{"id":1067247,"date":"2024-06-21T11:43:30","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T17:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awmi2.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=browse-teaching&p=1067247"},"modified":"2025-10-06T14:42:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:42:01","slug":"a-better-way-to-pray-2","status":"publish","type":"browse-teaching","link":"https:\/\/www.awmi.net\/browse-teaching\/a-better-way-to-pray-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A Better Way to Pray"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Better Way to Pray<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A Better Way to Pray<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Ways to Access This Teaching<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Purchase<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Listen<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

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Purchase<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Praying the Wrong Way<\/h3>\n

Decades ago, I was participating in an all-night prayer meeting, \u201cbombarding the gates of heaven.\u201d I remember beating the wall and yelling, \u201cGod, if You loved the people in Arlington, Texas, half as much as I do, we\u2019d have revival!\u201d Immediately, my lightning-fast mind realized that something was seriously wrong with my theology. What was I thinking?<\/p>\n

Did I really believe I loved these people more than God did? No, not exactly. Like many Christians, I believed God was angry with the human condition, and it was up to me to turn Him from wrath and judgment. I was interceding, or so I thought, pleading with God on the behalf of others. What could possibly be wrong with that?<\/p>\n

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Consider a New Approach<\/h3>\n

As I learned later, a lot. The things the Lord has revealed to me about prayer since then have totally changed my life, and I\u2019m now seeing miraculous results. If you aren\u2019t getting the results you know the Lord wants you to have, maybe it\u2019s time to consider a better way to pray.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying that anyone who doesn\u2019t pray as I do is \u201cof the devil.\u201d I wasn\u2019t \u201cof the devil\u201d in the way I used to pray. I loved God with all my heart, and the Lord loved me. But the results weren\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

Understanding God\u2019s Love<\/h3>\n

First, we need to recognize that God isn\u2019t angry at mankind anymore. He is no longer imputing or holding our sins against us. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19).<\/p>\n

We are NOW<\/strong> reconciled to God through Jesus. That means we are in harmony and are friendly with God right now. He isn\u2019t mad; He\u2019s not even in a bad mood. The war between God and man is over. That\u2019s what the angels proclaimed at the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:14 says, \u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

These angels weren\u2019t saying that peace would reign on earth and that wars between people would cease. That certainly hasn\u2019t happened. They were proclaiming the end of the war between God and man. Jesus paid a price that was infinitely greater than the sins of the whole human race.<\/p>\n

God Is Not Mad at You<\/h3>\n

God\u2019s wrath and justice have been satisfied. Jesus changed everything. God isn\u2019t angry. His mercy extends to all people. He loves the world\u2014not just the church, but the whole world. He paid for all sin. Scripture clearly says this:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

1 John 2:2<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the Old Testament, God\u2019s judgment was poured out on both individuals and nations. In the New Testament, God\u2019s judgment was poured out on Jesus. That is the nearly-too-good-to-be-true news of the Gospel. We no longer get what we deserve; we get what Jesus paid the price for, if we will only believe.<\/p>\n

Before I understood this, I would say, \u201cIf God doesn\u2019t judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.\u201d Now I say, \u201cIf God judges America, He will have to apologize to Jesus.\u201d Understanding what Jesus did completely changes our perspective.<\/p>\n

There Is Only One Mediator<\/h3>\n

Second, Jesus is now the Mediator. A mediator is one who seeks to reconcile, or make peace between, two opposing parties. In the Old Testament, man had not yet been reconciled to God through Jesus. The people needed a mediator, someone to intercede with God on their behalf. That is where we find people like Abraham and Moses pleading with God.<\/p>\n

In Genesis 18:23\u201325, Abraham interceded with God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In fact, Abraham actually negotiated with God until He agreed not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of ten righteous people. But there weren\u2019t ten righteous people in the whole city, and only some of Lot\u2019s family survived. A similar account is recorded in<\/p>\n

Exodus. God was furious with the Israelites and ready to completely obliterate them and make a new nation through Moses, but Moses interceded for them:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. . . . And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Exodus 32:11\u201312 and 14<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Moses actually told God, \u201cRepent!\u201d What nerve! What\u2019s more amazing is that God repented. From these and other stories in the Old Testament, modern-day \u201cintercessors\u201d believe they, too, must stand in the gap, or mediate, between God and man. Just as I did decades ago, they believe we must plead with God to save the lost, to withhold His wrath from those He is ready to judge, and to be merciful to those whose needs He is unwilling to meet because of their unworthiness.<\/p>\n

That couldn\u2019t be further from the truth, but it is what\u2019s being taught in many churches today. It ignores the fact that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 10:12), ever making intercession for us (Heb. 7:25).<\/p>\n

If Moses or Abraham could persuade God, don\u2019t you think Jesus could do at least as well?<\/p>\n

In 1 Timothy 2:5 we read, \u201cFor there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Breaking Free from Prayer Misconceptions<\/h3>\n

In the New Covenant, Jesus is the ONLY<\/strong> mediator needed to stand between God the Father and mankind. Sin is no longer a problem with God; it\u2019s been atoned for, and we are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. That is how God sees us. If we understand that, it will change the way we pray.<\/p>\n

It was appropriate for Abraham and Moses to pray as they did because God\u2019s wrath had not yet been appeased through Jesus. Today, under the New Covenant, if people try to mediate in that way, they are actually anti-Christ\u2014against Christ. They are saying that Jesus was not enough and are not esteeming what Christ has done.<\/p>\n

When Jesus became our Mediator, He put all other mediators out of business\u2014forever.<\/p>\n

I know these words are strong, but they are the truth. Satan is behind much of the wrong teaching on \u201cprayer.\u201d<\/p>\n

A New Perspective: From Pleading to Authority<\/h3>\n

Consider how crafty Satan\u2019s plan is and the fruit it produces. He has convinced believers to stay in their closets, taking the place of Jesus in intercession. They spend hours pleading with God to turn from His wrath, to pour out His Spirit, and to meet the needs of the people.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, families, coworkers, and neighbors are going to hell and dying from disease. The Bible doesn\u2019t say that salvation comes through intercession but by the foolishness of preaching (1 Cor. 1:21). And we are not told to pray for the sick but to heal the sick (Matt. 10:8) by commanding healing into their broken bodies.<\/p>\n

We have been deceived into believing that prayer is all about persuading God to release His power. We believe that He can save, heal, and deliver but that He is waiting on us to shape up and earn it. The truth is, we don\u2019t deserve it, and we will never be good enough. Because of Jesus, all that God has is ours. That\u2019s good news. We no longer need to beg or plead; we need to exercise the authority He has given us and receive His blessings.<\/p>\n

I pray that the Lord will use what I\u2019ve shared to deepen your understanding of prayer and help you make your prayers more effective. I believe these truths will free you from religious traditions that hinder the power of God\u2019s Word in your life.<\/p>\n

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