No No In Prayer

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The first six lessons of this series were offered to give helpful suggestions on how to be better prayer warriors. This final study is directed to help us not pray in an unacceptable way. We want to be an asset, not a hindrance to God's people. So let us begin our final study.

To begin with, never pray your own will over people or situations. Always pray God's will is accomplished in their life. For instance, you may personally think they need to do this, that, or the other thing, but God may have a completely different plan in mind for them. When we pray our ideas for people, we are maybe way off base with God's thoughts concerning them. Our prayer then becomes an evil force of manipulation and control over them, projecting the enemy into their lives. Manipulation is a spirit, as is control an evil being, and they certainly are not of God's Kingdom. Do you see the seriousness of wrongful prayer? Demons carry out Satan's will - angels carry out God's. Just lift the person or situation to God, bind the enemy from interfering, and loose the will of God to be carried out.

There are times the devil really makes us angry, but do not use railing or coarse language against the enemy. I'm not saying we shouldn't get angry when the enemy attacks, we must boldly come against them, but never through cussing or screaming obscenities. Even Michael did not accuse Satan, but said, "the Lord rebuke you, Satan." They are still dignitaries. God created them as such, and only He can rebuke them.

Do not attempt to pray if you are at odds with someone in God's family. Your prayers will not be heard as you are spiritually unclean with a spirit of unforgiveness in control of your thinking or your mind.

This also applies to situations where someone has something against us that we could possibly settle and make peace. We must do what we can so there is no division in the body of Christ.

Your prayer through the evil spirit of anger or unforgiveness is like an unclean sacrifice to God. He will actually refuse to listen or accept your sacrifice of prayer. This includes unforgiveness in the marriage relationship also.

So again, do not pray if you harbor unforgiveness in your heart towards anyone, this also includes yourself. Unforgiveness brings division, and a house divided will fall.

Therefore, as God is holy, He wants His co-workers to be holy also, so they can have complete confidence towards Him. If we are walking the best we know, and are quick to repent if we accidentally fall short, we can boldly go into His throne room and have faith He grants our petition. A bad conscience will make us doubt our status with God.

Miracles cannot flow through bitterness and resentment. They are the result of prayer prayed by those that have a loving relationship with God and His family.

Another wrong thinking process behind prayer that people are guilty of, we mostly pray for our own problems, forgetting the church family, its leadership, and the remnant out there in the world that would like to know the Lord. Our prayer life is not to be self-centered. We are to esteem the needs of others over ourselves. There are so many in bondage in many different ways to the enemy, and God's prayer warriors should be praying to set them free. Matthew 6:33 tells us if we seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness all other things will be added to us. So with a glad heart, pray for the Kingdom of God to be established and His people's needs be met.

Another common mistake, people tend to complain rather than pray. God is good. He wants His family to have abundant life. It is the enemy that ruins things.

We are to pray the Word against the enemies that would sabotage God and His people so the angels can perform the word on our behalf.

This is why knowing the scriptures is so necessary. We must absolutely know God's thought on the situation we are praying about, testifying His will and loose the angels into action. Speaking God's will is the key to the miraculous.

Moaning and groaning to God gets us nowhere. He has already approved your request if your request is in line with scripture. So again, loose angels against the enemy that is hindering the will of God concerning your situation. Remember His Kingdom come, His will be done - here on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus taught us that this is how we are to pray in Matthew 6:9-10.

We need not use eloquent language, and what we pray may be short and to the point. God knows what we need before we ask, and created each of us with different gifts, but one thing is sure, He understands His kids when they talk to Him. No-one else may really understand us in fact, except Him. A little child's prayer is heard as quickly as the old seasoned Prayer Warrior.

Let me close this series on prayer by reminding us that God is a living, loving being. We are in His image. Do we not respond to people that love us enough to thank us when we do things for them? Would we not rather be in the presence of people that love us and tell us so, than a family of people that worry about how much we will do for them and not consider what we may want? God is the same. He wants your love, your praise, your thanks. David sang about this very thing in Psalm 100:3-4 and again in Psalm 106:1-2.

David was a man after God's own heart, his name means the Beloved. If you'll read the Psalms you will see over and over how thankful he was for God's intervention in his life and how he praised Him continually out of his love for Him. Let us close with the advice found in Colossians 4:2 and Philippians 4:6-7.