Your Prayers Are Powerful!

 Stop right now and ask yourself a question: Do you feel helpless? Do you look around at a world quickly spiraling into chaos and feel like you're the only sane person left? I made that same comment myself recently. Grown men and women who need half an hour to explain 'what is a woman?' People who would rather see justice denied because of their political affiliations. People who believe the end justifies the means. People who hate Jews but can't seem to explain why they hate them.

You are a powerhouse! You have a power within you that is so potent, you could command a mountain be plucked up and cast into the sea and it would obey you! You have within your mouth and within your heart the power to change your circumstance, to change your country and your world. The only problem is, Satan has convinced you that it isn't real.

People wonder about faith; what is it? How do I get it? How can I use it? Faith is not some ethereal thing that causes goosebumps. It starts with a decision: An absolute bottom line drawn within your heart and mind. Some call this a quality decision. It means a line that cannot be crossed. My decision began with a statement. "From now on, I believe the Word of God over and above what I can see with my eyes and what I hear with my ears."

And immediately my own mind came to challenge it. It wasn't a demon, or a spirit, it was my own thoughts. Because I realized I had been programmed all my life to believe that the Bible didn't literally mean what it said. The Bible talks about the last days, people who 'have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.'  They Deny the Power of God. That's what we see in the vast majority of churches! People who don’t expect miracles in church and therefore are not surprised when they don’t see them. Have you even once seen a line in front of a church of people wanting to go in to get a miracle? No. Not because God has stopped doing miracles, but because people don't believe in miracles anymore.

Several times in the Bible, it states that Jesus went to certain towns where he couldn't perform miracles there because of the peoples' unbelief. That is the modern church in America: Jesus is there, he showed up, but because of the peoples' unbelief he can do no miracles.

Step One: Make That Decision

You can start today with simple steps. Start off by making yourself a decision. Say something to the effect that from this moment on, you are choosing to believe the Bible is true, regardless of the circumstances. And your own mind will challenge you but stay firm: Keep saying out loud that from this moment on, you are believing God's Word over anything your senses tell you and stick to that.

 Don't compromise. No matter what happens right in front of you (and it will happen, believe me), stay firm to the decision you made. That is what I call igniting your faith. God says we all are given the measure, not a measure but the measure of faith. You are stirring yours up. 

Pray A Prayer of Faith

The next step is to simply pray: But this time, pray with conviction! Ignore things that make you think your prayer isn't working. Are you praying for justice? Perhaps you're praying for a miracle in your own life. Stop looking at the circumstances to see if your prayers are working and start looking to the Bible! If a thought comes to you, 'this isn't working' confront that thought with "I believe the Word of God over and above what I can see with my eyes or hear with my ears!" And be powerful in your determination. Refuse to entertain any thought other than God's Word is true.

Mark 11:22-24 ESV: "22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 l Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Some preachers claim, ‘Jesus wasn’t talking about a literal mountain.’ But how do they know? What makes them think Jesus didn't mean what he said? Do they not think that Jesus could have spoken to a mountain and it would have moved?

It's that type of thinking that will hinder your faith. One of the things that really turned my life around was the idea that unless it's obvious that the Bible is speaking symbolically, take everything literally. There are numerous instances the past that I once perceived as symbolic but have now come to recognize as entirely literal. I never imagined that college graduates would embrace the evidently irrational ideas they do today. never anticipated that antisemitism would find acceptance within the borders of the United States. I never thought the day would come when Christians would be universally despised around the world.

But all these things have come to pass in my lifetime! Now I know better than to doubt the Word of God. And that is all you have to do; Make a decision that from this moment on, if anything should be questioned, it is the world—not the Word of God."

A long time ago, I saw a Rabbi on a talk show. This person, although I don't remember his name, I do remember that his face was recognizable; I'd seen him before. He went on to say how he had come to the belief that the events of the Exodus were not actual events at all, but stories meant to convey a wider truth. As I sat there in disbelief to what I was hearing, I suddenly realized that he had made a decision to take the word of man over the Word of God. And this is what many Christians have done, without even realizing it. We have followed the ideas of men instead of trusting in the Word of God. 

Let's say a scientist makes a point about evolution. You may not know if he's telling you the truth, you may not fully understand whether or not his point is valid, but because you're so used to believing your senses, you automatically let that create doubt in your mind! Turn that around! Start being skeptical of what you hear and what you see.

I was speaking to a Deacon of a Freewill Baptist Church once here in Kentucky. I asked him about the gifts of the Spirit. He absolutely proclaimed with a determination that surprised me. "The gifts of the Spirit have been done away with!" 

When I asked him why he felt that way, I can still vividly remember his answer: "Because if the gifts were still in effect, people would walk into hospitals and clear them completely out." 

Do you see what he is saying? He is believing his senses, his eyes and his ears, over the Word of God. Because no hospitals were emptied by someone with the gift of healing, he chose to dismiss the Word of God. Just like the poor Rabbi, he had taken the word of man over the Word of God. How sad, especially for the Rabbi, to realize you've dedicated your life to something you no longer believe in.

Don't be like those men! Do not let this world convince you the Bible isn't true! If there is anything that should be questioned it is the word of man, not the Word of God.

As to the Deacon, Jesus went to several towns where he was met with such unbelief that he could do no miracles there. No matter how anointed you may be, if you're praying for someone that doesn't believe in the power to supernaturally heal, then your prayers are in vain. Show me one example where Jesus healed a person who didn't want healing.

Pray In the Name of Jesus

This is a mistake that I hear a lot, and I mean the majority of Christians make. They pray to Jesus, they ask Jesus, but they don't know the power of that name! I love these words of Jesus in the book of John; "23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John 16:23-24 New International Version

Do you see what Jesus said? Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete! Jesus is talking about this present time we live in. He is talking to his disciples about the time after he is crucified and returns to heaven. And what does he say about that time? "In that day you will ask me nothing. But this is the truth; what you ask the Father in my name he will give it to you." 

Ask God the Father for the things you need. Remember you have a right to ask God not because of who you are, but because of what Jesus did for you! You're not asking something on the basis of your efforts or your accomplishments. You are asking based on the fact that Jesus died for you, and you have become a joint heir with him! STOP RIGHT NOW and consider this; you no longer are bound to the law of the Old Testament. Jesus has fulfilled the law for you, and now you are eligible to reap the rewards of HIS actions as a joint heir with him.

Ask yourself a simple question: If Jesus prayed for something, do you think God would answer? Absolutely! If you ask for something in Jesus' name, do you think God would give it to you? Absolutely! Not because of who you are and because of anything you have done, but because of what Jesus did on the earth for you!!! 

When you say, In the Name of Jesus, you are praying not based on yourself but based on the works of Jesus. Think about it like this; you work in a factory. One day, your boss tells you, "Go to the tool room and tell them I said to give you Tool X". Now normally that tool is reserved only for supervisors, and normally, you couldn't ask for that tool yourself. But, since your boss has sent you, and told you to ask in his name, you go confidently to the tool room and without hesitation ask for Tool X in your boss's name. 

Jesus has told us to ask God the Father in his name. That is the authority we use when we pray! Pray in the name of Jesus!

Abide By That Quality Decision

Remember the woman with the issue of blood: "27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease." Do you see what she did? She said something, believed it, and it came to pass! That kind of power is still here for us today! It's called faith. She believed if she could just touch the hem of Jesus' garment, she would be healed. She spoke that belief out loud. She received what she believed. People have tried to make this way more complicated than it needs to be. Believe in God's power, ask Him to do something for you. (Mark 5:27-29 English Standard Version)

You can be a powerhouse for God. You can most definitely change circumstances in this country. People mocked, jeered and even threatened Nehemiah when he returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall of the city. But through the power of his faith in God, the walls were rebuilt. In the same way you should look at circumstances as a challenge to overcome, not an insurmountable barrier.

Are you frustrated with the evil you see in government? Pray. Are you angry at money being stolen by thieves and con artists? Pray. Do you worry about your safety in public and the safety of your loved ones? Pray. I personally consider faith to be one of the most powerful forces in the universe. Through faith, I have seen miracles with my own eyes. Through faith I have spoken to God himself, and He has spoken to me. Through faith I have paid bills, changed circumstances, received things and so much more. And folks, there is nothing special about me. About 10 years ago, I simply made a decision. "From now on, I will believe the Word of God over and above what I can see with my eyes and hear with my ears."

You can't 'try it out' and make it work. It's a decision you have to make and abide by. No matter what the evil one throws at you, these arrows are easily blocked by one thing: The Shield of Faith. Nothing on the earth can hurt you if you just start building your faith.

Remember you were given The Measure of faith. Not A Measure, but The Measure. Everyone gets the same measure; what you do with yours is what matters. Jesus said that even faith as small as a mustard seed (about the size of a dot made with a pencil) was enough to move mountains. It's not the quantity of faith, but it's your determination to abide by it instead of the world.