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The unsaved person can pray, asking Jesus to come into his life, forgive his sins, and help him. God will answer those prayers!
People who ARE saved often pray for years for someone, or for things in general, and never see any results. That is what this brochure is about.
We grew up in churches that were like this, never getting results. But now we get prayers answered almost immediately. Some take a little longer, but we always see results.
It was an accidental discovery. We attended some meetings where we learned about the importance of obtaining a clear conscience. We took this seriously and began the process. We were surprised that our prayers started being answered!! So to us, this is number one.
Have no un-confessed sin. Now I know that it is quite impossible to remember every sin you’ve ever committed. But you need to ask the Holy Spirit to lead you -- who you need to ask for forgiveness. For example, my husband was led to ask forgiveness from his parents and brother and sisters, but not the woman he’d lived with while in the Air Force. Even if you think they were 99% wrong, you need to get YOUR conscience clear, so ask for the wrong that you did. Actually, God is the first one you need to confess to, and ask His forgiveness. Then ask Him for love for that person, and to prepare their heart, and control you.
When you ask someone’s forgiveness, this is how it’s done to be most effective: Use the phone. That way you can read what you’ve prepared. Sending them a letter, e-mail or text is not good. You want to clear your conscience, not document the sin. Write, “May I ask you a question?” That removes any walls that might be up. Then use words that generally described you: Untruthful, disrespect, proud, insensitive, selfish, etc. This allows them to forgive you for all that they think you did. Then write, I’ve come to realize how wrong I’ve been in being ____________ and I’ve called to ask, will you forgive me?
Don’t project blame. Don’t project pride, don’t say I’m sorry, and don’t ever say, “IF I’ve offended you.” That implies that it’s their problem and you don’t think you did anything wrong. If they start talking, say softly, “That was a yes or no question.” When they reply, you can say, “Thank you” and hang up. Make it brief. Then destroy your paper.
Learn to confess quickly so you always have an open line with God. He knows your heart, but you need to confess. If you lied or even simply exaggerated, you need to say so, and correct it. Yes, it’s hard, but this will train you to be strictly honest. You can learn to be truthful without being rude or hurtful. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and He will.
When you begin this process, you will be pleasantly surprised at how good God will be to you!
Now onto the other points about how to get answers to our prayers:
Be a God seeker. Heb. 11:6, “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.”
Deut. 4:29, “You will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart.” God never promised to talk to casual inquirers. Now, there are several exercises that are all seeking God: Spending time with Him, in Bible reading. (Read a little every day, mainly in the letters, books in the New Testament from Romans through Jude. Those books are for and about us.) And spend time in prayer, just you and God, at a time every day when you won’t be interrupted. Matt. 6:6, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Talk to God many times throughout your days, and give Him praise. Some people prefer to do this, and claim they don’t need to have that chunk of time in private with God. But your prayers throughout the day will be much more powerful when you have that chunk of time with God in private! Jesus did. We should!
Know God’s will. I John 5:14-15, “Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us … and we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
You will know His will the more you spend time in His word.
Ask in Faith: James 1;5-7 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, no doubting… for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”
Begging God is fear not faith. It could actually allow demons to work in your life. You must strongly refuse all forms of fear. Proofs are in my brochure, Fear is not okay!
What is the prayer of faith? Briefly, it is knowing what God has said in His word on the subject. Find verses that say what you want is God’s will, and then with these verses, remind God of what He said, and confidently ask for them. Then begin to praise Him for the answer, and continue until the answer comes. Stand firm, believing you have the answer before it comes. Thank God for it every time you think about it, and in the face of all circumstances to the contrary.
This is what Mark 11:24 says. “…whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them.” You must believe you have them before you will get them. It’s an inside thing, a knowing in your heart. That knowing, that faith, comes by saying over and over those verses that state what you need.
Here are three verses that say faith needs to be in two places, in your mouth and in your heart: Mark 11:23-24, Rom. 10:8-10, & II Cor. 4: 13. But don’t be speaking your faith around people who don’t understand how faith works. This is how the promises of God are received!
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