesus was referring to? It was
the “rock” of the revelation knowledge of the Christ! Who He is!

The church is built up in strength, power, and victory as it comes into

the revelation knowledge about “The Word” of God – written and living.

Matthew 18:18-20

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 "Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven. 19"Again I say to you, that if two of you
agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be
done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20"For where
two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in
their midst."
The “I AM” in verse 20 refers to all that He is. There He is, in all His
fullness, in your midst! Wow, what a promise that is.

John 16:23-24 (Amplified)

“And when that time comes, you will ask nothing of Me (you
will need to ask Me no questions). I assure you, most solemnly
I tell you, that My Father will grant you whatever you ask in My
Name (as presenting all that I AM) 24 Up to this time you have
not asked a (single) thing in My Name (as presenting all that I
AM); but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so
that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Jesus said, “Presenting all that I AM.” Moses was told by God to tell
them I AM that I AM has sent you. There’s no limitation in that Name.
It represents total limitlessness. When we ask in the Name of Jesus,
we’re asking of a limitless power with limitless authority. The only limit
to the Name of Jesus is that which is placed on the believer in the Word
of God. That we do all in His Will, and for His Glory, and meet the
conditions He gives for each believer, and each situation and/or prayer.

1. The secret to the prayer of binding and loosing is in the Name of

Jesus and what that Name means.
2. The prayer of binding and loosing is activated in the Name of
Jesus.
3. Verse 24 told us it is this way so that your joy may be full and
complete.
a. It’s hard to have complete joy without the favor of God,
and without getting answers to your prayers.
b. Jesus said ask in My Name and you will receive so that your
joy may be full and complete.
4. The word bind means to forbid.
a. Whatever you bind or declare unlawful on earth will be
forbidden and declared unlawful from heaven.
b. Whatever you loose, or allow, or deem lawful on earth, will
be allowed from heaven.
c. That puts a lot of responsibility on the believer. We just
want to say – “Oh it’s in God’s hands. He knows and He’ll
take care of it!” No, that’s not the way He set things up.
We work with Him, and He won’t work apart from us.

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 d. Jesus said that this was the keys to the Kingdom. This
prayer puts the covenant to work for us.
5. Through the prayer of binding and loosing we are actually God’s
agents on the earth. We are an extension of His will and His
authority through prayer.
a. Through the Name of Jesus we are acting as God’s
ambassadors on earth allowing and forbidding the things
that heaven has already declared lawful or unlawful. We’re
like the spiritual police force enforcing the spiritual law of
the land.
b. When we came into covenant with God, we promised that
all that we have is now His; and in return, He promised that
all that He has is now ours! I think we got the better of
that deal!
c. The prayer of binding and loosing puts this covenant to
work.
i. The believer represents the will of God in this prayer.
We’re the lawyers for the defense!!

6. There are two points to remember or two keys that will help you
move in the prayer of binding and loosing:
a. 1 John 4:17
By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have
confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also
are we in this world.
As He is, so are we in this world – we represent all that He is.
1. Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope
of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His
inheritance in the saints,
It’s the hope of HIS CALLING, not OUR CALLING. We need
to seek to know and live the full expectation of HIS
CALLING – a son/daughter, an heir, a conqueror, doing His
Will on earth. That’s your calling – to represent HIM and
HIS WILL.
2. Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer
I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
It’s His Ministry, His Life, and His calling that we’re living in.
The word says he is the head and we are the body. What
belongs to the head, belongs to the body!

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 The head might be at the right hand of the Father, but
everything from the neck down is operating right here on
earth! When we operate in the prayer of binding and
loosing, we are moving on earth in agreement with the
head in heaven – it’s covenant prayer!
b. The second key is in John 15:7
i. John 15:7
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.
This says that if you ABIDE in Jesus and His Word ABIDES in
you, then you can ask whatever you will and it will be done
for you by the Father.
ii. In covenant prayer, IF he has your all, then He is free
to give you His all!
iii. The new Covenant gives us the right to become Sons
of God!
John 1:12-13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His
name, 13who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
iv. As a son, we go to the Father not with arrogance and
pride, but with thanksgiving and faith, and with
boldness because we come in HIS Name
v. He paid a dear price for your privileges, blessings,
authorities, and freedom, and He wants you to stand
on His Word and believe that you have them so that
you will enforce them in your life.
vi. The keys to the Kingdom were first prophesied in
Isaiah 22:
Isaiah 22:22
"Then I will set the key of the house of David on his
shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he
shuts no one will open.
vii. Shutting and opening, binding and loosing, that
“key” was laid on His shoulders, His body. We are
His body! That key was given to us as the Body of
Christ.
viii. Why does binding and loosing work for us in His
Name?
Revelation 3:7-8
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who
opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens,
says this: 8'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you

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an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little
power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
ix. Verse 8b tells us: Because you have a little power
(or strength in the original) and have kept My word,
and have not denied My Name!
How to operate in the prayer of binding and loosing
1. You do NOT use it to bind the free will of another. You must bind
ONLY that which is already bound (or forbidden) in heaven, and loose
only that which is already loosed (declared lawful) in Heaven.
2. Matthew 18:18 (Amplified Bible)
Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be
improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already
forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare
proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted
in heaven.
a. Free will is NOT bound in heaven.
b. You cannot go beyond the word of God with binding and
loosing.
c. Like the prayer of faith, what you are asking, or binding
or loosing, must be within the promises of God or the
written word.
Examples:
Sickness: I forbid (bind) that cold to come on me in Jesus Name
because by His stripes I am healed. He defeated you sickness. You’re
a work of the enemy. (And the enemy IS bound by heaven from
putting sickness on God’s Children. Even under the old covenant it
said that if we would walk in God’s ways and keep His commandments
NONE of the diseases would come upon us.)

A service: I bind all hindrances to this service tonight in Jesus Name.

Satan you will NOT bring unbelief and doubt into our midst. (Unbelief
and doubt
are the work of the enemy and are bound in heaven.)

Ability to hear spiritually: I loose his/her spiritual ears to receive the

word of God. (Our spiritual hearing is not only allowed in heaven, but it
is the express will of God that we hear and understand His word. It is
His express will that we be led of the Spirit.)

The prayer of binding and loosing then is forbidding what God has
already told you you’re free from and loosing the blessings, victory,
healing, etc. that He won for you at the cross and promised in His
word. The things He said it’s His will for you to have! Binding and
loosing is enforcing the covenant!

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III. THE PRAYER OF INTERCESSION
Ephesians 6:18
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and
with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and
petition for all the saints,
a. All the saints – that includes enemies, brothers, sisters,
families, other churches, your own church, etc.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions
and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings
and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a
tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3This is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of
the truth.
1.First of all – the word says we are to intercede for all men
a. Then for those in authority
b. Why?
c. So we can live quiet and peaceable lives
with godliness and dignity.
d. Our lives can be quiet and dignified when
man respects and honors the sanctity of
human life for all, the rights of all, the
feelings of all, and when he understands
the purpose of all. That can only become
a reality when man comes to know God.
2.We need to learn to put first things first. We’re to intercede for ALL
men, and for those in authority.
a. It could be that many of our own prayers for ourselves are not
being answered because we aren’t following divine order.
b. God’s divine order is that we put others first.

3. Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
a. This Psalm says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord He will
give us the desires of our hearts.
b. Someone who’s always seeking their own needs and desires to be
met is not delighting themselves in the Lord.
i. To delight yourself in the Lord is to be like Him; to
delight in His attitudes, His nature, and His character.
Jesus’ nature was to put other’s first. He always
sought the best for others.
ii. It was always:

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 First the Father
Then others
It needs to be the same with us.

c. If we’re delighting in the Lord, we’ll be so busy praying for the

needs of others we won’t be worrying about our own needs.
d. There is a wrong emphasis on getting in today’s Gospel. That was
NOT the message Jesus came to bring. His message was one of
giving, not getting.
e. Psalm 37:4 gives us the peace and assurance that in focusing on
others instead of ourselves, we will NOT be forgotten, rather as
we’re focusing on the needs of others He’ll be taking care of us!

4. As faith walking, spirit walking Christians, the majority of our prayers

and confessions should be being made for others! The balance of Mark
11:23:24 is 1 John 3:22:
1 John 3:22
and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep
His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His
sight.
a. Those things that are pleasing in His sight include an attitude of
giving and putting others first in thought and prayer.
b. Deny self – self denial means to put others first out of a heart of
love and with joy.
i. It is not a religious exercise done with an attitude of “I
MUST KILL THIS FLESH AND FORCE MYSELF TO DO
THIS FOR SO AND SO OR GOD WILL BE MAD AT ME.
OR WORSE YET, I HAVE TO DO THIS OR I WON’T GET
WHAT I WANT!”
ii. That attitude is no better than legalism or working for
God’s approval or worse yet, working to get something
for yourself.
iii. What is your purpose of heart? The Bible says we
should have strong purpose of heart, or strong
motives; however those motives have to be, not only
strong, but also correct!

c. We break divine order when we put ourselves first.

i. We stop abiding in His nature, or in Him, when we
break divine order, and it will hinder our prayers.
ii. His nature is to put others first, and the word clearly
states, that only when we abide in Him do we ask
what we will and have it done for us.
d. Initially, abiding in Jesus is being grafted into the tree; but then
the fiber of the branch and the fiber of the tree reach out to one

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 another and intertwine until the branch is fully grafted in, and
knitted together with, the fabric of the tree.
e. The thoughts and attitudes of God need to be intertwined with
our thoughts until we become like Him.
Luke 6:38
"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your
lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to
you in return."
f. God stirs men’s hearts to give unto you when you’re praying for
others out of a right motive.
i. A right motive is one of joy, love, and giving back
because God has given so much to you.
ii. It’s not forcing yourself to give so you’ll get a blessing
or so you’ll get in good with God!
iii. He knows your heart, your dead works won’t mean a
thing, and they’ll be burned up at the judgment
anyway!
g. So, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 says to pray for all men and for the
government first of all.
i. We don’t pray for them because they are good or bad.
ii. We don’t pray for them because we like them or we
don’t.
iii. We pray for them in obedience to the Father, and
because of Jesus.
1. He gave His life for them too. Verse 4 says He
wants ALL men to be saved.
iv. We pray for our government so that we can live in
peace, in godliness, and in honesty; and so that we
can spread the Gospel.
v. The Gospel flourishes in times of peace. During times
of war and unrest, people are preoccupied with strife
and self.
vi. Remember, just like Jesus, we’re not in the world to
condemn it and convict it, that’s the job of the Holy
Spirit – convicting men of sin. We’re here to magnify
the goodness of God and it’s the goodness of God that
leads men to repentance (Romans 2:4)
vii. We are the salt, or the preservative, our job is to keep
the grace and the mercy of God moving among the
people of the world to give them every opportunity to
be saved.
viii. How do we do this? We do it by intercession. We are
intercessors – our whole life is intercession.

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 ix. Jesus was an intercessor here on earth and He is still
interceding for us today at the right hand of the Father
in heaven.
x. Actually, only in the Old Testament were we
considered soul winners. In the Old Testament you
approached men on a mental level only and convinced
them to obey God.
xi. (Soul – mind, will, emotions) We don’t save souls
anymore!! Spirits need rebirth and it’s been made
available through Jesus. Only God can search the
heart or spirit of a man and change it.
xii. Jesus already brought salvation, our job as evangelists
now, under the new covenant, is intercession.
Preparing the hearts of men to receive Jesus.
xiii. It is the ministry of standing in the gap between the
new covenant and the lost and dying world and being
in a position of intercession – praying them into a state
of openness so they will come and open the door and
let Jesus into their lives to change their hearts.
xiv. We’re not soul winners, we’re intercessors! We’re no
longer getting people to be convinced in their MINDS,
but changed in their hearts; and only Jesus can do
that.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance
or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for
God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
We judge men by what we can see. In the New Testament, it warns us
against doing that. Only God can judge a man, because only God
knows what’s in his heart.

I was reading a book that told of a man who had a vision. In this vision
he saw two men. One behaved very well in a certain situation, the
other did not. When the Lord spoke to the man who had the vision he
asked him which of the two men the man thought should be
commended. The man said the one who handled things so well. The
Lord replied, no, the other man. The man asked why and the Lord
answered by telling him that the man who had done well had received
love and been given much all of his life and his doing well was a result
of all that had been given to him. The other man had not been loved
and had received little all of his life, and the little good he was able to
do in the situation was a result of the little he had received.

To whom much is given, much is required.

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1 Kings 8:39
….then hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive
and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose
heart Thou knowest, for Thou alone dost know the hearts of all
the sons of men,

Proverbs 17:3
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But the LORD tests hearts.

Jeremiah 17:10
"I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to
each man according to his ways, According to the results
of his deeds.

John 2:23-25
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the
feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which
He was doing. 24But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting
Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25and because He did
not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He
Himself knew what was in man.

Acts 1:24
And they prayed, and said, "Thou, Lord, who knowest the
hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast
chosen

1 Thessalonians 2:4
but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted
with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God,
who examines our hearts.

Revelation 2:23
'And I will kill her children with pestilence; and all the
churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and
hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your
deeds.
1. The Lord knows the heart of man. No amount of talking will change
a man’s heart. Talking can change the mind at best, but never the
heart.
2.We may bring men to a place of openness and knowledge by
witnessing, talking, and teaching, but only through intercession will we
touch men’s hearts for a true life change.

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3.Only through intercession can the debris be cleared and the ground
of the heart softened and prepared so that Jesus can change and
transform.
4. Ezekiel 22:30-31
"And I searched for a man among them who should build up
the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I
should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31"Thus I have
poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them
with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their
heads," declares the Lord GOD.
There was no intercessor. If there was an intercessor, one man to
stand in the gap, the wrath of God would never have come upon them.
Just one!
a. The law of sowing and reaping took effect here. God had held
back this law by His Grace. These people had sown
wickedness, lying, murder, corruption, etc., and they were
way overdue for payment.
i. God had kept back what they had sown from
coming upon them, giving them time to repent.
Finally He said is there anyone who’ll pray for
these people because I can’t hold it back any
longer. He was saying in effect, please pray and
ask me not to do it, and then I will have legal right
to hold back! But there was no one.
ii. God doesn’t just do whatever He wants. He can’t
just do anything. He can’t break spiritual law, nor
can He break His own covenant – His Word. We
have a part in that covenant because that’s the
way He set it up. We do our part, and He does
His. He won’t do ours, and we can’t do His!!
iii. The Father sent His Son into the house of bondage
and brought you out. There are others still there.
He wants you to go in, through intercession, and
bring them out. Not just the lost and dying world,
but your own brothers and sisters who are still
bound, hurting, and walking in areas of darkness.
b. Without a vision, the word says that the people perish. That is
they loosen and begin to slip away. The Father’s vision is the
healing and salvation of His people through intercession.
i. God wants all men saved. Why then doesn’t He
just do it? Because He still needs an intercessor,
someone to stand in the gap.
2 Corinthians 4:4
in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of
the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

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 ii. There are forces in this world whose job it is to
prevent the revelation of the truth of God’s word
from getting to the people; because if that
revelation came, it would be the end of their rule.
iii. Through intercession, we stand in the gap
between those evil forces and the hearts of men.
iv. We need to tune ourselves to the will of God and
get in line with it in intercession.
v. If we keep ourselves tuned into ourselves, we’ll be
so busy there we won’t care what Satan is doing
elsewhere and that’s what he likes. But if we stay
tuned to God and intercede, not only for the
unsaved, but also for our sisters and brothers in
Christ, we’re enforcing the victory that Christ won
for us at the cross.
vi. Through intercessory prayer, the hosts (angels) of
heaven are brought to your aid, and when you
intercede for others, it causes not only the Holy
Spirit, but angels to come and minister to those
you’re praying for.
vii. By effective intercession you can surround people
with the power of God.
1. You can’t MAKE a person get saved because
their will is involved, but you can create an
environment in the spirit of such a degree
that if at any time a hole opens up in their
heart and they begin to look towards God,
His power will be right there. We call that a
window of opportunity!
2. If people will turn their hearts to the Lord,
the Holy Spirit will reach in and get hold of
the cords of their heart and begin to draw
them.
3. Many are so buried in darkness, layers and
layers of darkness, that it takes much
cultivation in the soil of their hearts just to
penetrate a pinhole of light.
4. Through intercessory prayer, we clear those
layers of darkness or demon forces away
from the recipients of our prayers, enabling
the Holy Spirit to bring that light. How?
a. You pray down spiritual strongholds
(the defensive walls), spiritual
blindness, spiritual deafness, and
dullness of heart. You break up the
hard ground and pull the weeds and

25
 stones out as the Lord shows you
what they are.
b. You break the spiritual bondages that
hold them in darkness in the soulish
realm or the realm of the mind, will
and emotions. Strongholds such as:
i. Stubbornness
ii. Rebellion
iii. Rejection
iv. Fears
v. Traditions
vi. Idolatry
vii. Pride & Arrogance
viii. Lusts
ix. Addictions (drug and Alcohol,
etc.)
x. Sluggishness of mind
xi. Passivity
xii. Procrastination
xiii. Selfishness
xiv. Unbelief
xv. Doubt
xvi. Religious error
xvii. Division & strife
xviii. And a host of other things that
God will reveal as you pray.
c. The prayer of binding and loosing comes in here as well. You
bind those things from operating in their lives, and loose the
truth of the Word, the light of the Word to illuminate their
hearts and minds.
d. You pray for God’s mercy to cover their sin. Pray for His
mercy and grace to hold back the force of the law of sowing
and reaping.
e. When you wrestle in intercessory prayer and in groanings too
deep to be uttered your not wrestling with God, but WITH God
against demon powers.
Romans 8:26-27
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for
we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit
Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the
Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the
will of God.
i. Always use your helper in intercession. Let the
Holy Spirit help you. He comes to our aid the
Bible says.

26
 ii. He doesn’t do the praying for you, that’s your
responsibility, but He will show you what to pray
(He’ll give you the words and the insight). He
HELPS you, but you have to make yourself
available, open your mouth, and pray!
iii. Only God knows how to design an effective prayer
for each and every person and situation, because
He’s the one who searches and knows the hearts
of men.
f. Jesus is THE intercessor. He is the intercessor for all creation
and we are intercessors WITH Him. We are His vessels, we
are what He is in this world.
1 John 4:17
By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have
confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also
are we in this world.
g. He’s an intercessor at the right hand of the Father, and so are
we in this world.
h. Humility is very important in intercessory prayer. Abraham
was humble before God when he pleaded for Sodom and
Gomorrah. You’re coming before God with serious matters –
the lives of the people He gave His life for.
i. Humility though, does not mean that we crawl in like a worm
in front of God either. You’re a son/daughter of the Most High.
You’re an heir, clothed in His righteousness. Come believing
those things, with boldness, respect, and gratitude for what
you are because of Him.
j. As an intercessor, you’re taking the place of another, standing
in the gap. You’re pleading their case. Sometimes you’ll feel
their pain and sorrow too. Jesus, the Bible says, can be
touched with the feelings of our infirmities or weaknesses.
We are intercessors with Him, and we can be touched by
others pain, sorrow and weakness too.
k. Only men can intercede. Jesus is a man and He is God.
Therefore, He’s the perfect mediator between God and man.
l. This is how you get people “saved,” on your knees, standing
in the gap, praying, and interceding at the leading of the Holy
Spirit.
m. God can’t bless a, me, I, us attitude. That’s not His attitude or
His nature, so when that’s our attitude we’re not abiding in
Him. That is not an intercessor’s attitude.

God’s grace is holding back the law of sowing and reaping upon the
world today through the intercession of the saints. It’s the wall of
intercession offered up by the saints that keeps men from receiving for

27
their evil deeds and brings them to a point where they will
acknowledge God and repent.

The Galatians had received truth and then turned back to the law –
practicing legalism instead of grace.
Galatians 4:19
My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is
formed in you--
There’s no true birth into the Kingdom without the labor and travail of
intercession. Just like in natural births, some are quick, some are slow,
some are agonizing, but not one birth happens without some labor and
travail!

The reason why we have to labor and travail for a spiritual birth is
because Satan holds people even though he’s been defeated. He
steals from them and lies to them and he won’t give them up without a
fight.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this
darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places.
We need to forget our own needs, leaving them in God’s care, and
take up the needs of others in prayer.
1 Peter 5:7
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
We can trust Him to take care of us.

Praying in the Spirit

When you pray in the Spirit, you can be praying in English. It doesn’t
have to be in tongues. What it does have to be is led of the spirit. It
has to come from your heart and not your mind alone.
1 Corinthians 14:14-15
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is
unfruitful. 15What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the
spirit and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall sing with the
spirit and I shall sing with the mind also.
1.When you pray in tongues, you don’t always know what you’re
praying for. In intercessory prayer we need to pray with both the
mind, and the Spirit; with understanding and without it!
2.There are many things we could never intercede for with our
understanding.
a. Start somewhere, take some time and faithfully intercede.
Make a start and be steadfast. You’re a steward of the
privilege of prayer.
Ezekiel 22:30

28
 "And I searched for a man among them who should build up
the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I
should not destroy it; but I found no one.

IV. THE PRAYER OF AGREEMENT AND UNITED PRAYER

Matthew 18:19-20
19"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about
anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My
Father who is in heaven. 20"For where two or three have
gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst."
1. Gathered together in my name is not talking about a church service
only. It’s talking about gathering together in prayer and agreement on
what that Name means.
2. Believers need to agree, and to establish what it is they are in
agreement on.
a. We need to be in true agreement, not compromise, not
tolerance, but true agreement.
b. Agreement is not diplomacy. We must agree together in
order to effectively pray this prayer.
i. What we are agreeing on is God’s word on the
matter.
ii. We must totally, unwaveringly agree with God and
trust Him in the matter. We are agreeing with the
Word (with what God said).
iii. Agreement is gathering together in a heartfelt
revelation knowledge of what the word means and
then surrendering our ideas to His.
iv. 1John, Chapter 3, tells us that true fellowship or
agreement is IN the Father. It’s not talking about
meeting together and talking about the problem,
or enjoying each other, it’s talking about agreeing
together with the Father, in His Word.
c. Paul says, “Our Fellowship is with God.” We base our
fellowship on the Word. He goes on to say, “we say these
things and write these things to you so that you can have
fellowship with us (the brethren and the Father).
i. We need to give ourselves to complete agreement
with the Word.
ii. Don’t compromise agreement with God’s word for
any reason – it’s too precious.
iii. Staying in agreement with the Word means not
only believing what He says, but also with what
He’s done.

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 iv. He’s already healed you, saved you, set you free,
given you ALL you need for life and godliness, has
made His strength perfect in your weakness, etc.
v. You have not truly believed or come into
agreement with the Word until you have acted on
it in your life.
1. Faith is a force in your spirit, a substance,
the word says. Believing, true bible
believing, is when you act in agreement
with that force.
2. Letting the force of faith propel your actions
in a designated direction to obtain the result
of that faith.
3. Every Christian has faith because it was
given to them at the time they first believed
unto salvation, but not every Christian
believes – that is ACTS on that faith.
d. The prayer of Agreement is Faith in action! In Luke, chapter 5
we find the story of the paralyzed man who was let down
through the roof of a friends house so that they could get him
to Jesus to be healed. When Jesus saw this he said, in Luke
5:20:
Luke 5:20
And seeing their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are
forgiven you."
e. Letting the paralyzed man in through the roof was an example
of faith in action.
f. Matthew 9:20-22 is another example of faith in action:
Matthew 9:20-22
And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a
hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and
touched the fringe of His cloak; 21for she was saying to
herself, "If I only touch His garment, I shall get well." 22But
Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage;
your faith has made you well." And at once the woman was
made well.
g. James tells us that faith without works – or natural outward
actions that prove you believe what you say, is dead faith.
James 2:17
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

James 2:19-20
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also
believe, and shudder. 20But are you willing to recognize, you
foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

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James 2:26
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith
without works is dead.
h. The amplified bible says that faith without works of obedience
is dead.
i. We need to plant our faith in actions in order to bring forth a
harvest. It’s not enough to have faith within yourself, you
have to thrust that faith out into the world and plant it so that
it brings forth fruit or it’s dead faith.
j. We were not called to be alone. We were called as a Body to
be in agreement together with God’s Word. That’s what
brings forth fruit.
Acts 16:5
So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and
were increasing in number daily.
k. In Deuteronomy 32:30 we’re told that one puts 1,000 to flight
and 2 puts 10,000 to flight! We need each other. Do the
math – just think what 10, 50 or 100 of us can do!
l. The prayer of agreement cannot be prayed for “unspoken
requests” because both parties must be in agreement, and if
one doesn’t know what the other wants, they can’t agree.
m. The prayer of agreement can be prayed with any of the other
kinds of prayer.
i. When you pray the prayer of agreement with the
prayer of faith, like the prayer of faith, the answer
must be in the word, so you must pray the
answer.
n. When prayed with the prayer of binding and loosing, the
prayer of agreement all who are praying MUST know their
authority and be in agreement with the Word of God on what
they’re praying. The prayer of agreement will not work unless
everyone is in agreement with the Word of God as it pertains
to the petition, in faith.
19"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about
anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My
Father who is in heaven. 20"For where two or three have
gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst."
o. The power that provides the answer comes from the Father in
Heaven as verse 20 points out – There I AM in your midst.
i. The Word says that when you pray the prayer of
agreement, meeting the conditions, it WILL be
done for you.
ii. You must have some personal knowledge, an
inner revelation on how this prayer works, and

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 you must know what the Word says about HIS
WILL in answering prayer, who God IS, before this
prayer will work for you.
iii. Like all other prayer, if you make it an empty
formula you rob it of its power, because you rob it
of its author and you rob it of faith.
iv. Because God’s word works, and the principles of
the word will work for everyone, you may stumble
into an answer here and there even while praying
empty formula; but that’s dead works and not
relationship. That’s not communion with the
Father through the Son. That’s not covenant
prayer, and that’s not really going to help you
grow or profit you anything of value (even if you
do get the material thing you’ve asked for), and
most important of all – that’s NOT a right attitude.
v. God is interested in attitude of heart most of all.
He doesn’t want your sacrifices or “dead works,”
he wants your obedience and love. Even “good
works” can be “dead works” when the attitudes
and motives behind them are wrong.
p. Prayer was not designed to get you what you want or to let
you have your own way about things. It was designed to
enable you to commune with the Father and to do His will
here on earth.
i. However, because His will includes your health,
growth, prosperity, and blessing, you will, in
addition to effecting His will, be blessed yourself.
But this should not be your uppermost motivation.
If it is, you’re praying amiss.

q. So, United Prayer, or the Prayer of Agreement, simply means

a number of believers united together in one place and in
agreement with God’s Word on a particular matter.
i. They must be in agreement not only with the
request, but with the fact that God wants to do His
will, or already has done it, depending on the
nature of the request.

r. Here are some examples of United Prayer from the Book of

Acts:
Acts 1:14
These all with one mind were continually devoting
themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

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Acts 4:23-31
And when they had been released, they went to their own
companions, and reported all that the chief priests and the
elders had said to them. 24And when they heard this, they
lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it
is Thou who DIDST MAKE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT
IS IN THEM, 25who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our
father David Thy servant, didst say,

'WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE,

AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?
26'THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND,
AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER
AGAINST THE LORD, AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.'

27"For truly in this city there were gathered together against

Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod
and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of
Israel, 28to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose
predestined to occur. 29"And now, Lord, take note of their
threats, and grant that Thy bond-servants may speak Thy word
with all confidence, 30while Thou dost extend Thy hand to
heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of
Thy holy servant Jesus." 31And when they had prayed, the
place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the
word of God with boldness.

Acts 13:1-4
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there,
prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called
Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2And while they
were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I
have called them." 3Then, when they had fasted and prayed
and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to
Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

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Acts 16:25-30
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to
them; 26and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that
the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and
immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains
were unfastened. 27And when the jailer had been roused out
of sleep and had seen the prison doors opened, he drew his
sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the
prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul cried out with a loud voice,
saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!" 29And he
called for lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell
down before Paul and Silas, 30and after he brought them out,
he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Acts 20:36-38
And when he had said these things, he knelt down and
prayed with them all. 37And they began to weep aloud and
embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38grieving
especially over the word which he had spoken, that they
should see his face no more. And they were accompanying him
to the ship.

V. THE PRAYER OF WORSHIP AND PRAISE

A. The Prayer of Praise and Worship is ministering to God. You don’t
bring petitions to God in the prayer of praise and worship
B. Ministering to the Lord
Psalm 22:3
Yet Thou art holy,
O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

Ephesians 5:18-19
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be
filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with
your heart to the Lord;

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always; 17pray without ceasing; 18in everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

C. In Acts 13:1-4 we read that certain prophets and teachers got

together and ministered to the Lord.

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 1. Ministering to the Lord with praise and worship?
a. The Holy Spirit can move in an atmosphere of praise and
worship
b. God doesn’t want us to take advantage of him or take him
for granted, but in addition to prayers of petition and
intercession, there should be praise and worship.
i. God desires fellowship and companionship, that’s
why you were created.
ii. God made man for his own pleasure, to fellowship
with him.
iii. He is our Father, because we are born of God. No
earthly parent ever enjoyed fellowship with their
children more than God enjoys fellowship with us.
c. In an atmosphere of worship, God will bring blessings,
things you may not even have asked for.
Acts 13:1-4
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there,
prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called
Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2And while they
were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I
have called them." 3Then, when they had fasted and prayed
and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to
Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
i. The word tells us here that as they were ministering
to the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke to them.
ii. Petition is not ministering to the Lord, so they were
not asking anything here. They weren’t asking God,
“What should Saul and Barnabus do?”
iii. They were just loving the Lord, and he blessed them
by giving them specific direction.
d. We need to come together just to minister to the Lord
sometimes.
Hebrews 13:15
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of
praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His
name.
e. We need to continually praise God, even in the midst of
dark circumstances; but it’s not ONLY in the midst of dark
circumstances that we need to praise him but at all times.
i. We are to praise and love God just because of who
He is.

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 ii. In a book I just read called “The Vision,” by Rick
Joyner, He gives a prophecy of the Lord: “When my
Father moves His little finger, the whole universe
trembles. To shake the nations with your words
does not impress anyone who dwells here (heaven).
But when even the lease of My brethren on earth
shows love, it brings joy to My Father’s heart. When
even the most humble church sings to My Father
with true love in their hearts, He silences all of
heaven to listen to them. He knows that one cannot
help but to worship when they are beholding His
glory here, but when those who are living in such
darkness and difficulty sing with true hearts to Him,
it touches Him more than all of the myriads of
heaven can.

Many times, the broken notes from earth caused all

of heaven to weep with joy as they beheld My
Father being touched. A few holy ones struggling to
express their adoration for Him has many times
caused Him to weep. Every time I see My brethren
tough Him with true worship, it makes the pain and
grief I knew on the cross seem like a small price to
pay. Nothing brings Me more joy than when you
worship My Father. I went to the cross so that you
could worship Him through Me. It is in this worship
that you, the Father, and I are all one.”

“This is why I went to the cross. Giving My Father

joy
for just one moment would have been worth it all.
Your
worship can cause Him joy everyday. Your worship
when you are in the midst of difficulties touches Him
even more than all of the worship of heaven. Here,
where His glory is seen, the angels cannot help but
worship. When you worship without seeing His glory
in the midst of your trials, that is worship in Spirit
and in truth. The Father seeks such to be His
worshipers. Do not waste your trials. Worship the
Father, not for what you will receive, but to bring
Him joy. You will never be stronger than when you
bring Him joy, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength.”

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 f. Continual praise is a sign of steadfastness and faith, and it
is also an expression of love. Out of the abundance of the
heart, the mouth speaks!
i. If your heart is full of praise and love for the Father,
it should be spilling out of your mouth.
Luke 24:50-53
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His
hands and blessed them. 51And it came about that while He
was blessing them, He parted from them. 52And they returned
to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the
temple, praising God.

Acts 2:46-47
And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their
meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
47praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the
Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were
being saved.
ii. They spoke and sang continual praises because their
hearts were full!
Luke 17:11-19
And it came about while He was on the way to Jerusalem, that
He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12And as He
entered a certain village, ten leprous men who stood at a
distance met Him; 13and they raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14And when He saw them,
He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And
it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed.
15Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed,
turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16and he fell on
his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a
Samaritan. 17And Jesus answered and said, "Were there not
ten cleansed? But the nine-- where are they? 18"Was no one
found who turned back to give glory to God, except this
foreigner?" 19And He said to him, "Rise, and go your way; your
faith has made you well."
iii. As they went in obedience to Jesus’ command, they
were healed. Only one came back and praised Him.
iv. The Amplified translation says that he fell at His feet
and thanked Him over and over again. (We need to
be overcome with praise like that too. If we were

37
 overcome with praise more often, we wouldn’t be so
easily overcome with the things of the world.)
1. In verse 14 it says that all 10 lepers were
cleansed. Cleansed here means to be made
clean, to cleanse, to purify, to cleanse of
physical stain or dirt. It is the Greek word
katharizo.
2. When leprosy is cleansed, the disease stops
spreading and the sores dry up and go away.
3. Verse 19 said of the one who turned back to
worship, that his faith made him well (the
original says whole). The word used in verse
19 is Sozo, which means salvation in its
fullness – to be restored to original condition.
That means that whatever limbs were
damaged or eaten away by the disease were
restored!
4. So it seems that 9 were cleansed of the
disease, but only the one who came back and
worshipped was made who – restored to
original condition spirit, soul, and body.
g. Praise – Victory Praise and praise as Warfare
i. You need to learn to praise BEFORE the victory
comes, in the midst of the battle.
ii. You need to KNOW who you’re praising and have
confidence in Him.
Psalm 8:2
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast
established strength,
Because of Thine adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
When Jesus quoted this Psalm in Matthew 21:16, He replaced the word
strength with the word praise. The joy of the Lord is our strength, so
praise then is a source of strength!
iii. In Acts, we see Paul and Silas in one the many dark
times they faced in spreading the Gospel.

Acts 16:23-26
And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they
threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them
securely; 24and he, having received such a command, threw
them into the inner prison, and fastened their feet in the
stocks. 25But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were
listening to them; 26and suddenly there came a great

38
earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were
shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and
everyone's chains were unfastened.
I think the fact that it was midnight is significant in that midnight is the
darkest hour of the day physically and spiritually. Like Paul and Silas,
when we’re at the midnights of our lives, those dark times when you
feel isolated and alone and you can’t see anything, a crisis, we too
need to praise God. Remember our praises at these times bring the
Father much joy, because He knows we know He loves us and we love
Him back in spite of our circumstances. He knows we trust Him to
bring us through, and that brings Him joy.
Psalm 50:23
"He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way aright
I shall show the salvation of God."
It’s not a sacrifice of thanksgiving if you’re happy about something
He’s just done for you. It’s a sacrifice when everything around you
wants to scream God where are you and why did you let this happen to
me – but instead you praise and thank Him for who He is and you trust
Him. That’s a sacrifice.

This is what Paul and Silas did and they were delivered. They could
have said, Lord we did what you told us and we boldly spoke in your
name, how come we wound up beaten and in jail. They could have
had a great pity party and invited each other to come – but they didn’t,
and they were delivered.
Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom
teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to
God.

iv. Proverbs 3:13 tells us, “Happy is the man that

findeth wisdom.” In Colossians 3:16 we just read
that we are to let wisdom dwell in us. We need the
wisdom and understanding of the Word. We need to
understand WHY we pray and praise.
v. We need to mature in the Word of Truth, and we will
as we let the Word dwell in us richly in all wisdom
and keep praise in our hearts and on our lips.
vi. As we understand the Word more, we’ll have more
to praise God about and more depth to our Praise.
vii. As we come to know and trust His love, we will find
ourselves praising and thanking Him more and
more. The love that fills our hearts will pour out our
mouths.

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 h. It is important that we understand how to use the
weapons of praise and worship. They are weapons of war
and we must be diligent in using them if we want the
victory over the circumstances of life.
i. The more you understand the word of God, the more
heartfelt your praise will be and the more powerful
this weapon will become. It will be second nature to
you.
ii. Praise is a weapon.
Psalm 149:6-9
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
7To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishment on the peoples;
8To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
9To execute on them the judgment written;
This is an honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the LORD!
This is a description of what praise does. That two-edged Sword is the
Sword of the Spirit. Combined with praise, it will execute vengeance,
punish peoples, bind kings with chains, and nobles (those with position
and power) with fetters of iron. It will execute the judgments that God
has written (binding and loosing!) This is an HONOR for all His godly
ones!
So praise – dance – sing – give thanks – delight yourself in Him – what a
way to fight! Glory to God.
2 Chronicles 20:21-22
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed
those who sang to the LORD and those who praised Him in holy
attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks
to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." 22And when
they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes
against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had
come against Judah; so they were routed.
When Jehoshaphat and Judah went out against the enemy, there were
3 armies – the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the children of Mt. Seir.
These three armies had banded and had gone out against Jehoshaphat
and Judah. He didn’t have the men or the trained army, from the
natural standpoint to withstand them.
iii. So, what did he do? Did he cry and moan or call a
meeting of the elders to discuss strategy or plan
retreat? No! He called a prayer meeting! They
fasted and prayed.

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 iv. Usually, in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God
would only move upon certain people – the
prophets. However, this time, the Spirit of God
moved upon a young man in the congregation and
he stood up and prophesied.
v. The Lord told them through his word, not to have
any fear, but to go out against them for the battle
was the Lord’s and not theirs. So, the next morning
they went out against the enemy and the Bible says
the praisers were put up front!
1. Just get a picture of this – they are going out
against three armies that have banded
together against them. Those armies are
trained, with swords, spears and javelins. So,
what do the Israelites do – right up front to
lead the parade, they put the praisers!
2. Jehoshaphat didn’t have a man up there with a
sword or a shield or a spear, or any armor. He
put the praisers up front to SING! Wow, that
doesn’t seem like a smart move in the natural.
If you didn’t understand and trust the Lord, I
don’t think you’d jump in to volunteer for that
choir!
3. They ministered to the Lord, they sang and
praised the Lord, just like Paul and Silas did in
that prison.
4. I want you to notice something here, it says
they said, “"Give thanks (or Praise) to the
LORD, for His lovingkindness is
everlasting. Evidently, they just marched
along and sang Praise or Give thanks to the
Lord for His lovingkindness (or mercy) is
everlasting. That’s all they said!
5. Let’s look at the 22nd verse again and see what
happened as a result of this simple declaration
or prayer of worship and praise:
22And when they began singing and praising, the LORD set
ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir,
who had come against Judah; so they were routed.
6. When they began to sing and praise in the
midst of their “midnight,” God did something!
When they sang, and praised, and trusted
God, there came a manifestation of God’s
power just like in Acts when Paul and Silas did
the same!

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 i. Standing on God’s Word should always be accompanied by
praise.
j. Ephesians 6:17 (Amplified Bible)
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that
the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.
k. As we stand on the Word and praise and worship the Lord
in trust, the Spirit of the Lord wields His sword – the Word
– on our behalf.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any
two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul
and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.
l. In the Book of Revelation, we are told that this same two-
edged Sword proceeds out of Jesus’ mouth when He
returns:
Revelation 1:16
And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His
mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like
the sun shining in its strength.
That Sword is the Word of God.
m. We should have that same sword in our mouths – the two-
edged sword of the Word and Praise.
n. Philippians 1:28 (Amplified Bible)
And do not (for a moment) be frightened or
intimidated in anything by your opponents and
adversaries, for such (constancy and fearlessness)
will be a clear sign (proof and seal) to them of (their
impending) destruction, but (a sure token and
evidence) of your deliverance and salvation, and
that from God.
1. Praise the Lord in all things.
2. Let the enemy know you are not moved by
your circumstances.
3. Let God know you trust Him.
4. Sing forth your praises at “midnight,” fearless,
constant, steadfast, with joy in your heart for
your Lord, and watch the Lord move on your
behalf!
5. Sing continual praises daily in good times and
in bad for HE IS WORTHY!

VI. THE PRAYER OF CONSECRATION OR COMMITMENT

Psalm 37:5-7
Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do
it.

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 6And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And
your
judgment as the noonday. 7Rest in the LORD and wait patiently
for
Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of
the man who carries out wicked schemes.
1. Commit your way to the Lord.
a. The Hebrew word translated, commit here means to roll or
cast.
b. So this is saying we’re to roll our way over on Him.
c. Way in this scripture is a Hebrew word meaning, a road, a
course of life, or a mode of action. It comes from a root
word meaning, to tread, to walk; also to string a bow (by
treading on it in bending).
d. We are to walk along our individual road or course of life
and roll every one of our ways, (thoughts, words, and
actions) to His way by bending from our way to His.
i. We are to commit the way we walk, talk, think, act,
and feel to God, and allow Him to bend or mold every
part of our lives according to His Word.
2. Trust also in Him
a. You need to believe in His Word. It makes a difference in
your life when you believe the Bible, because when you
believe God’s Word, you’ll practice it.
b. You can’t commit your way to God if you can’t trust Him.
In order to trust Him, you must believe in His love and His
goodness.
Psalm 34:8
O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
c. You’re not blessed until you’ve trusted in God, and you’ll
never trust God until you are satisfied that He is good.
i. You have to get your teeth into the Word and taste of
Him.

3. God wants you to come to Him with an attitude of, “I’m putting
my trust in my daddy and His word because I know He will do
what He says.”
a. When you were little, you trusted your parents because
you knew they would do what they said they would do.
You knew the things they told you were true. That not only
blessed you because they kept their promises, but it
protected you because they stood behind what they said if
you disobeyed.

43
Hebrews 1:3
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact
representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the
word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;
b. He upholds ALL things by the Word of His Power – that
includes you and whatever your circumstances require.
c. Do you trust Him?
d. Are you convinced that He is good?
e. He will never hurt you or forsake you. He rejoices in your
victories, and weeps with you in your defeats.
f. He rejoices when you trust Him. He rejoices in your
steadfastness or faithfulness, and in your unwavering trust
or belief in His Word.
g. You MUST taste or sample in order to see or KNOW that He
is good. Step out on the Word, put it to the test, God will
see to it that it’ll stand. He’s good and He’s got good
things for you.
h. He came to give you life and that more abundantly – it’s
the enemy that comes to kill, steal and destroy – don’t get
them confused!

4. Unbelief will rob you of all God’s blessings.

Romans 11:17-23
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a
wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker
with them of the rich root of the olive tree, 18do not be
arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant,
remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the
root supports you. 19You will say then, "Branches were broken
off so that I might be grafted in." 20Quite right, they were
broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do
not be conceited, but fear; 21for if God did not spare the
natural branches, neither will He spare you. 22Behold then the
kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but
to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness;
otherwise you also will be cut off. 23And they also, if they do
not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able
to graft them in again.
a. They were cut off because of unbelief, no faith, no trust in
His word; but we stand because of faith and faith alone.
b. Verses 22-23 tell us that if they are willing to repent of
their unbelief and stand in faith, they’ll be grafted in again.

44
5. James 1:16-17
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17Every good
thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation, or shifting shadow.
1. Shadow of turning means a shadowing over, as an eclipse.
a. The word says there is no eclipse with God
b. What happens in an eclipse: In the middle of the day the
sun is shining bright. Its glorious light is shed on
everybody and everything. Then along comes the moon
and blocks out the sun. The sun is still there, but the moon
is between the earth and the sun’s light; and as a result,
darkness comes upon the earth.
i. Spiritually, darkness is ignorance, deception, sin, etc.
c. The Bible says there is no eclipse with God. Every good
gift comes through the light of God and God Himself never
eclipses (that is hides behind something so we can’t see
Him) nor does He allow His light to be eclipsed.
i. God will never allow an eclipse to come – a blocking
out of His light to you.
ii. If an eclipse comes, you’ve brought it, not God; or
perhaps you’ve allowed the devil to bring it through
ignorance or rebellion, but God will never have any
shadow of turning in Him. He will never be the
source of that block.
iii. We can trust Him. Goodness is from God – “Oh taste
and see that the Lord is good.
6. 1 Peter 5:7
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
a. The Amplified Bible says, “casting the whole of your care – all
your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and
for all – on Him, for He cares for you affectionately, and cares
about you watchfully.
b. Casting is done in prayer. We cast our cares upon the Lord
when we pray.
i. This isn’t something you do everyday – it’s a once
and for all proposition. We let them go, and put
them in His hands.
1. If I have a set of car keys and I want to give
them to you, I put them in your hands, and I
no longer have them. It’s just that simple.
2. This is the prayer of commitment and
consecration – casting or rolling our cares
and worries over on Him once and for all,
each one as it comes, and LEAVING them
there.

45
7. He is not going to take your load away from you.
a. Some people ask the Lord to lighten their load or take their
anxiety or worry away. He’s not going to do that. He’s
already told you what to do about those things and it is your
responsibility to do it – cast it, roll it, or give it to Him.
i. This is our responsibility. Too many times we are
asking God to do the very things He’s commanded
you to do. The things He’s given you the
authority, instruction, and command to do
yourself. When we do that, our praying is in vain
– empty, for nothing, accomplishes zero – it won’t
work!
ii. If we could only learn to cast our cares over on
the Lord as they come, we’d have a whole lot less
to pray about and certainly a whole lot less to
worry about! Our load would lighten considerably.
Remember, His yoke is easy, and His burden is
light! Why do we always choose the heavy load!
iii. Some people are praying everyday about their
cares, worries and anxieties and getting nowhere.
This will wear out your strength and wear down
your faith. You won’t get an answer to those
prayers, because you are not praying in line with
the Word of God. You’re not doing what God said
to do about cares, worries, anxieties and
concerns.
iv. There are some things about which you don’t
need to pray, and even SHOULDN’T pray! You are
to cast those things upon the Lord. He doesn’t
want His children burdened down with worry,
anxiety, and the cares of life.

. 1 Peter 5:7
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
c. The Amplified Bible says, “casting the whole of your care – all
your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and
for all – on Him, for He cares for you affectionately, and cares
about you watchfully.
d. Casting is done in prayer. We cast our cares upon the Lord
when we pray.
i. This isn’t something you do everyday – it’s a once
and for all proposition. We let them go, and put
them in His hands.

46
 1. If I have a set of car keys and I want to give
them to you, I put them in your hands, and I
no longer have them. It’s just that simple.
2. This is the prayer of commitment and
consecration – casting or rolling our cares
and worries over on Him once and for all,
each one as it comes, and LEAVING them
there.

2. He is not going to take your load away from you.

b. Some people ask the Lord to lighten their load or take their
anxiety or worry away. He’s not going to do that. He’s
already told you what to do about those things and it is your
responsibility to do it – cast it, roll it, or give it to Him.
i. This is our responsibility. Too many times we are
asking God to do the very things He’s commanded
you to do. The things He’s given you the
authority, instruction, and command to do
yourself. When we do that, our praying is in vain
– empty, for nothing, accomplishes zero – it won’t
work!
ii. If we could only learn to cast our cares over on
the Lord as they come, we’d have a whole lot less
to pray about and certainly a whole lot less to
worry about! Our load would lighten considerably.
Remember, His yoke is easy, and His burden is
light! Why do we always choose the heavy load!
iii. Some people are praying everyday about their
cares, worries and anxieties and getting nowhere.
This will wear out your strength and wear down
your faith. You won’t get an answer to those
prayers, because you are not praying in line with
the Word of God. You’re not doing what God said
to do about cares, worries, anxieties and
concerns.
iv. There are some things about which you don’t
need to pray, and even SHOULDN’T pray! You are
to cast those things upon the Lord. He doesn’t
want His children burdened down with worry,
anxiety, and the cares of life.
v. He’s the one who made us, and He knows we
weren’t meant to carry that load. We will break
down under that heavy load. Sometimes the
breakdown is mental. Sometimes it’s physical.
Sometimes it’s emotional. However it comes, be
assured you will break down sooner or later in

47
 some part of you if you continue to carry those
kinds of loads.
1. Ulcers
2. Heart failure
3. Mental breakdowns
4. Depression
5. Fears and worries
6. Sleeplessness
7. Digestive problems
8. Cancer
9. Arthritis
10. And many other things come from
carrying these loads.
3) Philippians 4:6
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about
everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all
he has done.
a. The word Anxious here means fretful or worried.
b. As long as you are going to fret and be full of anxiety
and worry about the thing you’re praying for you will
nullify your prayers.
c. If you are worrying and anxious you haven’t cast that
care over on the Lord, you still have it. If you have it,
He doesn’t. If He has it, YOU DON’T. It’s that simple!!!
a. If you cast it over on Him, you should have the
peace that passes all understanding guarding
your heart and mind in Christ.
b. Remember Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters?
Martha was focused on and worrying about the
cares of this world, but Mary let them all go and
sat at Jesus’ feet. That’s what the Lord wants us
to do because He wants us to have that peace.
Philippians 4:7
[7] If you do this, you will experience God's peace,
which is far more wonderful than the human mind can
understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus.
d. Don’t try to deceive yourself. Be honest – if you’re still
worrying and fretting and anxious, you haven’t released
the problem to Him. If you’re lying awake at night
thinking about it, tossing and turning from one side to
the other on the bed, unable to sleep, trying to figure
out a solution, asking others to pray constantly,
meditating on it all day, letting it affect your attitudes,
constantly talking about it – face it – He doesn’t have it
– YOU DO!

48
 e. If it’s uppermost in your mind and first in your prayers
everyday, He doesn’t have it! You go to the table and
try to eat, but you can’t eat because this thing isn’t
worked out yet and you can’t relax. You have acid
indigestion, your stomach is burning, you’re a nervous
wreck, it’s all you can talk about and all you think about
– trust me, He doesn’t have it and all of your praying is
in vain and will not work because you still have the
problem in your hands.
f. If I asked you to fix my VCR and then I wouldn’t give it
to you, how could you fix it? If I just stood there holding
the machine in my hands and talking about the
problems it was having and how worried I was about
what it might cost or how worried I was that I might
have to buy a new one, or if I could really trust you to
know what the problem was and really fix it – how could
you do anything?
g. If I called you every day, and you came everyday, and
everyday I held it out there in front of you and talked
about all the things that worried me and all my doubts
about your ability to fix it – what could you do about the
problem since I didn’t really trust you enough to give
you the dumb VCR and let you fix it?
h. We need to be obedient to what we were told to do in
the Word – GIVE IT TO HIM!
Psalm 37:5-7
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
[6] He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday
sun.

[7] Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.
Don't worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
1. Commit your way to the Lord – Give it to Him
2. Trust also in Him – Stand in faith believing – NOT stand in
worry figuring!
3. Then, He will bring it to pass.
4. Rest in the Lord – The Hebrew Word for Rest here is be silent
toward Him! Whoa!! Shut your mouth and shut your brain
and let Him do it! That’s a hard one for us. We want to be
right in there doing something and saying something all the
time.
a. Pray once

49
 b. Commit it to Him, cast it on Him in prayer
c. Then just thank Him for it whenever your thoughts turn
to it.
d. Other than thanksgiving, be silent toward Him about it
and just watch Him work.
e. Be bold in your silence – refuse to bring it up again
except in thanksgiving.
f. Stand in faith and trust, immoveable and steadfast.
Have firm faith in your Father.
g. You’re not waiting on God because He’s slow and he has
to catch up to you. You’re not waiting on Him because
you haven’t suffered long enough yet either! You’re
waiting on Him because He’s making the way perfect for
you and sometimes that takes some time. Sometimes,
there are other people involved – other’s he has to deal
with also. Sometimes, it’s your thick head!
h. God uses US many times to meet the needs of others.
So be obedient, be quick to obey, because you may be
the one holding up the answer to someone else’s
prayer! God’s not slow!
i. The obedient Israelites in the desert had to wait 40
years for the disobedient ones to die off so they could
enter the promise land. They were holding up the
answer for everyone else. Think about that. Our lives
DO affect those around us in more ways than we know.
4) How do you rest and leave it to Him?
1. Sometimes you have to talk to yourself. Sometimes you have
to take yourself by the collar and lead yourself right down on your
knees and say, “Now self, you know better than this, you are worrying.
Don’t you do that because it’s not right! You have that to God and
took it back – now you go right back there and give it back to Him. He
can take care of it better than you can anyway! Father, forgive me for
worrying and not trusting. I give this back to you and receive my
peace.”
2. David had to do that. He talked to his soul (mind, will and
emotions) when he was getting discouraged and afraid during the time
King Saul was after him to kill him:

Psalm 43:5
Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in
God!
I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!

Psalm 42:3-11
Day and night, I have only tears for food, while my enemies
continually taunt me, saying, "Where is this God of yours?" [4]

50
My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I
walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great
procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving
thanks—it was the sound of a great celebration!
[5] Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in
God!
I will praise him again—my Savior and [6] my God! Now I am
deeply discouraged, but I will remember your kindness—from
Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of
Mount Mizar. [7] I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your
waves and surging tides sweep over me. [8] Through each day
the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who
gives me life. [9] "O God my rock," I cry, "Why have you
forsaken me? Why must I wander in darkness, oppressed by
my enemies?" [10] Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound.
They scoff, "Where is this God of yours?" [11] Why am I
discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will
praise him again—my Savior and my God!
a. David had to talk to Himself to keep from being discouraged
and losing faith and trust. He had to get His mind to see the picture
clearly once again because his circumstances and the thoughts that
the enemy was pressing in on him with were clouding his vision and
affecting his emotions.
c. Sometimes in the night the devil will wake you and bring a
picture to your mind of the problems and it will tempt you to
worry. Just start laughing right out loud and say, “I don’t have
that anymore devil. I gave it to God. If you have something
to say about that or something to show me about it you’ll
have to bring it to HIM not me! I’m sleeping here! Get lost!”
d. Sometimes the devil will try to put a picture in your mind or a
thought in your mind while you’re busy with something else.
Don’t accept it. Just keep saying, “I gave that to God. He’s
working it out for me. I won’t take it back. Go deal with my
Father. He’s the one who has it!”
e. Some people will say, I’ve tried and tried to do what the word
says, but I just can’t.
i. First of all, don’t say you can’t when the word
says you can do all things through Christ who
strengthens you!
ii. Second, it didn’t say TRY IT! It said DO IT! You
just set your will to DO it and you DO it! No
mystery or secret plan – you just do it!
iii. Fight the good fight of faith, trust your Father, and
leave the problem with Him. It’s like the Nike
Sneaker slogan – JUST DO IT!

51
 iv. How do you go to work when you’re tired? You
just DO IT! You just get up and go.
v. How do you read the Bible when you’re too tired?
You just pick it up in obedience to Him and DO IT!
vi. How do you leave a worry with God? You just take
it to Him and DO IT! You commit it to Him, trust
that He has it, and that He is good, rest (shut your
mouth about it) and leave it there!
. 1 Peter 5:7
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
e. The Amplified Bible says, “casting the whole of your care – all
your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and
for all – on Him, for He cares for you affectionately, and cares
about you watchfully.
f. Casting is done in prayer. We cast our cares upon the Lord
when we pray.
i. This isn’t something you do everyday – it’s a once
and for all proposition. We let them go, and put
them in His hands.
1. If I have a set of car keys and I want to give
them to you, I put them in your hands, and I
no longer have them. It’s just that simple.
2. This is the prayer of commitment and
consecration – casting or rolling our cares
and worries over on Him once and for all,
each one as it comes, and LEAVING them
there.

2. He is not going to take your load away from you.

f. Some people ask the Lord to lighten their load or take their
anxiety or worry away. He’s not going to do that. He’s
already told you what to do about those things and it is your
responsibility to do it – cast it, roll it, or give it to Him.
i. This is our responsibility. Too many times we are
asking God to do the very things He’s commanded
you to do. The things He’s given you the
authority, instruction, and command to do
yourself. When we do that, our praying is in vain
– empty, for nothing, accomplishes zero – it won’t
work!
ii. If we could only learn to cast our cares over on
the Lord as they come, we’d have a whole lot less
to pray about and certainly a whole lot less to
worry about! Our load would lighten considerably.
Remember, His yoke is easy, and His burden is
light! Why do we always choose the heavy load!

52
 iii. Some people are praying everyday about their
cares, worries and anxieties and getting nowhere.
This will wear out your strength and wear down
your faith. You won’t get an answer to those
prayers, because you are not praying in line with
the Word of God. You’re not doing what God said
to do about cares, worries, anxieties and
concerns.
iv. There are some things about which you don’t
need to pray, and even SHOULDN’T pray! You are
to cast those things upon the Lord. He doesn’t
want His children burdened down with worry,
anxiety, and the cares of life.
v. He’s the one who made us, and He knows we
weren’t meant to carry that load. We will break
down under that heavy load. Sometimes the
breakdown is mental. Sometimes it’s physical.
Sometimes it’s emotional. However it comes, be
assured you will break down sooner or later in
some part of you if you continue to carry those
kinds of loads.
1. Ulcers
2. Heart failure
3. Mental breakdowns
4. Depression
5. Fears and worries
6. Sleeplessness
7. Digestive problems
8. Cancer
9. Arthritis
10. And many other things come from
carrying these loads.
3) Philippians 4:6
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about
everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all
he has done.
i. The word Anxious here means fretful or worried.
j. As long as you are going to fret and be full of anxiety
and worry about the thing you’re praying for you will
nullify your prayers.
k. If you are worrying and anxious you haven’t cast that
care over on the Lord, you still have it. If you have it,
He doesn’t. If He has it, YOU DON’T. It’s that simple!!!
a. If you cast it over on Him, you should have the
peace that passes all understanding guarding
your heart and mind in Christ.

53
 b. Remember Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters?
Martha was focused on and worrying about the
cares of this world, but Mary let them all go and
sat at Jesus’ feet. That’s what the Lord wants us
to do because He wants us to have that peace.
Philippians 4:7
[7] If you do this, you will experience God's peace,
which is far more wonderful than the human mind can
understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus.
l. Don’t try to deceive yourself. Be honest – if you’re still
worrying and fretting and anxious, you haven’t released
the problem to Him. If you’re lying awake at night
thinking about it, tossing and turning from one side to
the other on the bed, unable to sleep, trying to figure
out a solution, asking others to pray constantly,
meditating on it all day, letting it affect your attitudes,
constantly talking about it – face it – He doesn’t have it
– YOU DO!
m. If it’s uppermost in your mind and first in your prayers
everyday, He doesn’t have it! You go to the table and
try to eat, but you can’t eat because this thing isn’t
worked out yet and you can’t relax. You have acid
indigestion, your stomach is burning, you’re a nervous
wreck, it’s all you can talk about and all you think about
– trust me, He doesn’t have it and all of your praying is
in vain and will not work because you still have the
problem in your hands.
n. If I asked you to fix my VCR and then I wouldn’t give it
to you, how could you fix it? If I just stood there holding
the machine in my hands and talking about the
problems it was having and how worried I was about
what it might cost or how worried I was that I might
have to buy a new one, or if I could really trust you to
know what the problem was and really fix it – how could
you do anything?
o. If I called you every day, and you came everyday, and
everyday I held it out there in front of you and talked
about all the things that worried me and all my doubts
about your ability to fix it – what could you do about the
problem since I didn’t really trust you enough to give
you the dumb VCR and let you fix it?
p. We need to be obedient to what we were told to do in
the Word – GIVE IT TO HIM!
Psalm 37:5-7
Commit everything you do to the Lord.

54
 Trust him, and he will help you.
[6] He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday
sun.

[7] Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.
Don't worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
5. Commit your way to the Lord – Give it to Him
6. Trust also in Him – Stand in faith believing – NOT stand in
worry figuring!
7. Then, He will bring it to pass.
8. Rest in the Lord – The Hebrew Word for Rest here is be silent
toward Him! Whoa!! Shut your mouth and shut your brain
and let Him do it! That’s a hard one for us. We want to be
right in there doing something and saying something all the
time.
a. Pray once
b. Commit it to Him, cast it on Him in prayer
c. Then just thank Him for it whenever your thoughts turn
to it.
d. Other than thanksgiving, be silent toward Him about it
and just watch Him work.
e. Be bold in your silence – refuse to bring it up again
except in thanksgiving.
f. Stand in faith and trust, immoveable and steadfast.
Have firm faith in your Father.
g. You’re not waiting on God because He’s slow and he has
to catch up to you. You’re not waiting on Him because
you haven’t suffered long enough yet either! You’re
waiting on Him because He’s making the way perfect for
you and sometimes that takes some time. Sometimes,
there are other people involved – other’s he has to deal
with also. Sometimes, it’s your thick head!
h. God uses US many times to meet the needs of others.
So be obedient, be quick to obey, because you may be
the one holding up the answer to someone else’s
prayer! God’s not slow!
i. The obedient Israelites in the desert had to wait 40
years for the disobedient ones to die off so they could
enter the promise land. They were holding up the
answer for everyone else. Think about that. Our lives
DO affect those around us in more ways than we know.
4) How do you rest and leave it to Him?

55
 1. Sometimes you have to talk to yourself. Sometimes you have
to take yourself by the collar and lead yourself right down on your
knees and say, “Now self, you know better than this, you are worrying.
Don’t you do that because it’s not right! You have that to God and
took it back – now you go right back there and give it back to Him. He
can take care of it better than you can anyway! Father, forgive me for
worrying and not trusting. I give this back to you and receive my
peace.”
2. David had to do that. He talked to his soul (mind, will and
emotions) when he was getting discouraged and afraid during the time
King Saul was after him to kill him:

Psalm 43:5
Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in
God!
I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!

Psalm 42:3-11
Day and night, I have only tears for food, while my enemies
continually taunt me, saying, "Where is this God of yours?" [4]
My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I
walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great
procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving
thanks—it was the sound of a great celebration!
[5] Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in
God!
I will praise him again—my Savior and [6] my God! Now I am
deeply discouraged, but I will remember your kindness—from
Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of
Mount Mizar. [7] I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your
waves and surging tides sweep over me. [8] Through each day
the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who
gives me life. [9] "O God my rock," I cry, "Why have you
forsaken me? Why must I wander in darkness, oppressed by
my enemies?" [10] Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound.
They scoff, "Where is this God of yours?" [11] Why am I
discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will
praise him again—my Savior and my God!
a. David had to talk to Himself to keep from being discouraged
and losing faith and trust. He had to get His mind to see the picture
clearly once again because his circumstances and the thoughts that
the enemy was pressing in on him with were clouding his vision and
affecting his emotions.
g. Sometimes in the night the devil will wake you and bring a
picture to your mind of the problems and it will tempt you to

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 worry. Just start laughing right out loud and say, “I don’t have
that anymore devil. I gave it to God. If you have something
to say about that or something to show me about it you’ll
have to bring it to HIM not me! I’m sleeping here! Get lost!”
h. Sometimes the devil will try to put a picture in your mind or a
thought in your mind while you’re busy with something else.
Don’t accept it. Just keep saying, “I gave that to God. He’s
working it out for me. I won’t take it back. Go deal with my
Father. He’s the one who has it!”
i. Some people will say, I’ve tried and tried to do what the word
says, but I just can’t.
i. First of all, don’t say you can’t when the word
says you can do all things through Christ who
strengthens you!
ii. Second, it didn’t say TRY IT! It said DO IT! You
just set your will to DO it and you DO it! No
mystery or secret plan – you just do it!
iii. Fight the good fight of faith, trust your Father, and
leave the problem with Him. It’s like the Nike
Sneaker slogan – JUST DO IT!
iv. How do you go to work when you’re tired? You
just DO IT! You just get up and go.
v. How do you read the Bible when you’re too tired?
You just pick it up in obedience to Him and DO IT!
vi. How do you leave a worry with God? You just take
it to Him and DO IT! You commit it to Him, trust
that He has it, and that He is good, rest (shut your
mouth about it) and leave it there!

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