Becoming An Overcomer by W. V. Grant, Sr

8/3/2019 Becoming An Overcomer by W. V. Grant, Sr.

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Chapter IDRAW NEAR TO GOD

Recently I was told about a woman that came to herpastor and asked what to do for her husband that wasso wicked."Have you tried heaping coals of fire upon his head?"asked the godly pastor."No," answered the sister, "but I have poured hot coffeedown his neck, but it did not seem to help."Like many people today, the sister did not know that shecould pray for him and help the matter. Jesus said that ifwe would pray for them that despitefully use us we couldwin them to God. He said in so doing it would be heapingcoals of fire on their heads. 'They would become restlessand dissatisfied. They would be under conviction and couldnot rest until they made peace with God.

Why Is ItNecessary for One To Pray in Secret?I pray in secret so I can talk over secrets with the Lord.The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him (Ps. 25:14) .I pray in secret so I can recognize God's presence. HisSpirit lingers near and rests upon me. I feel His presencewhen there is nothing to disturb. I pray in seclusion becauseI want to commune with God in an intel1igent way. I canhear His voice in a better and clearer way if I am not listen-ing to other sounds.r would not enter into the presence of a king with adivided interest. I would give my full attention to thesupreme ruler of a country. If we are not conscious thatwe are in the presence of God, we would not know when wemade contact. We would not know when our prayer washeard. We would not know when we had His attention.We must address the Lord as if we were talking to Himin person, because we are. He is on earth. He is where weare. He is with us always. He is in the room where weare, listening to each word we utter. If we do not recognizethat we have an audience with Him, then we are apt touse vain repetitions as the heathens do. We would expect

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to be heard for our much speaking (Matt. 6 :7). The Lordbecomes weary with mere words (Mal. 2: 17) .I feel very much unwanted when I start to say somethingimportant to a friend and he begins to talk about somethingelse while I am talking. How does the Lord feel when Hestarts to talk to us and we begin to utter words about ourown interests? Let's pray about what the Lord is interestedin. This we will do if we let the Spirit guide us and praythrough us.One time David thought the Lord was far off (ISam. 27:1). When he knew the Lord better he recognized the Lordwas by his side.Does The Lord Hear a Silent Prayer?.Before I was saved I could curse and not realize that theLord was hearing me. After I was saved, I felt like hewould hear me if I said a bad word. Before I received theHoly Ghost I could carryon a conversation, not knowingthat He was listening. After I was filled with the HolyGhost I knew that He was right with me, listening to eachconversation. I would not dare criticize anyone. I wouldnot say anything that I would not say if he were present.I pray in secret because it is an example that Jesus left.We are to follow in His footsteps. (IPeter 2 :21). If it wasneedful for Him to pray in secret then it is more needfulfor me. If you do not need to get alone in prayer then youcount yourself better than your Lord.I pray in secret because I am commanded to do so (Matt.6 :1-6). If we say that we know Him and do not keep Hiscommandments then we are a liar (I John 2 : 4).I pray in secret because we absorb that which we comein contact with. We become like that with which we associ-ate. When Moses was alone with God his face shone. (Ex.34 : 33). When Samson laid his head in Delilah's lap he be-came like the world. When Peter was alone on the housetop he heard God's voice. He was used in God's service tohelp others find this peace.I pray in secret because I know I will see results. Miracles,wonders, signs, and healing will follow my ministry. I canknow His will for my life. I can receive guidance each stepof the way. Every problem will be solved. I know that I

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will always be rewarded openly. He that prays in secretwill be rewarded openly. If he is not rewarded openly thenhe does not pray in secret. You cannot pray in secret andkeep it a secret.As We Pray Is ItNecessary for Us To RecognizeGod's Presence?Our faith is increased when we know that He is by ourside listening to us. He knows that we are worshipping Him.

He hears our petitions. We know He knows. We know 'Hecares. We realize that He is concerned.He is with us always. As the air we breathe He is every-where. He is omnipresent. He is a present help in time ofneed. He is the Great I AM. He is never confined to acertain place or a certain time .A group of people one time believed that they must wor-ship God in Jerusalem. Jesus set one woman straight con-cerning this. He told the woman at the well that the hourwould come that the true worshippers would not need toworship the Father in the mountain nor in Jerusalem. Hesaid that they would worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.(John 4 :21-23).

As we went through Jerusalem we knew He was there,but we did not feel Him any more there than we do in thiscountry. I went in the empty tomb, but He was not thereany more than He is in Africa. I went upon Mount Cal-vary; He was not there any more than we felt Him in Rome.I knelt in the garden where He knelt, but He was with meas He was in Japan. I tarried in the upper room where thedisciples received the Holy Ghost, but that was no more realthan the sawdust at Mount Tabor where I received the HolyGhost Baptism. He is with me alway.Men's lives would be different if they knew that anotherworld was watching. They would act differently if theyknew that they were in His presence. We are compassedabout with a great cloud of witnesses. Another world iswatching us now. The angels are encamping about us (Ps.34 : 7). The presence of God is here. He observes. He seeseverything. We can hide nothing from Him (Heb. 4 :13).If God would hear you curse you know that He wouldhear you pray when you are in need. What kind of God

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are you serving if he hears you say bad words and doesnot hear your sincere prayer as you are in trouble? Whatkind of God would He be that would curse you and not beconcerned enough about you to bless you?How Close Is The Lord To Us As We Pray?He is closer than your shirt. He is in us. (I Cor. 6 :19).The anointing abides in you. (John 2 :27). He will neverleave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13 :5). He dwells in yourbody. (1 Cor. 3 :17). Our flesh is the tabernacle of God.(1 Cor. 4:7). God is light. (1 John 1:5). Your whole bodymay be full of light. (Matt. 6 :22) . In Him we live andmove and have our being. (Acts 17 :28). He is in you andyou are in Him. (John 14:11-17). In me He makes Hisabode. (John 14 :17).This being true then we must not pray to Him as if Hewere away off in heaven. The heathens pray as if He wereasleep or on a journey (1Kings 18:27). He wants you totalk to Him like He is present, listening to you. He is apresent help (Ps. 46 :1). He is the Word. He is nigh untothy mouth (Rom. 10 :8). Open your mouth wide and Hewill fill it. (Ps. 81 :10).What would happen if the dikes would break from aroundthe Mississippi river? The water would flood the MississippiDelta. You would not need to stand and beg the water tocome and cover the delta. It would automatically flood thewhole valley.When you break the dikes from around your soul theHoly Spirit will automatically come and flood your heartand life. Your soul and body will be saturated. You willnot need to stand and beg Him to "come down" and blessyou. He is here. He is near.This week here in Mobile, Alabama, 1 told a city busdriver these words in the morning service. Suddenly hewas filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He had beenseeking the Holy Ghost for a long time, but he did not knowhe was near trying to come in. When he learned this truthhe simply opened his mouth and let Him in. As he breathedin the Lord came in to dwell. The Holy Ghost comes byfaith (Gal. 3 :2-5).About the time the bus driver received the Holy Ghost

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a Baptist lady saw how simple it was, and how anxious theHoly Ghost was to come in. She broke the dikes and wasgloriously filled with God as the disciples were filled atPentecost.There were streams in the desert (lsa. 35 :6). The parchedgrounds became flooded. The barren ground was soaked.The Lord gave her rain in the time of the latter rain (Zech.10 :1).A little lady was there who had picked cotton to getmoney to come to that meeting. She lived hundreds of milesaway, but she picked cotton for money to pay her fare. Shebegan to open the gates to her soul. The glory flooded herlife. Her whole body was instantly filled with God becauseher faith was inspired as she saw the others filled. Thevirtue of Christ went into her blind eye. Instantly she couldsee. She had been blind since she was a little girl.He is near. He is anxious to enter. He will come into avessel that is empty. If the doubts and sin are gone. If you

will break down your rebellious nature He will enter in-stantly.Can We Know That He Is Present To Hear Us Pray?The Holy Spirit prays through us. He searches out thedeep things of God. He makes intercession according to thewill of God. (Rom. 8 :20-32). When we pray according toHis will we know that He hears us. (I John 5:14-15). If weknow that He hears we know that we have the answer.In other words, as we let the Holy Spirit pray throughus we are not praying contrary to His will. Then the HolySpirit immediately drops the assurance into our soul. Some-times we feel the assurance until we feel like laughing. Wefeel the joy and the nearness of God. Then we can delightourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of ourheart. (Ps. 37 :4).Night before last, as I lay in the bed the Holy Spirit wasinterceeding through me. Itwas revealed to me that a ladywas crippled. I was made to know that arthritis had fast-ened itself to her. It went all around her in her legs andin her hips.

Yesterday morning in service I told the people of thelady. She was here. She was healed instantly as she moved5


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out and obeyed the Lord. All the congregation rejoiced withher. She demonstrated to the people how she was completelyfree!When we recognize that He is near it is not hard to pray.It is .easy to have faith. It is a delight.Is it Scriptural for Men To Recognize God's Presence?We have teeming thousands of people today, who are pas-toring churches and going to Bible school, who will tell youthat all we have to go by is the printed Bible. They say thatwexcannot receive a revelation from God. They say that Godcannot speak to us or call us to preach. They don't believethat you will know it when you are born again. I beat themto the crossing. I found out for myself. They came too lateto tell me.At one time Moses seemed to think it was all right towork for God without knowing that He was present. Hedid not wait on the leading of the Spirit when to move. Herelied on his training. In his own strength he tried to lib-erate God's people. He made a miserable failure. Then afterhe had learned his lesson he told the Lord that he wouldonly go and work for Him if His presence went up with him.He said if God's presence did not go up with him, he wouldnot go (Ex. 33 :11-15). The Lord revealed to Moses thatHis name is "I am that I am" (Ex. 3 :14). That is still Hisname. His name is never "I was" or "I will be." He says"I am with you alway."Just before I enter into a service where there are hundredsof people waiting to be delivered from sin, sickness, anddemons, I feel like saying the same thing that Moses said.I tell Him I cannot go unless His presence goes with me.When I feel that assurance then I walk boldly before thepeople. I see them delivered; for God is in our midst.r felt my inability in a tent meeting in Oklahoma the othernight. I refused to get out of the car until I was consciousthat I AM was leading me.When I began that service the opposition was so greatthat it was like a wall before me. I knew the One WhoKnows was there. Soon the walls began to crumble. Deafpeople heard. The blind saw again. Devils were cast out.Many people surrendered to Jesus.

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Daniel was a man of prayer. He saw the Ancient of Daysascend the throne. He saw Jesus. He was brought near (Dan.7 :13).While he was in the presence of kings Daniel felt thepresence of the King of Kings with him. In the midst oflions he recognized Jesus walking through the den with him.The disciples were sad when they learned that Jesus wasleaving them. Jesus told them that it would be better forthem if He went away. He said if He left them He wouldsend the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. He said atthat time He and the Father would come in and take uptheir abode. He told them He and the Father would dwellinthem (John 14:17-23).It is better since the Holy Ghost came, because Jesuscould be only with them. Now He can be in us. He couldbe at one place at a time then. Now He can be with all ofus at all times. Where two or three of us are gathered to-gether He is in our midst. When I am alone He is in me.Begin now. Practice the presence of God. In your dailylife recognize Him. He is in us now.Why Don't People Pray for the Sick More Than They Do?We seldom see men of God praying for the sick in Bibletimes. They gave a command, or spoke a word, and thehealing came as the afflicted person obeyed the man of God.Naaman went and washed in the Jordan. The blind manwashed in the pool. A man stretched forth a withered hand.Hezekiah used a poultice of figs. A sick man carried hisbed. The lame man arose and walked. As people obeyedthe command of the Lord's servants they were delivered.Bear in mind that there was much praying before themen of God were able to move with the Spirit of God enoughto give the command, or to speak the word that broughthealing. They communed with the Lord before the healingservice until they knew the will of God and the mind of theSpirit.Abraham told the people of Kadar that Sarah was hissister. She was his half sister. ( Gen. 20: 12) . He did notwant them to know that she was his wife. He was afraidthat they would kill him and take her. He discerned theirspirits, but his faith was not strong enough to believe for

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divine protection. So he fell on the scheme to make thepeople think that this beautiful woman was not his wife.Abimelech, the king of the country, decided to take Sarahto be his wife. The Lord appeared to Abimelech in a dreamand told him that he would soon be a dead man because hehad another man's wife. That is what God thinks about aman taking a woman that belongs to some other man. Ac-cording to God's Word the death sentence is passed on them.(Lev. 20 :10). "You are but a dead man." Many of suchmen die. Because of God's mercy, or because some prayerwarrior prayed, some lives have been spared for awhile. Godgives them one more chance.Since Abimelech did this horrible thing in ignorance, andhad not yet defiled her, the Lord gave him a chance to makethings right.Because of this evil deed a plague had come upon Abime-lech and his household. All the women had become barren.The plague would have brought on the death of the king.(Gen. 20 :7) .The Lord told the king that if he would restore the man'swife and ask for prayer they would be healed. When Abime-lech made restitution, and Abraham prayed for him, all thewomen of the country received healing. Abraham prayed ashort prayer, but how many long nights did he pray beforethe Lord began to speak to the king? We need more inter-cessors as Abraham. (Gen. 20: 17) .Will The Way We Live Hinder Prayer from Being Heard?We know by now that sickness comes as a curse and nota blessing. Moses' sister Miriam was cursed with leprosybecause she murmured against God's servant. There is aconnection between sin and sickness. The twenty-eighth chap-ter of Deuteronomy proves this to you without a doubt.Sickness is not always the result of sins. It is the resultof sin. Itis not caused always by the sin of the afflicted one,but by sin that entered into the world. Because of one man'ssin death passed upon all men. (Rom. 5 :12). Many timeswe must search our own heart and life to find the solutionto our problems. There we may find the key that unlockshealing for our body.Miriam saw a fault in Moses' wife (Ex 4 25) Sh 1..~. . e 1 1 4 : 1 r -

bored the resentment against Moses. Soon she began, withothers, to question his authority as God's leader (Numbers,chapter 16; Numbers 12 :2-3).Miriam was not satisfied with the honor of being a rela-tive of a man that was mightily used of the Lord. Shestirred up trouble. A prophet is not honored among his ownkinsfolk; not even Jesus (Mark 6 :4).Moses knew that vengeance belonged to the Lord. So heleft this to the Lord as he usually did. The Lord defendedMoses. He asked Miriam if she was not afraid to speak evilof His anointed. (N urn. 12:8 ) .Miriam, evidently the ring leader of the rebellion, wassmitten with leprosy. When she raw that she was shut outof the camp forever she began to make restitution. She hadtrue repentance. She was truly sorry for what she had done.Laying aside her pride she asked her brother, whom she hadcriticized, to interceed in prayer for her.Moses prayed, "Heal her NOW, 0 God, I beseech thee"(Nurn. 12: 13). This is one of the shortest prayers in all theBible, but one of the most effective. This is proof that itdoes not take long prayers for us to receive healing from God.When we are in a healing service the more faith we havethe shorter our prayers are.Itwas seven days before this lady was pronounced well.The visible results were not instant. This shows that wemust believe God has heard our prayers, regardless if wesee no results with our natural eye. We walk by faith andnot by sight (II Cor. 5 :7).About a week ago a lady came and asked me to pray forher baby. I prayed until I felt the assurance. After prayershe was still afraid that her baby would die with cancer.The Lord wants us to trust Him and have the assurancethat He has heard us.When the lady went for an examination she was pleasedto find that there was no trace of the cancer. She found thatthe baby was recovering.The children of Israel began to murmur and complain inthe wilderness. They spoke against God and against Moses,(Num. 21 : 12). A plague came on them; they were bittenby deadly serpents. They asked for prayer. Moses prayed98


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for their healing (Num. 21 :7). When Moses prayed theLord told him to hang up a serpent on a pole. Everyone wholooked at the brazen serpent was healed (Num. 21 :8). Thiswas a case of both prayer and obedience that brought healingto the people.We learn that healing is a part of the atonement, (John3:14; Matt. 8:14-17). As we pray we must keep our eyesupon the atonement. We must realize that there is a lifefor a look.Is Prayer Sometimes Hard on the Physical Body?The natural must be crucified. (Rom. 8 :7). In that wayit is hard on our human body. We watch our body to keep itunder subjection. (I Cor. 9 :27). Otherwise men would bedisinterested in prayer.Prayer is a warfare. We fight against our selfish de-sires which make us disinterested in Spiritual things. It isthe trick of the devil to get us to be at ease with naturalcomforts, until we forget to seek after Spiritual things. Theflesh fights against the Spirit and the Spirit fights against

the things of the flesh (Rom. 8: 6-7) .We do not fight against human enemies as people did inOld Testament times. We fight against powers and princi-palities, against rulers of darkness of this world, againstspiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6 :12).The Lord told Moses to get up off his face and do some-thing. He told him to arise and stretch forth his rod. Whenhe did the waters rolled back. The people marched across ondry ground, (Ex. 14:15-16).Sometimes there is something for us to do. He opens theprison doors, but He expects us to march out of prison.There is a time to pray and a time to act. Faith withoutworks is dead (James 2: 17) .We can act without prayer and see no results. We canfail to act after we pray and meet defeat. Ittakes obediencealong with prayer. Why do we call Him "Lord, Lord" anddo not the thing He says?

Does A Prayer Warrior Need the Cooperation ofOther People of God?There is a limit in how far an intercessor can go in holding

back the enemy. We need to join him in prayer to hold back10

danger many times. We have limitations as long as weare human.As Moses was interceeding for God's people in the middleof the battle, his arms grew weary and fell. The enemyprevailed when his arms dropped. When his arms were inthe air God's people conquered the evil powers (Exodus17: 1). This is a tremendous lesson for the church in ourday. Moses was actually fighting against the powers ofdarkness behind the enemy. He was interceeding in prayer.He was fighting against a much stronger power behindAmelek.Joshua and Hur noticed that God's people were losing eachtime Moses' hand dropped. They had Moses to sit on a rock.They held us his hands, one on one side and one on the other.The enemy was defeated. As we hold up our leaders' handsin prayer the church will chase every enemy. United prayeris essential for the church today if it moves forward againstthe opposition. We must overthrow the spiritual darknessthat is pressing against the church. If we can overcome theenemy that comes against the church we can also prevailagainst the enemies that come against our nation.What Are Some More of the Things That Will Hinder

The Answers to Our Prayers?Discouragements, personal ambitions, idols, moving out ofthe will of the Lord, and many other things will hinder thevictory from coming. We can learn all these lessons fromthe account of the battle that Gideon won. (Judges, chaptersix) .Gideon first threw down the altar of Baal at the risk ofhis own life. The Lord is seeking clean hearts and lives. Ifwe want to be a victorious intercessor we must destroy allthe idols that keep God from working in our lives. Everyhabit must fall off. We must have no other God before Him.We must observe the first commandment. We must putGod first in everything that we do.

Does The Lord Ever Answer Our Prayer WhileWe Are Yet Praying?He said that while we are yet speaking He hears us; be-fore we call He will answer (Isa. 65 :24).

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another. We read time after time that David "inquired ofthe Lord". The Lord would answer and tell him what heneeded to know. It is a great advantage to us if we knowhow to inquire of the Lord and have Him to answer us.One time after David became king, the Philistines camedown against him in great numbers. He asked the Lordif he must go up against them in battle. He asked if tlieLord would deliver them into his hands. (II Sam. 5 :19).David moved forward and defeated the Philistines. Theyfled, leaving their idols behind. Then they camped in thenearby valley.Instead of David feeling self secure and successful, he didnot rely on his past victories. He stopped long enough toenquire of the Lord. He asked for, and received, divineguidance.The Lord answered and told him not to go against theenemy as before. He told him to spring a surprise attackon the enemy from behind. He was instructed not to chargeagainst the enemy until he heard a moving sound in themulberry trees (I Sam. 5 :24). As David moved with theSpirit the battle was won. It is wonderful that the busyking, who was facing a battle, took time out to inquire ofthe Lord.Far too many people become too busy to pray. They tryto fight the enemy without seeking for divine guidance. Wemust wait for the moving of the Spirit and listen to Hisvoice as we pray. We see here that the Lord does not movein the same way every time. We need a word of wisdomas we move in God's will and in His time. This we will re-ceive if we spend time in communion with the Lord.

Chapter IIPRAYERS THAT PREVAIL

I heard that one man was seeking the Holy Ghost. Aboutthe time he almost had the answer, the devil whispered, "Didyou leave the back lot gate open?" He went to see. Healmost had the victory again when the devil said, "Is thecalf out with the cow?" He went to see. Net, Satan whis-pered, "The chickens are in the garden." he next time hesaid, "Is a cow's horns in front of her ears or behind?" Hewent to see. he next time he was almost prayed through,Satan said, "If a cow is lying down, and starts to get up,does she get up on her front feet first or her hind feet?"

SHOULD OUR RULERS PRAY?It is good for our rulers to pray, but they are not goingto receive the answers to their prayers unless they believein Christ. We are taught to pray in the name of Jesus if wewant the answer to our prayers (John 16 :23).The other night I heard a speech by the president of theUnited States. He did not recognize Jesus. He said thatwe must ask for help "in the name of God." Have youever heard a president make a speech and recognize Jesus YThe Bible plainly teaches that there is none other name givenwhereby men may be saved (Acts 4 :12). If men try toclimb up any other way they are thieves and robbers (John10 :1-6). Jesus is the door. We must come in by the doorif we are saved.If we ask in the name of Jesus we are promised the ans-

wer to our prayers. Professing Christians are worried abouta supreme court decision. They are afraid the court willtake the "In God We Trust" off the coins, discard theNational Anthem, or not let prayers be said in our schools.Why worry? Christ has been left out of those prayersand slogans years ago. If this nation gets where it will notrecognize Christ it will be an antichrist nation. Why don'tyou pray that they will put "Jesus Saves" on our coins?Why don't they close the prayers that are said in the schoolswith HIn Jesus' Name"?Hezekiah was a godly king. He prayed to God when Sen-

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nacherib's army came against him. The Assyrian Kingdomwas taking over the world. The king of Assyria servednotice on Hezekiah that he was going to take Judah intocaptivity (II Kings 18 :36).King Hezekiah took the threatening letter and spread itbefore the Lord (II Kings 19 :18). He prayed until hereceived an answer from the Lord. After he received en-couragement from the Lord he encouraged his people, (II

Chron. 32 :7-8). He explained to them that they had theheavenly army on their side. He told them they were notleaning on the arm of flesh. He joined with the prophetIsaiah in earnest prayer for deliverance (II Chron. 32 :20).God heard the earnest prayers of a prophet and a king. Anangel came on the scene and slayed 185,000 of the enemy inone night. The next morning there were 185,000 dead menlying on the ground. The Assyrian Army was defeated. Godfought for His people.Why Do People Wait So Long About Praying?They seem to think they can depend on their own strength.They wait until they get into trouble before they earnestlypray. I heard that one brother prayed like this, "Lord, I havenot asked you for anything in ten years. If you will onlyanswer this prayer I promise you that I will never botheryou again". Itdoes not bother the Lord for us to pray.Hezekiah waited almost too long to pray. He tried to buythe enemy off with gold. He tried to appease Sennacherib. Foryears he had tried to compromise with the heathen king. Hehad shown him all the gold in the temple. He even cut off thegold door knobs from the beautiful temple which Solomon hadbuilt. He gave the gold door knobs to this wicked king. Thisproves to us that we cannot compromise with the enemy. Ifwe give him an inch he will take a mile.The King of Assyria accepted the gold, but he was not satis-fied. That was just bait for him. He came for the whole templeas well as the riches, the country, and the people. Give noplace to the devil.Sometimes you start to pray and you think of a hundredthings that need to be done. If you give up ten minutes ofyour prayer today Satan will demand twenty minutes of ittomorrow. You cannot bribe the devil and get rid of him.

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When Hezekiah prayed earnestly a miracle took place.Did Other Kings Pray?King Jehosphaphat prayed. This was another king of Judahthat depended on human help. He almost waited too long topray (IT Chron. 18:31). He finally prayed just in time forthe Lord to save him. At one time Elisha prayed and savedthe life of the king while he was in battle (II Kings, chapter3 ) .

Two great nations, the descendents of two brothers, A m -mon and Moah, came against King Jehoshaphat. As far as thenatural was concerned there was no chance for Judah. Jehosha-phat turned to the Lord with all his heart. He really prayed(II Chron. 21 :3-4). He proclaimed a fast throughout thenation. People came out of every city of the nation to seek theLord.Instead of mobilizing an army and fighting he led all thep~ople in prayer. He prayed an earnest and sincere prayer,direct to the Lord. He knew that he was out numbered (IICbron. 20 :11-12). He admitted to the Lord that he washelpless. He cried to God. He knew there was no protectionfor the women, children, and all the homes. Divine protec-tion was his only hope.Suddenly a prophet of God brought him a message fromheaven. He told him that he would not need to fight at all. Hesaid the battle was the Lord's and not his. He gave him in-structions exactly what to do to win the battle..The king had already prayed, so he just marched his peopleout before the enemy with the most powerful weapon in theworld. This weapon is more powerful than the atomic bomb.It is stronger than the rockets from Russia. It is the weaponof praise. They marched before the army with "Praise theLord".Each man on the enemy side began to destroy another.The fear of the Lord fell on them. Praises confuses the enemy.When the people in the upper room began to praise the Lordthe enemy was confounded. He will be confounded if we willpray to the place where we can praise.Would the Lord Answer the Prayers of Rulers Today?If all the people of America would become Christians; ifthey would march out in front of the enemy praising the Lord,

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He wanted to travel with the minister in His campaigns.Jesus told the man that he must go and carry the glad newsto his own people (Mark 5 :18).Many people today pray to stay in the biggest revival andshout when Jesus wants them to go to their own people andstart a revival of their own. We see some people who wantto hang out in the large, established churches and enjoy theblessings when they should go to the next town and dig outanother church. They wonder why God does not answer theirprayers when they ask for unity in the church. Many timesthey are praying against God's will. He wants them to go andtell others. They want to get a blessing when God wants themto be a blessing.There arose a persecution in the large church at Jerusalem.People were scattered everywhere preaching the gospel (Acts8 :1-4). Then Philip went down to Samaria and had a greatdeliverance revival. This "deacon" would probably have stayedin the big church had the Lord answered his prayers there.If you are wondering what to do, maybe you should go downto Samaria and preach Christ. You should first pray that youcan be guided by the Lord.Many people today are going the way of Balaam (Jude 11).The Lord told him not to go to a certain place and preach justto please a certain man. He kept asking for permission to go,so he could receive honor from men (Num. 23 :1-30). Finallythe Lord let him go. He ran into trouble and was later killedfor praying against the will of the Lord. (Josh. 13 :22).Why Does Sin Separate People From God?There is no place for sin and faith to go together. What-ever is not of faith is sin (Rom. 14 :23). Faith works by love(Gal. 5 :6). I don't understand that gifts can be worked with-out love. Ifwe follow after love we must desire spiritual gifts.Love and gifts go together. (I Cor. 14: 1) .Paul said, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and ofangels". Evidently he meant, "Though it were possible", inone place he says, "Though an angel from heaven came preach-ing any other gospel". Of course, an angel from heaven wouldnot do such a thing. The meaning is clear, "Though it werepossible". The Bible did not say that sinners would cast outdevils in His name. A group of people at the judgment will

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claim to cast out devils. Jesus will say that He never knewthem. (Matt. 7 :22-23). To believe that they cast out devils isto believe them rather than Jesus. Satan does no cast outSatan. (Luke 11 :17-22).The Bible definitely teaches that sin will hinder our prayersfrom being answered (Isa. 58 :1-3). When we try to pleaseourselves instead of God; when we follow sinful pleasuresand crooked dealings, we find that our faith will waver whenwe start to pray. Faith without works is dead (James 2 :18-20). Your iniquities will separate you from your God SG thatHe will not hear you (lsa. 59 :2). If we are blkewami , will turn us away when He comes (Rev. 3 :1').Sometimes men may do as Samson, who lived an ....., a M . .down life. They may yield to Satan and then come back aMask forgiveness from God. The Lord will forgive them andanswer their prayers for a long time. He is more mercifulthan we are. We may remember what a friend did last weekwhen God forgave him last night. If you keep breaking yourword with God some day you may become as Samson. Heshook himself and learned that the Lord had departed fromhim. God was not there when he needed Him. (Judges 16 :20).Why Do Some People Blame God WhenTheir Prayers Are Not Answered?

To hear some people talk, if you did not know better, youwould believe that God is to blame. They say they live right,have the faith, and have met the requirements, but they saythat God has turned a deaf ear to their prayers of faith. Thereason the answer has not come is because they have insultedthe Lord by making Him a liar (IJohn 5:10). To plead yourgoodness and put all the blame on God is to fly in the face ofall truth and make the Bible out a lie. To do that is to putyourself in the group of unbelievers and expose your spiritualpride. We must look for the trouble in our own life.As I pen these words my five year old boy is pouting be-cause his mother would not grant his request and carry himto town. I told him the first thing he should learn is thatmother knows best. Even if we do not understand it we mustremember that the Lord is always right. If anyone is wrongit is you.Joshua complained against God because He did not win the

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battle for him. He accused the Lord and reproached Him(Josh. 7:7 -8). The Lord told him to get off his face and stoppraying. He was not pleased with a complaining prayer (Josh.7 :10).How many people today reproach the Lord and justify them-selves in their prayers? They talk to the Lord like there issomething wrong with His Word. One woman said, "Lord, yousaid everything works together for good, but I don't see it thatway". Another said, "Lord, you said if I raised up my chil-dren in the way they should go they would not depart fromit, but it does not work in my case." Another said, "Lord, Iwas prayed for and was not healed, so I believe it is your willfor me to stay sick".The Lord explained to Joshua that the blame was in thecamp. Achan had taken the accursed thing, so He could notanswer prayer over that kind of sin. When the matter wascorrected; when the loose connection was fixed God's powerbegan to work and brought the victory. They had to stop ac-cusing the Lord before He would work. The Lord does not re-quire us to do the impossible, but when we are saved we arewilling to straighten up our lives as far as we can. Grace willcover the impossible. The Lord did not tell Zacchaeus to re-store what he had taken unjustly, but he did anyway. When hedecided to do so Jesus said, "This day salvation has come toyour house" (Luke 19:8-9). You only need to search for thetrouble on your end of the line. There is no trouble on the otherend.David was overtaken in a gross sin. The Prophet Nathanexposed him. David prayed and sought Godfor the illigitimatechild to live; but it died (II Sam. 12:16-18).Then King David made a great discovery that every Chris-tian should know. "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lordwill not hear me" (Ps. 66:18) .Does It Always Mean That We Have SinnedWhelt the Answer Does Not Come?Some well meaning people may pray using the wrong mo-tive. Some well meaning preachers may ask God to promotethem to a high office in their denomination. The Lord maysee that they would have more time to pray and seek Him ifthey did not have an office. Some of the best apostles Jesus

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had, evidently, used a selfish motive. One time the mother ofJames and John prayed that Jesus might sit between her twosons in His Kingdom (Matt. 20 :21). They had personal am-bitions that were not given to them by the Lord. Jesus letthem know that the greatest one of them must be servant ofall. Some of these kinds of prayers may not be answered forour own good.One man asked the Lord to persuade his brother to dividethe inheritance with him. Jesus refused to grant that request.He said that He was not sent for that purpose (Luke 12 :44) .The man could have been listening to the message of theLord. He could have been receiving food for his soul. He couldhave left the legal matters up to the courts to decide. Thatis what they are for. We must put first things first. Jesussaid that if we would seek the Kingdom of God and Hisrighteousness all these things would be added to us (Matt.6 :33). It was not wrong for the rich man to build largerbarns and fix a place to store his corn. Where he missed it isputting those things first in his life, and leaving the Lord tobe second.What Are Some of the Things ItWould Be BetterNot to Pray For?There is no use for you to pray for the antichrist not totake over the world. You are wasting time to pray that thetribulation days will not come. You had better pray that youmight be counted worthy to escape those things that arecoming on the world (Luke 21 :36).When Jeremiah preached that judgment and was going tocome the modern ministers rebuked him. They predictedsmooth things (Jer. 14 :13). They told the people that goodtimes were just around the corner. They did not tell the peo-ple to prepare for judgment. The Lord told Jeremiah thatthere was no use to keep praying for the people. He said thatHe would not hear their cry (Jer. 14 :10-12). He said thatHe would not hear such great intercessors as Moses andSamuel (Jer. 15:1).Will There Come a Time When ItIs Too Late to Pray?At the judgment people will pray, but it will be too late.(Matt. 7 : 21-23; 25 :40-48). The rich man in hell prayed forpermission to come and warn the unbelievers. God said they

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daddy for not letting him be like other boys. After the car istorn up and broken down; after all the money is spent on it,then the boy goes to work for low wages on a hard job andmisses college.The Children of Israel said they wanted a king so they couldbe like other people (I Sam. 8 :9). They knew better. Theywere wrong in their time and motive.Ministers warn Christians not to have worldly deaires. Themembers say, "We want to be like other people". Againstthe will of the Lord they soon act, dress, and smell like theworld. They miss the blessing God had for them. They knowbeforehand what it will lead to, but they want their way.Are Some People Surprised When the Answer Comes toTheir Prayers?Strange as it may seem they sometimes are. Maybe someoneelse has prayed the prayer of faith, or maybe the answer didnot come in the way they expected.Zacharias and Elizabeth had been praying for a child for along time. While Zacharias was performing the duty of apriest, and others were waiting for him outside, the angelGabriel appeared to him, announcing the birth of a son to beborn nine months in the future (Luke 1 :13).Zacharias began to express doubt and reason with the Lord'smessenger. He said that it was impossible. The angel struckhim dumb for nine months. In this way Zacharias could notconfess doubt. Some people are in such a habit of using theirlips in making negative confessions that it would be better ifthey were made dumb for a season. God could work better ifthey would not say anything. Itwould be good if we wouldprepare our hearts to accept the answer when it comes.Must We Pray Before We Have a Healing Service?Before Jesus held a healing service He was found in prayer.The same was true with Peter, John, Paul and others.Remember the sons of Sceva, who tried to deliver peoplefrom devils in the name of Jesus, as Paul had been doing. Itdid not work. They fled from the house naked and wounded(Acts 19:11-20).This proves that no one can cast out devils with his ownpower. The devils will not come out unless a power strongerthan them comes in and casts them out (Luke 11 :22). The

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only power stronger than the devil is God's power. Satan doesnot cast out Satan.We do not use spiritual gifts without the Spirit. We don'tuse the gifts. The gifts use us.The natives in Africa, who are preaching, can cast outdevils. A priest decided that he would cast out devils in orderto get his crowd back. The woman in whom the devils werejumped on the priest and almost choked him to death! Thatwas his last healing service.Will the Lord Hear a Sinner's Prayer?If the Lord would not hear a sinner's prayer then no sinnerwould get saved. The first prayer that a sinner should pray is,"God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18 :13-14). That washow the publican prayed. It was only a short prayer, but it didthe work. Itwas a sincere prayer from the heart. The Phari-see prayed a long prayer, but it did no good.We must first seek the Kingdom of God and His righteous-ness and all these things will be added to us (Matt. 6 :33). We

should receive forgiveness of sins before we receive healings(Ps. 103:1-3) - (James 5:14-15). The Lord has not promisedto heal a sinner, but He does it sometimes anyway.The Lord healed a woman's daughter, although sbe wasnot a child of God (Matt. 15 :26). He healed a man when hedid not even know who the Savior was (John 9:36).We have people today who teach the benefits of prayer with-out teaching repentance. Jesus taught that men should repentor perish. The disciples did the same. Every preacher mustpreach repentance.Should We Pray for the Lord to Send the Holy Spirit?Before the Holy Spirit was given people were to ask forand receive the Holy Spirit. That was not the Baptism of theHoly Spirit, which had not yet been given (John 7 :37-38;Luke 11:10-13).At Pentecost the Holy Ghost was given. We do not prayfor God to send the Holy Ghost, but pray for the people thatthey might receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:15) . We are notwaiting for God to get ready. He is waiting for us to getready. Each one who obeys God receives the Holy Ghost

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Should We Pray for Our Brethren?Too many people criticize a wayward brother when theyshould be praying for him. Samuel said that he would besinning against the Lord if he failed to pray for the people (ISam. 12: 13).We can pray for a brother that goes into sin and God willgive him life (I John 5 :16). Jesus prayed for Peter that hisfaith would not fail him (Luke 22 :32). That prayer was an-swered. Peter returned to the faith and made a greater min-ister than he did before he backslid. There is power in prayer.We are partly to blame if we do not pray for an erring brotheror' sister.Are We to Pray for Those People That Treat Us Wrong?Jesus taught us to pray for those that despitefully use us(Luke 6:28). He said that we would heap coals of fire on theirhead. Jesus prayed for the people that crucified Him. Hecalled the man "friend" that betrayed him with a kiss. He letJudas kiss him.If we are to pray for our enemies we certainly should prayfor those who are serving God. Stephen prayed for the oneswho stoned him to death (Acts 7:60). This very prayer helpedconvert Saul that had him stoned.When Paul was on his way to put the people in prison forserving God, Ananias prayed for him. Paul received the HolyGhost and was healed through Ananias' prayer. A man lockedPaul and Silas in prison; they prayed for him. He was savedand was baptized (Acts 16:30-31).Will the World Be Evangelized Unless People Pray?If we do not pray someone else will. Jesus will raise upsome people who will. He tells us to pray that He will sendlaborers into the harvest (Luke 10 :2). When the gospel of thekingdom is preached into all the world the end will come(Matt. 24:14).We are taught to pray "Thy kingdom come." How can thepreachers go unless they be sent? When Christians begin topray and seek the Lord they will support the preachers whohave faith and power.Do We Ever Come to the Place That We Are NoLonger Tempted?Jesus said the we should pray that we would not enter into

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temptations. Too many people walk into temptations withoutpraying. Then they pray later. Most of our temptations couldbe avoided if we would pray beforehand. As long as you liveyou will be tempted. If you pray before you are tempted Godwill strengthen you until you can overcome the temptationsthat come your way. If you don't overcome them they willovercome you. "Watch ye and pray lest ye enter into tempta-tions" (Mark 14:38).We should pray without ceasing (I Thes. 5: 17). Then wewill have power to overcome the temptations we meet. Greatmen, as Daniel, Abraham, Samuel and others knew what todo when temptations came their way.Are We to Pray for God's WiD to Be Done?We must first remember that His Word is His will. If wepray for His will to be done we are praying for Salvation andhealing (Ps. 113 :3).Jesus prayed 'Thy will be done." That is when He came tothe place that He did not know God's will (Matt. 26 :39). Wemust pray each day that we will be in God's will. When Jesusprayed for God's will He went from the cross to glory. Thatis God's will for us.

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I was told that one brother was praying when he got inearnest. He said, "Lord, I have not asked you for anythingin .ten years. If you will just give me this one thing I prom-ise you that I will never bother you again." Too manypeople seem to think it bothers the Lord for them to asksomething of Him. It does not bother Him any more thanit bothers you for your baby to ask for food when it ishungry.

HOW IS THE BEST WAY TO BEGIN A PRAYER?Jesus taught His disciples to begin a prayer with praise."Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name."Instead of having a season of thanksgiving for what theLord has done for them, many people begin their prayer bytelling the Lord the trouble they are in. Instead of beingthankful they are murmuring. The Lord wants us to make

our request known with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6).Prayer should be a part of our worship instead of beingsomething we can fall back on in time of emergency. One mansaid, "Has it come to that; must we resort to prayer?"Some people come into God's presence with petitions andend their prayer with petitions. Sometimse they presentdozens of requests without feeling God's presence.Praise and worship do not serve to get God in a notion tohelp you, but it helps your faith raise to the place so you cantake the answer that God wants you to have. The Lord dwells

in the praise of His people (Ps. 22 :3). Praises and worshipdrive back the powers of darkness and create an atmospherein which you can pray effectively. Worship changes a weakprayer to a strong one.

We are created to worship the Lord. Worship is one thingthat we can give to God that He cannot give to us. They thatworship the Lord must worship Him in the Spirit. God isseeking that kind of worship (John 4 :23).The disciples had created an atmosphere of praise just be-

fore they were baptized with the Holy Ghost (Luke 24 :52).28

We can't have a real prayer lite unless we learn to begin ourprayer with worship.Why Are We to Pray in the Name of Jesus?Whatever we ask in His name we receive (John 14:13).The beginning of the Lord's prayer is "Hallowed be thyname." That is the key that unlocks the vault. Suppose youare bankrupt and you go up to a teller in a bank and ask himto cash a check for a hundred thousand dollars. The tellerwould look and see that you had no account there. Would youstand and wonder? Would you stay and beg?Suppose you go there with a check signed by the richestman in town. You would not need to wonder, beg, or plead.You would boldly draw yOU1'hundred thousand dollars. Youwould no longer be bankrupt. Some people will fall downbefore the Lord and tell Him how unworthy they are. Theystand condemned in the first place because they are dependingon their merits. Your goodness i


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not feel that we have a monoply on God's work. No man canhave a gospel franchise on a city or town. We are not dictatorsover God's people. If we yield to the spirit of sec-tarianism we violate the law of prayer. We must pray asJesus prayed, "That they may all be one as thou Father, artin me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in usTHAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE that thou hast sentme". (John 17:21).If our time is occupied with personal interests; if we ex-clude part of God's kingdom, we are not praying for the sal-vation of the world. The world is the field. Pray that theLord will send laborers into the harvest. Some people wonderwhy signs do not follow their ministry. The Lord said if wewould go into ALL the world with the gospel the signs willfollow (Mark 16 :16-18). That promise is not to the ones whopray, "My kingdom come". The Lord has other sheep that arenot of this fold. The Holy Spirit will pray through us for theevangelization of the world. He will pray, "Thy kingdomcome; even so come Lord Jesus."

What Is the Next Step in the Lord's Prayer?After you have come in His name and worshiped Him donot ask any petition of Him until you are willing to conformto His will."Thy will be done" is the next step. To ask anything outof His divine will is dangerous. It is the height of folly andpride. Itis following the spirit that caused the angels to rebelagainst God and be cast out of heaven.This spirit caused Ad~to be cast out of the garden. A trail of sickness, sin, and rumfollowed for thousands of years.The pattern of prayer that Jesus gives is designed to putman back into the will of God. Itis designed to destroy sick-ness and sin. To say that sickness is God's will is to pervertGod's plan of redemption. For this purpose the Son of G~dwas manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.To be in His will is to have peace of mind; to have healingfor soul and body. When we are praying for His will to bedone we are praying for sin and sickness to be destroyed.Is It Wrong to Pray for Our Material Needs?In the prayer pattern we are instructed to pray for ourdaily bread. Most people pray for bread for years to come. The

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sparrows of the field do not worry. They are not afraid thatthey are going bankrupt. They trust the Lord to supply theirdaily bread. We are of more value than sparrows. He willcare for us. 'Ihe Children of Israel tried to' store up breadand they found it full of worms.If we have faith to believe that the Lord will supply ourdaily needs then we cease to worry anymore. That is truefaith that helps us to believe Him for abundance.The Lord owns all the oil in Oklahoma, all the cattle inTexas, all the oranges in Florida, all the gold inCalifornia, allthe wheat in Kansas, all the rice in Louisiana, all the diamondsin Arkansas, and all the potatoes in Idaho. He is able, willing,and anxious to supply our daily bread. Believe Him.

Are We to Have a Forgiving Spirit As We Pray?In the prayer pattern we are taught to pray," Forgive ourdebts as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). As you forgiveyour fellow man that is the way you will be forgiven (Matt.18:35). If you say, "I can forgive, but I can't forget", yoursins will not be forgotten.Some people will accept all the other things that the Lordtaught inHis sermon on the mount, but when it comes to thisthey will say, 0, that is under the law and does not belongto the grace dispensation? In other places in the Bible theLord also made it very clear that if we do not forgive we willnot be forgiven (Matt. 18 :22). If you are in grace, then graceis in you, and there will be no limit to the times that you mustforgive. When you pray the Lord's prayer you are prayingfor the Lord to forgive you exactly as you forgive others.Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of His enemies that cruci-

fied Him. (Luke 23 :34). If you have the Spirit of Christyou will have a forgiving spirit. If you have not the Spiritof Christ you are none of His.Must We Beon the Alert as We Pray?We must fight an offensive battle as we pray. We mustprevent the enemy from forming a beachhead in our lives. Astitch in time saves nine. In the prayer pattern Jesus tellsus to pray, "Lead us not into temptations". That is betterthan praying for a way out after we fall into them.We could avoid most of our temptations if we would be led

by the Spirit. Too many people deliberately walk out into31


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temptations and then ask the Lord to help them out. We mustnot dare tread where angels would not go. A man is temptedwhen be is drawn away of his own lust. (James 1 :14). Godnever tempts us (James 1:13). We must pray for Him tolead us around temptations. If you do not pray for God tolead you around temptations you can't blame God. The spiritis willing but the flesh is weak. Watch and pray that ye enternot into temptations. (Matt. 26 :41). We must not wait untilevil comes to pray. We must pray for proection from dangerthat we know nothing of.If we dwell in the secret place of the Most High there willno evil befall us. If we fear God we do not need to fear menor devils. Ifwe pray a hedge of protection will be built aroundus.

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Becoming An Overcomer by W. V. Grant, Sr