Breaking down and destroying strongholds.
CHAPTER 3
PERSONAL MOTIVATING FACTORS
There are two essential elements involved in every answered prayer: Righteousness and Faith. We have heard much in the last 40+ years about righteousness by faith, until one‘s head can feel like a bumble bees nest with all the confusion such emphasis has brought. But put very simply: Righteousness by faith means Doing Right through Faith that Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, has ALL POWER in heaven and earth to KEEP us FROM FALLING and to present us FAULTLESS before the presence of his Father‘s glory. The imputed righteousness
of Christ—that is, justification received through repentance—is granted to the believer by faith in the shed blood of Jesus. His righteousness cleanses us from all sin and gives us holy, humble ―boldness to come before the throne of grace. Hebrews 4:16. It is absolutely essential for prevailing prayer. However, personal holiness also plays a
crucial role. As Psalm 66:18 declares:“ If I regard iniquity
in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
Jesus further confirmed this principle in John 15:7:
“ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7.
In other words—Christians living in OBEDIENCE to all of God‘s Commandments get their prayers answered. Do
NOT expect to be able to pray for the salvation of a loved
one, then get up off your knees and go steal time from
your boss or look at porn while committing fornication, &
etc…Your prayers will NOT be heard!! Satan will accuse you before the Father, and he will have to say.―Objection sustained!
The second indispensable factor in answered prayer is faith. Faith operates as an unbreakable law in the spiritual realm. Jesus said: “ According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:29. If you pray for someone, yet in the back of your mind you are thinking–he/she has been in rebellion for 25 years! I really cannot see how they are going to turn around now. Unbelief is a continual threat to effective prayer. It hinders the flow of God’s answers and is often the hidden cause of spiritual stagnation. To effectively pray for the Lost, we must walk in both imputed righteousness (justification through Christ) and imparted righteousness (sanctification through obedience to all of God’s commands), as well as sincere faith that trusts God hears and answers.
Scripture confirms that God desires all to be saved: “The Lord is… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9