The Bible Prayer Study Course By Kenneth E Hagin Chapter 1, Seven Steps to Answered Prayer, Part 1..............................................................6 Step Number One: Be Specific and Stand on God's Promises................................................6 Pray According to the Word......................................................................................................6 Use the Sword of the Spirit Against the Devil...........................................................................7 Fight the Good Fight of Faith....................................................................................................8 Step Number Two: You Must Ask God for What You Want.....................................................9 Sense Knowledge Truth vs. Revelation Truth........................................................................10 Step Number Three: Be Positive in Your Thinking.................................................................11 Resist Doubt............................................................................................................................12 Reject Anything That Contradicts the Word............................................................................12 My Own Fight of Faith.............................................................................................................13 Step Number Four: Guard Your Mind.....................................................................................14 Chapter 2 Seven Steps to Answered Prayer, Part 2.............................................................14 Step Number Five: Meditate on God's Promises....................................................................15 See Yourself With Your Answer..............................................................................................15 Step Number Six: Continually Thank God for the Answer......................................................17 Step Number Seven: Make Every Prayer a Statement of Faith.............................................18 Don't Undo Your Prayers........................................................................................................18 Use the Faith You Have..........................................................................................................20 Chapter 3 Praying in Jesus' Name..........................................................................................20 Ask, That Your Joy May Be Full..............................................................................................21 Have Joy Before the Answer Comes......................................................................................22 Worry Blocks God's Answer to Your Prayers.........................................................................24 Follow Biblical Teaching on Prayer.........................................................................................24 `In Jesus' Name' - Not `For Jesus' Sake'................................................................................25 Jesus' Name Is the Key..........................................................................................................26 Meditation on the Word Brings Light.......................................................................................26 The Authority in the Name of Jesus To Bind the Work of the Devil.......................................27 Stay in the Arena of Faith!.......................................................................................................28 The Authority in the Name of Jesus To Bring Healing and Deliverance................................29 Chapter 4, Praying in Jesus' Name Part 2..............................................................................30 Discovering Hindrances to Prayer..........................................................................................31 One Hindrance to Prayer: Praying to Jesus Instead of to the Father in Jesus' Name...........31 Ask and You Shall Receive.....................................................................................................32 It Makes a Difference How We Pray.......................................................................................32 Growing Up Spiritually Includes Growing in Prayer................................................................33 The Right To Use Jesus' Name..............................................................................................33 Dealing With the Devil in Jesus' Name...................................................................................34 Speaking With Tongues in Jesus' Name................................................................................35 Exercising Power and Authority Over Serpents in Jesus' Name............................................35 Immunity From Poison in Jesus' Name..................................................................................36 Laying Hands On the Sick in Jesus' Name.............................................................................36 Don't Struggle for Faith - Use the Authority That Is Yours in Jesus' Name............................37 Acting on What Belongs to You..............................................................................................37 Praying for Results..................................................................................................................38 Miraculous Results Through Prayer In Jesus' Name..............................................................39 Chapter 5 Praying for Results.................................................................................................41 Examples of Praying for Results.............................................................................................41 Remind God of His Promises..................................................................................................42 Praying for Finances in the Name of Jesus............................................................................44 Angels Are Ministering Spirits For Believers...........................................................................45 Pray Specifically When Praying for People............................................................................46 God's Word Does Not Fail......................................................................................................47 Chapter 6 The Prayer of Faith.................................................................................................49 New Covenant Kinds of Prayer...............................................................................................49 The Prayer of Consecration vs. The Prayer of Faith..............................................................50 Receiving the Desires of Your Heart.......................................................................................51 Your Prayer of Faith Won't Always Work for Others...............................................................52 Chapter 7 The Prayer of Praise and Worship........................................................................55 Ministering to the Lord.............................................................................................................56 Ministering to the Lord Brings Deliverance.............................................................................58 Being in the Will of God Doesn't Guarantee Easy Circumstances.........................................62 Ministering to the Lord In the Early Church............................................................................63 Developing a Habit of Praise and Worship.............................................................................65 God's Power Is Manifested When His People Praise Him.....................................................66 Chapter 8 United Prayer...........................................................................................................67 United, Vocal Prayer Is Biblical...............................................................................................68 The Power in United Prayer: Paul and Silas...........................................................................71 The Power in United Prayer: The Early Church......................................................................73 Chapter 9, The Prayer of Commitment...................................................................................76 Worry Hinders Your Prayers...................................................................................................77 Cast Your Cares on the Lord Once and for All.......................................................................79 Worry Is a Sin..........................................................................................................................80 Learning To Cast Your Cares Upon the Lord.........................................................................84 You Can Cast Your Cares Upon the Lord..............................................................................86 Chapter 10, Praying With Tongues.........................................................................................88 Tongues: The Initial Evidence Of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit............................................90 Divers Kinds of Tongues.........................................................................................................91 The Importance of Speaking in Tongues................................................................................93 Speaking With Tongues Is Not Always Prayer.......................................................................94 Tongues: A Means of Edifying Yourself Spiritually.................................................................97 Tongues: A Means of Magnifying God....................................................................................98 Tongues: A Means of Praying Supernaturally........................................................................99 Praying in Tongues Is Unselfish Prayer................................................................................101 Chapter 11, The Prayer of Intercession And the Prayer o f Agreement...........................102 The Holy Spirit Helps Us Intercede.......................................................................................104 Groanings in the Spirit...........................................................................................................105 The Prayer of Agreement......................................................................................................108 Binding and Loosing..............................................................................................................109 Acting on God's Promises Brings Results............................................................................109 The Prayer of Agreement Works!.........................................................................................111 Two Can Put Ten Thousand To Flight..................................................................................112 Wigglesworth and the Prayer of Agreement.........................................................................112 Dr. George Truett and the Prayer of Agreement..................................................................113 Chapter 12, The Seven Most Important Things in Prayer Part 1.......................................115 New Covenant Prayer...........................................................................................................115 The Lord's Prayer Is Not a New Covenant Prayer................................................................116 Number One: Pray to the Father in Jesus' Name.................................................................117 Whatsoever We Ask..............................................................................................................118 Our Joy Is Full When Our Prayers Are Answered................................................................120 Number Two: Believe You Receive When You Pray............................................................121 Believe You Receive Before You See the Answer...............................................................123 Keeping What You Have Received by Faith.........................................................................125 Each Believer's Responsibility..............................................................................................126 Listening to Doubt Can Rob You of God's Blessing.............................................................128 Chapter 13, The Seven Most Important Things in Prayer Part 2.......................................130 Head Faith vs. Heart Faith....................................................................................................130 Stir Yourself Up in Faith........................................................................................................132 Believing Is Not Hoping Or Struggling in Prayer...................................................................133 A Table of Blessings for Us In the Presence of Our Enemies..............................................135 Don't Take Sides Against the Word......................................................................................136 Number Three:......................................................................................................................137 Chapter 14, The Seven Most Important Things in Prayer Part 3.......................................139 Number Four: Depend on the Holy Spirit's Help in Prayer...................................................140 The Holy Spirit Communicates With Our Spirits...................................................................143 Number Five: The Holy Spirit's Help In Intercession and Supplication................................145 The Holy Spirit Helps Us Pray for the Sick...........................................................................148 God Seeks Those Who Will Give Themselves To Prayer....................................................151 Number Six: Edify Yourself by Praying in Tongues..............................................................152 Praying in the Spirit Helps You Grow Spiritually...................................................................153 Chapter 15, The Seven Most Important Things in Prayer Part 4.......................................155 Number One: Pray to the Father in Jesus' Name.................................................................155 Number Two: Believe You Receive When You Pray............................................................156 Number Three: Forgive If You Have Ought Against Any......................................................156 Number Four: Depend on the Holy Spirit's Help in Prayer...................................................156 Number Five: The Holy Spirit's Help In Intercession and Supplication................................156 Number Six: Edify Yourself by Praying in Tongues..............................................................157 Number Seven: Interpretation of Tongues In Your Private Prayer Life................................157 The Public Use of Interpretation of Tongues........................................................................160 Supernatural Praying and Praising.......................................................................................162 The Gift of Prophecy in Prayer..............................................................................................163 Chapter 16, What Jesus Said About Prayer Part 1.............................................................165 Don't Pray To Be Seen of Men.............................................................................................166 God Responds To Faith, Not to`Much Speaking'.................................................................166 Prayer Principles In The Lord's Prayer.................................................................................167 Pray to the Father.................................................................................................................168 Put the Kingdom of God First................................................................................................170 Unforgiveness Hinders Your Prayers...................................................................................171 Ask and You Shall Receive...................................................................................................172 Chapter 17, What Jesus Said About Prayer Part 2.............................................................176 Pray for Your Enemies..........................................................................................................176 Pray for Laborers..................................................................................................................176 God Is Limited by Our Prayers..............................................................................................178 God is limited by the prayers of His children........................................................................181 Binding and Loosing And the Prayer of Agreement.............................................................182 Believe You Receive When You Pray..................................................................................182 Faith and Prayer Go Hand in Hand.......................................................................................184 The Prayer of Importunity.....................................................................................................186 Chapter 18, What Jesus Said About Prayer Part 3.............................................................188 Praying With Persistent Faith................................................................................................188 Asking in Jesus' Name..........................................................................................................190 Doing the Works of Jesus.....................................................................................................193 What Are the Greater Works of Jesus?................................................................................194 God's Word Should Abide in Us...........................................................................................196 Chapter 19, What Paul Said About Prayer Part 1................................................................201 The Holy Spirit's Help in Prayer: God's Gift for This Dispensation.......................................201 The Indwelling Presence vs. The Infilling Power of the Holy Spirit......................................202 Two Separate Experiences...................................................................................................203 The Holy Spirit Is Our Helper in Prayer................................................................................205 The Holy Spirit Takes Hold Together With Us in Prayer......................................................206 Praying in the Spirit...............................................................................................................208 Interpreting Our Praying in Tongues.....................................................................................209 Praying Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs......................................................................209 Chapter 20, What Paul Said About Prayer Part 2................................................................212 Pray in the Spirit....................................................................................................................213 An Example of Praying in the Spirit......................................................................................213 The Peace of God: A Result of Prayer and Obeying the Word............................................215 Paul's Instructions To Obtain God's Peace..........................................................................217 Refuse To Worry...................................................................................................................217 Think on the Right Things.....................................................................................................222 Chapter 21, What Paul Said About Prayer Part 3................................................................223 In Everything Give Thanks....................................................................................................223 Praying for Those in Authority...............................................................................................226 Changing a Nation Through Prayer......................................................................................228 Lifting Up Holy Hands...........................................................................................................228 Follow New Testament Instructions......................................................................................229 Rightly Dividing New Testament Scriptures..........................................................................230 Sanctifying Our Food By the Word and Prayer.....................................................................231 Doctrines of Devils................................................................................................................232 Chapter 22, What Others Said About Prayer.......................................................................234 What James Said About Prayer............................................................................................234 Let the Afflicted Pray.............................................................................................................234 Let Those Who Are Merry Sing.............................................................................................235 Let the Sick Call for the Church Elders.................................................................................235 The Effectual Fervent Prayer Of the Righteous....................................................................237 Chapter 22, What Others Said About Prayer.......................................................................238 What James Said About Prayer............................................................................................239 Let the Afflicted Pray.............................................................................................................239 Let Those Who Are Merry Sing.............................................................................................240 Let the Sick Call for the Church Elders.................................................................................240 The Effectual Fervent Prayer Of the Righteous....................................................................242 Don't Allow Your Prayers To Be Hindered............................................................................244 Be Diligent in Prayer.............................................................................................................245 What John Said About Prayer...............................................................................................245 Asking According to God's Will.............................................................................................245 The Sin That Is Not Unto Death............................................................................................246 When Not To Pray.................................................................................................................249 God Wants Us To Prosper....................................................................................................252 What Jude Said About Prayer...............................................................................................252 Interpret Scripture in Light of Other Scripture.......................................................................253 Chapter 23. The Will of God in Prayer Part 1.......................................................................255 God's Word Is His Will..........................................................................................................255 Don't Just Hear the Word - Give Heed to the Word..............................................................256 Praying, `If It Be Thy Will' Negates Faith..............................................................................258 Praying According to God's Will............................................................................................260 The believer walking in fellowship with the Lord...................................................................261 Don't Take Sides Against the Word......................................................................................262 Praying for Unsaved Loved Ones.........................................................................................262 God and His Word Are One..................................................................................................263 Healing the Sick Is God's Will...............................................................................................264 We Must Accept Our Responsibility in Prayer......................................................................267 God Has Blessed Us With All Spiritual Blessings.................................................................270 Chapter 24, The Will o f God in Prayer Part 2......................................................................270 Knowing the Will of God in Prayer........................................................................................271 God's Will Is That All Be Saved............................................................................................271 Negative Speaking Can Nullify Prayers................................................................................274 Hindering Prayers by Wrong Actions....................................................................................275 God's Will To Supply Our Financial Needs...........................................................................278 Hindering Our Prayers By Not Cooperating With God.........................................................279 Chapter 25, The Will of God in Prayer Part 3.......................................................................283 Follow Your Spirit, Not Circumstances.................................................................................283 Our Confidence in Approaching God....................................................................................285 Praying in Line With God's Word..........................................................................................287 The Word Is a Light Unto Our Path.......................................................................................288 Chapter 1, Seven Steps to Answered Prayer, Part 1 Learning how to pray effectively is one of the most important things a believer can ever do in his Christian walk. Really, a believer cannot be a success in fulfilling God's purpose in his life if he does not know how to pray according to biblical principles. A believer's prayer life should be based and built upon the Word of God. In this study course, we're going to discuss the many principles of prayer that are found in the Word of God. As you study these principles of prayer, determine to get them into your heart so you can practice them in your own private prayer life. This is what I began doing more than fifty-five years ago, and I have been receiving the answers to my prayers ever since! In this chapter, we will look at seven steps that any believer can take in order to receive the answer to his prayer. If a person will faithfully practice the following seven steps in prayer, he can be sure of an answer every time. Step Number One: Be Specific and Stand on God's Promises Step number one to receiving answered prayer is decide what you want from God and find the scripture or scriptures that definitely promise you these things. So many times we are indefinite in our praying. I would rather folks pray two or three minutes and know what they're praying about than to pray for two or three hours and not know what they're praying about. Sometimes when I ask people what they are praying about, they answer that they don't know. I asked one person once what he was praying about, and he said he was praying just to be praying! I realize there is one kind of prayer whereby we pray to have fellowship with God. But I am talking about praying to God specifically in order to receive an answer to prayer. If we are not careful, the first kind of praying I talked about - praying to have fellowship with God - will spill over into the realm of praying specifically in order to receive an answer. One time a certain minister asked me to pray for him. I asked him what he wanted me to pray for, and he said he didn't know. Now if you went to a grocery store and pushed your cart up and down the aisles, but didn't buy anything, people would think something was wrong with you! But on the other hand, if someone went to the store to buy a few things, and he bought just those things, you wouldn't think anything was wrong. In fact, you could say he was being definite in what he was doing. In the same way, decide what you want from God and be definite about it. Then find scriptures from the Word that promise you whatever it is you want. Be specific in your praying. Pray According to the Word Too few Christians realize the importance of the Word of God in prayer. We know that faith begins where the will of God is known. And we know that God's Word is His will. So find scriptures that definitely promise the things you are asking for. If the Scriptures don't promise you the things you are desiring, you don't have any business praying for those things. And you shouldn't want anything that the Word of God says you shouldn't have. Many believers are trying to pray beyond their faith. But it's the Word that gives you faith. The reason many people are not praying with confidence and faith is that they are not finding Scripture that proves that God wants them to have those things they are desiring. They don't know for sure if it's God's will or not. They may hope it is, but they can't know for sure, because faith begins where the will, or the Word, of God is known. Once you find the scriptures that promise you what you desire from God, get those scriptures firmly fixed in your heart, not just in your mind. To do that, you'll have to meditate on the Word of God. JOSHUA 1:8 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt MEDITATE therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for THEN thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and THEN thou shalt have good success. Another translation says, ". . . that thou mayest be able to deal wisely in the affairs of life." Success in life comes by meditating on God's Word. That's the way you'll build God's Word into your inner consciousness, into your spirit. And as you feed upon the Word by meditating, you will be ready to use these scriptures against demons who will try to make you doubt God and who will try to rob you of what you want. It is the devil who tries to make you doubt God. So many times people who have not known the Word have prayed, and if they did not get the answer when they thought they should, they said, "Well, it must not be the will of God." But all the time the promises of God were there for them to appropriate. If whatever you're praying about is in the Word, then it is the will of God. One time a woman had many others pray with her for her son who was afflicted with a certain sickness. But when he didn't get better, she concluded that it just wasn't God's will for her son to be healed. She didn't have any scriptures ready to use against the devil because she wasn't standing on the Word. She didn't have the Word hidden in her heart (Ps. 119:11). To tell the truth about it, the devil told her that it wasn't the will of God for her son to be healed, and she believed him. Unconsciously, she made the Bible out to be a lie and Jesus to be unjust because the Bible clearly tells us healing is part of our redemption (Isa. 53:4,5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24). Use the Sword of the Spirit Against the Devil When you get the Word firmly fixed in your heart and mind, you can use it against the devil. When Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn the stones into bread, Jesus just answered with the Word. He said, "... It is written, Man shall not lice by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Then the Bible says Satan took Jesus upon a pinnacle of the temple and tempted Jesus again. MATTHEW 4:7-11 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Jesus did not use a single weapon to defeat the devil on this occasion that the saints of God do not have available to them today. When you are being tempted by the enemy, all you have to do is say, "It is written" and use the Word of God against Satan. But in order to be able to say that and to resist the devil effectively, you have to be armed with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. In other words, you have to hide God's Word in your heart by meditating on it continually in order for it to work for you. Then you will be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy. I was preaching in Houston once when a preacher friend of mine came over and asked me to agree with him for healing of his high blood pressure. So we joined hands and agreed. Some time later I was in his church and was using the scripture in Matthew 18:19, which says, "... That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." This preacher friend of mine testified how he had agreed with me and had gone home feeling terrible because his blood pressure was even higher than usual. The devil told him that he wasn't going to get his healing. But every time the devil bothered him, he would say, "It is written," and he would quote the Word. He kept confessing that if two shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by the Father (Matt. 18:19). He said after he stood his ground like that for three nights, all the symptoms left and he won the victory! Fight the Good Fight of Faith It takes a little time sometimes to build the Word into your spirit so you can stand in faith for an answer to prayer. The Bible says, "Fight the good fight of faith ..." (1 Tim. 6:12). If there weren't any hindrances to faith, there wouldn't be a fight. When it comes to the natural things, people will fight tooth and toenail for what belongs to them. But when it comes to spiritual things, many times they just roll over and play dead! For instance, if someone came to your house and claimed your children and your home, you'd fight him for your family - for what belongs to you. Or what if your husband came home and said he had found another woman and he wanted to bring her into your house and move you out? You would sure put up a fight, wouldn't you? Well, if God's Word says something belongs to you, then it belongs to you! So put up a fight by standing your ground on God's Word. If God didn't intend for you to have what He promised you, then He wouldn't have promised it to you. It's up to you to fight the good fight of faith with the Word and receive your promised blessing and all that God has promised you. When it comes to natural things, people will stand up for what belongs to them. But when it comes to spiritual things and receiving healing or the blessings and benefits of God that belong to us, many believers don't stand their ground with the Word of God. Some think they are being humble by saying, "Well, the will of God be done," when really it is the will of Satan that is being done. You see, there is a good fight of faith that the believer must fight in order to appropriate and receive his promised blessing, his rightful inheritance in Christ. In order to fight the good fight of faith, you must learn how to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Fighting the good fight of faith is speaking the Word out of your mouth that you believe in your heart or your spirit. That's why it's important to hide the Word of God in your heart and be ready to use scriptures against demons when they try to attack you and try to make you doubt God's Word. Be ready to say to Satan, "It is written" and to quote God's Word, which is God's will, about the situation. There will be many who will side in with the devil and believe his lies over God's Word. And there are also folks who, in the natural, will unconsciously side in with the devil to try to discourage you in spiritual things, in your faith. But stand your ground on God's Word if the enemy attacks you in spirit, soul, or body. I was holding some services in Texas once when there was an outbreak of influenza. So many people were ill that the schools had to close down. Later I read in the paper that more people in Dallas county had died from this epidemic in 1960 than in the dangerous influenza epidemic that broke out in the year following World War I. This influenza epidemic in Texas affected our meetings terribly. Some people became ill and never did get back into the meetings. The symptoms of this particular type of influenza were extremely severe. Every one of those symptoms came upon my body in the nighttime, but I never told a single person. I just kept saying, "It is written," and I stood my ground in faith on the Word. I refused to accept influenza because it wasn't God's will. I was in a revival meeting and sinners were being saved. It wasn't God's will to close that meeting down. People sometimes have the silliest ideas about these things. They say, for example, that it is the will of God for people to be sick. But that contradicts God's Word! If it were true that sickness is the will of God, why have many churches built hospitals to try to get people well! That would get people out of the will of God! Doctors are fighting sickness and disease, too, but they're fighting with different weapons. If it were God's will for people to be sick, then it would not be God's will for people to go to doctors because doctors are fighting sickness and disease too. Also, if it is the will of God for people to be sick, then why not pray for others to become sick so they can enjoy the same "blessing" of sickness and disease and be in God's will! After I prayed and said, "It is written" and stood on God's Word against these influenza symptoms that tried to attack my body, I got better and continued on with my services. And I never did get influenza. When you have the foundation of God's Word under you, you can stand your ground against Satan's attacks. Step Number Two: You Must Ask God for What You Want We talked about the first step to receiving answered prayer. Step one is to decide what you want from God and find scriptures that promise you the things you desire. Step number two to receiving answered prayer is ask God for the things you want and believe that you receive them. Certainly, the Lord knows what we need even before we ask, but He still said for us to ask Him. The Bible says, ". . . your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matt. 6:32). But He also tells you to ask for what you need: "... ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). To say that you're leaving it up to God and that you know He will automatically do whatever is best is unscriptural. Jesus Himself said we are to ask God for what we need. JOHN 16:23,24 23 And in that day ye shall ASK me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. MATTHEW 7:7,8 7 ASK, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. MARK 11:23,24 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. So ask God for the things you want and need, and then believe that you have them. In other words, when you pray, believe you receive what you asked for. I love a challenge, and Mark 11:24 challenges me. It says in effect, "Believe you receive right then when you pray." The Amplified Bible says, ". . . whatever you ask for in prayer, believe - trust and be confident - that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]." You've got to believe you've got your answer before you get it! Sense Knowledge Truth vs. Revelation Truth In one of my prayer lines once, one woman said that she wasn't going to believe she had something her physical senses told her she didn't have. I told her just to go sit down then because according to the Scriptures, she would never get anything from God believing the way she did. Believe God and not Satan. Satan will tell you that you don't have the answer to your prayer. Satan operates in the sense realm. Satan is operating as the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). You'll never get anywhere spiritually until you realize that there are two kinds of truth, sense-knowledge truth and revelation truth, which is the truth of God's Word. Some people think truth pertains to things they can see with their physical eye, but you can't see the things of the spirit. Spiritual things are not natural and they are not material. Everything we need is provided for us in the spiritual realm by God's Word. EPHESIANS 1:3 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS in heavenly places in Christ. This scripture means that everything we need has been provided for us in Christ Jesus. You can't see those things, but they are there because God's Word says they are there. There is sense-knowledge truth and there is revelation truth. When sense-knowledge truth contradicts revelation truth - the truth of God's Word - then I start walking by revelation truth. I walk by what God has said in His Word. That which is in the spiritual realm is made real in the natural realm through my faith in the Word of God. My faith grasps it and creates the reality of it in my life (Rom. 4:17). So when you pray, believe that you receive whatever it is you are praying for, and you shall have it. That's beyond natural thinking. In fact, the natural mind can't grasp it. The majority of the leaders of our churches today are sense-knowledge people. Sense knowledge has taken the church captive. We are to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Believe the truth and not a lie. Once I was preaching at a certain church which met in a small building. The weather outside was cold, so they were using stoves to heat the building. Sometimes the inside of the building grew very hot and I would get too warm when I preached. One night I was perspiring as I stepped out of that small building to get some air. When I stepped outside, the cold air hit me in the face and my throat started hurting. By the time I got to the parking lot I could hardly talk. The next day, all day long, I couldn't talk above a whisper. Then my chest started hurting. I started reading scriptures on healing. With my Bible opened before me, I prayed silently. I said, "Lord, Your Word tells me that I am healed. If I asked my flesh or other people around me if I was healed, the answer would be no. If I asked my feelings if I was healed, they would say I wasn't healed. But Your Word says, `... let God be true, but every man a liar. ..' [Rom. 3:4]. So if I say I'm not healed, I am a liar because Your Word says that You cannot lie." ROMANS 3:4 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. I told the Lord that I was going to get up and go over to the church and preach. So I went next door where the church was and went into the service. When I got up to preach, I went up to the microphone and said, "I want to thank God that I am healed." The congregation looked at me like I was crazy because I was just barely whispering. I began to tell them what the Word of God says about healing, and I proved to them from the Word that I was healed. I told them what God says is true, and that if I said I wasn't healed, I would be lying. I told them I wanted them all to stand and praise God with me because I was healed. Some stood and we began praising God. I hadn't said, "Hallelujah!" three times when my voice came back. I started preaching, and I preached up a storm! That crowd saw what God did. They saw faith in God's Word work right in front of their eyes. All you have to do is ask God for the things you need and want that His Word has promised and believe you receive them when you ask for them. Then you will have whatever it is you need from God. Some people continually ask me why God won't heal them after they have had many people pray for them and have had no results. Very often I ask them if they have ever acted as though the Word is so. People must act like the Scriptures are true. If they don't act like the Word is true, they are walking by what their senses are telling them and not by what the Bible says. That's what is throwing them off. They're missing the faith realm entirely, which is based on what the Word says, not on what they see or feel. Step Number Three: Be Positive in Your Thinking Step number three to receiving answered prayer is let every thought and desire affirm that you have what you asked for. After you pray in faith according to God's Word, never permit a mental picture of failure to remain in your mind. Now I'm talking about receiving answers to prayer. Once you've prayed and asked God for something, never doubt for one minute that you have the answer. If doubts persist, rebuke them. Get your mind on the answer. To get your mind on the answer, you will have to get your mind on the Word. The Bible says to "... Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). 1 PETER 5:8 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Resist Doubt Doubt is from the devil. You have to resist doubts and rebuke them. You have to get your mind on the answer - on God's Word. In order to receive answers to your prayers, you must eradicate every image, suggestion, vision, dream, impression, feeling, and all thoughts that do not contribute to your faith and that do not affirm that you have what you have asked God for. The word "eradicate" means to uproot or remove. Remember, Satan moves in the sense realm, in the natural realm, and he uses the tool of suggestion. Some people think that every kind of vision, dream, impression, or feeling they have is from God. But that is not true. Reject Anything That Contradicts the Word Satan can move in the supernatural realm, too, because he is a spirit being, as is God. You've got to be able to know whether a vision, dream, impression, or suggestion is from God or Satan. Those suggestions that do not line up with the Word are of the devil. A minister friend of mine had a good church that he had built and had pastored for twenty-five years. He had built up a notable work. He was in his fifties, but he was going to have to quit his work because of a physical deficiency. This physical condition hindered him and kept him from doing his best. He was a Full Gospel minister but still didn't know how to believe for his healing. As this minister awoke one morning, he saw someone standing in his room in shining apparel, and he thought it was Jesus. This "someone" said, "It is not my will to heal you." But this being could not have been Jesus because what the spirit being said contradicted the Word. MATTHEW 8:17 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. HEBREWS 1:1,2 1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days SPOKEN UNTO US BY HIS SON, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Jesus is God speaking to us. Jesus is the Word of God. He is the Word made flesh (John 1:1- 5,14). If you want to see God at work, look at Jesus. Jesus was the will of God in action while Jesus was on the earth. The Bible says Jesus ". . . went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. .." (Acts 1...