 My guest TJ Malconji is a powerful, anointed man of God, and he's my friend, and I'm thrilled about the message that you're bringing right now. Barriers to prayer. Take it away, my friend. Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's one thing to pray. It's another thing to pray well. And so I want to go through five common mistakes that people make in prayer, because, you know, it's not just, it's not enough to present yourself to the grocery store. There's a lot of people that that's how they pray. They're just going around roaming through the aisles, and then, you know, the clerk comes up and says, hey, you're looking for anything, and you just look, oh, nothing in particular. They think you're a little bit nutty, a little bit crazy. When we go to prayer, yes, there's a prayer of fellowship, yes, there's a prayer of worship, there's a prayer of thanksgiving. But when we specifically go to God with the prayer of requests or the prayer of petition, there's a formality, there is a method, a model that Jesus Christ has given us through the Word and other parts of the Bible that allow us to know the way into the throne of grace and mercy. You know, you don't go to a grocery store just to roam the aisles for nothing. There was a minister by the name of R.W. Shambach that went home to be with Jesus in like, I think in the 2010s or whatever, and he would pray, before he'd pray for people, he'd ask them, what do you have need of? And they would say, oh, nothing in particular. So he'd lay hands on him and say, Father, give him nothing in particular, because I mean, this is what we're going to get into. One of the points is having a target when you pray. But I want to start off by just setting the groundwork that first and foremost, James chapter four, verse three, the Bible says that we have not because we ask not. And then it goes on to say that even when we ask, there are people that ask a miss. And because they ask a miss, a miss means they don't ask properly. People think, oh, if I just have a good heart and I have a good, you know, a good spirit that God's gonna, God's gonna answer my prayers. Good heart is good. Good motives are good. But there's a scriptural way to approach God in prayer that actually gets results 100% of the time. And I want to remind you in Matthew chapter six, Jesus said, when you pray, he didn't say, if you pray, he didn't say, should you find time to pray? He said, when you pray, pray like this. And so I want you to type in the comment section before we move on, I will pray, because if you're going to have answers to prayer, you have to first and foremost, devote yourself to prayer. Jesus said, when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites that love to sound the trumpets in the open square and pray openly and publicly to be seen and heard by men. Rather, go into the secret place and your father who sees what you do secretly will present you with a public reward. And the reason why I stress, and I did a broadcast today on prayer, and I've done many broadcasts on prayer, the reason why I stress this so much is because nothing irks me more than seeing Christians who have a good heart, who sincerely are battling invisible forces and problems in their life that only prayer can arrest and bring victory in. But because there's certain loose connections in their prayer life, the power of God can't be transmitted into that area to bring them victory. If anyone's ever put up a Christmas tree and you start to set up the lights on your Christmas tree, and then you've worked all day to do the lights on the tree, lights on the house, and all the little details of that, and you've checked every light, and you thought everything was good, but then you go and connect the lights, and all of a sudden there's no electricity, there's nothing flowing, and it has to do with just one loose connection. And so as I go through these five common prayer mistakes, maybe you're good on four of the five, but you've still suffered frustration and stagnation in your prayer life, it might just be the one loose connection that if you'll just tighten that bulb, the light will flow, the power will flow, and you'll experience a change of level in your prayer life. That's been my prayer. When Evangelist David had me on this broadcast tonight, my prayer leading up to this was, Father, anoint me to articulate your word in such a way that would bring a change of level to the people's prayer lives where they would leave the area of frustration just constantly. I'm reminded recently, David, I just bought a home, and so we have a pool, and I started to work on the pool, and it's cloudy water because we have to open up the pool, and I did everything. I'm telling you, I bought a new pool pump. I thought that was the problem, because the water wasn't clearing up. I got new pipes. I set up a whole new system. I did the chemo. I tried everything. I threw everything at it. My heart was in it. I was thoroughly invested in this, and nothing was working. That pool looked like a bacterially infested pool. I wouldn't let my enemy swim in that, and so I was wondering what is going on, and so my wife kept telling me, call the technician. Call the pool technician. Call someone who knows what they're doing that can help you out with these loose connections. Maybe there's a loose connection in the piping or in the filter system or whatever, and I just, like the hard-headed husband, I just said, no, no, I'm going to figure it out on my own. I'm a handyman, by the way, I'm not. I can't do anything. Can't change the tires on my car, for goodness sakes, let alone fix a pool. So, nothing was working, and I had good intentions. I bought all the right chemicals. I bought all the right piping. I bought all the right things. Nothing was working. I had a good heart, good intentions, a strong desire, and this is where a lot of Christians miss it. I have a good heart. I've cried for it before. I've shown tears and prayers. Tears do not get this. I don't want to offend anyone, but this is a true statement. Tears do not move God. Tears may incur God's sympathy for you, but tears do not move the hand of God to act. It's only faith and faith based on God's Word that actually provokes the hand of God for intervention in your life. You can have all the good intentions. If I was driving on a highway, on the opposite end, and I had incoming traffic, I was on the wrong side of the highway, and the police officer pulled me over and said, Hey, buddy, you're on the wrong side of the highway. I'm going to have to give you a ticket. I said, Oh, officer, you got to know my heart. You got to know my heart. I had a good heart in doing all this. I really didn't mean to hurt anyone. Well, that's great. And there's a lot of Christians that have a good heart and they have a sincere desire to break free from whatever oppression they're suffering. But you have to come down to, like James said, they pray a miss. You have to learn to pray on the biblical method, how to communicate with God effectively based on what he's told us in his Word. That's part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Bible says, will teach us all things. He'll guide us into truth. And then Jesus said, he'll actually take what is of the Father and disclose it to you and you'll manifest Jesus to you. The Holy Spirit will actually help you to properly and effectively approach the Father in a manner that will incur results. And so I want to go through five biblical keys for effective praying or rather I should say five common mistakes people make, but the correction of it would be the five biblical keys on how to pray. So I don't know if David, you want to jump in on that? Well, I'm really, this is so important that God's people understand how to pray. Because I think that like you were mentioning, sometimes we just toss prayers up and we try to make up for an emotion what we lack in faith. Noise does not equal power. Emotion does not equal power. It's almost as if we're trying to manipulate God with the response that God, do you hear me? God, are you there? God, I'm pleading with you. And that would be to rely upon the strength of man or the ability of man to invoke a response from God. Well, who among us is strong enough emotionally, intellectually to incite a response from God? God in his word shows us his will, his ways, his nature, his mind. And so often when believers hear things like this, like what you're saying, like, Oh, there are mistakes that people make in prayer. People will say, Well, no, no, no, you know, any, any sincere prayer that you toss up is going to make a difference. Now, it is true that the Lord does hear the righteous. It is true that God does hear the prayers even sometimes of the unrighteous. He's omniscient. He's all knowing. He's, he's able to be attentive to all things at all times. That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about spiritual dynamics that the scripture reveals. These aren't secrets. These are keys. If they were secrets, they wouldn't be in the Bible. And so as TJ walks you through these, recognize that as you begin to apply the keys to fix the mistakes, you're going to be aligning yourself with the will of God. This isn't about manipulating God or strong arming God or trying to convince God. This is about aligning you. Prayer more than it will change any one or anything else will change the one who prays. And so I think that as these keys are laid out, there might be that one or two who skeptical arms folded watching the screen saying, well, wait a minute, I thought I could just toss up a prayer. Well, the book of James wouldn't say you ask a miss if you could just toss up prayers. And so I think that's important. And TJ is going to get into that right now. Yeah. And the Bible says my people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge, not because of a lack of prayers. So you can pray for days, you can fast and pray for 40 days. But like I said, if there's a loose connection, there's going to be a lack of results. And that's what I was saying before. Nothing irks me more than sincere Christians who are having a difficult time in prayer simply based on ignorance. You know, the Bible says that in the book of Ephesians got by the spirit gave Paul an inspired prayer. And he said that the spirit of wisdom and revelation would be given to us so that we may know what is the hope of his calling, the riches of the inheritance of the saints and the surpassing greatness of God's power that is available towards us who believe. You know, you can have the Bible says in Ephesians 1 3, every spiritual blessing at your disposal, every spiritual blessing in heavenly places has been given unto you. The Bible says that when Jesus died on that cross and rose again, by virtue of our faith and redemption, we've become joint heirs with Christ Jesus. Everything that Jesus has has become ours through the finished work of the Calvary. But just because we have access to these things doesn't mean everyone is benefiting from them. In Deuteronomy 224, God said, you've dwelt along this mountain long enough. I'm telling you now, rise up. And I've given you the land before you and Sihon King of the Amorites, King of Heshpah, I've given his land into your hand, but you have to rise up and contend with him in battle. The forces that are against your destiny are invisible. And that's why God has given us this invisible tool, this weapon of warfare called prayer that has the dynamic power to subdue the enemies, the obstacles, the hindrances that block us from ascertaining God's best and downloading the blessing of God into your life. So let's get through it. Five common mistakes in prayer. Number one, and this one's a huge one, and I'm not sure, David, if you've witnessed this as much, probably more than I have, because you've been in the ministry way longer than I have, but people that don't pray in the name of Jesus, not praying in the name of Jesus is a critical error in prayer. I have no idea why there are actual ministers that I've heard pray. And when they finish their prayer, they don't say in Jesus' name, they'll say in thy name, or they'll say something else like, I don't know, they just don't finish it with the name of Jesus. And I'm like, who, is there a gun to your head that you can't say the name? Just say the name. There's magnanimous power that's loaded in that name. John 16, verses 23 and 24, and I'm going to read this from the New King James Version. This is Jesus speaking, some of his final words before he went to the cross. John 16, verses 23 and 24, Jesus said this, in that day, and it's important to note, if you highlight in your Bible, I would highlight in that day, because that's very important. In that day, you'll ask me for nothing. So the Bible doesn't say you're going to go to Jesus and ask him for things. He said, you don't ask me, Jesus never taught his disciples to ask him for things. He said, in that day, you're not going to ask me for anything. Now it's not to say we can't talk to Jesus, tell him you love him, worship him, tell him how grateful you are for what he did at Calvary and worship him. But the Bible says, when you're praying the prayer of request, you're not asking Jesus. It says, in that day, you're not going to ask me anything. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Until now, you've asked nothing in my name. Every time they wanted something, they just went to Jesus. Jesus, we need this. Jesus and he would provide the miracle. But he said until now, you've not asked the Father anything. You've come to me, but ask in my name and you will receive that your joy may be made full. I told you to highlight in that day because that day that Jesus was referring to was the day when he would go to that cross, be crucified, laid in that tomb three days, rise again, and then ascend to the Father. The Bible says, he presented himself not with the blood of goats or the blood of bulls, but by his own blood through the eternal spirit, he presented himself to God and has obtained eternal redemption for all. And so that's the day Jesus was referring to. When I sat down, when I sit down at the right hand of the Father, I'm now going to give you my name, that when you pray, it's as though I were doing the praying. God will look on you clothed with me as though the request itself came from me. Jesus gave us the legal right and authority to use his name in prayer. So we're not praying to Jesus. We're praying to the Father in the name of Jesus. And Jesus knew everything this meant when he promised this in John chapter 16. He knew the depth of what that meant that he was literally handing his disciples a blank check endorsed with his name, that you can fill in that check with anything in the Word of God. God would not promise something in his Word if it wasn't his desire to fulfill it in your life. When he said, you can use my name in prayer. Say that again, my friend. God would not promise anything in his Word if it wasn't his desire to fulfill that thing in your life. Jesus said every idle Word will be judged in the day of judgment. So the Word of God is not idle talk. It's not given for the time magazine that you read in your dentist's appointment in the dentist's office before you get your teeth checked. This is a living Word. The Bible says, the Word of the Lord that is forever established in the heavens, but it's no good if it's just established in heavens. We want it to be established on the earth. That's why Jesus said that when you pray, you should pray that the will of my Father in heaven be brought down to the earth. That's what prayer does. Prayer is like a violent forceful pulling down of heaven's resources onto the earth to produce supernatural manifestations everywhere you go. And so it's actually a risk to not pray. It's actually dangerous to not pray because, you know, David, the worst time of his life happened in a time where the Bible says when kings went to war and prayer is like spiritual warfare, when kings went to war, David stayed at home and that's when the enemy came in and temptation came in and all the problems came in and the Bathsheba sin happened and David experienced calamity after calamity as a result of it. The Bible says in Matthew 13, the parable of the people that went out to sow good seeds, but at night time men slept and the enemy came in and sowed tears amongst the wheat and they said, who has done this? Jesus said it was an enemy that did this because you were asleep. The disciples were sleeping and get so many. He said, are you still sleeping? Wake up, wake up and arise. For the flesh is weak, the spirit is willing, but if you'll pray always, you won't fall into the temptation of the flesh and fall victim to Satan. Rather, you'll have victory over Satan. You'll share in my victory, you'll share in my triumph, you'll share in all that I've done in putting Satan under my feet. So the Bible says in that day, you don't have to come to me and ask me anything. You can ask the Father. We approach the Father on the basis of the name of Jesus. You don't get your prayers answered because you were nice this week. You don't get your prayers answered because you gave a little more in the offering last night. You don't get your prayers offering because you helped that old lady cross the road who was on a wheelchair and she was struggling a little bit. Those are nice things to do and we help. We do all that, but we receive favor with God in prayer when we utilize that name. I love to tell the story of Smith Wigglesworth. He went to a house on a house call and there was a lady that was dying and her husband was going to be a widower and she was, you know, doctors had already signed her off. She was going home to be with Jesus. So he brought a man with him to pray for her, for her recovery, her healing. And so he allowed the man to pray first and the man came in and said, oh Lord, we just pray right now. You would just be with this poor widower for in the coming moments. We know that he'll be, you know, just totally prayer of unbelief. Had no expectation that God would raise her up from the sick bed. Just God be with him as he deals with loss in the coming days and all that. Wigglesworth, he just got so irritated in his spirit. He lashed down. He said, stop praying like that. He just, he couldn't hold it in and I know what he feels because I've been in situations like that where you just want to like throw a hymnal at the preacher or something. But anyways, I went, Smith Wigglesworth said, stop praying and he took over and he just started, he prayed healing. He prayed, God, I thank you for the stripes of Jesus that produce healing for your people. We lose healing into our body. And then he just started to say the name Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He started to sing the name Jesus and all of a sudden as he started to sing about that name and just repeating the name of Jesus, the power of God hit that place. Everyone in the room fell under the power of God. They were all prostrate with their faces down because they felt Jesus walk into the room. The lady stood like her back came back, came right up out of her coma and she saw Jesus. She said, I see him at the foot of my bed and Jesus just lifted her up and she got healed. She walked out totally restored. That's the power that's loaded in that name. It's not about eloquence. It's not about great grammar. It's not about Shakespearean articulation. It's about using that name. That's what incures God's favor. That's what secures answers to prayer. The Bible says Ephesians 5, in everything we are to give thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Charles Finney, who was one of the guys of, I don't know if it was a first or second great awakening, but he has this quote that I love. He said in reference to speaking about the name of Jesus in prayer, he said, God has made a promise to answer prayer in that name. And he said, when I would pray, I would tell God I cannot and I will not be denied. A lot of people see that as arrogance. They see it as, you know, this guy is being a little prideful. How can you talk to God that way? But Charles Finney ushered in a great awakening. Charles Finney had supernatural manifestations in his meeting. So obviously there was something to that. He understood and Charles Finney was a lawyer by the way. So he understood the power of attorney. And when Jesus gave us the name, he gave us power of attorney. Power of attorney is literally to stand in the legal standpoint of another, as if that person were there, as if, as if that person were there in your stead. So when Jesus said, use my name, that means when we come before the Father in the name, it's as if Jesus were doing the praying. Charles Finney understood that as a lawyer, that when I pray in the name of Jesus, I cannot and I will not be denied because Jesus said, Father, I thank you that you always hear me. I thank Jesus was never denied answered prayer. And I said, Father, I thank you that you always hear me. And in 1st John 5 and 14, it says, beloved, we have this confidence before the Father that if we ask anything in that name, and if it be in his will, he hears us. And if we have the will, if we know that we pray according to his will, then we know that we have the requests of which we asked. Now, now, TJ, I think so many believers miss exactly what you're teaching here right now. This is something that is not necessarily commonly taught because there is so much negative stigma that has come with the abuses of this particular doctrine. Yes, people have abused this, kind of like the name it, claim it, blab it, grab it type of thing. We're not talking about praying with power to get God to do your will. We're talking about being in Jesus, aligning yourself with who he is, his ways, his will, and God will accomplish his will in the earth through us. So this is something that is quite deep in the spiritual dynamic because what you're actually doing when you're praying, it's not, as you were saying, the phonetic pronunciation of the name of Jesus. It's a legal standing in his position. I am in Christ, I'm in his position, and that was part of the great exchange at the cross, that when he died and gave his life for you, when God looks at the cross, he sees your sin. When he looks at you, he sees his son, he sees his son's accomplishments, he sees his son's nature, he sees his son's righteousness, and therefore, when I align myself with that will, when I align myself with the nature of Christ, because it's not just saying in the name of Jesus, anyone could do that, we know in Matthew 7, that many will say, Lord, Lord, so it's not just pronouncing it with your voice. That's not what we're saying here. We're talking about this heavenly alignment with the will and the way of God. Putting yourself in Christ and therefore stepping into that authority, yes, speak it out because we're not ashamed of that name, and as TJ was mentioning earlier, there are some people who will not say the name of Jesus because they're afraid someone might sue them. You know, someone might get offended, someone might be bothered at the fact that they're being so exclusively devoted to that one name, but this has to do with aligning yourself with heavenly authority. I love that powerful key, which is actually the counter to that first mistake is not praying in the name of Jesus. Yeah, absolutely, which actually leads me into the prayer mistake number two, which would be not tying the Word of God to your prayers, not connecting God's Word to your request. I always say this, this is a great prayer tip. Before you ask God for anything, build a case from the Word of God, like a good lawyer would do. Do you have sufficient, ask yourself this, do I have sufficient evidence from scripture that backs up what I'm praying for? If not, you have absolutely no business praying for it, but if so, if yes, you have zero business doubting God's integrity to answer it and bring it to pass, you have to connect the Word of God. I quoted it before first on 514. We have this confidence. So where's our confidence that if we ask anything according to his will, well, where is God's will known in God's Word? Faith does not go beyond the known will of God. Faith begins where the will of God is known. And the Bible says without faith, it's impossible to please God. You can't pray without faith. I mean, you could pray without faith, but you ain't going to secure results. You're just speaking into the air. But in order for you to have faith in your prayers, there has to be a foundation on which your faith stands. That foundation is not desire alone. That foundation is not, is not desperation alone. That foundation is the Word of God. It is important. And if you study the great prayers of the Bible, you actually find out that the results they enjoyed were directly influenced based on the structure of their prayer. Their prayers were loaded with God's Word. Take, for example, Daniel chapter nine. Daniel is praying that Israel be liberated from Babylonian captivity. What was Daniel's prayer? The Bible says in Daniel nine that I Daniel understood by books in reading the prophet Jeremiah that the time of captivity was to be 70 years. Daniel's prayers literally set a prophecy in motion that allowed for the Israelites to flee Babylonian captivity. However, the success of his prayers was rooted in Jeremiah's word, Jeremiah's prophecy. He had a word he was standing on. If you don't have a word that you're standing on, you will literally be like the wayside. The enemy can come and snatch away anything. You'll be like the shallow ground. If you don't have the actual word in your heart, anything, doubts, naysayers, people that just rise up and think you're crazy for what you're praying, believing God for that, I can't, you know, all of that is going to influence your feelings. That's where we get roller coaster Christians. You know, I pray for this. They get, you know, they go into a revival meeting, they feel good. But then the next week they, they're back into like, I don't know if God's going to do that because their prayers are based on hope and wishful thinking. When if you'll just find out God's word on the matter, you'll have a strong, you know, Jesus said, he that builds his life on my word is like a man who built his house upon a rock and the winds will come. The winds, the waves will beat against the house, but it won't fall. You won't be the unstable Christian that is just tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Well, I don't know if it's God's will. I know you want to know God's will, read his word. His word is his will made simple. You want to know God's will? Look at Jesus. Jesus was the, the exact representation of the nature of God. Hebrews one three. So what you saw Jesus do and Jesus was the word made flesh by the way. So the word of God, Jesus was the word of God walking and roaming the earth, doing everything that he did. So if you want to know God's will, you look at Jesus, you're looking for healing tonight. You don't have to wonder whether God wants to heal you. You can locate an Exodus 1526 that if you'll diligently harken into my word, I will not allow any of the diseases to come on you, which have come upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that healeth thee. Are you looking for healing tonight? You can turn over to Exodus 23 and 25. It says, if you'll serve the Lord your God, he'll bless your bread in your water and he'll take sickness out of the midst of you. Isaiah 53. This is the scripture I stood on when I got healed instantaneously and miraculously. I was listening to a preacher talk about Isaiah 53. I never read that in the Bible my entire life. It says that he not only took my sin, he bore my sicknesses and carried my pains. Well, if he bore them, I don't have to bear them anymore. And so now in approaching God in praying specifically for your healing, you're not just going in hoping something happens, but you're not really sure if he wants to do it or not. You have his word. You can say, look, Isaiah 43.26 put me in remembrance of my word. That's what God spoke through Isaiah. Bring forth your strong case from my word so that you can be acquitted. You have to see prayer is almost like a courtroom. Jesus actually said in Luke 18, he likened it to a courtroom. There was a persistent widow who came before an unjust judge. Give me justice for my adversary. Give me justice for my adversary. And the unjust judge said, though I don't care about God and I don't care about people yet because of this widow's persistence, I'm going to give her justice lest she weary me out. Jesus said here with the unjust judge said, and shall not the God of all the earth, the judge of all the earth shall he not avenge his own elect who call him day and night, and he will not bear along with them. I tell you the truth. He will answer them speedily. Oh, hallelujah. There is a way to have expedited prayers delivered into your home, delivered into your finances, delivered into your body. But it begins with knowing the will of God if I always tell people with whatever you do, start with why. Start with why. It's good to know the what. We have to pray. Great. We have a lot of preachers. You got to pray. You got to pray. How many of you know prayer is important? Great. We understand that. Fewer people know how to pray. That's why we're going through this. But very few people unfortunately know the why, the why, why, why, why do I, why do I even pray this? Why can I even pray this? When you start with the why in that God, the why in this case is that God has said I can have it. It's part of my inheritance. Then when the enemy tries to tamper with your mind and so unbelief and so doubtful thoughts and try and mess with your mind and your mental faculties, you can cast down that thought, take it in captivity and you can point just like Jesus did. The enemy came to Jesus. Hey, if you're the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Jesus started with the why. He went back to the written word. He said, devil, it is written. If you don't know what is written, you'll fall for anything and your prayer life will be a total mess. You'll have a happy day one day and then the next day you'll collapse. You'll collapse, nervous breakdown because you're not sure if God's going to do it. But when you have the why as to why you're praying for what you're praying for and you know because it is written and the Bible says God is not a man that he should lie, nor is he the Son of man that he should change his mind. Has he not said it? Will he not do it? Has he not declared it and shall he not bring it to pass when you understand that? Good luck to any devil in hell that would try to discourage you. You can just point him back to the Word. You just remind him. Just remind him. It is written. It is written. It is written. You're believing God for a spouse tonight? Maybe you've tried many years asking God, I need a wife, I need a husband, whatever, and you're frustrated because God hasn't done it and you're wondering. I don't know. Maybe God doesn't want me to be married. Well, that's, you don't know the word on it. Proverbs 18-22 says he that finds a wife or a spouse in this case finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. That's one scripture. Tie a second scripture to it. The Bible says in Psalm 8411 that no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. So if you find a spouse, you find a good thing the Bible says and obtains favor from the Lord. Psalm 8411 says no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. And then number three says what God has brought together let no man put asunder. So you have three scriptures now. God brings it together. Marriage is a good thing and God doesn't withhold good things from me. Three scriptures now that you can stand on to break free into your marital destiny for cheap. You're believing God for financial overflow, financial increase. And you're wondering how I just feel like I'm putting my paychecks into a basket filled with holes. Oh, you can stand on the word Deuteronomy 28 says that if you'll serve the Lord your God, he'll bless your kneading bowl and your basket. He'll, he will fill your storehouses with grain. He'll give you not where you're scraping the bottom of the barrel. You'll run from the overflow. Then you tie that in with Proverbs 10-22. The blessing of the Lord makes a man rich and adds no sorrow to it. Then you move on to Philippians 419 that my God will supply all my needs according to his riches and his glory. So now you see what the Word of God does? You have evidence now that you can bring before God and say, Lord, I remind you of your covenant. That's what Nehemiah did. Nehemiah started his prayer, Nehemiah won. Lord, remember your covenant and that's why God acted. You know, as you begin to talk about these promises mentioned in the Word of God, I'm reminded of something the Holy Spirit showed me. And that's the simple truth. If the Word promises it, you can pray it. If the Word promises it, you can pray it. It's in, as we've been talking about, aligning yourself with the will of God. It's causing those things in creation, those stubborn broken pieces to be pooled into perfect alignment and wholeness under the authority of Christ in you. The Word of God has that pathway. The Word of God shows us those promises available to us. God would not have promised it if it wasn't something you could pray. We are to always pray the will of God and the will of God, as T.J. is saying, is revealed in the Word. Now you said something, T.J., toward the beginning of this point that just stuck out in my mind. You talked about how it's not necessarily desperation that causes God to respond to our prayers, but our faith in his Word that causes God to respond to the prayers. And it's not as if God is in heaven looking down over the balconies of heavenly places and saying, wow, you didn't quote the scripture correctly, so I'm going to withhold good things for you. No, it's that he has given to us authority in the earth. This is what so few believers understand. And I don't say that to condescend to anyone because there was a point where I didn't understand it. And that is that God has given man dominion in the earth. God has given to his church dominion. And so when God chooses to work in the earth, he chooses by his own power, by his own will. This is just how he's decided to do it. He chooses to work in partnership with you and I. And in partnering with you and I, he works through our praying of his will. That's why he chose us to pray, God's will be done in earth as it is in heaven. So you're talking, you were talking about desperation. Now many believers will come to the Lord and imagine that the more emotional that they are, the more exhausted that they are, the more they suffer, that the more likely it is that God is going to respond to their prayers in a positive way. But this isn't the case. Desperation is a great initiator, but it's a terrible sustainer. What do I mean by that? I mean that desperation is good to bring you out of a bad place and into a God place. Desperation is good if someone is addicted to drugs or an alcoholic or maybe they have some sinful habit that they can't break. Desperation is good if a Christian is neglecting prayer, neglecting the word, neglecting worship. And then they come to this place of brokenness and they say and they realize, wow, I really need the Lord at this point. And so then they desperately come. But here's the thing about desperation. I can't be desperate for something I have. I can't be desperate for something that I already possess. I can't be desperate for something that I lack. It's the difference between hunger and starvation, desire and desperation. Desire is good. Desperation is worked up out of the flesh. And when you pray in desperation, you're not praying in the spirit. You're praying in the flesh. So desperation has its place. Every testimony I've ever heard began with desperation. But if I am desperate, it means I'm lacking something. If I am desperate, it means that I brought myself to a place of desperation by poor choices. Now, not in every case is this how it plays out exactly, because we all experience tragedies that might make us emotionally desperate. But still, this idea of relying upon that lifestyle of desperation has almost become like another element of spirituality. You've got to be desperate. And I get that. I get that, because I think of people in Scripture like Hannah, they were desperate. I think of Jairus, he was desperate. So they were in a bind, where desperation is a great initiator for certain things, or desperation might be an occasional thing. A lifestyle of desperation is a lifestyle of lack and a lifestyle of neglect of the word. Yeah. That's powerful. That's very powerful. Yeah, yeah. Desperation has its place. Like you said, Hannah poured out her soul before the Lord. And Eli thought she was drunk. But even Hannah was standing on the word of God. Because the word says that there will be none barring amongst all your people. She was barring. So she had a promise. She had a promise. And so that is, and this is where the problem lies mostly, I can only speak for Western Christians and stuff, the biblical illiteracy that many Christians in the West face is severely restricting the potentiality that prayer can bring to a person's life. It is restricting. It's limiting. You're, it's funny because people can like memorize everything. They memorize the doctor's report. They can memorize their financial report. They can memorize, you know, how many touchdowns Tom Brady scored last year. They can memorize anything. But when it comes to picking up the word to memorize the word, that's why it's the sword of the spirit. Because you're thoroughly equipped now to pray kingdom advancing prayers. So that no matter what comes your way, you're not like, oh, we mentally break down every time. You know, this isn't part of my heritage. It ain't going to last long. Weeping will endure for the night, but joy is coming in the morning because God's going to turn my God's going to turn it for me. So number three, or number two, rather, common mistake to prayer would be failure to have an evidence that God will answer your prayer from the word of God. I'm going to move to common mistake number three. And this is important. This is actually just for our viewers sake. Just for our viewers sake. Let me just recap real quick. So number one, the common mistake made in prayer is not praying in the name of Jesus. Number two is not finding that evidence based in the word correctly or not tying your prayers to the word. Yeah. Okay. And then number three, number three, which is foundational for everything in Christianity is not living holy. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's the beginning of everything that Christianity has to offer including access to God. Psalm 66 18 says, if I had regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear me. That's not the book of TJ or the book of David. That is the book of Psalms. That is David by the spirit, penning those words. If I regarded, if I tried to cover up sin in my heart, the Lord would not hear me. Hear this. What Isaiah speaks in Isaiah chapter 59 Isaiah 59 and beginning with verse one, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. So it's not the problem you're facing right now is not being not solved because God's hand can't handle the matter. That's what Isaiah is saying. His hand's not shortened that it can't save. He's not weakened that he can't help you, nor is his ear heavy that he cannot hear. But your own iniquities, your own sins have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear your hands are defiled with blood, your finger fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity. The Bible says in John 15 and verse, I think it's verse seven, it says, If you abide in me and my word abides in your heart, you know, David said, How can a young man keep his way clean by keeping it according to your word? Jesus said, When his word abides in your heart and you have his commandments and keep his commandments, you're doing those things that are befitting of holiness. Jesus said, Then you will ask what things so ever you desire and you shall have them. In third John chapter three, the scripture just popped into my spirit. Third, not third John, first John chapter three, first John chapter three. And I think it's in verse 21. Yes, verse 21. First John chapter three and verse 21, Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence towards God. And whatever we ask, we receive from him. Why? Because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. So our confidence that God's going to answer our prayers is rooted in the name of Jesus, in that we have a foundation from his word. But also because I keep his commandments and I do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Psalm 91 says, He that dwells in the shelter of the most high, will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And if you skip to the end of Psalm 91, the whole of all of Psalm 91 promises hangs on the end of Psalm 91, the last two verses, where it says because, just as God speaking, because he has said his love on me, I will set him securely on high. When he calls unto me, I will answer him and deliver him from trouble, from trouble, meaning there will be an unhindered line of communication from you to God because he has set his love on God. When you set your love, and remember Jesus said it's the definition of love is if you have my commandments and you keep them, you're the one that loves me. And whoever loves me, I will manifest myself to him. I'll manifest myself in power. I'll manifest myself in healing. I'll manifest myself in my fullness. Matthew chapter three, you know, this is where a lot of people get, they kind of get turned off to when preachers start to talk about holiness and keeping the commandments of God because they say how is that possible? I've been taught my whole life that sin is a reality that I'm going to have to live with the rest of my life. So if I can't break free from sin, how am I ever to have answers to prayer? First of all, if you try to live a holy life in your own flesh and in your own strength and energy, it's your, you've already embarked on a mission that's prone to failure. The Bible says that we are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Romans chapter six, one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible outlines the believers dominion over sin. Any preacher that tells you you have to sin, cancel them. Don't listen to them. Any preacher that tells you that there's no hope against sin and your battle against sin, just click out, X out their broadcast because there's nothing good, nothing else that they'll say that's good. The Bible says in Romans six that we have been freed from sin. I mean, if you know, you know, we sin every day and there's nothing we can do about it. The Bible says very clearly that we no longer sin, no longer has dominion over us, that we have dominion over sin. The Bible says that we no longer have to present our bodies as instruments to sin, but we have the Holy Ghost in us who empowers us to present our bodies as instruments for righteousness. Now I'm not saying you're never going to make another mistake ever, ever again and you're just going to live perfectly the rest of your life. I'm saying you have power by the Holy Ghost to keep to the path of perfection and keep to the highway of holiness. If you step out for a second, the Holy Ghost will convict you, you can get right back on and you can keep on running the race that is set before you. The Bible says, you know, Paul said it, I have not apprehended perfection yet, but he said this one thing I do. I certainly don't reminisce on my past mistakes. I certainly don't remember what I've done. I certainly don't marinate in all the mistakes of my past and just scold myself over them and and soak in sorrow as to what I've done. The devil wants nothing more than for you to do that to sorrow and condemnation as to your past. David Diga, I heard you say this a while back and I stole it and I use it all the time now, but I've quoted you a few times on it. But David, you said that condemnation says that you are a mistake. Conviction says you've made a mistake, but here's the way out. Here's the way out. So the devil wants nothing more than to you to soak in condemnation. I'm a mistake. I'll never get out of this. I'll never break free from this. I'm destined to live this way the rest of my life. I'm a failure. I'm defeated. I'm a mistake. Why did I, God will never love me. That's condemnation. That type of thought. You remember, I just read in first John three, it says, brethren, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have such confidence before God. Paul said, Paul, who by the way was no saint before he came to Christ, a brutal murderer of the church of Jesus Christ, a persecuted, a vehement violent persecutor of Christians, that Paul said, I forget those things which are behind. And this one thing I do, I put my hand to the plow of holiness and I press and I press on to the high prize of the calling in Christ Jesus. Paul actually writes later on. So there's two levels to this. I talked about how a prayer mistake is not living holy, but I'm going to do like a little sub point to this. Those of you who do strive for holiness, those of you who've yielded yourself to the Holy Ghost to live a life pleasing to God, but you still have thoughts of inferiority, thoughts of condemnation, thoughts of guilt. That is going to keep you from effectively communicating with the Father in boldness. You know, the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 19, that the blood of Jesus has purchased for us eternal redemption and therefore we should draw near with a true assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled by the blood in our bodies washed with the water of the word. We should draw near to God with a true assurance of faith. So if you've put sin out of your life and you're striving to live holy and you've repented and you've turned to Christ and you understand that he who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, then you have to break free from thinking on the thoughts of what you've done in your past because if you connect your thought life to that, you're going to constantly be dwelling in that condemning state and it's going to bar you from accessing God's presence boldly and confidently to access what you need. You know, I love the story in Zechariah 3. It talks about Joshua the high priest who stood before God and the Bible says that the devil Satan was accusing him day and night before God and God said, shut up Satan. Is this not my brand that's been plucked from the fire? And then he said to the angel, take off his dirty garments, which represents our state, our unredeemed nature. Take off his dirty garments, take off his dirty turban, put on him a clean white garment, a clean white turban, which represents our clothing in Christ. For he who was lost has been found. You have to see yourself that way. Your perspective of who you are matters. If you see yourself as how many of you know we're sinners saved by grace, I don't believe that line. I think we were sinners. We've been saved by grace. Now we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The Bible says above reproach holy and spotless in his sight. The scripture says we are now a royal priesthood, a chosen generation, God's very own special possession who've been called out of darkness. I'm not in darkness any longer. I'm called out of darkness. I'm not a sinner. I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. That's just the reality of things. And when you start to see yourself that way, you enter into the position, you now you start to have awareness of your sonship where you can actually, you know, there's no more condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus because we have been bought with the price, the high price of the blood of Jesus Christ. And the Bible says as many as receive Jesus to them gave you power to become children of God. I'm a child of God. I'm a son of God. No child, at least if they have a good father, no child should approach their father, you know, timidly. God, I know I'm a wreck. I know I'm just, you know, a royal mistake. I've, I don't do anything right. I know that I sin every day. I know that I'm still, I know I'm still dirty in your sight. You know, I would tell my son, Jude, I said, whatever gave you that impression. I love you. You're my son. Ask whatever you need. I'll give it to you. You're my heir. You everything I have belongs to you. When you understand your righteousness in Christ Jesus that's been imputed to you through the cross, that's the mind you put on. And that's where that boldness comes in prayer. And you know, it's so interesting that you even touch on this because this is just something that I've been touching on recently as well from a slightly different angle. But I think it's the same source of the problem. You're saying one of the biggest mistakes that people can make when it comes to prayer is living an unholy lifestyle. It's not that sin keeps God from hearing you. It's that sin keeps you from being able to listen and speak and approach Him. You see that communication, it's not as if God abandons you when you make a mistake. The Holy Spirit is more patient than we are sinful. Thank God. But see what begins to happen in us when we start to live lifestyles of sin or habitual wrongdoing or a violation of God's Holy standard, then we begin to internalize that issue and we begin to identify with that sin. You see the reason some people don't pray is because they view God as this angry individual who wants nothing to do with them and wants to condemn them. And this is why he sent his son, that we might not walk in that condemnation but be freed from sin. So here's what happens. Someone starts to sin. They run into a cycle of habitual sinning again and again and again. They do these things that are not according to God's Holy standard. Then they get it in their mind. Okay, because I've made this mistake, now God is distancing himself from me and we look at it like a ladder that we climb. That if I have a good day and for two-thirds of the day I was pretty holy, then I can go to God in confidence. I'm high up on that ladder and if I made too many mistakes I have to come down a little bit. And it's almost as if we think that God is keeping this record and depending upon how we perform he will decide whether or not that he helps us out. But the reality is for the believer, for those who are redeemed in Christ, it's not that prayer is disrupted because God just chooses to not hear us. It's that prayer is disrupted because it corrupts your mindset, because it destroys your faith, because it destroys your confidence. And of course there is that spiritual dynamic of there being certain things blocked because of sin. But we mustn't take this to mean that God is rooting against us. And I think it's that religious legalistic mindset that ultimately impedes our progress in prayer when we begin to live lifestyles of ungodliness. And that's why many find themselves stuck because they're not pursuing God. They're not even going to approach him because they think, well I'm too far from him to be able to have any standing in prayer. Here's the powerful thing about the grace of God. No matter how far you've gone, a single moment of repentance can bring you all the way home. It closes the gap. So it's not like you're accumulating wrongdoing and that in order to come back to that place of prayer you have to accumulate right doing. No, that blockage has cleared the moment you repent. As David wrote, had I regarded iniquity in my heart you would not have heard me. That's still very true. But God is not rooting against us and it's not this points-based system. So these are three powerful keys that you've given. And before you give key number four, which I know is going to be just as powerful, let me just encourage those watching online right now. I want everybody watching live or on the replay to leave a like right now so that we can spread this message even further. Yes, it actually matters. And if you haven't done so already, make sure you subscribe to EncounterTV for Jesus-centered Bible-based spirit-filled content. Okay, TJ, give us number four. Prayer mistake number four. So number one was not praying in the name of Jesus. Number two was not connecting the word of God to your prayer request. Number three was not living holy and engaging in a life of sin. Number four is not being specific with your request. You have to be specific. Jesus told the two blind men that came to Matthew 20, they came to him. And you know, blindness is not something that people can hide, especially in those days. It's not like they were sporting sunglasses to keep people from knowing. Everybody could see the discoloration of their eyes and everything. And when they came to Jesus saying, son of David, have mercy on me, he asked them, what do you want me to do? What would you like me to do? I told the story before of brother Shambak who used to do Tent Crusades. People would ask, they'd come up for the healing line or a prayer line and he'd ask them, what would you like me to pray for? And they said nothing in particular. So he'd lay hands on the head and say, God, give them nothing in particular. You have to have a target. It's very difficult to hit a small target. Very difficult. It's even more difficult to hit a moving target, but it's impossible to hit a target that does not exist. You have to paint a target. And that's where I say the target we have, the hope, you know, we talk about in Hebrews 11, faith and hope. Faith is the substance of things hope for. Hope is the target. Hope is the target. Hope is what paints the image of what you're expecting God to do. So without hope, without having a target, your faith is just going to shoot anywhere and hope it hits something. Hope is that target. Whereas faith, based on the word of God, is the gun we fire off to hit the target every time. So we talked about getting the word, locating the word concerning the request, but you have to have a specific target. Hannah, not only asked for a child. Hannah was so specific. She said, I want a male child. She got specific. Elijah asked for a drought and then asked for rain when he wanted rain to come. He was specific. Abraham was so numerically specific when he was interceding for Sodom. He said, if there be 50, if there be 40, if there be 30, if there be 20, he was down to the specific numbers. Solomon, when God approached him in First Kings, First Kings chapter three, and God said, anything you want, I'm going to give it to you. You have carte blanche to ask me anything. Solomon didn't say, oh Lord, whatever you want, I'll just take it. God, I'm open to receiving anything you have to. He said, God, I need wisdom. You want to be honest? I need wisdom to direct your people. And because he was specific, God was pleased with it. He said, because you didn't get all religious on me and because you didn't ask for the names of your enemy, the heads of your enemies or prosperity or riches beyond any imaginable thing, I'm going to give you exactly what you've asked for. Jesus said, ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be open for everyone who asks, receives. But there has to be a specific request. The woman with the issue of blood in approaching Jesus wasn't just like, Lord, whatever you want to do for me today, I'm going to touch your garment and receive. No, I'm putting a demand on the anointing that's in Jesus Christ. I'm putting a demand for a specific thing. I need this hemorrhage in my body that I've sought 12 years at the hands of many physicians to be ridden of and was no better. I only grew worse, but I heard about Jesus. I'm going to touch the hem of his garment with a specific request in mind. And I know that if I touch him, I shall be made well. I shall be healed. And then immediately the hemorrhage was seized and she was healed. If your prayer has no target, you will not hit anything. Young Heecho, David Young Heecho, who was a great man of God that went home to be with the Lord recently. He talks about when he was in his early days of ministry. He was believing God for a chair, an office chair he wanted, a table, and he wanted a bicycle back in South Korea in those days. South Korea was not anywhere near it was today. The gospel invaded that nation and just prospered it like crazy. It's completely different. And that's what the gospel does. The gospel, it brings increase everywhere. And so Young Heecho is, is, is believing God for this. He wanted a chair, he wanted a table, and he wanted a bicycle to go and do house visits because he was starting out his ministries, pastoral ministry. Months, nothing's happening. Months. Nobody's doing, he's not getting anything. No, not getting anywhere with his prayers. The Lord spoke to him one time when he was praying. He said, David, I know you want a chair, but you never ask me what kind of chair you want. I know you want a desk. What kind of desk do you want? And David's obviously, he wasn't theologically missing anything. He understood God knows everything and God himself knows what David Young Heecho would want, but God is so intimately acquainted with all our ways. He actually desires to hear. He wants to hear your heart. Delight yourself in the Lord. He'll give you what? Not just anything. He'll give you the desires of your heart. And so Young Heecho got rebuked by the spirit at that moment. He said, you know what? I've never done that. So he said, God, I want a mahogany desk. I want an office chair that swivels so I can be one of those like big boss executives and I can like swivel around in my chair. He literally says that in his book. And then I would like an American USA made bicycle, one that's sturdy and strong that'll last the years. Amen. Jesus name. Amen. Two weeks later, I don't know. He doesn't go into detail as to how it happened, but he had a mahogany desk in his office. He had an office chair that he was on and a missionary from the United States was going back home after he had finished his term and had his bicycle that he was using that was imported from the USA. And he said, I'm not going to bring it back on the plane with me. Would you like to have it? He had all three down to the nitty gritty. God answered his specific prayer requests being specific. Tell God what you want. Ask God, what is it that you want? What is it? There's a lot of people that say, are there any unspoken prayer requests? I don't understand that. I don't understand that the very nature of prayer requires, especially when we're talking about the prayer of request to speak. Philippians four six says you're not to be anxious for anything. Instead of fretting and worrying and losing hair over the situation, keeping your requests unspoken. Paul says, don't be anxious about anything. But whenever something sets itself against you, here's the proper spiritual response in everything by prayer, supplication, along with Thanksgiving, make your requests known to God, make your requests known to God. But God surely knows everything. Yes, but God, it is infinite wisdom desires to hear from you because when you pray and get specific, it is a demonstration of faith. It's an expression. That's you turning your faith loose to receive those things. You know, Jesus said, what things so ever you desire when you pray. And obviously we've already talked about this. We're talking about scriptural based desires. But what things so ever you desire when you pray, believe that you have received them and you will have which, which that's important too. You know, you, you ask God for a specific thing. Once you've asked him for it, the next time you think about it, don't get anxious again. The next time you think about the thing you were asking God for, and you've already, you know, prayed in Jesus name and you've signed it off to him. Instead of worrying about whether God's going to do it or not, begin to thank God. Paul said, along with Thanksgiving, make your requests known to God, give God thanks. This is a huge point, a huge point because a lot of believers, they use prayer as a venting session. They use prayer as a complaining session as if like God's your therapist and you're just there to just let loose on him, trying to secure his sympathy. I'm not interested in securing God's sympathy. I want to secure his help. I want to secure his intervention. And the way to do that is surely not through complaining. If you study the scriptures, complaining never brought anything good to the Israelites and anybody else. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, neither complain or 1 Corinthians 10, neither complain as some of them complained and they were destroyed by the destroyer. When you complain, you are magna, you are multiplying your problems. David said, come, let us boast about the Lord. Let us exalt his holy name. Let us come before his presence with gladness in our heart, with shouts of joy. Enter his gates with what? Thanksgiving. Enter his courts with praise, not with complaints, not with murmuring. Enter his gates with Thanksgiving. So we're specific. We ask God for a specific thing. And then whenever we think about it afterwards, we lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting and we say, God, I thank you that you're not a man that you should lie. I thank you that you're faithful and true. I thank you that you hold the key of David and you can open the necessary doors required for me to acquire this thing. I thank you that your word says that the heavens will pass away and the earth will pass away, but your word stands forever. And I have a solid foundation because of your word, knowing that you have spoken it and you shall surely bring it to pass. Be very specific and couple it with Thanksgiving. Number five, common prayer mistake. And I keep saying this is important, but they're all equally important. But number five is not linking your confession to your prayer. There's a lot of people that pray one thing. The moment they leave the prayer closet, they go out and I don't know if God's going to do it for me. I don't know. I don't know if God hears me. I don't know if you've totally negated the effect of your prayer by the confession you held to after you prayed. What you say after you pray matters just as much as what you say while you pray. What you say after you pray matters just as much as what you say while you pray. You need to line up your confession with what you prayed for. If you're believing God for healing, someone comes and says, Hey, you don't look good today. I know you don't look good. You should just see. Man, if I had a book to write on how I feel, you know, like people just love talking about their problems and their songs. Speak the word of God. You can never go wrong quoting God's word. You can never go wrong quoting God's word. You'll never be an error as you speak the word of God. Well, brother, the fact is I still feel pain in my body. Sure. I'm sure you still feel pain in your body. It may be factually correct, but the truth is something may be a fact, but it might not be the truth of God's word and the truth of God's word trumps over the facts. You might feel something in your body, but the truth says by his stripes, I'm healed. And so I'm going to line up my word with what the word of God says. Many pray for something and then the moment they think about it, where he settles in and they rattle off their mouth. When you order a package on Amazon, do you, the next like three days it takes to arrive, do you just call everyone? You know, I ordered something, but I'm really not sure Amazon's got the integrity to actually deliver this. I think I lost my money. I don't know where we're going with this. My credit card's been charged. I lost the money. I feel like this is just a useless endeavor I've engaged in. And you know, do you do that? No, people would say, what are you doing, man? It takes three days to come. It's going to come. You've paid it. The shipping is processing. It's going to come. You don't worry about it and panic. You don't call Amazon customer service every 15 minutes questioning their motives and whether they're really carrying the integrity to fulfill the order. You rejoice because you know your AirPods are on the way. You know your new flat screen TVs on the way. You rejoice. You tell everyone you call your friends, Hey, I've got a TV coming from Amazon. I just ordered a 75 inch. Aren't you happy? Come we'll have Super Bowl Sunday at my house this year. You know, that's what you do because you have expectation and your expectation is what's going to set the pace for your confession. That's the litmus test to what you actually expect God to do. What you are saying, many believers often misunderstand and mix in with, say, like some of the new age types teaching, right? And then the heresy hunters come along and say things like, well, you know, that's word of faith. That's name it, claim it, blab it, grab it. But what we're talking about here and why this works has nothing to do with this magical incantation or, you know, this superstitious ideology. And like TJ said, you don't deny reality. You know, it's not, it's not like we say, Hey, stop taking the treatment because, you know, that's a lack of faith. That would be, that would be, that would be foolish Jesus himself endorsed medical professions through way of his parables. But, you know, the reason this works is precisely because when you worry, that's your flesh praying. Worry is how your flesh prays. That's right. And when you worry and when you speak aloud those words of doubt, it's not that, you know, when I speak it on that sound wave, there's this curse that affects my entire life. No, no, it's that when you speak that you hear it. And when you speak those things, you're regurgitating that right back into your mind. So when you speak doubt, you're killing your own faith. Again, this is not like a hocus pocus thing that we're talking about where, you know, you say the magic words and you'll get what you want. This is a biblically grounded principle that has to do with expressing, not just with your thoughts and your actions, but also with your words, the faith that aligns with what God's word says. And so I think this is a very important point that you're covering. Absolutely. Yeah. The power of that your words carry is literally all over the Bible. It talks about the power of the word and, you know, the power in the tongue, the power of life and death is in the tongue and they that love it shall eat of its fruit. You know, the Bible says a man's mouth is like a production plant. The scripture says by the fruit of a man's mouth, shall he be satisfied? And by the produce of his lips, he shall be filled. The scripture says in Proverbs chapter six that it's a man's tongue that snares his life. You know, so this is literally, you could see, I mean, Zechariah. Zechariah hears from the angel after he's praying. Perfect example of changing your confession after you pray to something else that negates your prayer because you've totally like it just proves you can, you know, Jesus said, if you have faith, you will say to the mountain, be thou approved and cast into the sea and you will have what you say, whether good or bad. That's a scriptural principle. And no matter what people have done to abuse it and people have done to put like take advantage of certain people on that or whatever, create heresies around it, no matter what they've done, it does negate the fact that the there is a scriptural principle here that's raised throughout the entire scripture. Zechariah is praying in the temple in Luke chapter one. An angel called Gabriel comes to him and says, Zechariah, your wife shall have a child. You know what he said? How can that be? She's such an old woman. There's no way she's going to have a child. You know what Gabriel said? I'm Gabriel. I stand in the very presence of God. I've been sent to speak this to you. And because you did not believe, he said, you will not be able to speak for a time. You will not be able to speak until the time of fulfillment comes. The angel zipped up Zechariah's lips because if you would have just kept on mouthing off and just rattling off whatever his unbelief was speaking, who knows what would have happened. You know, you look at Elijah, prays for rain, sends out his servant. The servant comes back. There's nothing there, Elijah. We should probably pack up our bags and go. What did Elijah do? Oh, you know, I guess, I guess sometimes we just got to believe God works in mysterious ways. No, he prayed. He said, go and check again. He went back seven times. He checked. He said, well, Elijah, I know we've been praying for rain. We didn't quite get rain, but we have a cloud that's coming out of the seas the size of a man's hand. It's not much to look at, but I mean it's something. Elijah, you know what his word was? First Kings chapter 18 and verse 44, they came to pass the seventh time that he said there is a cloud, a small as a man's hand rising out of the sea. So Elijah said, go up and say to Ahab, prepare your chariot, go down before the rain stops you. I mean that that was expectation. That Elijah wasn't believing for a little mist to come from the sky. Elijah was believing for a flood, a rainstorm go down before the rain stops your chariot and the months too thick that your wheels get caught up. Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind and there was a heavy rain. In verse 41, Elijah said to Ahab, go up and eat and drink for there is the sound of an abundance of rain. Elijah, Ahab must have been like, what is this guy hearing? Did he come off his meds? Because I don't hear anything. Elijah heard things in the spirit that allowed him to speak things out in the natural realm and it shifted things. When you read the word of God, you're hearing directly from God. And I said it before, you're never wrong when you quote God, even if there's not a cloud in sight, you've prayed for rain. You can start saying, I hear the sound of an abundance of rain. I see God moving on my family. I see my children coming back home to the Lord. I see my body being healed. I see my finances restored. I see that depression leaving. I see that anxiety breaking. I see that fear evaporating. I see that's what David said. I would have lost heart had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. This is where faith comes in. It's easy. I love what you said, David. That worry is the flesh praying. It's literally the flesh working itself up and you're just vocalizing the influence of the flesh. But when you yield to the spirit and the spirit of faith, you start to speak a different report. Contrary to what you see in David's day coming out against Goliath, Goliath, the Israelites saw a giant. The Israelites saw an impossibility. David saw victory. He was opportunistic. That's what faith does. It makes you an opportunistic person. It allows you to see things that other people can't see. That's what the two spies went to spy on Cain and they came back and brought a good report. Hey, we can by all means take possession. The 10 spies said, we'll never be able. The giants are too big. The two spies said, no, God's on our side. We can get it done. This right here, I'm telling you, I sent such a strong anointing on what you're saying right in this moment. What I want you to do, because I'm looking at the comments coming in on all the different platforms we're on here, what I want you to do right now, we're going to pray. And I want you to begin to write your prayer requests. Even if you watched this on the replay, write your prayer requests right now in the comment section, because not only am I going to see some of them, not only will TJ see some of them, but thousands of believers from all around the world are going to see these prayer requests. I think as we've been talking about prayer, now is the time to pray. I sense that. I really do. As you were talking about seeing, seeing, seeing, there was a heavy weight of the anointing that I sensed on that. Tim, we're going to move now to the prayer portion, please. And I want everyone online begin to write your comments in the comment section right now. There is such a strong anointing here. I'm looking at marriage restoration. I'm seeing people praying for healing. I'm seeing people praying, praying for their family, healing for eyes. Such a strong anointing right now. I want to hear God's voice again, somebody says, salvation for my family, salvation for my family, praying for a job, health. These are things we believe that God can touch in your life. I truly believe that. I truly believe that. So TJ, would you take this moment right now to just stretch your hands toward that camera? You're going to pray that I'm going to pray. And I don't want you to log off you watching live or even on the replay. Usually at the prayer time, we say, okay, it's done. I'm going to exit out. No, no, no. The Holy Spirit wants to speak to you so much more. Don't go anywhere. But TJ, why don't you begin to pray right now? Yes, Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you first and foremost that you're a prayer answering God, that you would never invite us to pray unless it was your desire to answer our prayers. You said, call unto me and I will answer you and I'll show you great and mighty things which you know not of. I pray, Father, for those that are believing God for healing, as I'm reading the comments right now, those that are believing Mary Johnson healed of tumors in Jesus name, her and anyone else that might be watching that's believing God for tumors to disintegrate in the name of Jesus Christ by the authority of the gospel and the great commission that has commissioned us as ministers to lay hands on the sick and see them recover and to minister resurrection life to the people. I minister and I loose the resurrection life of Jesus Christ into your body. I command every tumor to die and disintegrate in Jesus name. Those that are believing God for family and familial restoration and children to come home, prodigals to return, Father, I pray even as you said that it's the God of this age, Satan, that blinds the minds of them that believe not, lest they should see. We know that unbelief is just satanic entanglement. Therefore, we take authority in the name of Jesus and I connect my faith with the people believing God for immediate family members and extended family members. We take authority over any, any blinding force of the devil that would try to keep them from seeing the gospel in Jesus Christ's name, loose them and let them go that they might see and believe that they just like your word says you and your household shall be saved. Lord, you said in the book of Joshua as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. I pray those that are standing in the gap as intercessors right now, standing in the gap to rebuild the walls of righteousness in their family. I pray, oh God, I pray Lord, let this year be a year of the prodigals coming home. Let this year be a year of the prodigals as they feast on the pigs pods like he did when he lifted up his eyes and he came to a point of realization. I will go back. Let this year be a year of repentance and restoration in many families. In Jesus' name, Father, for marriages that are struggling, marriages that are being attacked and oppressed, father, marriages that are crumbling. I pray, oh God, what you have brought together, you said, let no man put asunder. Let every attempt to destroy the marriages represented in this broadcast right now. Let every attempt fail in Jesus' name. Father, I pray, give him a supernaturally healthy marriage that the husband would love the wife as Christ loves the church and that the wife would submit to the husband as the church submits to Christ in Jesus' mighty name, in the name of Jesus. For those that are believing God for the baptism, I'm seeing a lot of baptism in the Holy Ghost. I pray, Lord, Romans 8, 26, 27 says the Spirit Himself helps us in our weaknesses when we don't know what to pray, that the Holy Ghost was sent to help us to pray with groanings that can't be uttered. I pray, Father, even now, let there be all across the globe, those watching and connecting their faith, even now in this broadcast, let there be a refreshing, let there be a supernatural pouring out of the power of the Holy Ghost on those representing, those that are weary, those that are fatigued, those that are had the wind knocked out of their sails and are hanging on by a string. I pray that the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost would revitalize them right now, that their prayer lives would change forevermore. Father, that they would have a fresh wind come behind their sails. Lord, your word says the wind blows where he wishes, and you hear the sound thereof. I pray, Holy Ghost, breathe on the embers of their prayer life, O God, and spark a flame and revitalize their prayer life. Let the fire on their altar never go out. Dip them in the kerosene of thy spirit, O God. Set them ablaze that they might burn for thee. In Jesus' mighty name, in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus. Now, as we continue to pray, I want you to remember what the Scripture says. He delights in every detail of our lives. He's not overlooking you. You don't need to beg. You don't need to plead. The anointing is present right now to break every bondage, to heal every sickness, every disease. So as you continue to write your prayer requests in the comment section, I know sometimes we don't want people to see things publicly, those matters that we consider private. What you're doing is you're coming into agreement with thousands of believers all around the world. So let's believe right now as we continue to pray, Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you, Father, for the anointing that's flowing here. I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you would transform hearts, remove sickness, Lord, remove their suffering and their pain. Jesus, I thank you for the breakthrough of all sorts. Truly you delight, you delight in every detail. Thank you that we're not overlooked. Thank you that we're not overlooked. I want you to say it out loud because you agree. And as we continue in that flow, just say amen. I want to read a portion of scripture to you here. Don't, don't turn the video off. Don't turn the video off. This is usually the point where Christians will say, well, I heard a good word. I received some prayer. Now I'm, I'm ready to, to move on. Well, I want to read something to you. It's found in Matthew chapter six. And I'm going to read a verse to you, but before I do, let me just say, TJ, my friend, you, you, you did a beautiful job teaching on the five different mistakes that are commonly made by believers when they pray. So will you, will you stick around for, for some of the Q and A and that the chat and all that? Absolutely. Okay. So he'll be back with us in just a moment. But Matthew chapter six, verse 33, seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously. That's, that's a key component there. And he will give you everything you need when talking about the needs of this world, what to eat, where, where you'll sleep. Jesus very clearly taught that those who belong to God, you, his children have no need to worry. And that the thoughts, the worries, the concerns, the fears about material needs, those fears, those concerns, those are fears that dominate the minds of the unbeliever, not the believer. We don't grieve like the world does. We don't worry like the world does. We don't even go through economic trouble like the world does. When we face these issues, we do it differently because we belong to him. I'm going to challenge you to take your flesh, that sin nature. And I want to challenge you to subject that flesh under the spirit. I want to challenge you to take those carnal desires and to cause them to submit to the spiritual desires. And I want to challenge you to give a gift into this ministry to help us continue with these live streams, with the content that we release, with the events that we do all around the world. There should be something on the screen right now that tells you where you can go, davidhernandezministries.com, slash donate. I want to challenge you. Now I know the flesh is fighting. Well, I just logged on real quick or I just, I'm just watching from a distance. And again, this is something the majority of people who watch live streams do. They'll watch it. They'll be blessed. They'll enjoy it. And then they don't feel connected to it because it's online. But let me tell you something. This is still a spiritual connection. And I want you to fight the urge of the flesh, fight the urge of the flesh, because let me tell you what your flesh is doing right now. Your flesh is worrying. Well, some believers, this is what's happening. The flesh is worrying. Well, if I give, I might lack in my own personal finances. And in that worry, the flesh also says, well, the world is talking about financial collapse. The world is talking about inflation. The world is talking about who cares what the world is talking about. You and I belong to Jesus. I've never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread. So the flesh might be worrying. If I give, I might lack. The flesh might also be telling you, well, well, you know what you have in your bank account. Sometimes some of us are doing that right now. We're, we're picturing that number. You know what you have and you're saying, oh, I don't want to give out of that. Or maybe you're just blessed financially and still going, well, I'm going to withhold because, you know, I really, I really don't want to give. And that's, that's the flesh that withholds. That's the flesh that worries. That's the flesh that resists. I'm asking you to say yes to the voice of the Holy Spirit and no to the flesh by going right now. I need everyone to do something right now. DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash donate. Your giving keeps the ministry functioning, at least in a material sense. It helps to fund the live streams, all of the content that we release, all of the events that we host around the world. That's all donor supported people like you saying yes to the Holy Spirit and no to the flesh. Even as I talk, I see our dear friends, the Patrick family just gave. Daniel, thank you. Rachel, thank you. I also see August, thank you. And I see Reuben, God bless you. And these are all people who are giving at DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash donate. I see the gifts coming in. Thank you to Hillary. Consider also right now, if you haven't done so already, I'm asking you to sign up to become a monthly supporter. One time gifts help and monthly gifts help. We're asking you to do both. If you haven't done so already, please do sign up to become a monthly supporter. Thank you, Anita. And thank you, Lenny. And thank you also to Lillian. God bless you. These are people giving from all around the world at DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash donate. You can do that. It'll take you just a couple minutes. You can give from anywhere in the world. We take all the different currencies. And when you sign up, if you want to make it a monthly gift, just click on that monthly gift, and it'll come out automatically every month. I know that the world is pumping fear into the atmosphere, but there's no need to worry. Benjamin, thank you for your support. Jordan, Oscar, thank you for your support. Who gave at DavidHernandezMinistries.com. And we so appreciate you giving to the gospel. Now, if you truly enjoyed this message and you thought, you know, this was a, this was beautifully done. This was a great word. And I know you will love this other teaching that's available on our channel, three things I've learned about prayer. And in that teaching, I give you three very simple keys to prayer that will really transform your prayer life. And I mean major breakthrough. I know that because they worked for me. I know they'll work for you. The link is in the description. Also, those of you who are in the Austin area, this is Austin, Texas, we have weekly meetings now on Thursday nights. So Thursday, this Thursday, if you're watching this live on the 21st of June, 2022, and that means on the 23rd, we'll be gathering again. You want to be a part of that. You say, you know what, I'd like to join in on these meetings. Then I need you to go right now to davidhernandezministries.com slash Texas. And you have to sign up to either email or texting. Now, some people don't like that. They say, I just want to show up. I don't want to be on email list text. Let's just give me the address, give me the time. And I want to show up. Here's why we don't do that, because we're traveling ministry still. So as we travel around the world, there may be some instances where we have to cancel a Thursday night service here or there. And I would so dislike for you to drive three hours, an hour, half an hour, get here and then realize we were gone that week. So we only invite the people who are on this text list or this email list, but anybody can sign up for these. If you're interested in coming, that's this Thursday, we're meeting again. These have been powerful, powerful services. Go to davidhernandezministries.com slash Texas and do check our events page, davidhernandezministries.com slash events. That right there is going to give you the calendar of events that we're doing all around the world, including some of the online events that we do and also including Orange, California.