Is Your Prayer A Negative Confession? November 7, 2007
Posted by Han in : Prayer , trackbackYou may not realize it; sometimes your prayer is more of a negative confession than actual praying itself. What do I mean? Instead of focusing on the power of God, you dwell too much in the problem! You repeatedly “in the name prayer” meditate on it. Such negative and self-centered prayer produces nothing.
Well, do not get me wrong, you can bring your problem before God. In Ephesians 6:18, we are to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. God loves to see his children praying and God is more than ready to demonstrate His great and mighty power in every challenge that we faced.
So do you know what the problem is? The problem is you are too caught up by the ‘THE PROBLEM’. Though you are praying but you allow your mind to boil (meditate) on it for long. As a result you become very negative and pessimistic. You cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel meaning you cannot see God in problem at all!
Worse! Sometimes instead of praying for someone, you may be “cursing” that someone hoping that lightning strike or he/she falls into the drain!!! And you are binding that person in the spirit (due to anger and unforgiveness). Such prayer is not glorifying God.
Indeed many are victims of such prayer and the interesting thing is they still wonder why God does not answer their prayer. But how can God answer such a prayer? Thank God! He is wise, He will not answer those prayer originated from a negative spirit.
You need to change your mentality. Romans 12:2 tells us not to conform any longer by the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Your prayer need to be renewed. Without a renewed mind, your prayer is negative and unfruitful.
A renewed mind focuses on the power of God rather than the problem itself. You can find many signs, miracles and wonders detailed in the bible. Hand your problem to God and meditate on the great act of God. It will increase your faith. And you will see the problem getting smaller and smaller and God getting bigger and bigger.
A renewed mind does NOT harbor on the past. Let bygones by bygones. Forget about past hurts and disagreements. Do not put the person you hate in the prison of your heart. Jesus has taken all upon Himself and on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. Let’s forgive and reconcile.
A renewed mind knows how to give thanks. Prayer is not about complaining to God. You can describe your problem but do not repeat your dissatisfaction again and again. Starts to thank and praise God. Thank God for the challenges you are in. Thank God for the lesson you are about to learn. Thank God for the opportunity to experience the power of God. There is power in giving thanks.
A renewed mind understands the language of prayer. As I mentioned, some prayer are more of mumbling out negative word than positive confession. You need to learn how to use the language of prayer. Please do not get me wrong, I am not talking about some chanting or some formula but positive, mountain moving and faith-filled prayer.
For example, when praying for financial blessing, you can pray for better jobs, raises or bonuses, receiving benefits, having more sales and commission, huge settlements, estates and inheritance, interest increase on investments, rebates and returns, receiving cheques in the mail, gifts and surprises, money to be found and bills decrease while blessings increase.
How about personal blessing? You can pray for marital harmony, family unity, children saved, faithful pastor, spirit-filled church, real friendships, relatives redeemed, educational benefits, recreational time, fulfilling career, having favor with God and man, and lastly, know and be in the will of God.
By changing the language of your prayer, you are opening up for God to work great thing and it is definitely beyond your wildest imagination.
A renewed mind knows the power of confession. Do not just pray but confess the word of God. Tell yourself loudly until your spirit, soul and body agree in unity and say “amen”. It’s not “brain-washing” yourself but rather you know deep down in your heart God is going to do something great and mighty.
In conclusion, do you wonder why your prayer is not answered? Is your prayer a negative confession? Take heart, you can change the course of your prayer by renewing your mind. I am sure you are on the right track of experiencing God in your prayer. God bless.
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Prayer: The Next Level
Reasons Behind Unanswered Prayer
Prayer: When Heaven Is Silent!
Discover The Secrets to Answered Prayer
Comments»
i am held down by my errors, but to stand with knowing why I feel this …Is it not in my mind and heart…and though some errors cannot be corrected…my maker…teaches me if i am worthy and willing to understand….just proof of the living GOD and how important we are…..never alone…all marked….we are …a part …of I AM…. as the light of Christ shine ..and we have yet some fathering ….Be good..for one for all.
the dragons tail…the second son…All created by our father for indeed a purpose…..Beyond me…..I thank the father and for the gifts…of thankfullness,love,kindness,understanding let me work on my errors…i will reach and stand higher….then apart of the error turns possitive…..to all good will…..and remember how much comes from out of thin air…….signed “not alone”
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i generally agree with what you’re saying, but what about the tender prayer of tax collector in luke 18.13? is there a place for a prayer like that?
Luke 18:13
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Hi GP, a big “YES”, there is definitely a place for Luke 18:13 kind of prayer. In my previous article: Prayer: The Next Level, I shared the fourth lesson that I’ve learned, the more I pray, the more I discover my inadequacy, inability, imperfectness and weaknesses in the presence of God.
The tax collector recognises his humble position (a sinner) before God. He sees his inadequacy, inability, imperfectness and weaknesses in the presence of God. He stays at a distance and he didn’t even dare to look up to heaven. However, he demonstrates the spirit of dependent. He needs God to forgive him. It is when one come into such position, his prayer is sincere and true.
Where else the Pharisee sees the other way - his own righteousness which demonstrates a spirit of independent though verbally he may be “shouting” God. Such prayer is not what God wants. It is not the beautiful flowery words but the ATTITUDE behind those words that touches the heart of God. Mind you, the length of a prayer is not important also!