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Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God; 7. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.
We were discussing in pt. 1, how that when we’ve gone to the Father in prayer
in the correct way, we will have God's peace and that peace will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. We were
also talking about how different types of prayer are for different purposes. There is the prayer of intercession, the prayer
of salvation, the prayer of consecration, the prayer of repentance for the believer, the prayer of agreement, and these are
not the only types of prayer mentioned in the Word of God. One type of prayer isn't always the right type of prayer for every
situation.
I would also like to point out as the title of this study indicates, prayer changes things. Prayer does
not change God! We know His Word tells us there is no variation of change in Him. Circumstances can change, but God won’t!
I've
heard people say that prayer moves God. I believe that is not an accurate way of looking at this. The truth is, God has already
moved on our behalf. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians and said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3.) We have already been blessed
with all the blessings of God, we have to learn to receive them according to God's Word. Prayer is one of things God has given
us to accomplish this.
Faith receives those things that have already been accomplished in the spiritual realm and manifests
them in the natural realm. The New English Translation says in Hebrews11:1. Faith gives substance to our hopes and makes us
certain of realities we do not see.
We may not see these realities in the natural, however they are real. Just as
the wind can not bee seen but we know it is real.
I said in pt.1, Prayer is another way of saying you are processing
out the very will of God, working out His will and bringing His will into existence here on the Earth. There are times when
we just don’t know the correct way to pray, as opposed to the times when God's will is clearly known and understood.
For instance we know that God's will is for all to be saved and come to the knowledge of repentance. So God's will is clearly
understood in this situation. We don’t need to pray, God if it be thy will save cousin Mary Lou. Since God's will is
clearly known and understood, we pray the way that Jesus told us to pray for the lost. We pray that the Lord of the harvest
send laborers into the harvest.
We know that in order to be saved we have to hear the Word of God. Ro. 10: ...
How
do we pray when God's will is not clearly understood, such as when we are seeking direction or wisdom, or for a situation
to be resolved where you just don’t have all the answers. This is not the same kind of prayer as where God's will is
clearly known and understood. Faith always comes from clearly knowing and understanding the will of God. I am talking about
reveled knowledge here and not just head knowledge. Faith for salvation comes this way, and faith for all of God's promises
come this way as well. So how can we pray in faith when we don’t have clarity of God's will and purpose? That is a fair
question and deserves a fair answer. God's Word covers these situations as well. I'm so thankful He hasn’t left us hanging
aren't you? This is why it is so important to know the correct way to pray!
The eight chapter of Romans discusses
this very thing. This type of prayer is for unfolding God's will and purpose. Once this is done, faith arises in our heart.
I will repeat myself here. Faith always comes from knowing and understanding God's will, you can't have faith outside of knowing
God's will. Another way of saying this is to say that we must get revelation knowledge. That is supernatural knowledge of
God's will.
Intercession is processing the plan of God. It is bringing the will and purpose of God to fulfillment.
Let's look at God's Word and see what it says.
Romans 8:26. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For
we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered. 27. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession
for the saints according to the will of God. 28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose.
The Word helps in vs. 26. is a compound Greek Word that literally
means joins in to help
Or to take hold with us together against our weaknesses. To co-operate or (assist).
You see,
it is talking about the Holy Spirit interceding for God's will when we don’t even know what God's will is. This is the
prayer of intercession to bring God's will and Gods purpose to pass. The Holy Spirit knows the will and purpose of God when
we don’t. When we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and intercede with Him, He will lead us to intercede according to
the will of God, and direct us to pray God's will into existence. We can't do this on our own, we need His help. We have to
tune in and be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish this. We can never pray this kind of prayer
without the help of the Holy Spirit. There will be times when we will be directed to pray for others. Sometimes I can honestly
say I don’t always know what I am praying for, possibly it is none of my business. Sometimes the Lord will show us.
When we are praying this way whether we know what we are praying for or not, we are praying according to the will of God by
the help and direction of the Holy Spirit to bring God's will and God's purpose to pass. Many times when you have been praying
this way for a while you will get a sense of release in your spirit. When you are burdened to pray this way, I would encourage
you to keep praying until you receive that release.
Let's read our opening Scripture again.
Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; 7. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
When
you receive that release to stop, that is when the peace comes. The peace of God will keep your heart and mind. I am so thankful
for God's supernatural peace. This is God's way of showing us we have prayed through with the help of the Holy Spirit to accomplish
God's will. You then know that your prayer has truly been effective. As I said previously, an effective prayer is one that
gets results.
Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose.
We can see the end result of this type of prayer. When we intercede in line
with the help of the Holy Spirit as v.’s 26 and 27 talk about, all things will be worked out to fulfill God's purpose
(vs. 28.) After all, it is God's purpose that the Holy Spirit was helping us to pray and bring to pass wasn’t it?
I
said earlier that you can't truly have faith for something unless you know and understand what God's will is. This is an instance
where many times you won’t know in your mind what God's specific will is, however your spirit has reached out and taken
hold of the answer and has grasped the reality of the situation. Praying in the spirit brings supernatural enlightenment to
your spirit and helps you to open the door of spiritual understanding that allows your faith to work and help bring to pass
the thing you are petitioning God for, and that is God's purpose. This is why this type of prayer is so important. You must
come to a place where your spirit grasps the reality of God's will before you can truly appropriate by faith the promises
of God. This is what Romans 8 is talking about. Praying in the spirit accomplishes the will and purpose of God in such a way
that many times will not get accomplished any other way. Let's not minimize this vital type of prayer that God has given to
us.
We have the written Word in abundance like no generation before us, and we have the Spirit of God to help us every
step of the way. The Spirit and the Word will always agree. So let us get spiritual understanding of God's will and purpose
both through reading and studying His Word and also through spiritual revelation of His specific will, and release our faith
to pray for His will to be accomplished here and now in the Earth. Amen
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