"Your life is transformed to the degree that your mind is renewed. Cornel's book goes a long way to removing the hindrances to that renewal."
-Curry R. Blake, John G. Lake Ministries
Click Here to Read More!
Note: This is a 4 part series: Click here to read the other Parts:
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
When it comes to prayer, I have found that many people don’t actually listen to what they are praying and they seldomly think about they are actually saying in prayer. Next to Sunday formalism, prayer is probably one of the most religiously abused parts of the Christian life. Prayer is basically seen as communication with God. Most often prayer has been reduced to you talking AT God, instead of the two of you having a conversation. Then people also talk AT God in such an unrealistic way that it just makes me cringe. They suddenly use religious jargon and Christianese, all of which just makes your prayer more religious. You need to learn to talk to God and being entirely transparently you. You can’t hide behind big words, quoting scriptures or enthusiasm. Just be yourself. God made you to be you. He wants to talk to you, not religious you. I don’t want to go into the religiousness of prayer today, I want to address specific things people pray without thinking what they are saying. So here goes:
1. “Holy Spirit we ask you to come…”
Where was He that needs to come to where you are? Does the Word not say He will never leave you nor forsake you? (Heb 13:5, Matt 28:20). You are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) which means He lives in you (1 John 2:17). You are one spirit with Him (1 Cor 6:17) and He actually follows you around (Mark 16:17). Even David knew this under the old covenant (Ps 139:7-10). Stop asking God to come. He never left you. If anybody needs to come anywhere, it is you that needs to come into a greater revelation of the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead LIVES IN YOU. Stop confessing doubt. Asking the Holy Spirit to come is saying you don’t believe He is with you. You can be very sincere in asking, but you are still sincerely wrong.
2. “Send down Your glory…”
Again, why are you distancing yourself from the glory? Why are you here and the glory somewhere else? Jesus said in John 17:22 that the same glory the Father had given Him, He has now given to us so we can be one as they are one. Do you think God held out on Jesus that you now have to ask for glory? Do you not believe Jesus gave you His glory? The purpose of Him giving you His glory is to make you one. Are you in Christ? Then you are one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor 6:17) and He has given you His glory. You are a co-equal heir with Jesus (Rom 8:17) meaning everything He has, you have equally (1 John 4:17). If anything, the glory is not to come down, it is to flow OUT of you!
3. “Send revival to our city…”
Where is revival that it needs to be sent? How long have people been praying this and yet no revival has arrived? Why is that? Is God deaf? Does He not want revival to happen in your city? Do you love your city more than God that you desire revival but He doesn’t? If all you ever do is pray for revival to happen then you are no different from the wicked servant who hid his talents in the ground and did nothing with what the Master had given him charge over. God made you His ambassador (2 Cor 5:17-20) and Jesus sent you on a mission exactly like the Father sent Him (John 20:21). He even gave you the power to do this (Acts 1:8). You are revival. Your city is not waiting for revival; it is waiting for you to stop praying for yourself to arrive and for you to go live revived. As YOU go, preach THIS message: The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons (Matt 10:7-8). You need to stop praying for revival and starting being revival. You are God’s answer for the need for revival. Start answering!
4. “If it is Your will, heal this person…”
So do you not know God’s will? Praying “If it be Your will” means you are not sure if it is God’s will. What is the flip-side of that coin? “If it is Your will, heal them. If NOT, let this sickness run its full course and even kill them.” You need to find out and settle God’s will in your mind before you pray stupid things like that. God is not double minded. He either wills healing or He doesn’t. He can’t will both. Decide which one you think represents a GOOD God and stick to that.
I’ll end it here for now, I will write about other dumb things Christians pray next time. (Click here to read part 2: What About The Lord’s Prayer?)
Love you all!
Cornel
Read more about Cornel’s book “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” here!
Click Here To Get New Posts by Email
20 Responses to What Are You Praying?
Leave a Reply
- Administering The Children’s Bread
0 
1 
1080 - The Sin of Unforgiveness?0 2 328
- 5 Spiritual Time & Money Wasters0 0 266
- Sickness for God’s Glory?0 1 260
- Top 12 Overlooked Blessings of the New Covenant0 2 245
- What Happens To My Forgiveness If I Sin As A Believer?0 3 240
- Why Does Grace Offend So Many People?0 1 232
- Licence to Sin?0 0 222
- 20 Rob Rufus Quotes On Law vs. Grace0 1 208
- You Are Forgiven! Believe it!0 2 172
- Healing In Eternity May 16, 2012
- Are You In Need Of Rest? May 14, 2012
- Quotes From Living Grace May 13, 2012
- Friday Is Fun Day! #2 May 11, 2012
- Be Thou My Vision May 7, 2012
- Friday Is Fun Day! #1 May 4, 2012
- Special Promotion! This Weekend Only! April 27, 2012
- The Untold Story Of The New Testament Church – Frank Viola (Book Review) April 26, 2012
- Lies You Have Been Set Free From! April 20, 2012
- Law Abiding vs Under the Law vs Grace April 18, 2012
Thanks for visiting!
- The 7 Most Popular Verses in the Bible May 16, 2012
- The Way May 4, 2012
- “The Misunderstood God” by Darin Hufford April 25, 2012
- The Illusion of Progress & the Abomination of Denominations April 26, 2012
- Standing at the Crossroads of the Future & Moving Forward March 22, 2012
- Change is a Good Thing! February 23, 2012
- How Deep is Your Relationship with God? April 12, 2012
- Organic Church Introduction January 30, 2012
- Dead to Sin and Alive to God! November 10, 2011
- Blue Rose Tuesdays May 11, 2012
- What Love is This? April 13, 2012
- The Blueprint of “Renewing Your Mind” November 24, 2011
Hi Cornel, I appreciate what you have written very much. I have been a bit stuck when it comes to the glory and I guess it is because of what I had been taught in church. I realise now that the glory is Jesus Himself living in me. Can you please help me with praying about finances… I have prayed all sorts but dont seem to get very far, something is amiss. Would appreciate hearing from you regarding this, many thanks Pat Oliver
Dumb things that Christians pray? Hmm – I’ve got a feeling this could be a long series! You could do a long series merely on dumb things I’ve prayed. Thank God for His wisdom. Thank God for certainty regarding His will. I’ve prayed dumb and I’ve prayed smart, and smart is better!
Pingback: I am a Spirit… » Blog Archive » What Are You Praying?
This is a great article Cornel, looking forward to reading about the other dumb things we pray…as the 4 above have certainly come out of my mouth in the past!
Excellent – clear ad to the point. On a side note, i had a mouthfull of tea when the picture at the top came up – nearly made a big mess on my keyboard. lol. Keep ‘em coming.
The only point here I take real issue with is #4. God does purpose to have saints live with “thorns in the flesh” for seasons in their lives or even throughout their lives. But God always has a purpose in it. Two people come to mind: the Apostle Paul (who had to live with a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble) and Joni Eareckson Tada who has had a far-reaching ministry yet is wheel-chair bound from a diving accident. She has had many folks pray for her healing. And nothing. Still in a wheelchair.
it could be that, like Paul, Tada is wheelchair bound b/c God is carrying out a specific purpose for her through it.
Hi Josh
Thanks for your comments. I respectfully disagree with you. Paul’s thorn was not a sickness. Please read this:
http://www.charismaministries.org/removing-paul%E2%80%99s-thorn-in-the-flesh-part-1/
If God purposes us to have sickness, then the Holy Spirit is a spirit of infirmity. Don’t accuse my Father of such nonsense. The devil steals kills and destroys, not my Father. Jesus never made anybody sick, He only ever healed them. My example is not Joni Tada, or Paul or Job. My example is Jesus only. If you look under the article archives tab above you will find a lot teachings on God’s will for healing. Please read them when you have some time.
In Grace,
Cornel
I’ll read your Thorn In the Flesh article b/c I do have to admit the ambiguity of exactly what the thorn was.
I stated in my original comment that God purposes for people to undergo certain physical trials, not that he is the cause (he certainly was not the cause in the case of Job). So for the moment I will ignore your accusation that I called the Holy Spirit a spirit of infirmity.
Jesus is the example for all believers, it is true. But your argument still doesn’t counter my original point: that some of God’s faithful ones have to undergo/endure physical trials. It’s a plain fact that some Christians are sick or wheelchair-bound or under other maladies and are for the duration of their lives. And even though I believe that physical healing is in the atonement, I can not ignore that simple fact.
@ Josh. Just because you are going through suffering doesn’t mean it is God’s will. We have been given the authority to stop suffering. If people are suffering it is not God fault, its our fault. Your argument stems from the flawed idea that God’s sovereignty means that nothing can happen without God willing it to happen. God doesn’t want anybody to perish yet some are going to hell. That means God’s will is not always done. I do not fully understand why we don’t see 100% healings like Jesus did, but I do understand what good means. I am not making excuses and blaming God for sick people when I fail. I go back to the Word and renew my mind, and get back into the fight and set people free. Fight the good fight. Not try once and give up because it didn’t work. The disciples failed to cast out demon. If that happened today the majority of believers would say the suffering must be God’s will. Nope. They just failed to set him free. Jesus came along and proved it was His will to end the boy’s suffering by casting out the demon and then rebuking His disciples for failing. If the 12 can fail, who were personally taught by Jesus, then guess what, we can fail too. I don’t like it, but don’t try to justify it by saying God must have a reason.
Hahahaha…. laughing at myself here! I don’t know if I will be able to keep a straight face at any prayer meeting I go to
Wow… I was thinking now what do I pray? And I realise that I can enjoy being with my Dad and just getting to know Him better! That is awesome. Wow!
Pingback: I am a Spirit… » Blog Archive » Clearing up Misunderstandings
Respectfully, you still have not answered Josh’s objection. Please do-I have the same questions. I think there must be the distinction between God’s desire as a loving father and God’s sovereign will as he allows us to act with the freedom he gave us, even though our choices may go against his desire. Otherwise, when you say “God’s will is not always done” would you not also be saying he is not entirely sovereign/all powerful?
And by using the word “Fault” (“If people are suffering it is not God’s fault”) are you not prejudging Him, and saying IF God willed suffering for ANY reason, he would not be good? Josh makes this point by saying God has GOOD reason for allowing suffering because his will for us is higher than our comfort or happiness. Even if Paul’s “Thorn in the flesh” was not physical, it was, to him, suffering which he asked God to remove. God not only refused, but allowed Paul to know WHY he must suffer. And as long as Jesus is your example- Jesus did suffer physically for a good reason within the will of God. Did he not also ask God to take the cup of suffering from him? But his Father refused because God has a will higher than the comfort or even happiness of even his own Son. God not only allowed Christ to suffer and die, he directed it, and he did so BECAUSE he is so loving and good!
And finally, if God NEVER wills illness or death, if he ALWAYS wills to heal, why does EVERY Christian eventually age and die? It seems if your point of view was correct, there would be Christians living hundreds of years, if not actually until Christ returns.
If I am wrong or have misunderstood you, please set me right. Thanks!
Your Rent-A-Friend
Hey Bryan,
Unfortunately, God’s will is most definitely not always done. Sin easily proves that. If everything that happens is somehow God’s will and He ‘sovereignly’ allows everything, then by the same reasoning, every sin must be God’s will too. In many scriptures we clearly see that God’s will is for all people to be saved. (Eg. 1 Tim 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9, John 10:10) His grace has appeared to all men, yet not all mean receive it. If it is clearly His will that all be saved yet some reject Him, it shows His will is not automatically and sovereignly done as you suppose. The mere fact that God gave us freewill shows that He as sovereignly made it so that we could choose to be in His will or not. If we can choose to be outside His will, then obviously His will is not always done.
Jesus said in this world we would suffer like He suffered. How did He suffer? Persecution. How did Paul suffer? Persecution. Does that mean persecution is God’s will? I highly doubt it. If persecution was God’s will, why did Jesus stop Saul from persecuting the believers and turn him into one of His most famous followers? If persecution is God’s will, then Jesus was acting outside God’s will by appearing to Saul and putting an end to the persecution the early church suffered at his hand. Obviously persecution had great impact on the early church, because it caused them to spread all over the planet. Does that mean God willed their persecution? No, because if He did, He willed the destruction of the very thing Jesus died to establish which means God is double-minded, bi-polar, schizophrenic and can’t be trusted. God did allow Christ to suffer. But why? So we didn’t have to. The suffering Jesus endured was punishment for our sins. The suffering Paul endured was for preaching the gospel. Two very different causes of suffering.
Also, people getting old and dying does in no way take away from God’s will for life. You continue to live after your body ceases to house your spirit. Your spirit is where your life is. Even if my body wears out and dies, God’s will for everlasting life goes on because my spirit goes on living. If God wills for me is to be sick of cancer and this causes my body to die, will I have cancer in heaven? Or does God’s will change for me once I die? Jesus said, ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ If it is God’s will you to be sick, guess what, you are going to be sick for an eternity then. This is exactly why I say what I say. If it is God’s will for you to be sick, aren’t you in rebellion going to the doctor and taking medicine?
Lastly, if you are going to try and argue theology, at least try to use exegesis and not merely eisegesis.
In Grace,
Cornel
If you read and dissect about Paul’s thorn, its actually not illness or disease. It says it was :
“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh,
a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” (2Cor 12:7)
A messenger of Satan. A concordance comes in handy sometimes. It was a demon, devil, satan, etc. The church of Corinth always accused him of wanting money. The devil used this as a constant thorn in Pauls flesh when it came to Corinth. See the verse 14 (I seek not yours, but you). He constantly had to try to convince them he did not want their money, he wanted them.
Joni Eareckson Tada dove into shallow water- her choice, and broke her neck. If Im not mistaken, there was even a sign present warning of shallow water. People make choices and then have to suffer the consequences. Then they blame God. Im sorry that happened to her, but she dove in. God did not push her. She can be healed. When there was a car accident that kills someone, usually its a human that is driving, not God. People blame God though. God does send angels to help us and administer to us. I also believe that God’s mercy is upon us at all times and most days, we dont even realize it how we are saved from disaster as we go about our days. BUT we as people make choices at times to do things that don’t always end good. There are other people out there too that make choices that affect other people as well. A person driving while drunk kills a child when hitting the parents car. So whose fault is that? When do we stop playing the stupid blame game and allow humans to take responsibility for their actions? God loves us. He doesnt “cause” bad things to happen. I am so thankful I can see just how stupid that thinking is.
I too am looking for truth. I am renewing my mind from the fog I have been in called religion. I didnt know I was thinking/believing in such dumb ways until I started delving into my bible and seeking out others who have seen miracles and healings. God didn’t call us to teach out of our own experiences, He called us to spread HIS WORD. I realized the old church I was attending, the preacher was teaching that it isnt God’s will to heal everyone. He never witnessed a miracle or healing, so he taught out of his experience. Because of that garbage, I was unprepared for when my husband was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor last fall. I went to my church then for reassurance of God’s love and for prayer for my husband and I was basically told to prepare to be a widow at 39. I left the church and took my family with me.
I noticed that those who criticize and accuse people like Cornel and claim that God does not heal, or God does allow or put sickness on people, have never seen a miracle. But I am learning that if you believe in God and believe that He does miracles, you will see them.
Since I left the church and attend a different one, I feel like I can see for the first time, and the problem is pride. I have no idea or understanding why this is. But when I tried to tell them I didnt believe that it was God’s will for my husband to be ill or for me and my four children to lose their daddy at such a young age, they scoffed at me for being so arrogant. I was wrong in their eyes. I still learning, but I can tell you that it is God’s will to heal. Everyone. I look at Jesus for the example, and thats all I need to know. He healed them all. I am believing God has healed my husband, I know He has!
Peace-
Kelly
@Kelly et al: I do know that God does miracles. I have seen miraculous healing from my own prayers for others, and in my body through their prayers by the name of Jesus. My problem is not a lack of faith nor a lack of experience. I won’t rule our arrogance just yet. But it is a lack of understanding. You say you know God has healed your husband. I hope you are right, but do you KNOW you are right? Is the cancer gone? Or do you do as Cornel did about J.E. Tada and say, “The cancer is still there, but he is healed!” ? Will you continue to claim his healing as a fact if you DO wind up a widow at 39? Will you abandon God as many do when faced with tragedy, or will you blame yourself for not having enough faith when you prayed as Cornel says he would do?
YOU say of J.E. Tada, “She CAN BE healed.” Cornel has said “She IS healed.” Those are two very different statements. I agree with you. God can and does heal, but in her case, he has not. I want to understand how he can marry his understanding of God’s will to “always heal everyone” with the fact that there are people who pray/are prayed for who are not healed. Cornel has said she IS healed, even though she cannot walk. To me this says he simply refuses to answer the question, or that he is a postmodernist. Until he replies to my recent posts, I will not know. I hope your next post is confirmation of your husband’s healing, miraculous or medical, however God sees fit.
Sincerely,
Your Rent-A-Friend
Bryan, I have not posted your previous comments because it feels like we are just arguing in circles. But I will reply to this one.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Believe that you have received. That is why I say they are healed. In the same way Thomas refused to believe until he saw with his own eyes, many people refuse to believe until they are healed.
Rom 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” [fn]) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
Abraham was called a father of many nations when he had no children. Was God wrong? I think not. When I say you are healed when your sickness is still present, I am following God’s example of calling things which do not exist as though they did.
Hbr 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. If you are waiting to see it before you believe it, you are not in faith.
Ok, I basically was spending most of my prayer time begging God to heal my husband. Then Id ask him when will he do it? I have read my bible on healing over and over again and asked God, what am I missing. I then read AGAIN, Mark 11: 22-24, and then I got it. I GOT IT.
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly[f] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Do you see it? BELIEVE. Just exactly what is faith? Its not some fluffy word that means nothing. Have faith, believe! Hebrews says “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
I mean, what kind of faith do you have? God’s kind of faith or human kind of faith? Human kind of “faith” is like well I dont see it, so it cant be so.
Early on after my husbands surgery, back in January of this year, my husband got up early with me and said Im going for a walk. I was about to say no, because, well- “he’s sick”. But suddenly Iheard God loud and clear- Kelly- if you believe that Kevin is healed, and he is healed, then he needs to ACT HEALED.
People who are sick lay around in bed and well, act sick. People who are healthy, not sick, act healthy. In fact- just this morning on my way out the door to go to work I had a flat tire. My husband changed it. I dont need a doctor- a human to tell me what I know. BUT for those doubters, it just so happens we DO have medical proof that my husband has been healed.
As far as Joni is concerned, what I meant is, I believe she is already healed, she just doesn’t believe it. Period. I cant help but wonder, if and when she reads Mark 11, just what does she see in that scripture? Does she believe it? Does she say to God- “Oh Lord, IF its your will…” does she wonder IF its His will? Im sure, because I was there myself. And everytime I read about “Praying in faith”, I didnt get it. But like I said before, one moment God just opened my eyes and I realized the difference between praying in FAITH and “praying” in doubt. Dont even bother. Praying a prayer full of doubt is the same as not praying at all.
Another thing Ive learned along this journey is that I can only fight one battle at a time. AND I can only fight my doubt- no body elses. So I leave you with this- there are some people who dont get healed, but I am not so great enough to know why- I just know that I am not to look at them as the example, Jesus is the example, the ONLY example. The tumor my husband was plagued with is now dead and leaving his body. Everyday I am seeing the “outward” manifestation of his healing. Its been long and slow, but much has been learned by us along this journey that we otherwise wouldnt have learned had it been an instant healing. Before we saw the “proof”, I KNEW my husband was healed. My spirit leaped inside me one day, the week before we saw the MRI image. I had joy I couldnt explain. Gods word needs no man to explain, not to me anyways. I read my Bible and I take it literally, it cannot fail me and I believe Him.
God Bless,
Kelly
WOW! I just want to add I just read Cornel’s reply. I did not read it before because I was in a hurry but I see we used the same scripture!
Kelly
Good one Kelly! I just wanted to say thank you for posting your journey here. It is very encouraging. The truth really does set us free!
praise God kelly let every man be a liar and God b true, we declare Him faithful. jonah said dose who observe lying vanities forsske d mercies dat cld b theirs. sickness n its symptom is a lie.