The Prayer Problem

The Prayer Problem is a problem of Faith; and Faith is a problem of the integrity of the Word, of the ability of God to stand back of His promises or the statements of fact in the Word. There is another side of the problem: It is the ability of the believer to stand in the Father's presence without a sense of guilt, condemnation or inferiority. The real question then, is after we know that God cannot lie or His word cannot be broken "Have I a right to stand in the Father's presence and make my petitions known to Him without condemnation?"

Remember, you are holy and without blame in His sight (Eph. 1:4).

Forget What Manner of Man He Is

"He goeth away and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he is" (James 1:24). The New Creation man, unless he has made a careful study of what he is in Christ, in times of stress or a crisis will forget what "manner of man he is." We have lived so long in the realm of the senses that it is difficult for us to realize what we are in Christ. We unconsciously lapse into the old life, seeing ourselves as we were, and not as we are. Eph. 1:7-9 is not a workable reality for many: "In whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself".

Note the first sentence: "In whom (that is in Christ) we have our redemption" from Satan's dominion, from Satan's authority, for "we have been translated into the kingdom of the son of his love. Jesus has become our Lord, our caretaker, and guarantor of our ability to reign over the forces that once dominated us. We are rich with His riches. We are strong with His strength in the inward man. We should make it a business to affirm constantly what we are and who we are in Christ.