PREFACE
Today is the day you can change directions and begin a new journey in your life; a journey that gives you understanding, peace, love, compassion, wisdom, grace, favor, and so much more! God has it all and is ready to pass it to you! That is His good and pleasing will for all people—to bless them abundantly with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus! One of the most exciting things about having a relationship with Christ is that it's a lifelong adventure that impacts every area of your life in amazing ways. It's like the greatest film of all time, directed by God. Each new scene you walk into is more exciting and enlightening than the last.
God has personally showed me His immeasurable love and how He's always there for those who call upon Him. For many years now, throughout my relationship with Jesus, I've been on a life-changing journey, making progress little by little, day by day. It's truly amazing to look back and see the person I've become because of what God has done in me, for me, and through me. As I continue to walk out my journey with Him, I'm still changing and becoming more Christ-like each and every day. It is now one of my greatest desires to encourage others to keep moving forward in their walk with the Most High God. It is my desire to help you make progress each day as you become the person God has created you to be.
Throughout this book I'll be sharing, through a collection of personal prayers, how to let God have complete control of every one of your thoughts and feelings by giving them all to Him and by believing and trusting that He's there to help you through it all—even the brokenness. I've learned that when I confess all of my thoughts and feelings to God, when I come into agreement with what He's saying about me, when I speak His promises over my life, and when I believe that He hears and answers, my life changes for the very best. God is very clear throughout His powerful and living Word of truth that He only wants what's absolutely best for all people. This is only possible by letting God into our hearts through faith in Jesus Christ, and by allowing Him to become our Helper, Teacher, and Guide every day and in every way. After the genuine decision to make Jesus your personal Lord and Savior is made, He is always there for you!
All you have to do is ask, seek, believe, listen and receive.
It is only when you receive from God that you are truly able to live the life He wants you to live. That's where prayer comes in. Prayer is simply talking to God. There's no special formula; all He desires is that we continually communicate with Him. We can even keep our eyes open and talk to Him like we would anyone else. In one of the apostle Paul's divinely inspired letters, he encourages all believers to do this very thing as he writes, “Pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV). There is life, health, peace, provision, and joy all in the power of prayer and you can be assured, by the blood of Jesus, that the Maker of Heaven and earth most certainly hears you (Hebrews 4:14-16)!
God is right here with us to help us on our journey until we meet Him in eternal glory. God’s powerful and living Word of truth teaches that our prayers are containers of power that allow Him to move within His creation; on the earth and in the lives of humanity. Although God inspires people to pray, we are the ones who ultimately choose whether or not we're going to tap into His power through prayer. It all depends on how often we take the time to go to our Lord Jesus Christ and talk to Him. He waits patiently to hear from us and is always willing to guide us on the right path. In order for our prayers to be answered, they must be prayers that are pleasing to God. In other words, we must exchange our own wants and desires for His. James, Jesus' brother, said it like this, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts,” (James 4:2, 3, KJV). God freely offers His blessings but, in order to receive those blessings, we must ask and ask with righteous motives.
Throughout my walk with the Lord, I've documented some of my most intimate times of prayer with Him. Within these pages, you'll discover a collection of these prayers. Through this collection, you will be able to observe the amazing transformation that God has worked in me. In the King James Version of God's Word, it is stated, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof,” (Proverbs 18:21). In other words, if you speak the right things—faith-filled words that confess God's promises—you're going to experience positive results. Similarly, if you speak the wrong things—words of doubt, fear, or worry—you will experience negative results. Wrong thoughts such as doubt, fear, hurt feelings, and worry are all unnecessary burdens. The Lord says to cast all your burdens upon Him and He will sustain you because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). It is one of His greatest wishes to remove your burdens daily, hourly, and every moment. Not just one of them either, but all of them! He so desires for all people to have freedom, peace, and joy continuously, consistently, and in every circumstance. This is not possible if we have heavy burdens. The prayers and words you speak today will impact the life you live tomorrow and I can confidently tell you, from experience, that it is only God who can permanently remove all of your burdens.
Our thoughts, moods, and attitudes are all impacted by the words we say and I believe that God wants us to have victory in every one of these areas! In order to possess this victory, we must be obedient towards God's commands. In order to be obedient, it's crucial that we believe that the Lord, Jesus Christ, God Almighty, really does love us and wants what's absolutely best for us. If you allow yourself to believe these truths, you'll be more likely to follow God's commands because you'll realize that God isn't trying to boss you around. He's simply trying to empower you to do His will for His honor and glory. Once you begin to pray for power, you will begin to obey. Then you'll begin experiencing the life that God has planned for you.
It's so amazing to reflect on all that God has shown me on this journey. He has taught me how to pray from my heart, how to surrender my all to Him, and how to know Him greater through Christ, through His Holy Spirit, and through His powerful and living Word of truth. He knows everything and can do anything, so why not talk to Him and receive the answers and healing you so desperately desire? Why not bring everything to Him? Reading the powerful and living Word of truth and praying are the communication lines between God and humanity. They are open lines that never close. They are ways for God to speak with us and ways for us to let go of our burdens and speak with Him. These are beautiful means of having fellowship with God and there's nothing better.
Early in my life, when I first became a born-again Christian, my words and my outlook were very negative. I didn't know how to talk to God because I had an abusive father who passed away when I was four. I didn’t know how to talk to my Heavenly Father. I remember one day after getting out of a church service, when God said to me, “Why don't you write me?” So, I started writing. At that time, I didn’t even know how to read or write very well, but deep in my heart I knew that God understood every word—no matter how misspelled it was. As I started writing Him, I began receiving peace and strength to go on each day.
The divinely inspired apostle Paul once wrote, “...whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap,” (Galatians 6:7, KJ21. This principle has even been scientifically proven time and time again. It applies to everything we do in life, and it most certainly applies to prayer. If we choose to speak God's powerful and living Word of truth and confess His promises in faith, then we'll reap a most bountiful harvest of the fruit of His powerful and living Word of truth; the greatest fruit you could ever reap!
Another eternal truth found in the powerful and living Word of God concerning our words teaches that the words we speak actually reveal the condition of our hearts. If you've ever wondered what's in a person's heart, just listen to his words. When we take everything to God in prayer, He hears the condition of our heart then gives us the wisdom to make lasting changes from the inside out. In order for things to change in the physical world, they must first change in the spiritual world. The heart of man is the spirit of man and God cannot and will not change our hearts unless we ask Him to. As you read through my prayers, you'll notice that I am asking God to change my heart. If the hearts of humanity can change for the better, the world can change for the better. This is a task that only God can accomplish. It is only His power in us, His Holy Spirit, which gives us the power to be changed from the inside out.
It's important to remember that God is a God of hearts. He looks beyond the superficial, or physical, exterior of man and looks to the heart of man. “...the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7, KJV. What an awesome God!
As believers, knowing that God is a God of hearts, we want to make sure that our hearts are right before Him. When we bring our prayers to the Lord, we are to bring our deepest thoughts, desires, and feelings to Him believing that He truly hears. As mentioned, one of the best ways to determine the condition of our own heart is to really listen to the words we're speaking. If you want to know your level of spiritual maturity, observe your words. If you want to know your level of faith, observe your words. If you want to know the direction of your life, observe your words. Furthermore, I encourage you to not only listen to the words you speak, but to listen to them and then make the rights changes. Choose to say what God is saying about you, choose to speak words of faith, and choose to speak words of life. Doing things God's way will always ensure prosperity because God is always right and He possesses all knowledge, power, and wisdom. God is perfect and He truly is who He says He is.
Today is the day you can begin asking and trusting in the Lord to give you everything you need. Decide to set aside every negative, doubtful, argumentative, and fearful word. As you begin speaking words of life, confessing God's promises, and declaring His goodness, you'll begin experiencing the victorious and abundant life Jesus sacrificed His life to give you. Learning to submit your words, your feelings, and your everything to God and learning to speak words of life are lifelong processes. They are continual and daily decisions that may take more time for some than others.
Sometimes it takes seconds, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, days, months, or even years to see our prayers answered. On other occasions, our prayers may be answered instantly. However long it may take, we are to be continuously mindful of our words, we are to always believe in God's faithfulness, and we are to patiently await His perfect timing. One thing we can know for sure is that God will always answer a righteous petition.
As we now know, our words, thoughts, moods, and attitudes are all connected. God wants all people to have success in each and every one of these areas; God wants us to have full joy in every area of this life He has given us. This is why I am so thrilled to share with you, through this collection of prayers, what God has done in me, for me, and through me. I remember thinking at times in my past that I wasn't going to make it. After I would take my pain and suffering to God, I would start to see that my mind, words, moods, and attitudes would change and the healing would begin. I'm so grateful to now be able to focus on the life God has created me to live. I can still feel my precious Lord holding my hand, moving me forward as I recall those trying times. I remember crying, feeling so broken and weighed down, trying to hang on believing that He was there to empower me to get over the biggest steps that I thought I could never take. With His power, strength, and wisdom, He got me through it all!
Sometimes it may be hard to believe in a God that is for you when we live in a world where so many people are against you. How could God love me when so many haven't? Well, He has revealed His truth to me, time and time again, and has proven to me that He loves me more than I deserve. He has most certainly transformed my whole being from the inside out and He continues to mold me into the person He wants me to be each and every day. God has delivered me, one prayer at a time, from alcoholism, medical drugs, overeating, shopping, lying, covetousness, anger, many other types of addiction, and all of my generational curses. Hallelujah, thank You, Jesus! All glory to You! Without You, we can do nothing. You even wake us up in the morning.
God freely offers so much. He allows us to see and know His heart through His powerful and living Word of truth, and through prayer. By giving our minds, words, moods, attitudes, and pain to Him, we have a personal communication line with Him through which He always hears and answers. God offers all people victory in every area of this life and I pray that this collection of prayers will empower you to discover that very victory in Him. I pray that, as you read about my struggles, you will learn how to release your own pain to the One who can do all things. I want you to know that God healed all of my pain and He can heal yours, too! I am a witness that it can be done and that God's always there to empower us when we give Him our all.
If you've ever struggled with defeated or fearful thoughts, gloomy and unstable moods, or just an overall bad attitude, then these prayers are going to be tremendously powerful for you on your journey with God. As you read through them, you'll learn how to ask the Lord to empower you and change you and you'll be assured that He understands better than anyone. Sometimes it may be difficult to change when victory in Jesus is what we truly want, but God's the One who can -- and will -- supply all your needs and give you His strength to do so! Victory is right around the corner...it's just one prayer away. Through prayer, God will empower you to discover and possess the power and peace He freely offers all people.
Now that you and I both know that our attitudes affect everything in life, God can and will empower You to change whatever is going on. That is His good and pleasing will for us all. When we believe and trust in Him, He empowers us develop a new attitude so we can experience more of the righteousness, peace, joy, and freedom that is rightfully ours as His children. Remember, your words have tremendous power and they shape the direction of your future. Choose to walk in the power of speaking God's powerful and living Word of truth. It's a decision that will take you further than you've ever imagined on your journey with Him.
Today is the day you can change directions and begin a new journey in your life; a journey that gives you understanding, peace, love, compassion, wisdom, grace, favor, and so much more! God has it all and is ready to pass it to you! That is His good and pleasing will for all people—to bless them abundantly with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus! One of the most exciting things about having a relationship with Christ is that it's a lifelong adventure that impacts every area of your life in amazing ways. It's like the greatest film of all time, directed by God. Each new scene you walk into is more exciting and enlightening than the last.
God has personally showed me His immeasurable love and how He's always there for those who call upon Him. For many years now, throughout my relationship with Jesus, I've been on a life-changing journey, making progress little by little, day by day. It's truly amazing to look back and see the person I've become because of what God has done in me, for me, and through me. As I continue to walk out my journey with Him, I'm still changing and becoming more Christ-like each and every day. It is now one of my greatest desires to encourage others to keep moving forward in their walk with the Most High God. It is my desire to help you make progress each day as you become the person God has created you to be.
Throughout this book I'll be sharing, through a collection of personal prayers, how to let God have complete control of every one of your thoughts and feelings by giving them all to Him and by believing and trusting that He's there to help you through it all—even the brokenness. I've learned that when I confess all of my thoughts and feelings to God, when I come into agreement with what He's saying about me, when I speak His promises over my life, and when I believe that He hears and answers, my life changes for the very best. God is very clear throughout His powerful and living Word of truth that He only wants what's absolutely best for all people. This is only possible by letting God into our hearts through faith in Jesus Christ, and by allowing Him to become our Helper, Teacher, and Guide every day and in every way. After the genuine decision to make Jesus your personal Lord and Savior is made, He is always there for you!
All you have to do is ask, seek, believe, listen and receive.
It is only when you receive from God that you are truly able to live the life He wants you to live. That's where prayer comes in. Prayer is simply talking to God. There's no special formula; all He desires is that we continually communicate with Him. We can even keep our eyes open and talk to Him like we would anyone else. In one of the apostle Paul's divinely inspired letters, he encourages all believers to do this very thing as he writes, “Pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV). There is life, health, peace, provision, and joy all in the power of prayer and you can be assured, by the blood of Jesus, that the Maker of Heaven and earth most certainly hears you (Hebrews 4:14-16)!
God is right here with us to help us on our journey until we meet Him in eternal glory. God’s powerful and living Word of truth teaches that our prayers are containers of power that allow Him to move within His creation; on the earth and in the lives of humanity. Although God inspires people to pray, we are the ones who ultimately choose whether or not we're going to tap into His power through prayer. It all depends on how often we take the time to go to our Lord Jesus Christ and talk to Him. He waits patiently to hear from us and is always willing to guide us on the right path. In order for our prayers to be answered, they must be prayers that are pleasing to God. In other words, we must exchange our own wants and desires for His. James, Jesus' brother, said it like this, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts,” (James 4:2, 3, KJV). God freely offers His blessings but, in order to receive those blessings, we must ask and ask with righteous motives.
Throughout my walk with the Lord, I've documented some of my most intimate times of prayer with Him. Within these pages, you'll discover a collection of these prayers. Through this collection, you will be able to observe the amazing transformation that God has worked in me. In the King James Version of God's Word, it is stated, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof,” (Proverbs 18:21). In other words, if you speak the right things—faith-filled words that confess God's promises—you're going to experience positive results. Similarly, if you speak the wrong things—words of doubt, fear, or worry—you will experience negative results. Wrong thoughts such as doubt, fear, hurt feelings, and worry are all unnecessary burdens. The Lord says to cast all your burdens upon Him and He will sustain you because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). It is one of His greatest wishes to remove your burdens daily, hourly, and every moment. Not just one of them either, but all of them! He so desires for all people to have freedom, peace, and joy continuously, consistently, and in every circumstance. This is not possible if we have heavy burdens. The prayers and words you speak today will impact the life you live tomorrow and I can confidently tell you, from experience, that it is only God who can permanently remove all of your burdens.
Our thoughts, moods, and attitudes are all impacted by the words we say and I believe that God wants us to have victory in every one of these areas! In order to possess this victory, we must be obedient towards God's commands. In order to be obedient, it's crucial that we believe that the Lord, Jesus Christ, God Almighty, really does love us and wants what's absolutely best for us. If you allow yourself to believe these truths, you'll be more likely to follow God's commands because you'll realize that God isn't trying to boss you around. He's simply trying to empower you to do His will for His honor and glory. Once you begin to pray for power, you will begin to obey. Then you'll begin experiencing the life that God has planned for you.
It's so amazing to reflect on all that God has shown me on this journey. He has taught me how to pray from my heart, how to surrender my all to Him, and how to know Him greater through Christ, through His Holy Spirit, and through His powerful and living Word of truth. He knows everything and can do anything, so why not talk to Him and receive the answers and healing you so desperately desire? Why not bring everything to Him? Reading the powerful and living Word of truth and praying are the communication lines between God and humanity. They are open lines that never close. They are ways for God to speak with us and ways for us to let go of our burdens and speak with Him. These are beautiful means of having fellowship with God and there's nothing better.
Early in my life, when I first became a born-again Christian, my words and my outlook were very negative. I didn't know how to talk to God because I had an abusive father who passed away when I was four. I didn’t know how to talk to my Heavenly Father. I remember one day after getting out of a church service, when God said to me, “Why don't you write me?” So, I started writing. At that time, I didn’t even know how to read or write very well, but deep in my heart I knew that God understood every word—no matter how misspelled it was. As I started writing Him, I began receiving peace and strength to go on each day.
The divinely inspired apostle Paul once wrote, “...whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap,” (Galatians 6:7, KJ21. This principle has even been scientifically proven time and time again. It applies to everything we do in life, and it most certainly applies to prayer. If we choose to speak God's powerful and living Word of truth and confess His promises in faith, then we'll reap a most bountiful harvest of the fruit of His powerful and living Word of truth; the greatest fruit you could ever reap!
Another eternal truth found in the powerful and living Word of God concerning our words teaches that the words we speak actually reveal the condition of our hearts. If you've ever wondered what's in a person's heart, just listen to his words. When we take everything to God in prayer, He hears the condition of our heart then gives us the wisdom to make lasting changes from the inside out. In order for things to change in the physical world, they must first change in the spiritual world. The heart of man is the spirit of man and God cannot and will not change our hearts unless we ask Him to. As you read through my prayers, you'll notice that I am asking God to change my heart. If the hearts of humanity can change for the better, the world can change for the better. This is a task that only God can accomplish. It is only His power in us, His Holy Spirit, which gives us the power to be changed from the inside out.
It's important to remember that God is a God of hearts. He looks beyond the superficial, or physical, exterior of man and looks to the heart of man. “...the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7, KJV. What an awesome God!
As believers, knowing that God is a God of hearts, we want to make sure that our hearts are right before Him. When we bring our prayers to the Lord, we are to bring our deepest thoughts, desires, and feelings to Him believing that He truly hears. As mentioned, one of the best ways to determine the condition of our own heart is to really listen to the words we're speaking. If you want to know your level of spiritual maturity, observe your words. If you want to know your level of faith, observe your words. If you want to know the direction of your life, observe your words. Furthermore, I encourage you to not only listen to the words you speak, but to listen to them and then make the rights changes. Choose to say what God is saying about you, choose to speak words of faith, and choose to speak words of life. Doing things God's way will always ensure prosperity because God is always right and He possesses all knowledge, power, and wisdom. God is perfect and He truly is who He says He is.
Today is the day you can begin asking and trusting in the Lord to give you everything you need. Decide to set aside every negative, doubtful, argumentative, and fearful word. As you begin speaking words of life, confessing God's promises, and declaring His goodness, you'll begin experiencing the victorious and abundant life Jesus sacrificed His life to give you. Learning to submit your words, your feelings, and your everything to God and learning to speak words of life are lifelong processes. They are continual and daily decisions that may take more time for some than others.
Sometimes it takes seconds, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, days, months, or even years to see our prayers answered. On other occasions, our prayers may be answered instantly. However long it may take, we are to be continuously mindful of our words, we are to always believe in God's faithfulness, and we are to patiently await His perfect timing. One thing we can know for sure is that God will always answer a righteous petition.
As we now know, our words, thoughts, moods, and attitudes are all connected. God wants all people to have success in each and every one of these areas; God wants us to have full joy in every area of this life He has given us. This is why I am so thrilled to share with you, through this collection of prayers, what God has done in me, for me, and through me. I remember thinking at times in my past that I wasn't going to make it. After I would take my pain and suffering to God, I would start to see that my mind, words, moods, and attitudes would change and the healing would begin. I'm so grateful to now be able to focus on the life God has created me to live. I can still feel my precious Lord holding my hand, moving me forward as I recall those trying times. I remember crying, feeling so broken and weighed down, trying to hang on believing that He was there to empower me to get over the biggest steps that I thought I could never take. With His power, strength, and wisdom, He got me through it all!
Sometimes it may be hard to believe in a God that is for you when we live in a world where so many people are against you. How could God love me when so many haven't? Well, He has revealed His truth to me, time and time again, and has proven to me that He loves me more than I deserve. He has most certainly transformed my whole being from the inside out and He continues to mold me into the person He wants me to be each and every day. God has delivered me, one prayer at a time, from alcoholism, medical drugs, overeating, shopping, lying, covetousness, anger, many other types of addiction, and all of my generational curses. Hallelujah, thank You, Jesus! All glory to You! Without You, we can do nothing. You even wake us up in the morning.
God freely offers so much. He allows us to see and know His heart through His powerful and living Word of truth, and through prayer. By giving our minds, words, moods, attitudes, and pain to Him, we have a personal communication line with Him through which He always hears and answers. God offers all people victory in every area of this life and I pray that this collection of prayers will empower you to discover that very victory in Him. I pray that, as you read about my struggles, you will learn how to release your own pain to the One who can do all things. I want you to know that God healed all of my pain and He can heal yours, too! I am a witness that it can be done and that God's always there to empower us when we give Him our all.
If you've ever struggled with defeated or fearful thoughts, gloomy and unstable moods, or just an overall bad attitude, then these prayers are going to be tremendously powerful for you on your journey with God. As you read through them, you'll learn how to ask the Lord to empower you and change you and you'll be assured that He understands better than anyone. Sometimes it may be difficult to change when victory in Jesus is what we truly want, but God's the One who can -- and will -- supply all your needs and give you His strength to do so! Victory is right around the corner...it's just one prayer away. Through prayer, God will empower you to discover and possess the power and peace He freely offers all people.
Now that you and I both know that our attitudes affect everything in life, God can and will empower You to change whatever is going on. That is His good and pleasing will for us all. When we believe and trust in Him, He empowers us develop a new attitude so we can experience more of the righteousness, peace, joy, and freedom that is rightfully ours as His children. Remember, your words have tremendous power and they shape the direction of your future. Choose to walk in the power of speaking God's powerful and living Word of truth. It's a decision that will take you further than you've ever imagined on your journey with Him.
