Is it possible to pray for rain and get draught instead?
Is it possible to pray for healing and get death instead?
Is it possible to be praying for a promotion at work and you end up getting fired?
Most people read this and say, "No way!"
There are those; however, who have experienced it and these will not say anything until they find out what I have to say.
Whichever category you belong to, stay with me for some time and you will be amazed at what you unravel here.
I should state, as I start, that there are people who are gifted with coming up with new knowledge and I admire them. I don't have such a gift. What God has given me is the ability to look at things differently and tell you what you already know in a way that you have never looked at it. In plain English, this is called revelation. It is available to all who seek it out.
Revelation cannot be gotten on what you don't know already. When you read or hear something for the first time you get understanding or enlightenment. It is not until you come across it several times that you get a revelation. That answers why you read the Bible and don't seem to get the revelation.
Well, having said that, it is common knowledge that the things we don't see move the things we see. For instance, there are approximately 16 animal species whose body is transparent. Only in these animals do you get to see the brain and the heart, for those that possess any: which move living things.
God created living things in a very interesting way. For one, you can't see the systems that support life. Secondly, most living things have voluntary and involuntary muscles. This simply means that there are muscles you can move at will and some that you cannot move or stop. The muscles of the hands and legs are voluntary: you can move them whenever you wish (at least for most people). Those of the heart, on the other hand, are involuntary: you can't stop your heart for a moment. This shows you just how dependent we are on what we don't see and, to some extent, on what we don't understand.
You can't see the engine yet it moves the car. You hardly see the hinges yet they move the door. It is the unseen that moves what we see. Your spiritual life will move your physical life. Heaven moves earth.
The second argument is this: prayer is gaining access into the spiritual world in order to change the physical world.
Whenever you pray; the attainment of a result is dependent on your ability to gain access into the spiritual realms.
For prayer to yield it must move heaven or hell and preferably both. The prayer that moves hell aside and heaven to action will yield positive result, but there is a prayer that cripples heaven and hell takes advantage.
There are generally three kinds of prayers that are most likely to yield the opposite result.
1. The prayer of a sinner
"Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked [is] an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright [is] His delight."
All prayer must be done from a point of right standing with God. He is Holy and will only admit the holy before His presence. The writer of Hebrews tells us to enter through the blood. Heb 10:19. This has a connotation of sanctification at the entry point. If anyone had sinned against God they must repent before making Petitions.
God already said that any sacrifice a wicked man will make is an abomination before Him. It is most likely that this abomination will bring a curse rather than a blessing. Some will ask me, "How then will the prayer of repentance be accepted?" It is very simple because God sees the heart even before you open your mouth to pray. He can see the motive of your prayer before you even start to pray. Remember that when the prodigal son went back home, his father embraced and kissed him even before he opened his mouth.
2. The prayer with a loophole
The Bible says that the devil disguises as an angel of light.
"2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."
He will listen to your prayer to poke holes into it. Woe to the man who leaves loopholes in his prayer.
What do I mean? Let me give you an example. Suppose I am praying for money and while walking, someone ahead of me drops money by mistake. Should I say that God has answered me or should I stop him and give him back what he lost by mistake?
So many times the devil will try to present a counterfeit miracle so that you accept it and reject the real one. Whenever you accept the devil's offer, he takes away what you would have received from God. It is a trade: the devil doesn't give gifts!
I have witnessed people fall into traps by making prayers with loopholes.
In one case, somebody was tired of the many conflicts in their family and prayed that there would be 'A CHANGE' in the family. They never said which kind of a change. In less than a year one of their parents died.
In yet another instance, a friend who had battled a recurring sickness finally gave up and said, "God, just do whatever you see fit." The following day, they collapsed and were admitted in hospital in a near-death experience.
Let me analyse the second example for you. This kind of prayer says, "I have done all that I could have done and now I don't think that I can hope anymore. I resign myself to whatever (good or bad) may happen to me." In fact, this person thought that they committed themselves to the hands of God but in essence they had taken themselves from the hand of God and surrendered willingly to 'fate'. As it turns out, there is someone always waiting for this to happen. As soon as you surrender to fate, the devil comes. Since no one can really define fate, he helps you with the definition!
Most often than not even the statement, "we leave it in the hands of God..." is just a coat on the "let's-leave-it-to-fate..." attitude. If you ever listen to a teacher say before an exam, "I have done my part and now it's upto the students...", you could judge from his tone whether he means it as an expression of confidence or as a disclaimer. One would expect him to finish, "... to make me proud " but very often, the unspoken end of this statement is usually, "... to make me hang my head in the shame." When statements like this are left hanging in a prayer, there is no telling how they will be finished. You better finish your statement lest the devil finishes them for you. I have so often told God, "I commit this matter into your hands..." but I like to finish it this way, "... because I am confident that you will prosper it."
Taking it deeper; the person praying this prayer had initially been within the fortified walls of God's protection even though they hadn't received the breakthrough. Uttering this statement makes this unseen wall to immediately collapse and then it becomes clear what was lurking just outside the fortress. The devil is referred to as the accuser of the brethren. As soon as you utter anything that suggests "God, has failed" he runs to God and starts the accusations. God can't say 'no' on behalf of someone who has already said 'yes' . In my opinion, you would rather remain quiet than utter reckless words in your pain and frustration.
All prayer must be done in faith because the Word of God says that WHATEVER is not of faith is a sin. Rom 14:23b. This means that a prayer can actually become sin if it is not made in faith. You also know that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.
The opposite of faith is actually not doubt but fear. Never pray out of fear. Always pray in faith. If you pray for healing with the fear of death at the back of your mind, it weakens all your faith and the prayer becomes only a duty. Even if you were going to live, this prayer may most probably end up with a burial. Cast out fear for we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear!
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER and of love and of a sound mind.
Prayer is an exercise of Power not fear.
Then there is the Prayer of ignorance.
In this prayer you pray without knowing whether it is the will of God to receive what you want or not.
Look at what Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus
"Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord [is.]"
He actually says that it is foolishness (or the lack of wisdom) to NOT know the will of God.
You need not be reminded of the scripture that says, "my people perish for lack of knowledge."
Before you create a loophole in your prayer saying, "if it is your will..." or "whatever your will is..." read the Bible and know what the will of God is.
For instance this verse can tell you that healing is the will of God.
"3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers."
If you analyse the life of Jesus, you will discover that He NEVER turned away anyone seeking healing. He never said, "come tomorrow..." Healing is God's will for you and Now! It is the will of God that all may be saved. Don't ask Him to save your father, 'if it is His will.'
People who pray this prayer wish to portray humility but they portray ignorance.
Do not be conformed to the pattern of prayer that you found in your congregation...
"Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
God wants you to know His will but the devil is riding on the fact that you don't. Because you don't know what the will of God is, when your miracle is stolen you will still say, "the will of God has been done" Far be it from you that you should fall victim to this folly.
Another classic is when your prayer is not specific. In this kind of prayer, the devil waits for the answer and hijacks it exchanging it with 'anything that could fit the description'. Don't just pray for a car, be specific. Don't just pray for children, go on and make declarations over their character and future.
Don't just pray for a job, be specific. God already said that He would give you the desires of your heart. Tell Him what that desire looks like in details. He also said that "if you ask for ANYTHING..." John 14:14, 1 John 5:14.. He won't say it's too much or too ambitious. Be specific!
The Bibles says that every good and perfect gift comes from God. So where do you suppose the devil worshippers get their wealth from? The devil is not a creator yet he rewards his worshippers with even babies! These are all hijacked from believers.
Of course, a successful hijack is an interplay of several factors which I can't cover comprehensively lin this post. In a nutshell, they include, nonspecific prayer, compromised life, failure to pursue the promise in warfare among others.
3. The prayer for evil.
If you are praying for evil to befall someone, then it must be within the limits of the Word of God. You must realise that God is not a contract killer for hire. Indeed the Bible says that the wicked will flourish... So if you are praying for them to collapse you may most likely treat stomach ulcers over unanswered prayer. The Bible says to do good to those who do you evil. This is the way to attract God's wrath upon them. Solomon actually said that if you rejoice when your enemy falls, it may displease the Lord who will take away His wrath from him. Prov 24:17-18.
On a number of occasions David prayed for God's vengeance. This you can do and ask God to avenge or vindicate you but do not be surprised if still your enemies proposer. The Bible tells us what lies ahead for the wicked.
Moving forward, you need to realise and acknowledge that God is not responsible for your suffering. In fact, I can assure you that He is doing all that He can (and He can do all things if you don't get in His way with doubt and unbelief) to get you out of the snare of the devil. If you are suffering, you need to honestly and objectively examine where you have created a loophole either in your lifestyle or speech. If you discover that indeed there is a loophole, take time to seal it up in Prayer. If you realise that you can't deal with the mess already created, seek a spiritual authority that you honour and engage them.
The prayer of sealing the loophole includes repentance for any blame apportioned to God, denouncing of words uttered, and renewing your faith in God.
After the seal then you want to reclaim what you lost in ignorance. Pray to God for restoration (of both your faith and what you lost) and then wage spiritual warfare.
I sincerely hope that this post has been of help to you. Please leave your comments below and copy the link below and send it to a friend.
http://ministerfelix.blogspot.in/2015/01/prayer-that-yields-negative-results.html?m=0
