Dog Days of Summer – Part 4

(John 10:10 AMP) The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

(1 Timothy 6:12 NKJV) Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called…

Prayer that Brings Results
  1. What does the Bible say about your situation?

You must base your prayer on the Word of God.

You cannot pray beyond your faith and you cannot have faith beyond the Word that you know and have in your heart.

(1 John 5:14-15 NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (15) And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

For God to be able to respond to our prayers, they must line up with His Word, which is His will.

(John 15:7 NKJV) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

(John 1:1-3 NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

God has attached Himself to His Word and you will never get Him to do anything apart from His Word.

You must have the Word in your heart because there will be a fight that must be waged for what you are praying for.

It may take time for you to receive the answer to your prayer.

Be prepared to stand and fight for what you have prayed and believed for with the Word of God.

Start with the answer, which is the Word, and work your way backwards from there.

  1. Ask God for the things you desire and believe that you have received them.

(Mark 11:24 NKJV) Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

(Mark 11:24 NIV) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Expressing a desire and asking the Lord for something are two different things.

When you ask you MUST believe that you receive the answer at the time that you pray.

Smith Wigglesworth said, “If you have prayed seven times for any one thing, you prayed six times in unbelief.”

Andrew Murray said, “It is not good taste to ask God for the same thing over and over again.”

Murray also said, “If, when you do pray what you’ve prayed for hasn’t materialized, don’t pray for it again in the same way because that would be unbelief. Remind God that you have already asked for it, and what His Word says, and tell Him that you’re expecting it and thank Him for it.”

  1. Refuse to doubt what you have believed.

(James 1:5-8 NKJV) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (6) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

There are two kinds of knowledge that we deal with:

  • Sense knowledge – based on what can be perceived with the five physical senses.
  • Revealed knowledge – what has been revealed to you from God’s Word.

These are OK with each other until they contradict. When they do contradict, you must get to the place that you automatically default to the revelation truth of God’s Word.

The enemy will try and get you to keep checking to “see” if the thing or situation has changed.

  1. Pull down every thought that is contrary to God’s Word.

(2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Cast down – to demolish with violence

  1. See yourself experiencing what God’s Word has said.

Failure is not an option! Don’t plan to fail and have a plan “B” in case God does not come through.

Never permit a mental picture of failure to enter your thinking.

(Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV) Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. (3) He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

(Proverbs 4:25 AMP) Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you.

Uproot every thought, image, dream, impression, or feeling that is contrary to what you have prayed and believed that you received the answer.