Wonderful and gracious Father God, Almighty Jehova Jireh, my provider, I humbly and boldly come to you to present to you my formal prayer of petition.
Be it known this day, _____________, at _________(A.M./P.M.), I request and based on your Holy Word, receive, a heavenly grant in the amount of $_____.__.
Father, in the Name of Jesus, I come boldly to the Throne of Grace, and present Your Word.
According to John 16:23 (Amplified), Jesus said, "I assure you most solemnly I tell you, that My Father will grant you whatever you ask in My Name."
Jesus, You said in Mark 11:24, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe, trust, and be confident that it is granted you, and you will get it."
Father, Your Word states in Luke 6:38, "Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom." In accordance to Your Word, I give, I sow seed, in order to set this Spiritual Law to work in my behalf.
According to Matthew 18:18, I bind Satan and all his forces and I render them helpless and unable to operate. They will not hinder my grant.
According to Hebrews 1:13 and 14, I loose the ministering spirits, and I charge them to go forth and cause my grant to come into my hands.
Father also according to your Holy Word in I John 5: 14-15 assures me, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him."
The amount of this grant is for the following:
_______________, $______,__;
_______________- $______,__;
_______________- $______,__;
_______________- $______,__.
Jesus, You said in Matthew 18:19, "Again I say unto you, 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."
Therefore, _____________________ set ourselves in agreement, and we believe we receive now, and we praise You for it Lord, In Jesus’ name and by His precious Blood, the divine currency.
Showing posts with label Pray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pray. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Worry Free: Casting Your Cares Upon The Lord
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. —Philippians 4:6
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. —1 Peter 5:7
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. —1 Peter 5:7 (AMPLIFIED)
Kenneth E. Hagin tells the following story:
One evening after a service, a woman came to me and said, "I want you to agree with me in prayer about something. The burdens of life—the cares, the worries of life—are just so heavy I can't bear them."
She began to cry. With sincerity she said, "I want you to pray God will either give me grace to bear these burdens or else take about half of them away. I can carry about half of them—I just can't carry all of them."
"Dear Sister," I replied, "we don't have to pray about that— we've already heard from heaven. God's Word is our message from heaven. His Word couldn't be more sure if an angel suddenly came down here and wrote with his finger on a granite block:
GOD'S WORD IS ETERNAL." She looked startled. I opened my Bible to First Peter 5:7 and asked her to read out loud. She read, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
Then I said, "I can't pray God would give you grace to bear your cares and worries. He doesn't want you to bear them. And I can't pray God would take away half of them, because He doesn't want you to carry even half of them. He wants you to cast all of them on Him."
"I can't do it!" she said.
I said, "Sister, God is not telling you to do something you can't do. He would be an unjust God to do that. You've been praying about this for years and have never gotten an answer. That's not the way to solve this problem. You solve this by doing what God said to do." "Yeah," she replied, "but you don't know what I've got to worry about!"
"But God does," I said. "He knows and understands. And He said to cast all your cares upon Him." It seemed to me a person would be glad to find that verse in the Bible and would be thrilled to act upon it. But she turned, walked away, and said, "I couldn't give up worrying."
Paul said in Philippians 4:6, "Be careful for nothing...." The Amplified Bible reads, "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything ...." Too many times people want to pray and get God to do something about their anxieties. But God tells you to do something about them. He said, "Be careful for nothing." Or, "Don't you fret or have anxiety about anything."
As long as you do not take this first step—as long as you fret and have anxiety—you are nullifying the effects of your prayer. You haven't cast your burden on the Lord. You still have it. And if you have it, God doesn't.
Casting all your care on Him isn't something you do every day. It's a once-and-for-all proposition. This puts your situation in His hands. The Lord could do a lot for us, but often we don't let Him because we don't follow His rules that govern the operation of prayer. We don't do what He tells us to do. Then we wonder why things don't work out.
If you cast your burden on the Lord, He has it. You don't. You cannot go around talking about your worries anymore. A lot of people don't want to get rid of their worries. They claim they do, but they really don't. If they got rid of them, they wouldn't have any reason for people to sympathize with them. They wouldn't have anything to talk about. They would have to cease conversation entirely.
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. —1 Peter 5:7
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. —1 Peter 5:7 (AMPLIFIED)
Kenneth E. Hagin tells the following story:
One evening after a service, a woman came to me and said, "I want you to agree with me in prayer about something. The burdens of life—the cares, the worries of life—are just so heavy I can't bear them."
She began to cry. With sincerity she said, "I want you to pray God will either give me grace to bear these burdens or else take about half of them away. I can carry about half of them—I just can't carry all of them."
"Dear Sister," I replied, "we don't have to pray about that— we've already heard from heaven. God's Word is our message from heaven. His Word couldn't be more sure if an angel suddenly came down here and wrote with his finger on a granite block:
GOD'S WORD IS ETERNAL." She looked startled. I opened my Bible to First Peter 5:7 and asked her to read out loud. She read, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
Then I said, "I can't pray God would give you grace to bear your cares and worries. He doesn't want you to bear them. And I can't pray God would take away half of them, because He doesn't want you to carry even half of them. He wants you to cast all of them on Him."
"I can't do it!" she said.
I said, "Sister, God is not telling you to do something you can't do. He would be an unjust God to do that. You've been praying about this for years and have never gotten an answer. That's not the way to solve this problem. You solve this by doing what God said to do." "Yeah," she replied, "but you don't know what I've got to worry about!"
"But God does," I said. "He knows and understands. And He said to cast all your cares upon Him." It seemed to me a person would be glad to find that verse in the Bible and would be thrilled to act upon it. But she turned, walked away, and said, "I couldn't give up worrying."
Paul said in Philippians 4:6, "Be careful for nothing...." The Amplified Bible reads, "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything ...." Too many times people want to pray and get God to do something about their anxieties. But God tells you to do something about them. He said, "Be careful for nothing." Or, "Don't you fret or have anxiety about anything."
As long as you do not take this first step—as long as you fret and have anxiety—you are nullifying the effects of your prayer. You haven't cast your burden on the Lord. You still have it. And if you have it, God doesn't.
Casting all your care on Him isn't something you do every day. It's a once-and-for-all proposition. This puts your situation in His hands. The Lord could do a lot for us, but often we don't let Him because we don't follow His rules that govern the operation of prayer. We don't do what He tells us to do. Then we wonder why things don't work out.
If you cast your burden on the Lord, He has it. You don't. You cannot go around talking about your worries anymore. A lot of people don't want to get rid of their worries. They claim they do, but they really don't. If they got rid of them, they wouldn't have any reason for people to sympathize with them. They wouldn't have anything to talk about. They would have to cease conversation entirely.
Ministering To The Lord
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Acts 13:2
Often it seems the only kind of prayer we are familiar with is the petition prayer. We're always petitioning (or asking) God to do something, and of course that's scriptural. But in the Scripture quoted above, those Christians were not petitioning God to do anything. They "ministered to the Lord, and fasted...."
We know God is concerned about us and wants to meet our needs. Jesus said our heavenly Father knows what we need, and we should ask Him to supply these needs. But, too much of the time we're like the little boy who said, "My name's Jimmy, and I'll take all you'll gimme!" We need times of waiting on God and ministering to the Lord; times when we're not asking for anything—not petitioning —but ministering to Him.
God made man to fellowship with Him. He is our Father, because we are born of God. I'm sure of this: There are no earthly parents who enjoy the fellowship of their children more than God enjoys the fellowship of His children.
I'm sure of this: We miss a lot of what God has for us because we don't take time to get into an attitude of worship and minister to the Lord. (See Acts 16:25).
In spite of persecution, adversity, and depressing surroundings, "At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them." They weren't quiet about it! They were praising God at midnight right out loud in jail.
A characteristic of the early disciples was their continual praises to God. We read in Luke 24:50-53:
LUKE 24:50-53 50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.
Then notice the second chapter of ACTS 2:46,47
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Notice the expression, "with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." One reason the ministry of the early Christians was so effective was their continual gladness of heart and praising God. Worship and praise to God were a part of the daily lives of the early Christians. It wasn't something they did occasionally. Too many times today we see people who pray through about once every six months. You'd have to write of them that they praised God "occasionally" or perhaps "semi-annually" rather than "daily" or "continually," as did the New Testament believers.
An Old Testament example is found in Second Chronicles 20, when Jehoshaphat went out against the enemy. Three armies—the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir—had banded together against Jehoshaphat. He didn't have the manpower to stand against them, so he called a prayer meeting. The people fasted and prayed. The Spirit of God moved upon a young man in the congregation, and he stood and prophesied. The Lord told them not to fear. He told them where the enemy was and said to go against them because the battle was the Lord's. The next morning they marched against the enemy, and the Bible says they put the praisers up front. Picture these men going against three armies of trained soldiers who had swords, javelins, and spears. Right up front to lead the parade of God's army were the praisers. They weren't led by a man with a sword or a spear. They were led by men singing and praising the Lord. They ministered to the Lord. As they marched along, they shouted, "Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever" (2 Chron. 20:21). We see in the next verse what happened as a result: "And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten." When they began to sing and praise, God did something for His people. They saw a manifestation of His power. They didn't have to draw a sword or throw a javelin. The enemy ran off and left all their goods. There was so much spoil it took three days to gather it up and carry it home!
Often it seems the only kind of prayer we are familiar with is the petition prayer. We're always petitioning (or asking) God to do something, and of course that's scriptural. But in the Scripture quoted above, those Christians were not petitioning God to do anything. They "ministered to the Lord, and fasted...."
We know God is concerned about us and wants to meet our needs. Jesus said our heavenly Father knows what we need, and we should ask Him to supply these needs. But, too much of the time we're like the little boy who said, "My name's Jimmy, and I'll take all you'll gimme!" We need times of waiting on God and ministering to the Lord; times when we're not asking for anything—not petitioning —but ministering to Him.
God made man to fellowship with Him. He is our Father, because we are born of God. I'm sure of this: There are no earthly parents who enjoy the fellowship of their children more than God enjoys the fellowship of His children.
I'm sure of this: We miss a lot of what God has for us because we don't take time to get into an attitude of worship and minister to the Lord. (See Acts 16:25).
In spite of persecution, adversity, and depressing surroundings, "At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them." They weren't quiet about it! They were praising God at midnight right out loud in jail.
A characteristic of the early disciples was their continual praises to God. We read in Luke 24:50-53:
LUKE 24:50-53 50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.
Then notice the second chapter of ACTS 2:46,47
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Notice the expression, "with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." One reason the ministry of the early Christians was so effective was their continual gladness of heart and praising God. Worship and praise to God were a part of the daily lives of the early Christians. It wasn't something they did occasionally. Too many times today we see people who pray through about once every six months. You'd have to write of them that they praised God "occasionally" or perhaps "semi-annually" rather than "daily" or "continually," as did the New Testament believers.
An Old Testament example is found in Second Chronicles 20, when Jehoshaphat went out against the enemy. Three armies—the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir—had banded together against Jehoshaphat. He didn't have the manpower to stand against them, so he called a prayer meeting. The people fasted and prayed. The Spirit of God moved upon a young man in the congregation, and he stood and prophesied. The Lord told them not to fear. He told them where the enemy was and said to go against them because the battle was the Lord's. The next morning they marched against the enemy, and the Bible says they put the praisers up front. Picture these men going against three armies of trained soldiers who had swords, javelins, and spears. Right up front to lead the parade of God's army were the praisers. They weren't led by a man with a sword or a spear. They were led by men singing and praising the Lord. They ministered to the Lord. As they marched along, they shouted, "Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever" (2 Chron. 20:21). We see in the next verse what happened as a result: "And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten." When they began to sing and praise, God did something for His people. They saw a manifestation of His power. They didn't have to draw a sword or throw a javelin. The enemy ran off and left all their goods. There was so much spoil it took three days to gather it up and carry it home!
Pray According the Rules
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit... Eph. 6:18
There are different kinds of prayer, just as there are different games in sports, each with its own set of rules. Rules that apply to baseball do not apply to football. If you tried to use the same rules, you would get confused. Similarly, there are rules or spiritual laws that govern certain kinds of prayer, but do not apply to other kinds of prayer. We make a mistake by lumping together all kinds of prayer, because if we take the rules that govern one kind of prayer and try to apply them to another kind of prayer, we won't see the desired results.
For example, some people think every prayer should end with the words, "If it be Thy will." They say this is the way Jesus prayed. But Jesus did not pray this way every time. When Jesus prayed at Lazarus' tomb, He didn't pray, "If it be Thy will." He said, "... Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me" (John 11:41). When you pray to receive something or to change circumstances, never pray "if." If you do, you're using the wrong rule and it won't work. The only kind of prayer in which Jesus included an "if" was a prayer of consecration and dedication. In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus wasn't praying to change something. He was praying a prayer of consecration and dedication. And in this prayer, we should put an "if" because we want to be ready to do what Jesus wants us to do.
There are different kinds of prayer, just as there are different games in sports, each with its own set of rules. Rules that apply to baseball do not apply to football. If you tried to use the same rules, you would get confused. Similarly, there are rules or spiritual laws that govern certain kinds of prayer, but do not apply to other kinds of prayer. We make a mistake by lumping together all kinds of prayer, because if we take the rules that govern one kind of prayer and try to apply them to another kind of prayer, we won't see the desired results.
For example, some people think every prayer should end with the words, "If it be Thy will." They say this is the way Jesus prayed. But Jesus did not pray this way every time. When Jesus prayed at Lazarus' tomb, He didn't pray, "If it be Thy will." He said, "... Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me" (John 11:41). When you pray to receive something or to change circumstances, never pray "if." If you do, you're using the wrong rule and it won't work. The only kind of prayer in which Jesus included an "if" was a prayer of consecration and dedication. In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus wasn't praying to change something. He was praying a prayer of consecration and dedication. And in this prayer, we should put an "if" because we want to be ready to do what Jesus wants us to do.
Why Aren't My Prayers Being Answered?
We've all encountered moments in our spiritual lives when we prayed with no results. Apparently the people to whom James was writing his epistle were having the same experience. Just as you have probably asked yourself at one time or another, it appears that these believers were also asking, "Why aren't our prayers being answered?" We can surmise that they were asking this question because James provided an answer in James 4:3: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss."
The Greek word for "amiss" is kakos, which describes something that is bad or wrong. As James uses it in this verse, it depicts a person who is asking wrongly, badly, or inappropriately. You could say that this person is simply not hitting the mark in his request. Although he prays with the greatest fervor, he is not hitting the target with what he is asking. This person is apparently asking God to do something that is not in agreement with His Word. Therefore, regardless of how long or how passionately the person asks, God will not answer his request with a positive answer because it is not in agreement with the Word.
Or perhaps this person is asking for the right thing, but because he is so fretful and filled with fear and anxiety, he doesn't ask in faith. Rather than praying from a position of faith, he cries out to the Lord in fear and anxiety. But fear doesn't move God - faith does. Hence, although this person may be asking for the right thing, he is asking from a wrong spirit. Thus, he is asking badly or inappropriately.
Praying scripturally and in faith is essential if you want your requests to be answered positively.
First John 5:14 says, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." The word "confidence" is the Greek word parresia. It describes confidence, boldness, or assurance. It pictures a person so confident that when he speaks, he has no doubt about what he is saying. He knows what he is saying is correct or appropriate; therefore, he becomes very bold. In the context of prayer, this word presents the picture of a believer who is so confident he is right in what he is asking that he asks unashamedly and confidently.
What can give you this kind of confidence? The verse goes on to tell you: "...If we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." So when you 1) know God's will and 2) ask Him to do something that is in agreement with His will, you can be 100-percent sure that God will hear you and that your request will be positively answered!
This means you have solid ground on which to stand as you pray in agreement with the revealed will of God, the Bible. Since your request is in agreement with what God has already revealed in His Word, you know you can be bold when you make your request! And there is no need for you to pray out of fear and anxiety either. Just quiet down, and let the Word of God fill you with peace; then ask in faith.
First John 5:14 guarantees that if you ask anything that is in agreement with His will, God will hear you. In fact, verse 15 goes on to promise you, "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
Knowing what to pray and how to pray is vitally important. So always keep this in mind as you get ready to make your requests known to God: God listens for His Word, and He responds to faith. When He hears His Word prayed from a heart of faith, He is compelled to act.
The success of your prayer life is up to you, friend, so don't ask "amiss" when you pray. Make sure you are asking correctly and in an appropriate spirit of faith. As you learn to pray in line with God's Word from a heart filled with faith, the answers you seek will manifest in your life more quickly and more fully than ever before!
The Greek word for "amiss" is kakos, which describes something that is bad or wrong. As James uses it in this verse, it depicts a person who is asking wrongly, badly, or inappropriately. You could say that this person is simply not hitting the mark in his request. Although he prays with the greatest fervor, he is not hitting the target with what he is asking. This person is apparently asking God to do something that is not in agreement with His Word. Therefore, regardless of how long or how passionately the person asks, God will not answer his request with a positive answer because it is not in agreement with the Word.
Or perhaps this person is asking for the right thing, but because he is so fretful and filled with fear and anxiety, he doesn't ask in faith. Rather than praying from a position of faith, he cries out to the Lord in fear and anxiety. But fear doesn't move God - faith does. Hence, although this person may be asking for the right thing, he is asking from a wrong spirit. Thus, he is asking badly or inappropriately.
Praying scripturally and in faith is essential if you want your requests to be answered positively.
First John 5:14 says, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." The word "confidence" is the Greek word parresia. It describes confidence, boldness, or assurance. It pictures a person so confident that when he speaks, he has no doubt about what he is saying. He knows what he is saying is correct or appropriate; therefore, he becomes very bold. In the context of prayer, this word presents the picture of a believer who is so confident he is right in what he is asking that he asks unashamedly and confidently.
What can give you this kind of confidence? The verse goes on to tell you: "...If we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." So when you 1) know God's will and 2) ask Him to do something that is in agreement with His will, you can be 100-percent sure that God will hear you and that your request will be positively answered!
This means you have solid ground on which to stand as you pray in agreement with the revealed will of God, the Bible. Since your request is in agreement with what God has already revealed in His Word, you know you can be bold when you make your request! And there is no need for you to pray out of fear and anxiety either. Just quiet down, and let the Word of God fill you with peace; then ask in faith.
First John 5:14 guarantees that if you ask anything that is in agreement with His will, God will hear you. In fact, verse 15 goes on to promise you, "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
Knowing what to pray and how to pray is vitally important. So always keep this in mind as you get ready to make your requests known to God: God listens for His Word, and He responds to faith. When He hears His Word prayed from a heart of faith, He is compelled to act.
The success of your prayer life is up to you, friend, so don't ask "amiss" when you pray. Make sure you are asking correctly and in an appropriate spirit of faith. As you learn to pray in line with God's Word from a heart filled with faith, the answers you seek will manifest in your life more quickly and more fully than ever before!
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