How the Prayer of Faith Works

The prayer of faith is the expression of your will borne out of your persuasion of God's truth. This prayer is concerned with God's will above your needs. The prayer of faith will change you before it changes your situation in order to make you receptive to the answer that God will provide. It begins with meditation on God's word.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Let this walk tonight bring for great testimonies in our life in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, dear Father, in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Let's put our hands together for Jesus. As we take our seats tonight, God bless you. God bless you. I want to appreciate everyone that are present here in tonight's Bible study. I trust the Lord that what God has for you, you will not miss any. In the name of Jesus. Christianity is not about hearing and hearing, it's about practicing what you hear. It's about knowing the truth and walking in the truth. I trust the Lord that the purpose of the service tonight will be accomplished in your own life and the life of everyone following online. Praise the Lord. I want to appreciate God for my dear daughter. I said it's a blessing when you have sons and daughters who can catch into your spirit and know exactly what you are heading. When Dr. was ministering, I said, She don't preach my message, finish. I said, She don't preach, I'm finished. I said, So wait till I will come preach now. Praise the Lord. Anyway, there will always remain something for me to say. Praise the Lord. Help me put, celebrate God's grace upon her. Praise the Lord. You know, I have to tell our resident pastor to send messages across all platforms. I would have loved to preach this message on a Sunday. But God gave me for Thursday. Praise the Lord. Because what we are going to, I'll be sharing with you, if you understand it well, your prayer life will take a new dimension. And you begin to walk in the fullness of the victory that Jesus has won for you. You know, uh one of the things that amaze me about God is that number one, God is love, number two, he's merciful, number three, he's kind. But do you know, in spite of all these attributes, his children still suffer. His children still suffer. So, you know, our understanding of God is that if truly is love, he should be pampering us always. He should give us whatsoever we need to take care of us. But the reality is this: God himself is bound by his word, he operates according to his nature and principles. He operates, he can't function outside that. And you see, that's why he gave us his word, so that we can live like him. There are things God has personally revealed to me that I didn't read from any book, which has blessed my life so much that I trust the Lord as I um share them with you this evening. Those of us who really know that God is your everything, you can't function outside him, you will align yourself with it. You know, there are a lot of Christians who claim that God is their everything, but they walk by their own senses, they walk according to their understanding, and they do what is convenient for them. That's why a lot of believers have been a victim of this world, they have been a victim of the kingdom of darkness. One thing that God always does by his mercy is to ensure that everyone returned back to him safely. That's why he sealed us with the Holy Ghost. So that no matter how much you be misbehave, walk in ignorance, you won't miss heaven. You will get there. The only thing is that you might not do what he wants you to do on earth. But that will not be your story. You will be everything God has ordained you to be on earth in the name of Jesus. How the prayer of faith works. This night you will see whether you have been praying or not. You know, oh Lord, hear me. Oh Lord, bless me, oh Lord, do this. Every of my enemy, some assault, die, faint. You have prayed all manner of prayer, and at times some of us are frustrated and you ask, Does God answer prayer? Yes, God answers prayers. But if you don't know how to pray, Dr. read James chapter 4, verse 3. So we pray and miss. We ask. But do not receive because we do what? We pray amiss. We'll see what it means to pray amiss this evening. Let's quickly get into what God has for us because I'm trusting God that if you pay attention, somebody wrote something I read online. He said, Nothing is free. He said, Nothing is free in this world. Even for attention, you have to pay. He said, Even for attention. Say he said, pay attention. Praise the Lord. James chapter 5, verse 14 to 16. James chapter 5, verse 14 to 16. My my prayer is that God will give every one of us a heart that is always willing to learn. You see, let me tell you something. Whatever you think you know that have not changed your life is head knowledge. You don't know it yet. Or let me put it this way: you might know it in your head, but you don't understand it. It is what you understand and you practice consistently that can change your life. Those are the things that advance your life. So if what you claim you you know has not transformed your life and has not advanced your life, you might know it, you don't understand it. It is what you understand that you practice consistently, even when it looks as if you are not seeing the result yet. When you understand how things work, you will have the staying power to keep doing what you have to do until the result shows up. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Have you seen the importance? The elders here refers to the pastors. And why is it that the elders, because they should understand better? Praise the Lord. So, verse 15. And the prayer of what? Are we here this evening? And the prayer of what? It didn't say the prayer will save the sick. That's why we tie to the message. How the prayer of faith works, not how prayer works. How the prayer of faith works. He said, and the prayer of faith will save the sick. It is not prayer that saves, it is a prayer of faith that will save the sick. And the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Verse 16. Confess your trespasses to one another and do what? And pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Verse 16. Give me verse 16 from amplified. Verse 16. From amplified. We are stopping at verse 16. Confess to one another, therefore, your faults, your sleeps, your false steps, your false steps, your offenses, your sins, and pray also for one another. That you may be what? Healed and restored to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. Now look at the next statement. The earnest, heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous man does what? Makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working. The earnest, heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available. So if tremendous power is not available to you, you are not praying. You might think you are praying. You can't pray the prayer of faith and the bearing of power. So that is why not all prayer truly works. Not all prayer truly works. Your prayer cannot work except it is done in faith. Your prayer cannot work, cannot deliver your expectation except it is a prayer of faith. Let's look at what it's what prayer means. What is the meaning of prayer? From the Bible passage we read, the Greek word for prayer is from the word um UK. UK, it means UK. Let me spell it in Greek. Is pronounced UK in Greek. It sounds like UK. In Greek it is UK. And that word UK is taken from another Greek word. Ukoma I. You comai E U C H O M A I. E U C H C H O N A I. And this means a wish or will expressed as a petition. A wish or will expressed as a petition. A wish or will. Now let's bring it to our faith now. It means a wish or will express as a petition to God. So when you pray, you are expressing a wish or a will as a petition to God. Now, for your prayer to be a prayer of faith, listen carefully. I told you it is not prayer that God answers, it is a prayer of faith that works. So for your prayer to not just be a prayer, for it to be a prayer of faith, the wish or the will you express as petition to God must be born out of deep persuasion or conviction of God's truth, not your truth. That is your truth, and there is God's truth. You understand that? Um Dr. uh uh Dr. Kenneth Copeland. Many, many years ago, they said there was a woman who happens to be a prophetess there in the US, and she prophesied that God, in quote, revealed to her that Dr. Kenneth Copeland was her husband. Even though Dr. Kenneth Copeland is already married. He said, God told her that Kenneth Copeland's wife will die and she will become the and she began to pray it. Well, thank God Kenneth Coplan and his wife are still there. Because her petition was her wish and her will, not the wish and the will of God. Do you understand that? There is nowhere in the Bible that God supports such a thing. For you to pray that somebody should die so that you can take their position, God will never do such a thing. So, what are we saying this evening? For your prayer to be a prayer of faith, the wish or the will you express as petition to God must be born out of your deep persuasion or conviction of God's truth. That means if God's word says so, I'm persuaded this is the truth, then I will express it in the place of prayer, knowing that God cannot deny himself. Do you understand that? In other words, let me rephrase it. In other words, the wish or the will you present as petition to God must agree with God's will for you. Oh, I'm praying, I'm asking God for something. It must agree with God with what God wants for you. This means that your confidence or your trust in God's word, remember that God's word is his will. So your confidence and your trust in God's word must be the reason why you pray and not just because you have a need. We are getting to something now. Most of us as believers pray because there is a need. Uh-uh. That's why you don't get answers to your prayers. You don't pray because you have a need, you pray because you are persuaded that God has a will for you concerning that need in your life. And so, because you know God's will, you move in prayer to enforce his will in your life. Oh, may the Lord give you understanding tonight. So, when we are talking about the prayer of faith, the prayer of faith is when you pray. Listen carefully. The prayer of faith is when you pray because you see, you see what God has provided for you in his word. And you know that his word is his will for you. In other words, you catch a revelation of what God has provided for you in his word. So when you are sure that this is the will of God for me, I get into prayer to enforce the will. Not just because I have a need. You see, most of the prayers believers pray today are panic prayers. And panic prayers don't produce any results. Oh God, heal me. Oh God, oh God, bless me. Oh God, do this. Don't let me be ashamed. That's panic prayer. You are not even sure of God's will for that your situation. It is when you approach God on the basis of his word for your situation that you get answer. That is what is called the prayer of faith. Because you are not praying because you have a need, you are praying because you know the mind of God for your need, for you and for your need. Let me use this as an illustration. Romimi is my son, and as my son, he knows it is my will to send him to school up to university level. I've told him that I'm ready to pay your school fees as my son to PhD level. Do you think if they increase school fees to two million naira per session, it will bother him? It won't bother him because it's not his problem. When he gets to school, they say school fees have increased. Now that is the problem. His job was to come back or pick phone. Daddy, they just increased our school fees. Now it's two million. I just make a tell you. He has carried my will back to me because he knows that I've said I will pay through. So I won't tell him because the fee is two million, I can afford it. So since I'm the father and I've told you that this is what I'm willing to do for you, my will is the expression of my mind for you. And now you know the expression of my mind for you, and you are persuaded that I love you as my son. You won't need to beg me, oh daddy, please now, please now. Uh the scoopies has been increased. Please now. But because you are aware of my will for your education, you just communicate my will back to me. And if I have integrity, I will execute that will for you. How many of us understand that? That is why the Bible says God is faithful. God is He is forever faithful to His will, not to your need. He's forever faithful to what? To His will. If you let's let's look at that James chapter four, verse three. James chapter 4 verse 3. Now look at it. Let's start from verse 2. Let's start from verse 2. You lost and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and walk. This is the condition of many people, though. You fight and walk, yet you do not have because you do not ask. Verse 3. Verse 3. You ask and do not what? Receive. Because you ask Amice. What is asking Amis? That you may spend it on your pleasures. Now, you need to understand that scripture. If you have a need, and because of your need, they are mindful of everybody's looking down on me. Because I don't get money. Because of that, in my family, when they are doing meetings, they know they call me again because they say waiting go contribute. Now story you go contact. So now your concern is what people think about you. And now, so because of what people think about you, you don't want the shame to continue. You now begin to cry, oh Lord, do this for me. Wipe away my tears. No. You are asking to consume it on your pleasure. You just want to solve your problem. You just want people not to look down on you anymore. Not because you know that it is the will of God for you to have that thing that you need. So it's a very thin line. Some of us, oh Lord, unto you alone. Do I lift up my soul? I don't draw well. Unto you alone. Do I lift up my soul? Oh my God. You put some doses of tears. I trust indeed. Let me not be ashamed. Let not my enemies triumph. Your only concern is that your enemy, let them not triumph over you. But you are not conscious of the will of God that He has delivered you from your enemies. So when you are praying, it's for selfish reason. That is why, even when you get the answer, you are not too grateful. You are now looking, this one has happened, you have the answer for this, you move to the next one. You are not thankful because you are not conscious that the will of God for you just get done. Some of us share testimony to pepper them. No. So it says you ask and you do not receive because you ask a miss. What is asking a miss? Go back to that, James 4:3. Because you want to consume it. You want us to? Because you ask, you ask and do not receive because you ask and miss that you may do it, spend it on your pleasures. Just to spend it on your need. God gave them job, God gave them financial breakthrough, but they can't tight. Because they are not aware that they got what they have by the will of God. Because if you know that this is the will of God for me to prosper me, you see that third John. That third John. Chapter 1, verse 1. Is it third John? Yeah. So the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Verse 2. Beloved, I pray. The same word used for prayer is the same word for wish. That means my wish and my will for you. Because it is my wish for you, because it is the will of God for you. That you may prosper. In how many things? In all things. And be in health, just as your soul prospers. That's why when I come here, I prophesy to you. I prophesy over your life on the basis of my understanding of the will of God for you. Not because I just want you to prosper. I'm convinced of what God wants for you. I'm convinced that He wants you to live long. I'm convinced that He wants you to live a healthy life. I'm convinced that He wants you to prosper. So, on the basis of that conviction, I stand, I prophesy. If you don't have the same conviction, just say, Amen, amen, amen. You go home and be sad. Because you have not agreed with God's will that I have expressed in the place of declaration over your life. How many of us understand that? So when you are persuaded of the will of God for you concerning a situation, you pray on the basis of his will, not on the basis of your need. He bore all my sins and my diseases upon his own body, by whose stripes I was healed. Now, he said, your body is the temple of God. He said, No unclean thing is permitted in your body. He said, Whatsoever seek to destroy this body, him will God destroy. That is his will. Now, because I'm persuaded of his will, I stand on his will and I take it to him in the place of prayer. Because I'm persuaded that his will is that I'm healed. He has borne all my sickness, my sin, and all my sickness upon himself. So sickness is illegal in my body. Am I talking to somebody? Some of you become a Trump, donor Trump, to the sickness in your body. Trump is dealing with those that he considered illegal immigrants. And he's locating them and flushing them out. Anything that makes life unbearable for you is an illegal immigrant in your body. Am I talking to somebody? Knowing that Jesus bought them and he took them away, you stand in the place of prayer until you see them no more. Because they are not meant to be there. But if you are just praying because you are sick, when you pray and you still feel the pain, say this, not the walk. Because the prayer you pray is not a prayer of faith, it's a prayer of need. You are not standing on God's word. Because if you know that truly, truly, God will not lie to us, he will never lie to us. He has borne all our sicknesses, our sin upon his own body. Jesus has borne them upon his own body, and by his stripes we were healed. Then I need to stand on it until I see the manifestation. I keep on proclaiming it over my life. On a daily basis. Just like when doctors will give you antibiotics, when they say you have infection, and they say this antibiotic, you must use it every 8th hours. You have to set an alarm to make sure you don't miss the next hour. Is that true? It's because you believe in what they said. And you already'll be planning. The doctor tells you, I'll give and take, as if you use this thing every 8th hour, over the next three, four days, you'll be okay. You'll be able to go out. You begin to plan, you tell people that I'm not feeling fine now, but by God's grace, I'll be able to come out of the house by Saturday. Because you believe the doctor. But you see, when it comes to the word, because we are not praying on the basis of the word, on the basis of God's will. We are praying on the basis of our sickness. You pray, pray, pray. You see, they feel the pain. You pray, pray, pray. Your body say this thing. Why? Because your prayer is on the basis of your need, your sickness, not his will. Because if you know his will is perfect, his will stands forever, is forever faithful to his will. He watches over his will to perform it. You will stand on it because you know he's watching over it to perform it, and it is his will that will prevail over your sickness. Let's quickly look at how does a prayer of faith work. How does it work? So that we can cooperate with God. Two or three days ago, God laid this strongly upon my heart for me to share it with you today. Let's read Mark chapter 11, verse 22 to 24 from TPT. If you can understand what the Lord is saying to you this evening, some of you, you have some outstanding testimonies over the next 30 days. Let's read from TPT. Now, if you read this place from New King James or King James, King James, or many other translations, it says, Have faith in God. Have what? But from the original Greek text, this is what have the faith of God is what is there. Hello. So Jesus replied, Let the faith of God be in you. Let the faith of God be in you. Verse 23. Listen to the truth, I speak to you. Listen to the truth, I speak to you. If someone says to this mountain with great faith and having no doubt, mountain, be lifted up and thrown into the midst of the sea, and believes that what he says will happen. It will be done. This is the reason I urge you to boldly believe for whatever you ask for in prayer. Be convinced that you have received it and it will be yours. Now, how does the prayer of faith work? The prayer of faith will change you before it changes your condition. The prayer of faith will change you before it changes your situation. What does that imply? It means the prayer of faith will change you to make you receptive to the answer to your prayer. Not everyone that prays are receptive to the answer to their prayers. And that's why I told you earlier on. Don't pray because you have a need. Pray because you know the will of God concerning that need. So the prayer of faith will change you to make you receptive to the answer to your prayer. What is the meaning of the word receptive? It means to be capable of receiving. Not everyone who desires something from God, not all of them are capable of receiving it when it shows up. I told us two Sundays ago. I told us that the reason why many people are not receiving God's help is because we can't identify God's help when we see it. When God sends you help, at times it will look like a problem. When God sends you help, at times it will look like setback. Let me give you an instance. Joseph had a dream. He saw that he would be great, and that all his brothers will bow before him, that even his father and the mother will bow before him. Yet he lives inside his father's house. But the father loves him so much, took care of him. Now, God gave him the dream. Only God knows how that dream will come to pass. That dream was God's will for Joseph as a person. Now, perhaps Joseph has been praying, Lord, let this your will, because that time they have no Bible to read. So let this will you have shown me through my dream, let it come to pass. For God to help him to bring the dream to pass, he has to take him from his father's house. But listen to me. If God wants to help me, you know, you know, I've had this statement. Person we want help me, no go stress me. How many of us have had it? If it is God that wants to help you at times, it will stress your flesh. Stress was your flesh, your flesh will be stressed. Because you are not meant to live by the flesh. When God is walking with you, the only thing that will be offended is your stress, is your flesh. When God is walking with you, the only thing that will be uncomfortable is your flesh. Because he's a dead man. He's not meant to be alive. You are now exposing it to an atmosphere that he is not comfortable with. That's why the Bible says the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit they will never agree. So God knew how he has planned his will for Joseph. That day he knew that the process to his elevation must begin. He quickened the heart of Jacob, his father, to send him to go and check on his brother. So he went to the location where they always stay with the animals. He couldn't find them there. He wandered round, round, round, round, round. He couldn't find them. And when he was about to give up, God said, No, no, no, no, I need to help this guy. He must not miss the opportunity of going to Egypt today. Because as far as God is concerned, going to Egypt will be the beginning of the fulfillment of the dream. My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not your thoughts. As heaven is higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways? Now, he sent a man. The man, the Bible says, a certain man, nameless man, accosted him. Say, What are you looking for? So I'm looking for my brothers, those sons of Jacob. He said, Well, I overheard them. See, when God is working in your life and he wants to help you, somebody will always be available to give you the information you need. Saying, Let's go to Dotan. Say so. Perhaps they are there. So Joseph headed there. As soon as he saw him after, I said, Oh, the dreamer is coming. God catch him. Today we catch him, we kill him. Let's see how, as a dead man, his ruling, his dream of ruling over us will come to pass. But that is not part of God's will. So it will never happen. You fret, you feel bad about people's behavior towards you because you think they can destroy you. It's because you are not conscious of his will for you. You are not conscious of God's will. So you keep responding in the flesh against all attacks. So they caught him. Say, let's kill him. Because that's not written in God's will, in the script. God will say, No, no, no, no, that's not part of the show of the drama. That's not part of my script for Joseph. So steer up somebody, say, no, no, let's not kill him. Let's throw him in a pit. Reuben. And the Bible says, in Reuben's mind, if we throw him in the pit, when all the rest are looking away, I'll quickly draw him out and send him home to my father. But that was also not in the script. As good as it was, it was not in the script. That's why I've told you over and over. Some of you, the people you are offended against, you are talking against, are the people you should thank God for most. Because without them, you won't get to where God wants you to get to. So he was watching. But because it's not part of the script, he had no room to do it. Suddenly, the Ishmaelite came. The traders. And somebody suggested instead of killing this, let's make money out of him, let's sell him to these slave traders. When he became a slave somewhere in Egypt, let's see how the dream, that's part of the script. It worked. So they sold him. He was in Potipas' house. Everything seems to be nice. Because he worked well, he had an excellent spirit. The presence of God was with him. So he prospered, not financially. He made him an overseer over all his household. That's Potiphar. But look at what happened. I'm showing you how God helped him. God's help came again. How? Potiphar's wife. Because he was becoming more comfortable. Where he was not supposed to be comfortable in. His final place is the palace. But he was chopping life in Portipar's house. And God said, No, boy, no, boy, this is not part of the script. You won't overstay here. So he steer up Portipar's wife. Portipar said, Oh boy, sleep with me now. I will take more care of you in this house. Anything I'll give you. He said, No, why should I do this and sin against God? No, I will not. So he tried to escape. The woman removed God his jacket and used the jacket as an evidence against him before said, Hey, what have I done to deserve this? Woman, may God have mercy on many of you. What have I done to deserve this? Women are looking at. What have I done to deserve this? And Portiphar called Joseph, said, With all I have done for you, you betray me by wanting to sleep with my wife. You are a dead man. But because that was not part of the truth, the script. Because the truth is this, you catch your slave wanting to sleep with your wife, kill him now. But that was not part of the script. Threw him into prison. It worked. Because gradually he was moving closer to the fulfillment. I pray for someone under the sound of my voice. No matter how hard it appears to be, you will get to your place of fulfillment. You will not fall out of the way in the name of Jesus. Good things won't take you away from the right things in the name of Jesus. Can you see how God helped Joseph? But me and you, if we have not read how it ended in the Bible, we won't call it help. We would say, ah, this man was born for trouble. From one trouble to the other. Today, please, church, I beg you, as a child of God, don't live your life based on public opinion, on human emotion. God's ways are not the ways of man. What people say, don't agree, don't take this, might be what God wants for you for that season. Am I talking to somebody? So when you pray, not according to your need, but on the basis of what you know as God's will for you. You become receptive to the answer. Joseph was receptive because whatever prayer he has prayed has changed him to become someone who sees the end from the beginning. He knew God will not lie. I was talking to one of my sons early this evening. And we are talking about how people die these days. One of his neighbors suddenly was complaining of heart, chest pain overnight. They rushed him to the hospital, and by the evening of the following day, he's gone. Somebody you see yesterday was okay. This today evening, the saying done, he's gone. And he made a statement. But I don't know how all this thing is, why is happening. He said, but I've heard from the Lord that I will finish well. I said, That is it. Not everybody hears that. They get disturbed by all the news and they become afraid. And on the basis of fear, oh Lord, satisfy me with long life, panic prayer. It doesn't work. You must receive your own word. Your own word from the Lord and stand on it. If I ask you that that thing you desire to receive from God, which word are you standing? Will you be able to give me the word you are standing on without saying if you are doing MM, you have no word. You are trusting God for the fruit of the womb. I say, okay, which word are you standing on for the um you have no word? You just want to meet your need. You are trusting God for breakthrough. Which word are you standing on? Which word is your focus that you take back to God in prayer? Which word inspires your declaration over your life? And Daddy, um, you are thinking. You have no word. If you have, before they ask you, you reel it out. Am I talking to somebody? Because that is your own personal revelation of the will of God concerning your situation, and that is what inspires your prayers, inspires your proclamation and declaration over your life. And you know heavens and the earth will pass away, but his word will never pass away. That's why you have me said it over and over. Nobody can take my life, nobody can stop my progress. Because it's not hint on any human being. I can't be broke. Because God is my source, he's my father, he's my provider, he's not just my God, he's my father. I learned something from Jesus throughout the ministry of Jesus on earth. Anytime he wants to refer to God, Father, that's born out of a consciousness. Father means a sustainer and a provider. So when he said my father, my sustainer, my provider, so I can't be stranded. So even when they wanted to embarrass him with tax matter and there was no cash, say, Peter, there must be a divine inspiration on what to do. Peter, um, we can't be stranded, we can't be broke. Go to the nearest river. The fish that first come up, catch it, open his mouth. There is money there for us. Who does that? Peter went according to his word. He saw a fish, caught it. Do you know that what you are praying for? What you are, hey Lord, do this. Somebody is holding it for you. Or you are not seeing it. Worry will not allow you to be receptive to it. Panic will not allow you to see it. Panic, worry blindfolds the heart. So, what to do to make things happen? You can't see it. Listen, when you come under pressure, don't put yourself under pressure. Withdraw from the midst of people who want to contribute to your pressure. Am I talking to somebody? Hey, why is it like this? This thing that is happening, these things they are done. No, withdraw from them because they will blindfold you. They will make you get stuck in the realm of emotion, and you can't be receptive to what God has for you when you live by emotion. Is somebody getting something? So? I said the prayer of faith will change you before it changes your situation. It will make you change so that you can become receptive to the answers to your prayers. Why is it so? Why is it so? Listen carefully. Listen carefully. You need to understand this. Understand that the prayer of faith does not begin with speaking, it does not begin with asking. The prayer of faith begins with meditating on the word of God. It begins with what? Meditating. That's why many of us want to pray. It just gets into whether you kneel down or you stand up, oh Lord, thank you. Because they've told us, I will enter his gate. With thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter his card with praise. You're already in his court. Tay Tay, since Jesus died, you are no longer outside the gate, you are inside his cards. The veil torn. You have access to the holy of holies. So we have it in our mind. Let me worship him and praise him so that he will let me enter his presence. That's not the prayer of it. That thanking him. Praising me is your lifestyle. Ah, that's why you are saying it. One of the ways to receive from God is to thank, have a heart of gratitude. When you are conscious of what he has done for you according to his will, praise, thanksgiving should be natural to you. If not for anything that I will not die as a sinner, it's enough for me to thank him for life. Because no amount of billions of dollars can turn a sinner to saint. From a sinner. Money cannot change your nature. You can't become righteous because you have money. But without my impute, Jesus knew ahead of time what I need. And he went to the cross for me. For me. I don't know about you, but he went to the cross for me. For me. And when he was on the cross, he saw me in him. And he said, As I'm dying, you are dying with me. And all the price, the wrath of God for sin is coming upon us. I'll be the one bearing everything, but you'll enjoy the resort. If there is nothing else he has done for me, that one is enough. Because I have an assurance of eternity. No matter how much we live on this earth, one day you will pie. It will end. You have Rolls. Rolls Collinan. You have Bugatti. You have Lamborghini. When you buy, none of those things will go with you. Am I talking to somebody? So if you only live for material things, you are of all people the most miserable. So if that is the only thing I'm thankful. I'm thankful. But that's not the only thing. There are benefits that accompanies salvation. Ah ah. He didn't just save me, he made provisions for benefits that are coming. Ah-uh, for who now? For sons. Oh, thank you, Jesus. So I go to him with thanksgiving and with the understanding, with the knowledge of what his word says, I thank him for that word. Then I begin to chew the word. I begin to meditate on it. That's the beginning of prayer. Your shouting is not the beginning of prayers. Prayer begins with meditation. You are just saying to yourself, quietly, what he has done for you according in Christ according to his word. You are just thanking him. You are just repeating it. You are just look at Joshua chapter 1, verse 8. Quickly. Quickly, quickly. Is somebody getting blessed? Are you learning something this week? Or am I wasting your time? This book of the law shall not what? Depart from your mouth. But you shall meditate in it day and night. You meditation means you are muttering it. That's why I say it must not depart from your mouth. You are muttering it. You are just saying it repeatedly to yourself. This is what the word of God says about my condition. So you are just mortaring it. He said, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you have good success. So as you are meditating on it, what does that achieve? It brings you to a place of belief. B-E-L-I-V-E. It brings you to a place of you can't believe anything without meditation. You only know it in your heart. You can quote it pra papa like typewriter. Until you meditate, you won't believe. And if you don't believe, even when you quote it in prayer, it's an academic exercise. Like lawyers will say. It's not an academic exercise. It has no spiritual bearing. So what are we saying? Meditation is muttering God's word in your mouth and thinking about it until you agree with it in your heart. I'm showing you how the prayer of faith works. Until you agree with it where in your heart. Your agreement with God's word in your heart is what is called believe. Your agreement with God's word in your heart is what is called what? Believe. When you meditate on God's word to the point of saying, I see. That means you have agreed with it. That means it's no longer just a head knowledge or a mental consent. It has gotten into your heart and you have accepted it as the truth. That time nobody can convince you it is not so. That's why there are certain things you can't convince me about. Because I've seen something in God's word. I've said it. Let the whole world forsake me, I won't fail. Because there's something I've seen. That if God be God, his will will be done in my life and in my ministry. That's all of us must come to that conviction. So I said your agreement with God's word in your heart is what is called what? Believe. So that believing changes you and become the reason why you pray. Do you understand that? Oh Lord, give your people an understanding heart. Now I'm not going to pray because I have a need. I'm going to pray because I believe in what God has done regarding my need. My reason for praying is not because I have a need. I'm not going to pray because I need a child. I'm not going to pray because I need money. I'm not going to pray because I need promotion. I'm going to pray because I have found the mind of my father for me concerning that situation. So, on the basis of what his mind for me is, I go to him in prayer. On the basis of what I know is his heart for me, I make proclamations. I make decrees to enforce his will. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 13 to 14 from TPT. 2 Corinthians chapter, 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, verse 13 and 14. Quickly, quickly, so that we can round up. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 13 to 14 from TPT. We have the same spirit of faith that is described in the scriptures when it says, first, somebody say first. I believed. Then I spoke in faith. First, I believed. Everything you are declared. I am head and not detailed. I am this and that. I am, I am, I am. And you have not meditated on God's word to the point of believing it, believing it is agreeing with it. You become one with what you are saying. And on the basis of that, God's word has become your word, and you speak from that understanding. You have changed from the person who sees a problem and a need to the person who has revelation of what God has done concerning that need. So when you pray, when you make declaration, you are not speaking and declaring like someone who has a need or somebody who sees a problem. You are speaking like someone that God has already settled this problem. So even after praying, after declaring, and you have yet to see the manifestation, you stand on it, you keep speaking. He said, First, I believed, then I spoke in faith. So we also first believe. We first word believe, then speak in faith. Verse 14. Verse 14. Verse 14. We do this. Listen to that. Because we are convinced that he who raised Jesus will raise us up with him. And together we will all be brought into his presence. So when we believe and speak, we do it because we are convinced that what his will is my reality. So you must change from the person that saw a problem or a need to the person that sees and exalts what the word of God says above the problem or the need. Let me put it in another way. You must change from the person that saw a problem or Need to the person that see and exalt the will of God above the problem or above the need. So when you pray, church, going back to that Mark eleven twenty-three we read earlier on. When you pray, Mark 1123 from New King James. You do not believe because you pray. You pray because you believe. You do not believe because you pray. Praying is what not what will make you believe. You believe and you pray. Or you pray because you believe. Your belief must come before praying. For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. So when you want to pray, understand that meditation is a very important part of your prayer life. When you sit down and you are just muttering God's word, don't assume you are not praying. You are actually praying. You search out what the word of God says concerning your situation and you begin to meditate on it. You begin to. That is where you face Satan's attack. Satan will bring all manner of distraction. When you begin to learn to meditate or you give yourself to meditation, watch all manner of mental bombardment. That's when you remember that your lecturer said something, you have not met up with it. That's when you remember who mocked you. That's when you remember what your landlord told you. And the time is fast approaching. That is when you remember how somebody mocked you because of a situation in your life. That is when you remember that you wanted to check something online. Do you know the purpose? The enemy knows that if he can stop you from meditation, he can cripple your prayer life. He can bring you to a place of unbelief, praying from a position of unbelief and expecting answer that will not come. Do you understand that? So when you pray because you believe, listen carefully to this. You are praying from the heart of God and not the mind of man. When you pray because you believe, you are praying from the heart of God. Or with the heart of God and not the mind of man. That's why that Mark 11:22 from TPT. Have the faith of God. Have the God kind of faith. In other words, pray from God's perspective. Pray from the heart of God. You can't pray from the heart of God and not get the answer because the answer is there. Do you understand that? So when you pray because you believe, you are praying from the heart of God and not the mind of man. This is praying or speaking with the faith of God. This is when you pray with the faith of God or you speak with the faith of God. Mark 11, 22, it says, Have the faith of God. So praying or speaking with the faith of God guarantees results because it gives no room for doubt. God is not a doubter. God is not a doubter. So when you pray from his faith, there will be no room for doubting. Listen to listen, church. Look at this as we close. Listen carefully. Because God is a faith God. That's why when he's doing anything, he will always use people that will need his faith to rise. If your dependency is on your talents, your connection, you are missing it. You always pray and miss. Look up, church. Why will God use the foolish things of this world to carry out his purpose? Why will God choose those who are weak? That is why listen to this. Every time you feel you are not qualified for something that God wants you to do, just know you are called to do that thing. Those who think they are qualified are already disqualified. Because they are counting on what they can do. God is not counting on what you can do. I was talking to someone recently. I said, look at this man. I love him so much. Do sing. Okay, I think it was you I was talking to. That man, see his composition, his music. You know, get one long in quotes. Reasonable. It can just be two lines. His lyrics. Just two lines. Some three lines. You the repeater, the singer, and it they walk. Because he had an intimacy with God. It's not about what his talent can do, it's what God can do through him. Am I talking to you? I've told you, I've checked myself. I'm not gifted. I used to be a stammerer. In fact, growing up, I hated speaking in the presence of people. They thought I was quiet. No, I wasn't quiet. When I will be in the house, I didn't make noise. But when I'll be in a public place, I won't have confidence to talk because I knew I'd not go talk well. There are times I don't know about you. I'll go for an interview in those days. They will ask me questions. I will say nonsense. When I finish saying nonsense, the right answer will now come to my mind. I say, oh boy, is this stupid. And in my stupidity, he still called me. Why? Because he wants me to function by his faith, not by my intellect. Can I say something to you, church? If you are too intelligent, it may affect your work with God. Learn to align your intelligence with his spirit. Learn to submit. That's why Christianity is about submission, about alignment. Let me read James 1, 5. James chapter 1, verse 5 to 8. Our time is far spent. I need to close. James 1, 5 to 8. Let's conclude with that. I want you to go back home and listen to this message over and over again. If any of you lacks what? Not just wisdom, anything you lack. Let him ask of God who gives to all how? Liberally and without reproach. Do you know what that means? Don't remove it, media. You ask for somebody, something from God. God will not say, Pastor, are this your age? At this your age. You are not, are you not supposed to have this? Are you not supposed? Now, human beings, they do like that. You know, somebody wants to give you something. Growing up, I've I want to ask some money for food from my uncle. He said, I should move closer. He said, Bring your head, I bring her. I said, This is your age. See, they come ask me for money. Not when we finish, he'll give me the money. I was in secondary school. You rub the head. But God will not do that. He gives liberally without abusing you. Say, look at your life. You can still ask him for this. You know the shame. That's human being, not God. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach. He won't shame you with what you are asking for. And it will be given to him. Verse 6. Verse 6. Verse 6, media. But let him ask how? In faith. Ask. But he must be in faith. With no doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. Verse 7. Verse 7. Verse 7. For let not that man, that man that doubts, suppose that he will receive anything. From the Lord. Get something. He said he didn't say, let not that man suppose God will give him. No, God has given according to his will. But he can't receive. He's not stable. He's not operating with the mind of God. He's not asking. He's asking from God with the mind of man. Deep calls unto deep. It takes the heart of God to respond to the heart of God. Let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. Verse eight. Verse eight. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let's rise up on our feet. So the faith that works changes you. So that when you pray for something, see, it's not everything you point to that you will get. Because by God's programming, he might have allocated that one to somebody else. That's why intimacy with God in the place of prayer is very important. So that you won't be laboring to get what he has not ordained for you. Hello. Remember, one God said to one of the tribes to Joshua, he said, This tribe is asking for this land. He said, No, don't give me. I've already assigned that land to another tribe. So my favor will not work here. Because I've already favored somebody with that. My prayer for everyone under the sound of my voice that from today, may you be sensitive to what God has prepared for you. I pray it again in the name of Jesus. May you be sensitive to what God has prepared for you. May you be sensitive to the will of God for your life from today in the name of Jesus. May the Lord open your eyes to see what God has assigned to you, what he has allocated to you, what he has perfected for you, and what he has prepared for you in the name of Jesus. You know, my friend that ministered to us during the convention, he said, among all the ministers he has been seeing, he said, I'm the only person he sees that God blesses with money from Canada. He said, Others are taking money from here today. But that was how I started, too. At the time I calculated how much personally I spent. I saw that it was close to$40,000. I said, How did I even get the money in the first instance? I didn't know. Not from church. Every time I needed to travel, God would just supply the cash. The first time I would go, I needed money. I've shared the testimony. One of my sons just came. I prayed for him over a contract. I didn't even know he has even gotten the job, he has executed it. He made over$50,000. And he didn't tell me. But God ministered to his heart when I needed the cash. You go buy motto. The person that ministered to you, you have not even said you have pursued that contract over and over. It never worked. But now it worked. He left Lagos. He was to come with the driver. The car he went to buy. He was to sit with the driver to drive to. He ran to the airport the following morning, called me from the airport, said Daddy, are you in Portaqua? I said, Yes. He said, I'm in Lagos. Now I'm coming now. No, no, no, no, no. He said, when God is working, you are in alignment with what he wants for you. Some people will come under emergency for your sake. They are saying an unbelieving amen. See, stop. Stop trying to impress people. Stop trying to attract pity so that they can help you. Uh-uh. You are more than that. See. And we don't know who God is going to use to help you. You now become slave to everybody. Even when they are asking from you what is ungodly, you compromise because you want to be helped. It's because you don't understand the help of God. Joseph knew the will of God. He refused to compromise. And God's help prevailed. I pray over your life. The help of God will prevail. So the beginning is your prayer will change you. It will what? Change you. Suddenly you are not seeing problems. Hey, nothing is working. You are not seeing it. Because you are seeing what the word of God says. You can't be convinced that nothing is working. Physically speaking, it looks as if those who are saying nothing is working is right. But the word, the will of God for me and for my life that I'm seeing sees that something is working. There are times the working of God is behind the scene. When it's done, and what you think is not, there are times God will prune you. All the wrong people you have attached yourself to, he will cut them off one by one. Until those who are resisting your progress without you knowing, they drop out of your life. And then your atmosphere becomes conducive for the move of God. So at times, when you pray, understanding the will of God, the first thing that will come is pruning. That pruning can also be in your heart, can circumcise your heart. You are too proud for the next phase I want for you. You are too timid for the next phase. You can't stand for anything. The moment some people do small bragado, you don't. Hey, I don't want trouble like I used to be. I like trouble now. Holy trouble. I might talking to somebody, holy trouble. Somebody don't go and tell my twin no that your twin saying like trouble. Praise the Lord. Do you understand what you have just shared? Please go and listen to this message on Telegram again and again. I see God launch you into the next phase of your life. I see your prayer life become active and powerful. In the name of Jesus. I see you align yourself perfectly with the might of God for you. I see you begin to live above every form of defeat in the name of Jesus. From today, no devil will stop your progress. No power will stop your progress. For your sake, whosoever big a bit will fall into it. Whatever is the negative imagination in the heart of man concerning you, your progress, your career, your business, your ministry, your health.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:33

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