When you begin your prayer based on God's Word, you are starting with the answer. The Word contains the answer to every problem that could confront you.

The next step in praying effectively is found in Mark 11:24. Jesus said, "What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." This places a qualification on your prayer. You have to believe you receive when you pray. Do not wait until the manifestation comes to believe you receive.

This will seem very difficult at first. But as you get to know God personally, you will become convinced that His Word is true. The problem area will diminish. Make a quality decision to believe God's Word.

Consider what it says in the book of Numbers:

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
(Num. 23:19)

You can trust His integrity. When you pray, all you have to do is apply your faith.

Pray, Believe, Then Stand In Faith
Every believer is dealt the measure of faith. He must develop that faith by spending time in the Word of God. The application of your faith in any given situation is directly related to your knowledge of God.

You could not have faith to be saved before you knew it was God's will to save you. If you feel that you need more faith, realize that you already have faith. What you need is more personal knowledge of God through time in the Word.

Once you have prayed in faith, hold fast to your confession. God is aware of your situation. His power went to work the instant you prayed in faith. You can now rest assured that what you prayed will come to pass. Maintain your faith by keeping your confession in line with the Word.

Speak only words that agree with what you desire. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. As your High Priest, he is seeing to it that the whole system works the way God said it would!

The importance of speaking the right words cannot be measured. Faith is released with the mouth. Words are the vehicles. God spoke faith-filled words when He created the universe. Hebrews 11:3 says, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." God spoke and the Spirit of God used the faith in those words to create the worlds.

Watch Your Tongue
Words carry power. The very power of life and death is in the tongue. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the gravity of speaking right things. When faith words are spoken, they must be backed by corresponding actions. In James, the Amplified Bible says it this way:

So also faith if it does not have the works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power—inoperative, dead.
(James 2:17)

God's Word instructs us to be doers and not hearers only. In applying faith, two elements are involved: words and actions. Real Bible faith demands action.

You have to act by faith, not according to your feelings or reasonings. Faith is based on eternal truth and is more dependable than the evidence of your physical senses.

According to 2 Corinthians 4:18, we are not to look at things which are seen, but at things which are not seen. The things which are visible are temporal, or changeable. The things which are invisible are eternal; they never change.

Don't focus your attention on what you perceive through your five physical senses. Keep your heart fixed on the Word of God. Then what you see will come in line with the Word.

To believe God's Word rather than physical circumstances is to talk and act the answer instead of the problem. Acting on the Word puts faith into motion. You cannot expect results from your prayer without the operation of faith.

Once you have prayed, hold fast to your confession. Refuse to speak contrary to the Word of God. Do not allow circumstances to sway you. Act as though it were already done.

When you apply your faith accurately according to God's Word, you will get results. You will experience Hebrews 4:16 for yourself. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." It does not say, "Come and hope to get." It says, "Come obtain!"

A very misunderstood concept throughout the religious world is that it is extremely difficult to get God to answer prayer at all—much less answer all prayer. That is a lie of Satan and absolutely contrary to the Word of God. When you believe God's Word in your heart and you pray in line with His Word you have every right to expect your prayer to bring results.

Jesus said:

Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
(Matt. 21:21-22)

If God will answer the prayer of a sinner to be saved, He will certainly answer the prayers of born-again believers who come to Him in faith concerning their lives.

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries