“LORD TEACH US TO PRAY”

LEADERS AFTER GOD’S HEART MINISTRIES, INC

Rev. Lisa Marie Ives

lisa@leadersaftergod.org

www.leadersaftergod.org

8110 COLE ST, DOWNEY, CA 90242

“LORD, Teach Us To Pray!”

The disciples of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray. They didn’t ask him to give us a prayer, but show us the way to approach the Father. This is

because they noticed in Jesus life that when HE prayed HE got the God to move upon a situation therefore having God’s miraculous results. So learning

about prayer is learning about our heart, where our heart is healthy and where it need’s tending by the Father who is the Gardener. May you learn

through this inspired book about prayer about where you are, and where this place of prayer and intercession with the Gardner will take you as a person. May you yield to the Gardener as he weeds your heart, tills the soil of your

heart, and adds elements of His nature to your heart so that your prayers like Jesus’ avail much!

Which Prayer Do I Pray?

Before we begin to explore the subject of prayer we must first understand that all the praying in the world will not bring forth the God answer if it is not prayed from

a heart of love for people even ourselves. Love is the first fruit of a born again person and must be the driving force for praying not just so a situation doesn’t bother us anymore. LOVE is the most powerful force in the Universe because

GOD IS LOVE!

“Prayer will bring no results without the known will of God revealed to us and the known will of God revealed to us will not come to pass without prayer”

Acts 6:4

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

Many pray ignorantly, “If it be thy will?” for every situation, because they don’t know there are different kinds of prayers, so they jumble them all together. They listen to others pray and copy them, or just hit and miss in prayer, sometimes getting results and sometimes left in want.

This does not need to happen if we too will give ourselves continually to prayer and God’s word. We have been given three witnesses on earth to help us overcome in this world. I John 5:8 says we have the Spirit of God, who helps us

and teaches us how to pray. The water of the Word of God has been given to us as a resource of strategies in prayer. The blood of Jesus, (his very life in us) cleanses our minds of impure thoughts so we think God’s thoughts and pray God’s prayers.

Throughout the Bible there is interwoven many different types of prayers. The intention of this booklet is to cover each one and clarify what they are so as to better help the Body of Christ pray effectively.

The Bible tells us we’re to ask the Father in Jesus Name when we pray. Yet many follow this pattern of prayer and yet don’t understand what the purpose of it is and therefore resort to a religious exercise (vain repetition) as Jesus said in Matthew. When we pray “In Jesus Name” we are releasing our faith in all that His Name means. He is the Saviour of the world, the Deliverer, Healer of all diseases, Redeemer, High Priest, Great Intercessor, Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Pastor, Evangelist and the Yes and Amen to our prayers. He’s God and all that God is!!! To say ‘In Jesus Name” therefore means all that His Name represents; His Divine character, Divine ability, Divine authority. He gave Jesus His name to enforce God’s will on this earth through US!

When the devil hears Jesus Name spoken in faith he doesn’t see us, but he sees Jesus Christ, the LORD of all in us speaking to him and that’s why the devil flees. Praying in the Name of Jesus is like giving someone in need a blank check with the signature of authority on of the Greatest, Strongest, Wealthiest, Possessor of all anyone would ever need PERSON in the world on the check and His Name is JESUS! He tells us what to write on that check according to His will and we cash it in by faith and prayer. That’s how Jesus possessed God’s inheritance while on earth. He continually said It Is Written…He filled in the blank check from heaven, but only as the Father instructed Him. Jesus never overdrew his account by asking too much so as to indulge his flesh, or tried to draw from his heavenly account only to find it was empty because He didn’t trust His Father. He lived in abundant provision and we can too. He’s given us the ability, through prayer, and the authority, through His Name!!! Praise His Name!

Following are a list of different kinds of prayer mentioned in the Bible. They describe how and when to use them. In Ephesians 6:18 we are told to pray with

all prayer. Just like different tools are used to bring forth a garden, so to there are different prayers that bring forth God’s will in our lives and the lives He calls us to pray for.

Kinds of Prayer

I. Prayer of Communion: II Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all, Amen.

Communion means fellowship or intimacy describing a deep understanding and relationship with the Holy Spirit of God. God longs for intimacy with His Creation, for He created us for His pleasure as it says in Revelation 4:8-11. Our fellowship is with the Father directly as we are alone or indirectly when we fellowship with believers. I John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son. So first and foremost prayer was ordained by God so humanity could have a relationship with their Creator. How can a person truly and whole-heartedly trust someone they don’t know? The answer is, they can’t! So until we pursue God in a desire to know all about Him we won’t trust in His ability to answer prayer. Just as we live in a day many have never known their earthly fathers that gave them natural life, many do not know their Heavenly Father that has eternal life to give them.

God has given us a scriptural pattern to follow to learn the ways of praying specifically for the things we need in life. Since we need the LORD’s ability we need to first become a Praiser of the LORD! A Praiser acknowledges with their whole heart God’s Supreme character in all its aspects from their spirit which brings the praise into their voice and which is used to express Praise, and as a result the Praiser is consumed in God’s presence. For where the LORD is welcomed He reveals Himself. He said He inhabits the praises of His people. In Psalm 129:1-4 we see that the devil attempts to plow up the hearts of God’s people. But God uses Praise from our hearts to break the enemy’s plan and praise brings forth God’s blessings back to us. In Hosea 10:11, 12 Judah means Praiser in Hebrew and here we see an example of Praise plowing places the enemy has hardened. Our hearts then become fertile which welcomes God’s presence. Praise

brings our hearts to a place they will bow in worship. When a person really is praising the LORD, they are no longer self conscious, but God conscious and only a person who is God conscious can hear from God. Once a person is conscious of the presence of the Lord His holy presence begins to reveal His purpose to the Praiser and they come to the next place of intimacy which is Worship of the LORD. Worship is a believer’s service and work for the LORD not merely bowing down on their face. The more intimate the relationship with our Heavenly Father the more a believer grows in wisdom and understanding therefore being used of God to help humanity come to know Him in a personal relationship as well.

Prayer Example: Lord my soul follows hard after You. I Praise You for all that You are and all that You do. You are my Salvation, Deliverer, Healer, Lord, Comforter, Shepherd… I long for a greater fellowship with You. I long for a deeper intimacy of who You are and what I mean to you as Your child. You made me for Your pleasure and I now welcome You to move into my life with greater understanding of Your character, ability, and authority. I welcome Your very presence right now to move upon my heart and draw me close to YOU!

REMEMBER God the Father is not looking for eloquent words, but a heart that understands the words they are speaking and are sincere in what they are saying.

II. Prayer of Faith: Hebrews 11:6 says Without faith it is impossible to please Him (God). Therefore all of our prayers in life must be mixed with faith in God Himself for something needed now or at a future moment and they KNOW the request has been heard, received by the LORD and sent right on time into our lives. The prayer of faith is always assured. This prayer is only prayed when a person knows the will of God for a situation. For example it’s always the will of God to have eternal life so when a person comes to the place they want eternal life; they pray the prayer of faith, Lord I want to live with you forever as your child and I thank you for giving me eternal life and forgiving me for all my sins in Jesus Name. All prayers we pray to God must come out of a heart filled with faith that God will answer because they are founded on His Word. Any other type of prayer is either a prayer of hope, or doubt and unbelief, or anxiety. And these types of prayers bring confusion and create havoc in our souls which matters worse, because they are inspired from the carnal soul that has not been renewed by the

Word of God. Romans 12:2 says And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Therefore our minds must go through a change of thinking to the way God thinks.

The only answer then is for a person to meditate on God’s Word of truth until confidence rises in our hearts. This means we are to think upon the very thing we want not what we don’t want. Meditating on what we don’t want will give us just what we DON’T WANT.

Prayer Example: Lord I believe Your word and Your word declares Your will is that I have ______________ (a healthy body). Therefore, I believe I receive ___________right now in the Name of Jesus.

III. Prayer of Supplication-to extend an olive branch; a specific fervent request or petition. It is petitioning God the Father in prayer specifically for His promise of Peace in any area of our lives to come to pass. Example Psalm 142 David’s prayer, I Kings 8:44-61 Solomon’s prayer; John 17 Jesus prayer for believers

We live in a day when we’re approached by people at the Post Office or the market, to sign a petition. The petition states a specific matter the person is passionate about, and what the result is that they want. We are to be specific with God, not wishy washy, as they say of, “whatever you want Lord”, when He’s given us His word so we can know what he wants. He says in Philippians 4 we are to be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we’re to make our requests known to Him. Here we see different prayers working together to bring the result of peace in our lives.

Prayer Example: Heavenly Father, I come before your throne of grace in the name of Jesus and I need help now!!! In ___________area of my life. You are my only hope. As you were with Moses and my forefathers be with me, Oh God! You’re not a respecter of persons Lord so I put my trust in you alone.

IV. Prayer of Agreement-Matthew 18:18 When two of you agree on earth as touching anything they shall ask, it shall be done of my Father which is in heaven. The word agree is a musical term symphoneo. In a symphony there is the

conductor and many different instruments each playing their specific notes and harmonizing with each other to make a beautiful sound understood by the hearers. Agreement is when two or more believers each bring their belief together before the Lord of a specific request. Many times a Christian will ask for the prayer of agreement to help break through a resistant situation. Just like two people pushing against a stone can move it better than one if they work together agreeing in prayer with another believer, they can move situations into the will of God. Our agreement is to only be with the known will of God on any matter. Our agreement is with God and His will not our wants, and longings, unless they are truly God’s will. If someone calls for prayer of agreement that God will heal them if it’s the will of God than they have violated the way to pray this prayer because it’s always God’s will to be healed.

To be most effective with the prayer of agreement is to know the will of God first, then have the Holy Spirit lead us to ask someone specifically to agree with us. To just randomly pick someone is an immature approach to this powerful prayer. For the person we choose must agree with God’s will on the matter, otherwise there is no agreement. Just like in the medical profession there are believers that specialize in having strong faith in certain areas so if we know this then we should call those spiritual specialists. The goal should be to grow in faith to excel in faith for the whole counsel of God.

Prayer Example: Lord ___________ and I come into agreement for Your wisdom being brought forth concerning my business. We believe all resistance is being broken through and Your specific way to approach this new work is being revealed to me right now in the Name of Jesus.

V. Prayer of Repentance- I John 1:9 If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is a prayer we pray when we have sinned (gone the wrong way). To confess means to say from our heart what God says about what we did not just “I’m sorry”. It literally means to turn from the wrong way and back to faith in God and doing His will. Say you are worrying about any aspect of your life. Worry is sin according to Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing… because when we worry we are not trusting in God’s promises of providing our every need. So we go to God and say,

Prayer Example: Father I admit I didn’t trust you about providing ________in my life and I now acknowledge that worry is sin. I release the care and admit YOU are my provider and NOW trust you that my need of a job is fully brought forth to me NOW!

VI. Prayer of Consecration and Dedication- This prayer is a prayer only we alone can pray to God the Father for our life call from Him. No one can pour out our hearts for us in this prayer, but they can stand on our behalf in prayer through intercession to know the will of God. This prayer of consecration and dedication is a 100 % yielding of our heart to the will and way God wants to use us. Luke 22:42 is an example of Jesus praying this prayer and using “not my will your will Lord” for his own life call. We are always in need of knowing God’s direction for our life call and must stay in that place of humility of “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” and wait to hear as others we find in the Bible did. In Acts 9:6 the Apostle Paul prayed this prayer and the Holy Spirit of God said “Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”. This was Paul’s first time hearing the way of God by his own seeking of the Lord in prayer. And we too can hear if we want to hear the Lord speaking to us.

Prayer Example: “Lord I come to You in the name of Jesus and surrender my life to Your will for my life. I allow You to use every gift and talent You have given me for Your glory. What would You have me do?” (wait and listen for His instruction)

This prayer is a daily prayer for the believer that wants to live for God 100%

VII. Prayer of Intercession-Many people jumble their prayers together because they don’t have a working knowledge of the word of God. They may pray in tongues a little, then a few words in their understanding and many times to no avail. Prayer of intercession is a standing on behalf of someone else to bring the known will of God into their lives. It involves, first the leading of the Holy Spirit, a willingness to take upon oneself the assignment as it may be a short or long season of standing for the one they are praying. It involves the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they are needed along the way. We in our humanness are limited in our understanding without the help of the Spirit of God’s revelations. When we are walking by God’s power and His supernatural knowledge about someone else we

can then specifically pray for them or a situation that needs to change. We must get God’s mind on the matter and pray His mind to see the results God wants.

Intercession for our life call and others is much like pushing a plow. We allow God to go ahead of us in our call to break up hardened places in a person’s heart (even our own) before we actually minister to that person. When an area of our lives or someone we are interceding for has never been prayed about before then before we can begin to move forward for God taking the territory the devil has had in the our life or a person’s life we are to intercede and we must begin to prayerfully confront these resistances in the power of God by getting specific strategic words from Him as to what is going on. This could pertain to any area of our lives or others. It is a progressive pressing forward. I say pressing forward, because the devil does not back off and run away without a fight of our faith especially when he has lorded over our life. As Ephesians 6:12 says it is a wrestling match. We go from one plowing victory to the next. Even naturally we cannot have a vegetable garden without first plowing up the hard dirt, softening the soil and adding nutrients that were missing. We then plant the seed and water it till it germinates.

Examples in the Bible of intercession: Moses for Israel Exodus 32:32; Samuel for Israel I Samuel 7:5, Jesus for a weak believer Luke 22:32, a man of God for Jeroboam I Kings 13:6, an exhortation to all believers for humanity I Timothy 2:1-4

Examples of request for prayer from another:

1) We’re asked to pray for a person who is sick in their body. First, we must have it settled that it is God’s will that they receive healing. But we also need to know what has hindered them receiving healing and that only comes by the Spirit revealing to us what He knows about the person. If the person has not been taught the truth that it is God’s will that thought and the power it’s held in their minds must be taken authority over in Jesus Name in their lives and the truth prayed over them.

2) We’re led to pray for a governmental leader that is ungodly. Again we must have God’s clear mind to pray effectively. Only God’s Spirit knows what

spirits and thoughts have brought this person where they are in life, so we must have the Holy Spirit reveal to us supernatural understanding.

3) What if we are asked to pray about a situation we have no leading to pray about by the Spirit of God? Again we need to listen to God’s Spirit in our spirit as to what is our responsibility and response to others. Just because a person says pray doesn’t mean we are to pray. Only the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit can lead us.

4) If someone asks you to pray for them to move to another area for example. and the Holy Spirit in your spirit reveals to you that this person hasn’t gotten God’s mind for their move and their motive is not right. What do you do? You listen for the Lord to instruct you. Ask them some questions as God brings them to you. We must always listen to our spirit when we are called upon to pray. In Romans 8:28 we are told the Holy Spirit is our helper when we don’t know what to pray for as we ought. The Holy Spirit will begin to search like a spy the heart of the person and bring us information so we can pray effectively. * Note: The Spirit only reveals what He can entrust us with. Our integrity will determine what the Lord reveals to us.

Prayer Example: Lord I need Your mind on this matter. What is the prayer of Your wisdom in approaching this request? (wait for His leading)

Characteristics of an Intercessor

Lover of all people- For God so loved the world, not just some of the world. Our prayers of intercession for humanity are to be out of love not hate, frustration or fear otherwise it’s not intercession from heaven but hell. Some people take many years to come to Christ by love and intercession.

They are a forgiver-Luke 22:34 Jesus said Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing. If we have ought towards any person we pray for, it’s not intercession God will answer. I Corinthians 2:7, 8 Nobody in their right mind would race through life to be eternally separated by the God of love. Unsaved humanity is not in a right mind!

They are a selfless giver-No one in this world is born by themselves. Someone held them in their womb and helped them come to earth. An intercessor holds a lost soul or needed situations in the womb of their faith till the answer is born.

The Apostle Paul mentioned in Galatians 4:19 that he travailed again till Christ was fully formed in a believer. This takes sacrifice and love to do this for others.

A Confronter-True intercessors stand in the face of the enemy’s wiles and tricks, ploys and assignments and lifts their shield of faith to put out and pull out the fire darts of the wicked one. Ephesians 6:16

Jesus in Luke 22:32 discerned an attack on Peter’s spiritual life and interceding for him. He said Simon, Simon, Peter, listen! Satan has asked excessively that all of you be given up to him out of the power and keeping of God, that he might sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you Peter, that your faith will overcome. And when you are turned again, strengthen your brethren.

Jesus went to Peter because he loved him and wanted him to overcome in life!

Intercessors are caregivers- we throw the cares others throw on us upon the Lord knowing only He can help them and change them

Waiters-No man goeth to war of his own charge. An intercessor waits on the Holy Spirit of God who will call us to fight the fight of faith for the battles of life. If we’re not ready to fight or prepared with the equipment to fight and on our own jump into battle, all hell will come against us like the sons of Sceva. Every battle that was won in the Bible was called for by God and given specific strategy. It doesn’t matter how much of the Word of God we have in us we must be led to war by the commander in Chief of the armies of God because the enemy will retaliate and we must have God’s strategy to win.

Wise-an intercessor does not intercede for others with others about just anything. If God reveals a sin of a leader or someone we don’t know, we don’t take it to a prayer meeting and tell everyone lets pray. There are secrets God reveals to us that we must keep in our private prayer closet and there are those requests we are called upon to take publically. God knows we need to learn and there are times we need to go to a leader for counsel and wisdom when we’re young in Him, but there comes a time He will require more of us in the place of

integrity. An intercessor covers sin in prayer; the enemy exposes sin to humiliate. An intercessor cries out for the mercy of God. The enemy cries for judgment. It’s up to God how sin is to be exposed. An intercessor is standing between a person’s sin and the wages of that sin which is death and cries out for God’s intervention so as to keep the wrath of God from coming in to their lives. For the great intercessor stands on our behalf ever interceding for us not to be judged but to be reconciled back to God.

Guard Rails for Intercessors

What’s a guard rail? It’s a rail built alongside a road to help us stay on track. It’s a reminder we are at the edge and best not go any further. It can sometimes keep us from going off the edge, but if pushed too hard it will cave in and we will fall off into a ditch.

1)Accountability- Hebrews 13:17 As we stay submitted, (which is an act of our will), to those in authority over us spiritually then God will anoint us to lead and teach with authority as intercessors. We need to remember our place is to allow (fully cooperate), with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes intercessors get puffed up in pride because they have inside information, but they must realize it’s a gift from God. The fruit of the Spirit is vital for intercessors to have developed within them otherwise the gift can turn to gossip, self-righteousness, and literally split a church, business or government apart. The fruit of the Spirit is God’s way of holding us accountable and Spiritual leaders to recognize when we’ve gone astray.

2)Pure Heart-Luke 6:45 The human heart is like a treasury and what comes out of our lips depends on what’s in our hearts and we need to be honest with ourselves and the Body of Christ and admit our blind spots as God reveals them to us. He does so only for the sake of healing and restoration, not to become me or sin focused for this is false humility. Intercessors use their mouths a lot. And what comes out of our mouths that are good comes from those places in our soul we’ve allowed the Word of God to transform according to Romans 12:1. Anything we do or say that is not producing the fruit of God’s Spirit needs to be cleansed from us.

3) Diligence in the Word of God and prayer-Acts6:4

As intercessors our daily diet spiritually requires hearing the Word of God which brings faith to our hearts to believe God will establish His will on this earth, but it also requires the prayerful meditation of the Word which help us digest the understanding of what God is saying. Diligence in the word of God is not so we are walking scripture quoters, but think, speak and act like the LORD JESUS acted while on earth with humanity. If we sense our prayer are weak because doubt or unbelief has crept in then spend time not in a scripture, but with God Himself and allow what He says to become your heart again.

Obstacles to Intercession

Jealousy- very watchful or careful in guarding or keeping one’s rights, resentfully suspicious of a rival or a rival’s influence; resentfully envious

If jealousy is not dealt with it will grow roots of bitterness towards others and roots spread too many areas of our lives. As intercessors we must guard against comparing our prayer life with others. II Corinthians 10:12b says when we compare ourselves with each other we are not wise. We are to compare ourselves to ourselves, but look to the example of JESUS and His leaders for a model to rise up to.

Fear of the devil-as intercessors when we come to a prayer meeting we need to remember it is a meeting between God and His adversary the devil, yet when we’re new to intercession or we’re coming up to a new level in intercession we will confront new opposition in areas we need to now conquer.

Fear of rejection-Fear of rejection is fear of man no valuing us or a fear of God not valuing us. All these fears bring a snare like a bear trap because of areas of the heart that do not KNOW God loves us.

Singing Your Intercession

To many singing your intercession might seem like a foreign thought, but to King David it was His life. Over 90% of his praises to God were for deliverance from his enemies. Why did he sing? Praising the Lord gets us out of focusing on

ourselves and the situations that are disturbing us and the only way to be in the Spirit to pray or praise is to be fully focused on who God is!

To sing prayers of intercession is the highest display of bold faith before God and the gods that we have the Victory in Christ! Just as Jesus triumphed over the powers of darkness and made a show of them openly in His resurrection we as Christians must approach our prayer life from the standpoint of our seat with Christ at the right hand of God.

David’s secret was singing epigrams! These were songs he sang at the midnight hour of a situation in life. He acknowledged the enemy’s schemes yet always acknowledge God’s rule and reign over them. Psalm 138

Here we see him even declaring in song his will being set to Praise God Almighty before the gods that were troubling him and declaring God’s ability to perfect anything concerning him.

We must continually put to remembrance the greatness of our God, the triumphof our Saviour and the position we now have of grace and mercy with them. Remember most of David’s singing was in His time alone with God!

Also look at how this heritage was passed down to the Apostle Paul and Silas in prison. They prayed and sang praises and were released from prison supernaturally, and it also caused the release of other prisoners and the jailor coming to Christ. As with all prayer the Holy Spirit must be the one who leads us into this place of VICTORY!

Prayer in Tongues- I Corinthians 14 is full of reasons for the gift of tongues in our life. In verse 2 we communicate with God directly. In verse 4 we buildup our ability to hear from God’s Spirit more clearly. In verse 13 we gain spiritual ability to pray and understand what we’re praying for in situations we previously had no understanding. Praying in tongues assists us in intercession by bringing help to us by expressing our heart in ways our known language is unable to. Romans 8:28 Many think that just rambling in tongues is enough, but this gift is given to help us enter the realm of the Holy Spirit to gain understanding of an unknown situation. One time I was praying in tongues and suddenly it was a new language and as I prayed this language a vision appeared of a mission group in India ministering and

a demonic spirit was attacking some of the group. I then began to in my understanding take authority over this demonic spirit and threw it out of the church it was assaulting. I found out later three people I was specifically praying for were attacked physically and through the intercession recovered thank God! So just like our known language has specific meaning so does praying in tongues if we desire to interpret the tongue that is a supernatural gift given to those who desire. Speaking in tongues v. 22 is a sign to an unbeliever just as on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:12 for the unbelievers heard the believers speaking in their language and glorifying the LORD!

Prayer of Thanksgiving- How is thanksgiving a prayer? It is the ultimate note that we have the victory and the answer from God to our request. When we’ve been led by the Holy Spirit to pray for an individual or even ourselves we break through resistances by thanking God He is who He says He is and has already sent the answer to us. Isn’t that what a crowd does as they watch the football player running to the finish line? They shout yes, he’s got the touchdown! Well, we’re to praise and thank God all the way till the victory manifests because we see the victory in His word and in the realm of the Spirit.

Prayer Example: Thank You Lord!!! You’ve heard my prayer and assured me of Your victory. Thank You that I have (name the promise you prayed for)! Example: Thank You for healing me, Thank you for saving my family, Thank you for the new job, Thank you for leading me to person I’m to marry, Thank you for bringing this new baby to earth safely, Thank you for supplying all the funds to go to Israel! The list is endless!!!

Prayer of Commitment or casting our cares- In I Peter 5:7 we are told to cast all our care upon him for he cares for us. Again this prayer is a prayer that must be released by faith in HIM. The cares the Lord is talking about are anxieties that attempt to steal our trust in Him as our source of provision that we encounter in life. If we cast them onto Him in an attitude of anxiety, we aren’t really releasing them to Him, but just verbalizing our anxiety which really makes matters worse for us for we push the anxiety into the situation. We begin to mull over and over the problem and not our source of HELP coming from God.

We must be convinced He will take care of us before we can release this prayer to Him. Our opponent the devil will attempt to keep us focused on the worry, but we must resist him and we do this with our will. It is a choice we willingly make. Don’t say I can’t help it! Yes you can if you make up your mind to! When the will is activated to God’s will there is an action that takes place in us. It’s not the words we say “I will believe God” only, it’s our will moving into agreement and repositioning with Gods’ will on the inside of us that submits to God, therefore resisting our adversary.

Prayer Example: Lord, I release ____________into your care for you do care for me and I know you are working on my behalf for good. You are supplying all my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I forbid worry right now in the name of Jesus.

Prayer for a person to come to Christ Jesus as Saviour-I Timothy 2:4 says God is not willing that any perish but all come to the knowledge of the truth about JESUS, that He is Lord and Saviour. He says Today is the day of salvation. Our prayers need to be directed at what is hindering the person receiving salvation so we can by the power of God break the power of the blindness over the mind of the person and pray laborers be sent into their lives to preach the Good News to them. People that are lost are blinded by the powers of darkness that are controlling their thoughts and therefore their wills. We must take authority over the forces of darkness that are exercising authority over a person’s mind, will, emotions, and imaginations. This only comes by a pure hearted intercessor that is willing to receive God giving them the assignment and taking upon themselves the holy burden of intercession. The intercessor must be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit that will reveal the way to pray as well. The person needing Christ must also hear the Good News, so laborers must be sent by the LORD to the person. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word it will take the inspired by the Holy Spirit words to bring faith for salvation for every person and situation.

Prayer for Christ being formed in a believer- In Galatians 4:19 Paul says He travailed in birth again that Christ be formed in the believers at Galatia. This prayer again will involve Holy Spirit led prayer of pulling down strongholds in the mind of a believer that are holding them back from growing into full understanding and lifestyle of their destiny in Christ. II Peter 3:18 We must grow in grace and in

the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual growth takes also the hearing of the word of faith for every area of the life of a believer to mature into a healthy believer. For some they can mature quickly because they make it a priority and are aligned with mature leaders in the Body of Christ. It takes as Paul said the Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher and Evangelist to fully bring a believer to maturity.

Prayer Example It is the same as intercessory prayer along with the word of faith being fully ministered to the believer.

Prayer of Binding and Loosing- The word of God must be bound to the heart of a believer in Christ and this comes through study and meditation of who God is and His way of thinking. Cares must be released from a believer’s life so as not to hinder their faith. The more we know the God of the Bible, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s presence, voice and ways the more we are bound to our foreordained purpose on earth.

Declaring the Word of God

Declare= to front; i.e. to stand boldly out, opposite, to announce (always by word of mouth to one present: whether it is declaring the Word of the Lord to God, ourselves, our brethren, the lost or the devil. It is a very powerful prayer that is empowered by God’s Will and enforced by our will. To declare is to establish God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus only did what He saw the Father do at the moment and he only said what the Father told him to say. He waited to hear a word inspired by the Holy Spirit before He ever engaged Himself in any spiritual and natural activity. Even when some situations seemed so urgent for Him to run and pray like Lazarus when he was very ill Jesus only prayed and went when God said it was time.

I have found many people purpose in their hearts to spend time with God the Father daily, but are frustrated with their time with God and they are bored, and unsatisfied spiritually. They are just following a ritualistic religious pattern which always leads to dead unsatisfying results.

I have learned a valuable lesson from the Holy Spirit of God. When I arise in the morning I listen for the leading of the Spirit of God. I don’t approach my day with

what do I want to do, or what should I do, but LORD what would you have me do? If you have a scheduled daily job and God has ordained you to this job, then you need to make sure you take time with the LORD before you rush off to work. Simply ask Him, what is on His heart for the day and what you need to be ready for the day. This allows Him to lead your day. We are foolish to think we know all that will happen each day and that should keep us humble before Him.

Just as the Hebrews had taskmasters in Egypt that lorded over them, man will take lordship over us every day even our own minds if we don’t first surrender to the LORD.

If I don’t have clarity because my mind or body are being noisy from unruly thoughts or pain or tiredness then I get a hold of my mind and body by yielding to the Spirit of God within me and I ask the LORD what to do. I then listen and He begins to speak to me and I follow His leading. He will take me in His word to study certain subjects pertaining to ME and what I need or others and what they need.

It’s very exciting to allow God’s Spirit to start our day. What daily bread I need from Him, what prayers I need to pray for my life and the people He’s called me to influence for His Kingdom, He begins to show me. He never leads me to pray until He first knows I’m built up in my faith in HIM. I might have thought I knew all the day’s agenda, but it’s during this time I allow Him to be LORD of my day. Every day becomes fresh and exciting!!!

I don’t stop there and punch out an invisible time clock with God, saying in my mind; well I’m done with my daily devotions. I follow Him throughout the day listening to His voice leading me, saying what He leads me to say, going where He leads me to go and doing what He leads me to do whether it’s washing dishes, to preaching the gospel to serving a customer in my business to calling a relative. I’m alert and on call 24/7, all day every day. Does a distraction attempt to come my way? We all have distractions, but what we do with distractions will determine the quality of our relationship with the LORD and our effectiveness on this earth. Whatever we do in thought, word, or deed may we do it in the name of JESUS!

Bon Voyage my fellow soldiers in Christ,

Rev. Lisa