ASKING AND RECEIVING FROM GOD

Pastor Mike’s Teaching manual

ASKING AND RECEIVING FROM GOD

The subject of this lesson is one of the most vital to human existence, both in this life and in the life to come. Without a true and unwavering knowledge of this subject one misses so much in this life that is due him. If one will truly master the following truths and simply refuse ever to fail in practicing them to the letter, he will never experience the many unanswered prayers that the average person does. One can get what he WANTS from God if he will literally do what God says for him to do. The absolute assurance of receiving from God in abundance is just as certain as anything can possibly be if one will follow the instructions given in this lesson. God cannot fail. His promises cannot fail. The believer cannot fail if he will be as dogged about refusing to accept any failure as most men seem determined to fail in the business of asking and receiving. The following great lessons on prayer and how to get answers to prayer should be fervently practiced until asking is second nature and receiving is a normal experience:

I. What Prayer Is

Prayer is the offering up of our desires for lawful and needful things and things we want that are promised by God, with humble confidence that we will obtain them through Jesus Christ for God's glory and for our good. It is the pleading of our cause in God's court. Prayer is seeking help from God in matters that are beyond our power. It is the personal appeal to a personal and present God based upon His will and Word and our lawful desires. It is cooperation with God's willingness to manifest His goodness to all those who have faith in Him and depend upon Him for help. Prayer is simply asking and receiving from God, and that is the theme of this lesson.

II. General Facts About Asking and Receiving

1.   COMMANDS TO PRAY (1 Chron. 16:11; 2 Chron. 7:14; Ps. 105:4; Isa. 55:6; Matt. 7:7-11; Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:17; Heb. 4:16).

2.  TIME TO PRAY: daily, in the morning (Ps. 5:3; 88:13; 143:8); twice daily (Ps. 88:1); thrice daily (Ps. 55:17; Dan. 6:10); without ceasing ( 1 Thess. 5:17); at night (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12); night and day (Luke 2:37).

3.  ATTITUDES IN PRAYER: standing (Luke 18:13); sitting (Acts 1:14; 2:2; Luke 10:13); lying (2 Sam. 12:16-20); kneeling (Ps. 95:6; Dan. 6:10; Luke 22:41, Acts 9:40; 20:36; 21:5); weeping (Ezra 10:1; 1 Sam. 1:10); talking (Gen. 18:23-33); meditating (Ps. 5:1); agonizing (Luke 22:44); groaning (Rom. 8:26-27); and in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20).

4.  WHERE TO PRAY: in closets (Matt. 6:6); on mountains (Matt. 14:23); in homes and in temples and everywhere (Acts 1:13-14; 2:46; 3:1; 12:12; 1 Tim. 2:8).

5.  HOW NOT TO PRAY: Jesus taught that men should not pray like the hypocrites to be seen of men and not like the heathen who think that God hears for much speaking (Matt. 6:5-8)

6.  THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER. The chief end of all prayer should be to glorify God and to make full our joy (John 14:13-15: 16:24).

7.  GROUND FOR ASKING AND RECEIVING. The true ground for prayer and its answer is to be born again and have the right relationship to God. Only true, saved men have the right to ask and receive anything that they want from God. Sinners who rebel and refuse to surrender their lives to God and become reconciled to Him have no true ground of approach to God. They have no foundation for their faith. God, many times in His mercy, helps sinners and hears their cry of despair, but He is not obligated to do for them what He has promised until they obey Him. It is merely because He wants to prove to the sinner His love and mercy even though he is a rebel. Paul said, "the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance" and "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Rom. 2:4; 5:8).

The first promise that a sinner can legally claim through the death of Christ is that of forgiveness and cleansing from all sin (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 1 John 1:9). If a sinner will truly repent and turn from sin to righteousness and get born again, he is immediately on praying grounds for anything else that God has promised to men. So a right relationship with God is the true ground of asking and receiving (Matt. 7:7-11; Luke 11:1-13; John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26; 1 John 3:20-24; 5:13-15).

With the proper relationship with God it becomes our family right, legal right, redemptive right, gospel right, needful right, and creative right to ask and receive anything and everything that the Father has promised His own children. There should be no question as to personal rights or the outcome of prayer according to those rights, for all things belong to God and His children, and His sons will inherit all things in the end when rebellion is finally put down (Rom. 8:17-18; 1 Pet. 1:2-5; Rev. 21:7). If all things belong to us and we will finally inherit them, why not get what we want of them here and now? At least, why should it not be our right to get what God has promised and provided for us of these things here and now ?

III. The Certainty of Answered Prayer

Asking is receiving according to Jesus: "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh RECEIVETH; and he that seeketh FINDETH; and to him that knocketh IT SHALL BE OPENED" (Matt. 7:7-8). The first letters of these three words—ask, seek, and knock, spell ASK. This is not a mere coincidence. It is a divine fact that all one has to do is to ask. Asking, however, presupposes a God who hears and answers prayers. If one asks in mockery or from mere form without faith he does not truly ask. One must ask in faith nothing wavering, and then he will receive (James 1:5-9; Heb. 11:6). There can be no failure, or God is not true; so let there not be a doubt about the fact of it, for God is true.

Jesus continued by showing the infinite fatherhood of God and stated that God loves His children more than any human parent could possibly love his own flesh and blood. This means that it is not and cannot be the will of God for one child of His to be sinful, rebellious, defeated, unhappy, sick, poor, wanting, worrying, complaining, and discouraged concerning any one thing in life. It could not be the will of earthly parents for their children to suffer these things, and no parent would tolerate these conditions in the lives of his children if he could prevent it. Earthly parents would speedily deliver their children from all such enemies. Earthly parents long to help and they will do everything possible to help their children to get the best things in life, to be healthy, to be prosperous, and to be happy. Does God love His children any less than do earthly parents? Certainly not!

Jesus proved that God loves His children more than earthly parents when He said, "Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your heavenly Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ASK him?" (Matt. 7:9-11). What more could a child of God want than such a broad and all-inclusive promise of the infinite fatherhood of God. What more would or could one desire for proof that it is the will of God for him to ask anything—wealth, health, cleansing from sin, keeping from sin, or anything that is desired in life?

In the same sermon on the mount Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy will be done in Earth, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN" (Matt. 6:10). Is it God's will for men to be sick and sinful when they get to heaven? Is it God's will for men to be defeated and poverty-stricken and unhappy in heaven? Is it God's will for men to be tormented by demons and to carry about forever in Heaven the works of the devil in their bodies, souls, and spirits? Is it God's will in Heaven for men to be abandoned by God and forsaken by Him after He once gets them there? You know full well the answer to these questions. If these things are not God's will m Heaven, they are not God's will on Earth. One can have freedom from these things on Earth just as much as he will be free from them in Heaven if he will but ASK AND RECEIVE, according to the will of God, here and now. Now is the time we need to ask and receive and not in the next life. Here and now we need the will of God done and not in Heaven, for we are not yet there.

May God Himself wake us up to see our privileges in the gospel here and now when we need so many things. Prayer will never fail when it is done right. Heaven and Earth will pass away more easily than prayer will become powerless and fruitless if men will pray right. Prayer never fails when man never fails to believe God when he asks for something. Prayer is absolute and unfailing when faith is the same. At the grave of Lazarus Jesus said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always" (John 11:41-42). This is a normal and a truthful attitude for every child of God to take and maintain.

One can say just as easily, "I can, I will, I do believe that God hears me and answers my prayer," as to say, "It is hard to believe, I don't know whether I can or not, I hope God hears me and answers prayer." One can form right words and cause them to come out of his mouth just as he can tell a lie, and if he is that kind of person, it is infinitely easier to tell the truth than a lie. All statements of unbelief and all doubts and unbelief as to whether God answers prayer or not are of the devil, and anyone who gives in to any of these ideas is cooperating with the devil. He is making God a liar and is hindering God from answering prayer for him. God will not on any one occasion or in any one case transgress His law of faith and work contrary to faith. If you believe that God will answer prayer, He will. If you believe that he will not, then he will not. This is truth and nothing but the truth (Heb. 11:6; James 1:5-9).

It is true, God will meet faith to the full extent of faith. Jesus sometimes would say, "According to your faith so be it done unto you" or "as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee" (Matt. 8:13; 9:29). It is the same today. An aggressive faith will produce aggressive works. A living faith will produce life. A dead passive faith will produce death and failure.

In John 14:12 Jesus promised power for praying and working. He promised that each believer would be able to do what He did and even greater works upon one condition: "He that believeth on me." We can argue that this is not for us today or that there must be some mistake about such a broad promise, but the fact that He said it still faces us, and we dare not make Him a liar and expect to see Him in peace. This passage is plain. It means just what it says. There can be no misunderstanding. It will pay us to believe it mentally whether we want the experience of it or not. Men excuse themselves in a thousand ways, but such excuses will last only in this life, and they serve a poor cause here. They will not stand in the judgment.

In many other passages Jesus gave believers the full power of attorney to use His name to get anything in life that they want (John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26; Mark 16:16-20). This we shall see more fully in Lesson Twenty-two. All we want you to see in this lesson is the absolute certainty of answered prayer for anything and everything that you want in life.

There are no impossibilities with God or with the believer who will believe God (Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; Matt. 17:20; 21:21-22; John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16). Possibilities in prayer are great and many, and we should awake to attain the blessings of the gospel. The world is dying for just such a program. God is going to hold modern believers accountable. He will judge every preacher and teacher and the least person who claims to believe the gospel for not boldly laying aside unbelief and for not striving to attain to the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

Certainty of answered prayer is also expressed in the Old Testament: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of ALL their troubles" (Ps. 34: 15-17); "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass (Ps. 37:4-5); "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him" (Ps. 91:15); "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Ps. 84:11).

IV. Scientific Proof of Answered Prayer

Prayer and its answer can be scientifically tested as any other thing can be. We do not mean to say that God condescends to every whim of unbelieving man or that He meets every test imposed by mere curiosity or scepticism. Jesus went about answering prayer and doing all kinds of miracles in the moral, spiritual, material, and physical realms, but when the unbelieving Jews sought a sign from Heaven He did not satisfy unbelief (Matt. 12:39). Some men of unbelief lay down certain laws as a prayer gauge, and anything other than these requirements are not considered by them as an answer to prayer. Men have dared God to strike them dead or some other foolish thing, thinking that the Almighty would not dare to do so; and if He did not, they have gone off boasting that there was no God.

God has answered tests in the material realm that men have put to Him. In the case of Elijah God answered when a contest was taking place between Him and the prophets of false gods (1 Kings 18:36-38). In Egypt God manifested His power so that all the Egyptians should know that He was the true and living God (Ex. 7:5; 8:10, 22-23; 9:16, 29; 11:7). God answered the sign Gideon asked for (Judges 6:37-40). He answered Hezekiah by a sign, and the sun was turned ten degrees backward (Isa. 38:5-8). He rebuked Ahaz for not asking a sign "either in the depth, or in the height above" (Isa. 7:10-13). Jesus Christ promised that men could remove literal mountains as He cursed the fig tree and did other signs before men (Matt. 21:21-22). This, however, was never done to satisfy mere unbelief and curiosity. It can be done only in sincerity and faith.

When we have multiplied thousands of definite and concrete answers to prayer on record, both in the Bible and in all history, we do not have to obligate God to a mere sign to satisfy unbelieving man. Proof of answered prayer fills many pages of history, and this proof is sufficient to convince an honest inquirer. The Lord heard Abraham and healed a whole nation (Gen. 20:7, 17); He heard Eliezer and gave Isaac a wife (Gen. 24); He heard Isaac, and children were born (Gen. 25:21-26); He heard Moses, and Israel was spared from death, and many signs were given on many an occasion (Ex. 5:22-6:18; Ex. 32); and He heard judges, prophets, priests and leaders in Israel, and early Christians times without number (Num. 12:13-15; Ps. 3:4; 6:8; 18:6; 21:2-4; 22:24; 28:6; 30:2-3; 31:22; 34:4-6; 40:1; 66:19-20; 77:1; 81:7; 99:6-8; 106:44; 107:6-7, 13-20; 116:1-2; 118:5, 21; 138:3; Hosea 12:4; Jonah 2:1; Luke 23:42-43; John 1:42; Acts 4:31; Jas. 5:17; etc.). These and scores of other testimonies in the Bible prove that God has heard prayer for people of all past ages.

The history of the church and of the lives of men throughout this age abound in testimonies of answered prayer. We have more testimony of this kind to prove the fact of answered prayer than we have concerning any scientific fact that has been proved. If there is any fact that can be proved, it is that God answers prayer. If there is any scientific statement that is capable of proof, this one is. Hundreds of thousands of people today testify to answered prayer in every phase of life. Let the skeptic go to any church, and he can find numbers of people who will affirm in court that God has answered prayer. Space will not permit testimonies we personally have had and know that others have had. If one is doubtful, he can get such proof from his next-door neighbor. He can ask any true Christian, and he can collect all the proof that is needed. We must now proceed to the practical help in prayer that men need today.

V. The Secrets of Asking and Receiving

1. LEARN TO PRAY RIGHT. This is one of the greatest lessons to learn about prayer. One cannot get an answer unless he prays right. In Luke 11:1 we have a record of the disciples observing how Jesus prayed. They knew that God always heard Him. There was such absolute simplicity and assurance when He prayed, and there came a hunger to them to know how to pray as He could. They asked Him "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." This should be the daily longing of every true child of God. The need of knowing how to pray right is the need of the hour.

Christ is the greatest teacher of prayer. He practiced it Himself. We must learn to pray like Jesus, and God will always hear us, for He always heard Him and God is no respecter of persons. The following points will enable anyone to learn the art of prayer as far as knowing what to do is concerned. They never will give a practical experience of prayer. That remains for much practice in following doggedly the lessons learned by us concerning what to do to get answers to prayer. Knowing what to do and doing it are two different things. There must be not only a knowledge, but there must be obedience to the light we have concerning prayer if we are to get an answer to prayer. Since we know our need of knowing how to pray, and since we have the greatest teacher to help us to pray, let us apply ourselves until prayer becomes second nature to us as it was with Him.

2. THE MODEL PRAYER. (Luke 11:2-4). The so-called Lord's Prayer is really a prayer for disciples or learners of how to pray. It was given on the occasion when the disciples asked, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples" (Luke 11:1-4). All believers can consider themselves mere learners and model after this

prayer until they have graduated from the school of prayer. At least, until the time comes when they get every prayer answered that they pray. With this as the goal

e can all consider ourselves in the same school learning the same lessons on prayer There are several lessons we need to learn about this prayer:

(1) OUR FATHER. This teaches a new and right relationship to God by the new birth (John 3:1-8; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:24; John 15:7; 1 John 2:29; 3:7-10; 5:1-4, 13-18). It is generally taught that men in the Old Testament days never dared address God as "Father," because they were not born again, but a search for scriptures to prove this point only proves the contrary. Men of all ages past were born again by faith in the coming Redeemer and His blood that was to be shed, just as men today are born again by faith in the blood that has been shed. This is clear from Deut. 14:1; 32:18; 2 Sam. 7:14; 2 Chron. 28:6; Isa. 1:2; 63:16; Hosea 1:10; Ps. 82:6; Gal. 4:28-30; Rom. 4:1-25; Heb. 11. Men in past ages before the cross asked and received on the same grounds that we do today, as is clear from the scriptures under Point IV above. The right relationship to God means much and is one of the greatest secrets of answered prayer. Why should anyone be so presumptuous as to approach God stained with sin against Him and in open rebellion to Him and His Word and then expect Him to do for them what He has promised only to His children?

Not only should we have the new and right relationship to God, but we must learn to whom prayer should be addressed. God the Father—our Father, is the one that should be addressed in prayer. Jesus taught us that in John 16:23-26, "In that day [when I go back to the Father] ye shall ASK ME NOTHING.... Whatsoever ye shall ASK THE FATHER in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE, that your joy may be full.... At that day ye shall ASK IN MY NAME." God the Father is the head of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and therefore He should be the one directly addressed in prayer (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 3:14-16).

The habit of praying either to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit personally should be broken, for we have no authority for any such praying. It is true that God overlooks ignorance of this fact as well as of other facts but if we want to learn to pray, we should learn right and always practice what we learn. God's Word should not be ignored on this point any more than on other points. Children of God sometimes, because of the freedom that they have found in Christ, willfully ignore certain technical facts of truth and never seem concerned to obey to the letter. This may be the cause of so much unanswered prayer, for we are told that "to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). Men sometimes take the attitude that they are not going to pay any attention to little details like this, but we warn that it would be best to keep the letter of the Word at least, since an attitude which disregards things written is certainly not the spirit of the Word. God commands obedience to the Word, not to what we think is right. It will not be a sin to obey the letter. When we transgress the letter of the Word, we do not obey the spirit or the letter of the Word. To do the will of God will not make us formal. If it does, to maintain a form is much better than to disobey God and His Word. Saul learned that, and his lesson was recorded for our profit (1 Sam. 15:22-30).

We are not trying to teach that one should not recognize Christ or the Holy Spirit in prayer and communion. Give them their proper scriptural place and worship all three persons in the Godhead and commune with all three in the proper way, but address all petitions to the Father in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Praying in the name of Jesus to Jesus is foolish, and praying to God and not in the name of Jesus has no promise of reward. All prayer that ignores Jesus or the Holy Spirit in their proper place is not a true biblical prayer and has no assurance of being heard by God.

(2) "WHICH ART IN HEAVEN." This teaches that men are associated with God in Heaven itself, and states the place where God dwells, as we have seen in Lesson Four, Point 9. Paul said, "our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence we look for the Saviour" (Phil. 3:20-21). The child of God should constantly recognize the source of his blessings and the place of his citizenship, which guarantees to him certain rights just as much as any citizen of any other country.

(3) "HALLOWED BE THY NAME." This teaches the new manner of approach to God. Worship, adoration, and praise should precede petitions and go along with them (Phil. 4:6; Heb. 13:15-16). This procedure abounds in all the psalms. If our praise of God balanced our asking, we would receive more. Praise demonstrates faith, and faith brings the answer to prayer. If one does not seem to have faith, let him praise God much for what he has received and what he is going to receive, and faith will grow that will dare believe God for anything.

(4) "THY KINGDOM COME." This puts the interests of God and the kingdom first—the needs of others before our own desires. This is loving our neighbors as ourselves. The kingdom of God and its interests are the chief subjects for prayer.

(5) "THY WILL BE DONE, AS IN HEAVEN, SO IN EARTH." This accepts and agrees with the Father's will in all things. It is submission in prayer to the will of God, yet refuses to be denied concerning all that is promised as God's will. If we would be just as dogged in refusing failure in prayer as we are in accepting failure, there would be very little failure. (See Point III above concerning God's will.)

(6) "GIVE US DAY BY DAY OUR DAILY BREAD." After we have followed the above instructions, we have the proper relationship to God; we have directed our prayer to the right source; we have worshipped God, not to get from Him, but because we love Him; we have put the interests of the kingdom first; we have the definite promises before us that definitely cover our needs; and we accept what we are to pray for as the will of God; then we are ready to make our petition known to God. It is sad to say that the majority of people who pray have their own interests first and always. All they know about prayer is "Give me, give me, give me," and that is about all God hears. This is all right in its proper place, but we must show God we have His interests at heart as well as those of others and that we love Him and long to bless others regardless of personal needs. When Solomon took this attitude he was heard of God (1 Kings 4:4-15).

When Charles Page, a multi-millionaire of Tulsa, Oklahoma, prayed for the healing of his wife and bargained with God to help the poor if He would do it, he did not get an answer. He went back to God and confessed trying to bargain with God to get something personal; he promised to help the poor because it was right, not because he wanted his wife healed. She was instantly healed, and he gave millions to the poor through many years.

(7) "AND FORGIVE US OUR SINS; FOR WE ALSO FORGIVE EVERY ONE THAT IS INDEBTED TO US." Confession of sins and personal wrongs to others goes far in getting answers to prayers. One cannot expect to keep sinning or have the wrong attitude toward others and still be heard of God. If men would quit the sin business and live in peace, and love all men as the gospel teaches, answers from God could be expected without going through a long process of building up faith again. In Matt. 6:14, Jesus based answer to prayer upon mercy shown to others. When we forgive we can expect God to forgive. When we are kind and good and merciful we can expect the same consideration from God.

(8) "LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL." Guidance and deliverance from God should be part of our prayer life, and it can be expected when we have faithfully met all the conditions mentioned above of asking and receiving.

3. THE BOLDNESS OF GOD'S FRIENDS (Luke 11:5-8; Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-23.) One of the greatest secrets of asking and receiving is that of being bold to come to the throne of grace. This shows immediate need as well as friendship with God. When men are afraid to come boldly to God this fear indicates lack of faith and trust, and this in turn, indicates that either the heart is not right or that the child of God is under direct attack from demons. When one lives clean and holy before God, there is a natural confidence in God which is a result of a close walk with God. If one is living a true Christian life and he still feels fear of God and is timid about coming to God, he may be under attack by demons. In that case he should resist the devil and ignore such feelings and approach God in all confidence. One can always tell whether he has sinned and is under condemnation or not. If there has been no known sin, then without doubt evil spirits are trying to counterfeit convictions of sin where no sin has been committed.

Jesus gives an illustration of this boldness in friendship in Luke 11:5-8. One friend went to another for bread at midnight because he had to have it at that time and not on the morrow. He got it, not because of friendship, but because of boldness in importunity. Friendship creates boldness to make demands on a friend. The greater the friendship the greater the boldness in times of need.

In Heb. 4:14-16 men are commanded to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy to help in time of need. This boldness is based upon the fact that we have a great high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities and who has been tempted in all points as we are. With such a mediator between God and man and with such a friend representing us before the Father we cannot fail to get answers to our prayers (Rom. 8:34; 1 Tim. 2:4-6).

The basis of coming to God in Heb. 10:19-23 is the blood of Jesus Christ, which gives one a new way of approach to God so that all can "draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.... Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised."

4. FAITH IN THE CERTAINTY OF ANSWERED PRAYER AND THE INFINITE FATHERHOOD OF GOD (Luke 11:9-13). This has already been considered in Point III above, which see.

5. The ALL-COMPREHENSIVE GIFT (Luke 11:9-13). Jesus promised that children of God had a greater gift that was due them than what they had received in the new birth. The gift of the Holy Spirit is here promised to every child of God. His help is one of the secrets of successful praying. The fact that this gift is promised only to children of God proves that it is not the reception of the Holy Spirit in a measure at the new birth, which experience comes to every child of God when born again (Rom. 8:9,14-16).

This all-inclusive gift refers to the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer after the new birth. One must be a child of God before he can receive the fullness of the Spirit. This was the case with Jesus (Matt. 3:16-17; Luke 4:18-21; John 3:34); the disciples (Acts 2); the Samaritans (Acts 9:5-25); Paul (Acts 9:1-17); and the Ephesians (Acts 19:1-7). In the case of Cornelius, God saved and gave them the Spirit baptism all at once (Acts 10:43-48; 11:14-18; 15:7-11); so one can receive the Spirit baptism at the time he receives the new birth if he believes. If he does not, which is true of many, then he should ask God for it, as Jesus taught in Luke 11:13, "HOW MUCH MORE shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" This whole passage (Luke 11:9-13) proves that gifts for people who are already children is the subject. God gave this gift to Cornelius and his house when they were saved to prove that there is not necessarily a time element between the various blessings of God. If there is a time between any blessings of God it is because of the individual knowledge and faith limiting God to work in a certain way.

The Holy Spirit is one of our great helpers in prayer: "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." With both Christ and the Holy Spirit as our helpers how could there be a failure in prayer? (Rom. 8:26-27, 34). When we receive the all-comprehensive gift we receive the all-comprehensive Helper in prayer; so let us have faith and boldness in prayer for all that we want in this life and in the life to come.

6. THE POWER OF PERSEVERING PRAYER (Luke 18:1-8). One chief secret of answered prayer is that of perseverance. "Men ought always to pray and not to lose heart." Jesus illustrated this truth by showing how a widow was avenged of her adversary by pestering a judge until he said in himself, "Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth [pestereth] me, I will avenge her lest by her continual coming she weary [pester] me." Jesus added, "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry DAY AND NIGHT unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you he will avenge them speedily." If Elijah had become discouraged in praying for rain every time his servant reported no rain, he never would have got rain. He prayed seven times with his face between his knees and the seventh time rain came (1 Kings 18:42-46).

7. HUMILITY IN PRAYER (Luke 18:9-14). Jesus here gives us a parable of the publican and the Pharisee who prayed together in the temple. By this He showed very clearly that humility was one of the secrets of successful praying. One humbled himself and smote upon his breast and would not so much as look up to Heaven, saying, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus said that man went down to his house justified rather than the Pharisee who was so proud of himself and his good life that he took all his prayer period to brag about himself to God. He was self-righteous and despised others, and this kind of people who pray are never heard of God. He ended this story by saying, "For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." If one wants to be heard of God he must take an humble attitude, not depending upon his own merits in the least.

One of the greatest faults of the old Christians is to depend more upon how long they have beet saved, how good they have lived, how much better Christians they are than others, and how much more experienced and advanced in grace they are than others. They seem to think prayer and its answer are based upon these things. They think that God ought to jump at the chance to hear their prayers. They seem to think that they are special pets of God because of long service and faithful lives in holiness. They often complain because God will not heal them or otherwise answer their prayers, and because He does answer prayers and heal and bless some old sinner that knows that he has no merits to base a single prayer upon. This is the reason some are heard and some are not. God does not care for one good thing a man has done or how long one has been saved when it comes to the answer to prayer. He does not judge or answer on these grounds. He answers solely according to the attitude of humility and faith on the part of the one praying. It is to the discredit of old believers that they have not learned more about God and His Word than to expect God to answer on any other basis.

8. GET ALONE WITH GOD (Matt. 6:5-8). This secret of answered prayer must be learned well by the believer. Jesus taught that answers to prayer would be given when men learn to get alone with God and pray to be heard of God and not men. Private prayer in secret has the greatest chance of an answer because of the fact that there is no temptation to pray to be heard of men. One does not search for flowery words to use in prayer when alone. He simply gets down in earnest and pours out his soul to God and voices his needs in the most simple terms. One secret of asking and receiving then is to "pray to thy Father in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." No believer ever learns to pray right unless he spends much time alone with God in sweet personal communion. This does not forbid public prayer, but it does forbid all public praying to be seen of men. One can pray in secret, yet in public, if he will shut out all thoughts of men and pray to be heard of God alone. One would be guilty of praying a public prayer in private, if he tries to pray loud enough to attract attention of people to his praying.

9. THE WORD OF GOD AND PRAYER (Matt. 8:8; John 15:7). If one wants to get answers to prayer let him first get the promises of God that cover his need and accept the answers as already being God's will by His Word. Let him have faith in the Word as the basis of God's will and the assurance of the answer. The centurion said, "speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." He told the Lord that he believed that His word was all-sufficient to cast out the demons in His servant, just as his own word was sufficient to get action on the part of the hundred soldiers under his authority. Jesus marveled at this faith. So if this is what faith is, we can all have faith if we want to have it. Faith is simply taking God at His Word.

So much praying is done without any regard to whether God has promised the thing that is asked for, or without any thought of believing the promise or accepting the answer as a fact if the promise is known. There is no real, tangible connection between prayer and the Word of God, and hence prayer goes unanswered. If one cannot believe what God has said, he makes God a liar; and He then is not under obligation to answer at all. If one wants to obligate God to an answer he must take God at His word and count it a settled fact that he has the thing prayed for according to the Word. All praying should be done on the basis of the Word of God, and the promises should be quoted and used in prayer. God knows what He has promised, but He wants man also to know it and ask accordingly in faith, nothing wavering (James 1:5-9). "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).

10. THE FAITH THAT TAKES. This secret of answered prayer is very clear in Scripture. Note how simple the Bible is on this point: "Have faith in God For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast into the sea; and SHALL NOT DOUBT IN HIS HEART, BUT SHALL BELIEVE THAT THOSE THINGS WHICH HE SAITH SHALL COME TO PASS, HE SHALL HAVE WHATSOEVER HE SAITH. Therefore I say unto you, WHAT THINGS SOEVER YE DESIRE, WHEN YE PRAY, BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM [Believe that you have got them], AND YE SHALL HAVE THEM" (Mark 11:22-24); "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS, AND THAT HE IS A REWARDER OF THEM THAT DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM" (Heb. 11:6); "If any of you lack wisdom [or any thing else], let him ask of God, THAT GIVETH TO ALL MEN LIBERALLY, AND UPBRAIDETH NOT; AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN HIM. BUT LET HIM ASK IN FAITH NOTHING WAVERING. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. FOR LET NOT THAT MAN THINK THAT HE SHALL RECEIVE ANY THING OF THE LORD" (James l:5-9).

The central thought in all these passages is: "BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE GOT IT AND YOU SHALL HAVE IT." Believe that it is already yours. See yourself with it. Believe that you have got it already whether you literally see it or not. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). Faith laughs at impossibilities and counts all things possible. It "calleth those things that be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17-22). One cannot have faith for something that he already has, for "hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it" (Romans 8:24-25).

Whoever uses faith can master all; have all he desires; and there are no bounds to what he can get. Faith will break through all barriers of reasonings, questionings, doubts, and thoughts of unbelief. It will take hold of what is wanted by an unshakable determination and will refuse to be denied. Faith will do all the Bible says it will do. Work what faith you have and refuse to be discouraged. Every impossible thing has finally yielded to pounding and increased pressure. What we do not Use we lose is a divine law that never fails. Likewise it is a divine law that whatever we Use increases (Luke 8:18; Rom. 10:17; Gal. 6:7-8).

The Scriptures cited above also prove the unlimited possibilities of prayer if one will use the faith that takes. Jesus said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23) and "All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matt. 17:20; 21:21-22). This is how men got answers in Bible days (Matt. 9:2, 27-29; Heb. 11). This is the only way men will get answers today; so we might as well stop deceiving ourselves that God might answer apart from firm, unwavering faith. He will not, for He said He will not, and He cannot lie (Heb. 11:6; James l:5-9). Faith and prayer will move mountains, but faithless prayer will not move an ant hill.

11. FASTING AND PRAYER—THE CURE FOR UNBELIEF. The disciples asked the Lord why they could not heal the lunatic boy. Jesus said, "Because of your unbelief.... Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Matt; 17:14-21). Faith needs prayer for its development and full growth, and prayer needs fasting for its development and full growth. Fasting is a biblical doctrine and has done wonders when used in combination with prayer and faith. To fast means to abstain from food, which was the cause of the fall of man. It is humbling the soul before God (Ps. 35:13); chastening of the soul (Ps. 69:10); and crucifying the appetites and denying them so as to give entire time to prayer (2 Sam. 12:16-23; Matt. 4:1-11). It manifests earnestness before God to the exclusion of all else (1 Cor. 7:5). It manifests obedience and gives the digestive system a rest (Matt. 6:16-18; 9:15, Luke 5:33). It demonstrates the mastery of man over appetites; aids in temptation; helps give power over demons; develops faith; crucifies unbelief; and aids in prayer (Matt. 4:1-11; 17:14-21).

All believers are supposed to fast but no regulations or set rules are ever given as to how long or how often. That part is left up to the individual desire and needs (Matt. 9:14-15; 1 Cor. 7:5; Acts 13:1-5). Men should fast when under chastening (2 Sam. 12:16-23); when under judgment (1 Kings 21:27); when in need (Ezra 8:21); when in danger (Esther 4); when worried (Dan. 6:18); when in trouble (Acts 27:9, 33; when in spiritual conflict (Matt. 4:1-11); and when desperate in prayer (Acts 9). We have thirty-five examples of fasting in the Bible:

Who Fasted		Length		Result
1. Ahab		?		spared from judgment (1 Kings 21:27-29).
2. Judah		?		delivered from enemies (2 Chron. 20:1-25).
3. Judah		?		delivered from enemies (Ezra 8:21-23).
4. Ezra		?		sin put down in Israel (Ezra 10:6-17).
5. Nineveh		?		spared from judgment (Jonah 3).
6. Nehemiah		?		had success in his desire (Neh. 1:4-2:10).
7. Jews		?		delivered from enemies (Esther 4:1-3, 9:1-3).
8. David		(until weak)		delivered from enemies (Ps. 35:13; 69:10; 109:24).
9. John's disciples		?		no result recorded (Matt. 9:14-15).
10. Anna		?		no result recorded (Luke 2:37).
11. Church at Antioch		?		Spirit worked (Acts 13:1-5).
12. Paul		?		received a revelation (Acts 27:9-11).
13. Cornelius		?		received a revelation (Acts 10).
14. Many churches		?		no result recorded (Acts 14:23).
15. Paul		?		no result recorded (2 Cor. 6:5; 11:27).
16. David		(1 day)		no result recorded ( 2 Sam. 3:35).
17. Judah		(1 day)		blessed (Neh. 9: 1-4).
18. Judah		(1 day)		no result recorded (Jer. 36:6).
19. Daniel		(1 day)		received a revelation (Dan. 9:3,20-27).
20. Pharisee		(1 day)		not heard because of sin (Luke 18:9-14).
21. Israel		(1 day)		gained the victory (Judges 20:26-35).
22. Israel		(1 day)		gained the victory (1 Sam. 7:6-14).
23. David		(1 day)		no result recorded (2 Sam. 1:12).
24. King Darius		(1 night)		Daniel delivered (Dan. 6:18-24).
25. Esther, Mordecai		(3 days)		prayer answered (Esther 4:13-16; 5:1-9:3).
26. Many people		(3 days)		fed miraculously (Matt. 15:32-39).
27. Paul		(3 days)		healed and baptized in the Spirit (Acts 9:9, 17).
28. David		(7 days)		not heard because of sin (2 Sam. 12:16-23).
29. Israel		(7 days)		no result recorded (1 Sam. 31:13).
30. Paul and 276 men		(7 days)		delivered from death (Acts 27:33-34).
31. Daniel		(21 days)		received a revelation ( Dan. 10:3-13).
32. Moses		(40 days)		three times, always heard (Deut. 9:9, 18, 25-29; 10:10).
33. Joshua		(40 days)		no result recorded (Ex. 24:13-18; 32:15-17).
34. Elijah		(40 days)		received a revelation (1 Kings 19:7-18).
35. Jesus		(40 days)		received power (Matt. 4:1-11).

If fasting and prayer are so prominent in the Bible, modern Christians should do more of them until they get power with God over all the powers of the devil. Many things about fasting and its benefits are not known to modern men, but men through the ages who have been men of great prayer have also fasted much.

12. THE POWER OF UNITED PRAYER. When other things fail to produce answers to prayer try the secret of united prayer: "If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:18-20). There is nothing as powerful as united prayer. When the church at Jerusalem prayed with one accord mighty things were done (Acts 2:1-4, 42-47; 4:23-37; 5:12-16). It was when division and strife came to the church that it lost its great power. This kind of condition will destroy faith so that prayer will be hindered. Unity creates power and faith, and prayer can then be answered. Jesus taught men that they had to make restitution to each other before even coming to God (Matt. 5:23-24). A set rule was given to the church as to how to keep the unity of the faith so that God could answer prayer (Matt. 18:15-20). When prayer is not answered men should search their own lives to see if they have made everything right with their fellow men. If we do not forgive, God will not forgive and answer prayer (Matt. 6:14-15). When everything is clear between men and men and men and God, prayer will be answered because of such unity.

13. THE ALL-INCLUSIVE CONDITION OF ASKING AND RECEIVING. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7). When one has met the all-inclusive condition of this verse he does not even have to think of any other condition. Many times men hinder their own prayers by manufacturing conditions. Once in a classroom each student gave a different condition of what they thought men had to do in order to get prayers answered. So many conditions were required to get a single prayer answered that it would have been impossible for anyone to get one prayer answered by God. I said, "Away with all these conditions. It is no wonder that God can seldom get to answer a prayer for us. We manufacture so many conditions that hinder our faith that God cannot work." I then showed them the all-inclusive condition, and told them that when this is met we can forget all others.

Some argue that it is not God's will to answer every prayer; but we answer, it is always God's will to answer any prayer that is prayed in faith for any thing that is covered by the promises of God. It is God's will for you to get what you will if you are in Christ and His words are in you. You will not ask one thing that the Word of God forbids as long as you are in harmony with it. Such statements as: "nothing shall be impossible to you . . . all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer. believing, ye shall receive.... What things soever ye desire.... ask what ye will" and like statements prove that it is always God's will for you to get what you want and desire (Matt. 17:20; 21:22; Mark 11:22-24; John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26). The human will then is free to ask what it wills, and what it wills is always God's will as long as it is in harmony with the Word of God.

God has chosen you to ask what you will that much fruit can be produced for God and that the world may see the greatness of God's power (John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 1 John 5:14-15).

14. THE ALL-PREVAILING PLEA. Jesus said, "in my name" we were to ask God for what we want. He gave the assurance that God will always honor His name in prayer (John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26). When we plead the name of Jesus in prayer God is bound to answer prayer, for He always hears His own beloved Son ( Rom . 8: 32).

15. THE CHILDREN'S RIGHT. Jesus taught us that children of God have a right to get all their prayers answered. When the Gentile woman came to Jesus to get her daughter healed, Jesus answered "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs" (Matt. 15:21-28). She answered wisely and asked for only the "crumbs" that are the right of a dog. He could not resist her faith and said, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt; and her daughter was made whole from that very hour." This certainly teaches that children of God have certain rights in the heavenly family. They have just as much right to expect good things from God as any child in an earthly family has a right to expect things from his parents. At least one has the rights of a dog if not the rights of a child. With this kind of faith one cannot fail to get what he wants from God.

16. FIVE STEPS TO ANSWERED PRAYER. If one will follow faithfully the following steps in prayer he can be sure of an answer:

(1) Decide what you want from God and get the Scriptures that definitely promise you these things. Get these promises firmly fixed in the heart and not only in the mind. Be ready to use them against demons who will try to make you doubt God and rob you of what you want.

(2) Ask God for the things you want and believe that you have got them. Believe God, not Satan; the truth, not a lie. Let every single thought and desire affirm that you have got what you asked. Never permit a mental picture of a failure to be in your mind. Never doubt for one minute that you have the answer. If doubts persist, rebuke them and get your mind on the answer and constantly affirm that the promises are true and that prayer has been answered. Eradicate every suggestion, image, vision, dream, impression, feeling; in fact, extirpate all thoughts that do not contribute to your faith that you have what you have asked.

(3) Thoughts are governed by observations, associations, and teachings. Guard against every evil thought that comes into the mind. Stay away from all places and things that will not support your affirmation that God has answered prayer. Meditate constantly on the promises upon which you base the answer to your prayer. See yourself with what you have asked for and make plans accordingly as if it were already a reality Do not forget what you have asked of God and hold on until the full answer materializes.

(4) Pray constantly and look heavenward. In your waking moments think on the greatness of God and His goodness. Count your blessings and faith will increase. Breathe deeply the life of God in your inner spirit. Lift your heart to God constantly in gratitude and increasing praise for what He has done and for what He is doing for you now. Maintain that all things are possible to the believer.

(5) Make every prayer relative to what you have asked a statement of faith instead of unbelief. You can say "I do have faith" or "I do believe that I have what I have prayed for" just as easily as you can make statements of unbelief. You can think thoughts of faith as easily as you can think thoughts of doubt and unbelief. Do not accept no as an answer. Do not be denied. It is your family right, your redemptive right, your gospel right, and your creative right to have what God has promised. It will come. It is yours now, so accept it and it will become a reality.

17. To sum up the secrets of prayer we may state briefly the essential elements of prevailing prayer:

(1) RIGHT RELATIONSHIP—with both God and man (Matt. 5:23; 6:9, 15; 18:15; 1 John 3:20-22; 5:14-15).

(2) ADORATION—worship God and love all men (Matt. 6:9; 1 John 3:18-22; Phil. 4:6; Heb. 13:15).

(3) UNSELFISHNESS—put the interests of God and others first (Matt. 6:10).

(4)          RESTITUTION—where possible (Matt. 5:23; 18:15).

(5) FORGIVENESS—be merciful to others (Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21; Eph. 5:32).

(6)          BOLDNESS—be free from fear and doubt (Heb. 10:19-23).

(7) UNMERITORIOUS—base the right to an answer upon the work of Christ only, not upon personal merits ( John 14:12-15; 15:7).

(8) FAITH—believe in the certainty of answered prayer (Luke 11:9-13).

(9)          SPIRITUALITY—live in the Spirit (Rom. 8:1-26; Gal. 5:16-26).

(10)        PERSEVERANCE—don't lose heart (Luke 18:1-8).

(11)          HUMILITY—realize you are nothing (Luke 18:9-14; Gal. 6:3).

(12)         UNPRETENTIOUS—make no outward show before others (Matt. 6:5-8; Luke 18:9-14).

(13)         SACRIFICIAL—deny personal pleasure and feelings and concentrate upon the answer until it comes (1 Cor. 7: 5; Matt. 4:1-11).

(14)         UNITY—oneness with both God and man (Matt. 18:15-20; Acts 2:1-4, 42-47, 4:23-33, 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4).

(15)         CONSECRATION—be all and all for God (John 15:7; 2 Cor. 5:17).

(16)         CONFESSION—acknowledge own faults (James 5:14-16).

(17)         HOLINESS—have a pure life and motives (Ps. 66:18).

(18)         INSPIRATION—depend upon the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26-27).

(19)         PETITION - make requests known (Phil 4:6; 1 John 5:14-16).

(20)        WHOLE-HEARTEDNESS—put whole life into worship (Matt. 22:37).

(21)         EARNESTNESS—be sincere (1 Thess. 3:10; James 5:17).

(22)        IMPORTUNITY—press claims before God (Luke 11:5-8).

(23)        STUBBORNNESS—refuse to be denied (Luke 18:1-8; Matt. 15:21-28).

(24)        CONFIDENCE—never doubt (1 John 3:21-22; 5:14-15).

(25)        JOY—be happy that you are going to receive (Luke 24:52-53).

(26)        TRUST—be anxious about nothing (Phil. 4:6).

Unlimited Power in Prayer

As the plan of God unfolds before us in the lessons, we can clearly see that there are unlimited possibilities in prayer. As we have seen in Lesson Sixteen, there are no limitations to what all men can receive from God according to the promises. There can be no failure to get any one benefit that God has promised.

With such knowledge of the will of God and of the unlimited power of prayer, there is no excuse for all the sin, sickness, disease, failure, poverty, and unhappiness in the world. Why the children of God are so easily satisfied with coming so short of so many good things of this life when they can have an abundance is hard to understand. It is true, they have been taught wrong and limited doctrines of the grace of God, but those are no longer an excuse for them, for we are giving them the true light of God's Word in these lessons and supplements. From here on it is not a question of ignorance and wrong teaching. It will be simply a question of willful rejection of plain truth and a refusal to put forth the necessary effort to attain to these benefits.

In our previous lessons we have given abundant scriptural proof that there is no limitation to the believer in prayer to attain to all that he wants in this life as well as in the life to come. In Lesson Ten we have given proof of God's plan for the needs of man. In Lesson Twelve we have shown why God's plan for the needs of man is not realized. And in Lesson Sixteen we have shown how to attain to the fullness of life by simply asking and receiving according to set laws which God has plainly revealed in Scripture. With the wonderful truths of these lessons plus the many wonderful helps in all the lessons and supplements you should be receiving from God the abundance of life here and now.

Inventory of Your Personal Progress

For the next few minutes let us have a heart-to-heart talk with you concerning your progress. After all, it is your personal gain in life that you are interested in. This is why you wanted to study these lessons. This is why you want to continue the whole series until you have the whole truth that will help you in all your future life into the abundance of life in God.

Let us begin by asking you just what benefits you have received in these lessons. Suppose you review the whole of the lessons and supplements to see just what you have received in knowledge, wisdom, healing, prosperity, answers to prayers, and what; you personally want and need in life. Have you faithfully followed the instructions given you from the first lesson until now? Have you faithfully practiced the lessons on prayer and consecration to the whole will of God? Have you surrendered your life to God? Are you really born again? Have you given up the sin-business? Has your fulfillment of needs and wants been sufficiently worth giving up sin for? Or, have you, without becoming God's child, been trying to attain to the benefits of God that are promised only to those who obey Him? Have you got a simple knowledge of God's plan for you so that you can follow the will of God? Have you conformed to the plan as you have learned it? Have you faith in God, or are you still having battles with demon-powers because of doubt and unbelief?

You are the one who can answer these questions. No one else can answer them for you except God. It is absolutely necessary that you conscientiously answer these questions before God and check up on yourself to see how you are progressing. If you are making good progress that fact is true because you have obeyed to the letter the simple instructions laid down for you to follow. If you are not progressing as fast as you wish in getting things from God and having your every need supplied for body, soul, and spirit, you have lagged because you have failed on some point or points. You are the one to discover wherein you are failing, and you are the one to concentrate on the weak points of your progress. Even if you have to start all over again it will pay you rich dividends to do so.

You should make an outline of the necessary steps you are to follow. Put down the main points from the first lesson and supplement to Supplement Eight and see if you fully understand everything that you are to do. Then check off the points that you know you have been faithful to practice daily. Also check off the points wherein you have failed. Begin to practice all the truth and not a part of it. If after this you are not getting the benefits you are entitled to, go to God about it, quoting the promises that cover your needs and wants. Seek Him about the failure. Be sure that you have not been doubting God during your practice of the principles taught you by the Word of God. If you have been wondering or questioning at all why you have not made better progress, your doing so shows that you have been doubting. If you doubt, this doubt will in itself defeat you. As long as you question and wonder about why you do not get answers to your prayers, you will be defeated. Do not mistake this! Do not let anyone deceive you! God's Word is clear concerning every detail. You cannot mistake the truth, for it is too plainly written to leave one in ignorance. It is plainly stated that "he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not in faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23) and "let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord" (Jas. 1:5-8).

Your duty cannot be made clearer than this when it comes to knowing what to do to get answers to prayer. If you have sin in your life, it is no wonder that you waver. If you do not have sin in your life, you have no business to waver, so quit it here and now. Make up your mind that you are through with wavering and that you simply refuse to make God a liar any more. It matters not how hard pressed you are by evil spirit forces to doubt God and be discouraged. You do not have to yield to these spirits in the least. You must doggedly refuse to doubt what God has said and resist these satanic forces. James 4:7 says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." You could not bring yourself to believe that this is a lie, could you? Would you dare say that you have resisted and the devil has not fled? Would you dare say that the Bible is not true? No! You cannot afford to do this if you want things from God.

You might wonder what is the next action to take after you have done all this. The answer is, keep on doing it until victory comes. It will come. Never doubt this fact. God is true. The devil is a liar. You can believe God more than you can believe the devil. You can, if you will, have faith in God instead of unbelief in Him and His Word. The fact that you are having a struggle with unbelief proves that you have it or you would not be having any trouble with it. As long as you have unbelief the fight must go on until you firmly and positively refuse to waver again. Let it be settled once and forever that you will not doubt. If you do know that you will not get what you have prayed for as long as you doubt, it should be easy to cast all doubt aside and to resist the very unbelief that causes the failure. You know that you will not get the answer as long as you doubt. You also know that there is a definite assurance that you will get it if you will not doubt, so why be foolish and give up to unbelief and doubt? If there was the slightest possibility of your not getting the answer provided that you have faith, you still would be better off not to doubt because you know that doubt will bring sudden defeat. You certainly cannot lose any more by having unwavering faith than you lose by having doubt; so why not wholeheartedly co-operate with God and have faith in God?

Jesus gave absolute assurance that you will receive if you have faith and doubt not. He said, "If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; IT SHALL BE DONE. And ALL THINGS, WHATSOEVER ye shall ask in prayer, believing, YE SHALL RECEIVE" (Matt. 21:21-22; Mark 11:22-24; John 15:7, 16).

Why should you be afraid to step out on the promises of God? They will not fail. "All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Cor. 1:20). Being afraid of trusting God and His Word should not be tolerated in the life of a Christian. Such an attitude of fear reminds one of a man crossing a river that was frozen over with solid ice. He crawled on his hands and knees for fear that the ice would break through. When he got out in the middle of the river he heard someone whistling and he looked around and saw a boy with a wagon load of corn drawn by a pair of husky mules coming across the river as if it were solid ground. The boy was carefree and had absolute confidence in the ice holding up under the big load, but the poor man was afraid the ice would break through under his own weight, so was crawling in fear trying to cross the river.

The promises of God will hold you up. They will not fail. You will be shown in due time that God means what He says. One of the greatest surprises of Heaven will be the fact that we shall see how abundantly God had provided for us in this life though we failed to attain to such benefits. Let us make up our minds never to waver or limit God and His abundant promises to meet the needs of man in this life. God will not rebuke you if you dare ask anything that He has promised. "Let him ask of God, that giveth to all men LIBERALLY, and UPBRAIDETH NOT; and it shall be given him (James 1:4-8).

If you are not progressing as fast as you desire, then get busy and do not be discouraged. You are the one that has been hindering your own progress. You can progress as fast as you desire. Read over and over again and again the promises until faith is generated in you sufficiently to enable you to say, "It shall be done," "I do believe God," "I do believe that He has heard my prayer and that I have the answer." God is more anxious for everyone of His children to believe than anyone of them is to receive. God loves each one and deals with each one personally according to his faith. On this basis God is dealing with each one. Every single person can get what he wants and make the progress in God that he desires. Each one should be personally satisfied with his progress because he is the one solely responsible for it. There should be no complaint in one Christian. If he wants to develop in the business of asking and receiving, let him do what all have to do to make a success in this kind of business. God is no respecter of persons, and He does not try to hold one back and push one forward. He does not will that one of His children should be defeated in life in any particular development.

Partnership With God in Business

We have seen above that there is unlimited power in praying. A businessman needs God in his business in order to have guaranteed success. The businessman should not be ashamed of God to take Him as a partner and let it be known that he has done so. He should honor God in this respect and give Him credit for the success he has. He should take God into consideration and pray to Him about every phase of his life and work. He should be just as incurably religious and prayerful as a preacher concerning his business, and he is bound to succeed.

All men pray, even if some are ashamed of it. Even sinners and infidels find themselves praying to God when calamity strikes, or when they are scared. They do it naturally under such circumstances. They do not have to be taught; they simply pray out of the heart during such times. They pray without regard to whether it will do good or not. They must pray, proving that prayer is natural. Because prayer is natural, let us all live a natural, normal life and not be ashamed of prayer. It should be considered the greatest honor to pray to the Supreme Sovereign of the Universe.

The businessman above many others should openly pray to God to help him in his many problems. He should learn to let God run his business by following the will of God concerning every move that he makes. God is interested in the success of every man, and He will help every one to be a success in life if He is consulted and obeyed. God can run the business of any man better than the man himself can run it. God knows the details of the business world and all the problems that a business man has to face, and He can supernaturally work and accomplish things where all men fail. It matters not what business you are in. If it is a legitimate business you should not feel that it would be wrong to ask God to help you in your business and lead you into unknown ways of making money and helping others in life by your business.

If a man wants to succeed in business he must not only make God His partner, but he must be willing to follow the laws of prosperity as discussed in Supplement Six, No man can possibly fail in business if he will follow these suggestions. With God as a partner and by following the laws of prosperity he cannot help succeeding in any kind of business.

God can help the businessman by changing him in his life and conduct so that he will be capable of making a success in life. God can help him by directing him in the proper channels of success and to the sources of help that he needs. God can help him by moving on the hearts of men at every moment that he needs help to carry on some transaction that will help in a crisis and cause him to make a success. Partnership with God is indispensable to any businessman and to any Christian in any walk of life, and the person who fails to seek the help of God in every endeavor loses many blessings that he would receive from partnership with God. If you will take God into your life and acknowledge Him in all things, you will be a success in life.

Problems that are hard to solve and from which a man cannot possibly see a way out, if he has God as his partner, he can simply turn them over to God, and He will make a way out. Things can work out so easily and quickly when God begins to act that it will be surprising to see how the problems will be solved. How any man can get along without God in his business is hard to understand. Another thing that is hard to understand for some is how a godless man prospers in business without God, but this is easily cleared up when we consider that following the laws of prosperity will cause both sinners and saints to prosper in a material way. If sinners can prosper by these laws without God, how much more will a Christian prosper with God as a personal partner in his business? If Christians could see this point they would not have to wonder at the prosperity of the wicked. If all businessmen could see the advantage of prosperity with God as being greater than without Him, many of them would turn to God for His supernatural guidance in business matters.

Topping the Infinite Resources of God

Dwight L. Moody once said, "The world has yet to see what God will do in and for and with and through the man that is wholly yielded to Him." How true this is! The infinite resources of God have never been explored fully. The average person has such a limited conception of God and His infinite love and providence to all creation that God Himself is limited to manifest His great love to them. When men limit God, they naturally limit His blessings to themselves. If men could wake up to see for themselves the abundance of the provision of God, they would get more from Him in life.

As long as men argue that it is not God's will to do this or that, or that He cannot and will not do certain things, they will come far short of God's blessings. It would seem to me that only one reading of the Bible would be sufficient to correct most of the erroneous ideas the average man has of God.

The purpose of these lessons is to help such deluded people to see for themselves what God's will is and what they are missing of the good things of this life. What should be done by every person is to read the Bible for himself and see what it plainly says on all these questions we are teaching. Every man by reading for himself can see where he has been misled. The Bible says one thing, and what men teach contrary to: this is easily detected.

There is no excuse for you that are taking these lessons, for you are having your eyes opened to see the infinite blessings God has promised to them that love Him. You have no possible excuse to continue in unbelief and ignorance of what God wants you to have in life. God has literally promised material wealth, physical health, g spiritual freedom from sin, from evil habits, and from failure in life. In fact there is not one phase of life that God has ignored in His program. There is no want to them that fear God. There can be no failure in life for anyone who will tap the resources of God. It is the duty of every believer to learn what God has promised and then be bold and aggressive in attaining to the benefits provided.

Let the student enter wholeheartedly into fellowship with God and love and obey Him, and he will see for himself that "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Ps. 84:11). You have before you sickness or health, poverty or wealth, failure or success; you have before you the infinite resources of God and you can have what you want in life that is good; so forget the many false concepts of God and truth that you have been taught and lay hold of the abundance of life. You can have anything you want by simply asking and receiving from your heavenly Father.

Dwell on this……..

See you at the top!

Your Friend,

Pastor Mike..