Tag Archives: pray

ALL Is Not Lost

I was praying the other day. It is now common for me to be praying in tongues and making faith confessions and praising God.

Over the last few years, God has been healing me, restoring me, and growing my inner man. And now, as I look to the future, my focus is more power, more righteousness, more kingdom expansion, seeing my dreams become reality, and taking all choke points and limits off God and what faith can do.

I am in my 40s, and I was feeling a little bit of hopelessness because of my age. I was wishing I could go back to my teens to teach myself what I have learned and practiced over the last several years. And so, I decided to use life’s greatest life-cheat: praying in tongues. After some time, I received an interpretation, “All is not lost. I have heard your prayers.”

When God says “I have heard your prayers,” as He did to Hezekiah, it means He gave you what you asked. Because God is so loving and so faithful to do what He promised, the same act of God hearing you is the same act as God granting your request.

When I heard the Spirit say this, I was unsure if God meant “all” as in “some things might be lost but not all things,” or “all the dreams you have ever had are still yours for the taking.” I looked up and said, “I don’t know how you meant ‘all,’ but I mean it as all my dreams are still here. Even if you did not mean it that way, I mean it that way and receive it that way, because you said ‘all.’” (Hey, if you’re going to quibble with the Almighty, at least do it with faith and a dash of audacity—its how scriptures teach us to pray.)

God told King David that He gave wives to David (this is mostly about sex), a kingdom, prosperity, and fame, and if David wanted more, God would have given more sex, more kingdoms, more prosperity, and more fame to David.

This teaches us that we cannot ask too much. The risk in praying is asking too little and shooting too low. If you aim for the Andromeda Galaxy but end up hitting Orion’s belt, then great, you accomplished some good things. But if you aim for the ground, then that is all you will hit—frankly, why settle for dirt when the stars are up for grabs?

The Gentile woman hijacked Jesus’ words, which meant one thing, to mean something else. Jesus approved and called her faith great. In fact, Jesus was arguing for God’s will to be done, and by the end of the exchange, Jesus confesses out loud, “Woman, your will be done.”

Jesus had already promised to go and heal the centurion’s servant, but the centurion asked for an upgrade to a miracle already in motion (just say the word). Jesus approved of this man asking for more, and he got the upgrade.

Last note: Pray in tongues and ask for interpretation. Even if you don’t have a spiritual gift for interpretation, by asking in faith, you will find you will receive interpretations. Don’t sleep on this. It will help you.

I am here to remind you: All is not lost.

Do not limit God. Do not shoot too low. Do not ask for only small things. Pray for big things; pray for upgrades to miracles you are already getting. Pray for more. And when you think you have asked for too much, ask for more.

And when God hears you, you know God has given.

You Resist Satan & He Will Flee From You

James says that if God resists Satan, no, wait that’s wrong; he says if you resist Satan then he will flee from God, no wait, that’s still not right. If you resist Satan, then he will flee from you.

James tells us, if you tell Satan to skedaddle, he’ll scram faster than a cat at a cucumber party. But here’s the kicker: some folks are out there praying like God’s their personal bouncer to kick Satan to the curb. Spoiler alert: that’s not how it rolls.

Some people pray prayers that make no sense. One such prayer is to ask God to make the devil leave you. This is crazy, because God’s standing command is that you resist, and you make the devil leave, not God. God has given you His divine authority to make the devil leave and has also given you the command to use that authority.  You can pray, beg and cry all day long, asking God to make the devil stop harassing you, and God will ignore it.

It is possible that God might still answer a sinful prayer like this out of extreme pity, but do not bank on it. It is a sinful prayer, because you are willfully disobeying God’s command that says you make the devil leave. You are asking God to do something He commanded you to do.

You cannot say, “well, if Satan is harassing me with temptations, or sickness, or depression or evil thoughts, (or however he is victimizing you) and so it is God’s will for me to grit my teeth and just bear with it. It is not God’s will, because God will is His commandments. His command is that you resist the devil and make him stop victimizing you, and make him leave with his tail tucked beneath his legs.

God will not do this for you. You must do it.

God’s like, “Hey, I gave you the authority to ghost the devil yourself. Use it!” You can wail and flail in prayer all you want, but God’s just gonna sip His ambrosia, waiting for you to step up.

Two things that Jesus did, as a man, when Satan harassed Him. First, Jesus used the scripture. Second, Jesus commanded Satan to leave. If you only do one of the two, then you will have a partial victory and never know true triumph. If you only do one of the two, then Satan will not fully leave you and thus, you will still be disobeying God’s command to make the devil leave. You must renew your mind on the scripture. You must confess the promises of God with your mouth as part of your reality and definition. But you also must command the devil and any demonic harassment to shut up and leave. Jesus, the OG of devil-ditching, showed us the ropes: quote scripture like it’s your favorite movie line and tell Satan to hit the road, Jack. Do one without the other, and you’re not really fighting, but just playing at this spiritual tug-of-war.

You are already a royal priesthood. You already have the royal authority of God as an heir and priest of God. This has already happened. You do not need to ask God for the use of His Name and authority, because you already got it. This is why God commands you to cast out demons and to resist the devil and make him flee, because you already got the authority to do it. It is not an emotion. It is reality. It is part of your identity in Jesus that you got when you were born from above. The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. Thus, you always have this authority and power. You cannot lose it. It is you.

Remember, you’re not just any Joe; you’re a royal priest with the kind of clout that makes demons check their calendars for any other appointments. So, when Satan or his minions come knocking, don’t wait for God to answer your “please evict this evil” prayers. You’ve got to swing the door shut yourself, with the authority you’ve had since your spiritual rebirth.

Even if you were foolish and allowed the devil a foothold into a part of your life, you, not God, you must resist and make the devil flee. Even if you were foolish, you still have the command and authority to shove Satan’s foot out of the door. Take the sword of the Spirit and cut off that foot trying to worm its way in.  This goes without saying, but whatever you were doing to allow the devil a foothold must be corrected. Confess the promises of God over you, and command the devil to shut up and leave. No one else can do this for you, not even God, because He commanded you to do it.

When I say not even God can do it, I am not referring to a limitation in God, but to a category fallacy.

And just like you wouldn’t ask God to brush your teeth for you, don’t ask Him to do the devil-defying for you. It’s your gig. You confess, you command, and you reclaim your space. Because in the grand reality show of life, you’ve got the power, the script, and the divine right to tell any satanic squatter, “Not today, Satan, not today.”[1]

This is the same with conversion and forgiveness of your sins. Not even God can do this for you, because only you can confess your sins and ask God to save you on the account of Jesus Christ.  The same for healing. You must command the sickness to leave. It is your responsibility, and you already have the authority and finished atonement of Jesus to do it. The healing is already yours. You don’t need to ask God for it. He already gave it to you. To ask God to heal you is like asking God to give Jesus another 39 stripes, because it was by the stripes of Jesus that you are healed. It already happened. You already have it.  But you must be the one to resist the sickness and command it to leave.

[1] Used Grok AI (fun mode) 2024, for some witty summary statements.

All Things Are Possible for Man

No, this was not taken from Kenneth Copeland or Kenneth Hagin sermon. It came from a more extreme faith teacher than even these infamous teachers. It came from the greatest faith zealot of them all. This was a doctrine taught by the most extreme faith who ever lived. It came from Jesus Christ.

Christians do not let Jesus get in their way, in their goal to formulate doctrine based on their sensations, observations and feelings. Thus, they do not allow lesser faith teachers to inform their doctrines.  Most Christians are carnal, or that is, most Christians formulate doctrine based on their observations and feelings rather than the scripture. They say, “well, I don’t see all being healed, thus, the scripture cannot mean you will get healed, even if you have faith for it.” They hide their epistemology adultery behind phrases such as, “God-centered,” “Christ-centered,” and “gospel-centered,” as if we are too stupid to not see their spiritual perversion. They hump on David Hume’s empiricism in the open streets, march back into the pulpit, wipe off their sweaty faces, and then say, “sola scriptura.” Little do they know the true horror they are doing to their souls.

  “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father,” John 14:12. NIV

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  by this… you… prove to be My disciples,” John 15:7-8 LSB

“He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you,”” Matt.17:20. NIV

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt.19:26 NIV

“And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive,”” Matt.21:21-22

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. 
“Anything is possible if a person believes,” Mark 9:23. NLT

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it [past tense], and it will be yours” Mark 11:23-24

And the Lord said, “If you have faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you,” Luke 17:6. LSB

Jesus’ thesis statement on faith is this, “All things are possible for the man who has faith,” and “Whatever a man asks for in faith, it will be given to him.” Because Jesus said this doctrine many times and in various ways, because He tied this doctrine into believing in Him, proof of connection to Him and proof of discipleship, then it is necessary to make this a proof of Orthodoxy. Because Jesus made this a proof of discipleship (John 15:7-8), then it is indeed a test of orthodoxy.  If any church or creed does not state and affirm this doctrine, they are non-Christians and anti-Jesus. You ought to excommunicate them from your life immediately. If they are a church, then pray a Psalm of Judgement over them and boycott them.

Because many churches would call Jesus’ faith doctrine heresy and excommunicate you over it, they expose themselves as a den of demons. Thus, many churches have already divorced themselves from Jesus Christ. As Vincent Cheung says,

 “The controversy shows that the critics affirm an essentially non-Christian worldview. Any worldview that disagrees with the “faith confession” doctrine is not a Christ-view, and contradicts Christ’s view of reality. Thus it in fact qualifies as one test of orthodoxy…

You want to test people with your stupid creed? I will test you by Matthew 21:21 and crush your creed. You want to cite your idol theologian? I will slap his head off with Mark 11:23. Change your creed to agree with Jesus. Throw your theologian into the dumpster if he does not teach this kind of faith. If Jesus is not your Lord but just your mascot, you will die in your sins and burn in hell. Your church will not save you. Your seminary and denomination are themselves under judgment. Unless you have faith, you will die in your sins.” (The Extreme Faith Teacher)

We will finish this up with the positive doctrine. In my experience I much more hear people say, “All things are possible for God.” This is true. It is a fantastic doctrine, and deserves much meditation and praises. However, if that is all that is said in relation to man, because Jesus said more about it in relation to man, then it is only a half-truth; because it is a half-truth, it is also false. Jesus also said, “All things are possible for man.” Consider Jesus in Matthew 17 saying nothing is impossible for man, who has faith.  This context is not about asking God to do something, and then saying God’s potential to grant your prayer is endless, and so, if He will’s it, then the potential is there. No. That is not what Jesus teaches. He says, if a person with faith commands a mountain to move, it will move and obey them. From this premise, Jesus concludes by saying, “nothing is impossible for man.” Jesus is not talking about mere potential, but is saying with faith, anything you command will happen. Again, this is Jesus, the most God-centered man who ever lived. This was not Kenneth Hagin.

As we continue in a few chapters later in Matthew 19 Jesus says the often-quoted verse, “with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The context is about a rich man who would not enter the kingdom because he loved his money too much. Thus, the context is about the narrow context of salvation or conversion. This is why Ephesians 2 says that even faith itself is a sovereign gift from God. In our sinful dead state, we do not even have the faith to be saved. This is why in context of salvation it is impossible for man, but possible for God. Jesus’ syllogism is simple. 1. All things are possible for God. 2. Salvation is a thing. 3. Thus, salvation is possible for God.

When we see the two different categories of these passages, it is obvious they do not contradict. A sinner has no possibility to save themselves. However, in the category of a Christian, who is an insider to God, under His New Contract, all things are possible for them. Jesus’ statement of man’s impossibility, deals with a category about salvation, but a Christian is already saved, and thus, all things are now possible for them.  If a so-called Christian views the world in limitations and impossibilities, they have an anti-Christian worldview. They still view themselves as a non-Christian, within a non-Christian view of reality. They still see themselves as outsiders to God and to His contract.

As we progress a few more chapters in Matthew 21 Jesus again says “all things you ask, will be given to you.” This is just another way to say, “all things are possible for man, with faith.” Jesus’ statement here is more extreme and emphatic. Some fools might think, “all things are possible for man,” is just about mere possibility, but Jesus’ statement here gives no room for that. “All things you ask in faith, will be given.” Seriously, how could I or anyone teaching about faith and prayer say it more extreme than that?

This statement is really a conclusion from Jesus’ two examples. One is His cursing of fig tree. Jesus says you will do the same with faith. Then He says you can command a mountain and it will obey you. A fig tree died when Jesus cursed it in faith. It was not a metaphorical fig tree, but a real one. Jesus said you will do the same. Then to press the point harder, He gives a second example so that He is not misunderstood. He says the same can be done to a mountain. There is nothing bigger than mountains, in relation to our experiences. Thus, if we can command mountains by faith, we can command everything else. This is why Jesus’ conclusion from these premises is, “All things you ask in faith, will be given.”

To make it even more extreme, in Mark’s account he records Jesus using the past tense for this conclusion about faith. “All things you ask in faith, believe you have received, and you will have it.” This is a contradiction to how faith and prayer are taught today. They say we ask, “but we do not know if we have received it, until God decides it is His will and then He grants it. Only after He grants it, do we know if we have what we ask for.”  If that is true, then Jesus is a false prophet and teacher. Jesus says you know if God has granted your prayer, the moment you pray it, because you opened your mouth and said something. Jesus says, you will receive (future tense), if you believed you have it (past tense), and not when God gives it.

There are other passages that say the same thing but in different ways such as in John 14 and 15; however, the main focus has been dealt with. Yes, “all things are possible for God,” but “all things are possible for man,” as well.

This does not sound gospel or God centered, does it? Why does tradition and religious elites sound more God-centered than Jesus? Are they more gospel-centered than the Son of God, or is their definition of God-centeredness polluted with human speculation? And for sake of argument, let us say it is man-centered. Yet, Jesus taught it. Jesus made man’s endless possibilities and glory and power a test of orthodoxy. No matter what you do or say, you must deal with Jesus.

The positive point is simple. Because Jesus commanded this, then it means He expects that His insiders can do it. Because He expect His insiders to do it, it means we can do it.

The Will OF GOD is Irrelevant

The bible teaches that God has absolute and direct control over all things. He is the only real cause for all things, and there is no such thing as secondary causes. God is the metaphysical author of sin and evil. God has predestined all things by His own goals and choices, and decrees all reality in a logical order in relation to His goals (supralapsarianism).  There is no such thing as free-will. Man is responsible because he is not free but under God’s sovereign control and command.  Because God absolutely and directly causes all things, He absolutely and directly causes the predestination of the elect and reprobate. Logic and deduction are so easy. As Romans 9 says, God takes from the neutral lump (before good or evil) and by the same power and choice makes some to be evil reprobates and some to be righteous elect.  God has not given up some of His control to man, because free-will does not exist, because the bible never says He made this choice, and because the nature of God insures that there is no difference in how direct and absolute He causes one thing or another in creation. God’s thoughts, power and choice are one and the same. Because He thinks about it and decides on it, it is reality. Therefore, in the ultimate sense, God Will is the only relevant issue.

I say all of this to state a broad and correct doctrine of God’s sovereignty, so that I am not misunderstood in my following comments.

When we pray for healing, miracles or forgiveness the “will of God,” (referring to His causality, not commands), is irrelevant. As Vincent Cheung points out in “Healing: The Will of Man,” to talk about the “will of God” in this context is already a partial defeat, because the bible talks about man’s will, not God’s will.

The bible’s positive doctrine is that healing is about the will of man, not the will of God. This is how the scripture presents the subject. Jesus never asked the Father if it was God’s will to heal a particular person; rather, He always asked if it was the man or woman’s will to be healed.  Jesus then said to his disciples and followers, “you heal the sick.” The will of God (referring to His decrees/causality) was never brought up; only “man’s will,” was brought up. The will of God was simply irrelevant. Jesus, who is more God-centered than you or your favorite pastor, taught us the “will of God,” was irrelevant, and that “man’s will” was the relevant issue.

Some are more accustomed to think about the atonement and forgiveness and so we will start here. The big idea, is that healing (Isaiah 53, Matth 8, James 5, Gal. 3) is as much the gospel and substitutionary atonement as forgiveness is, if not more so.

So here is the question: is the “will of God,” relevant for salvation or conversion? It is not relevant, if I am the one answering it. I am not asking a broad doctrinal question. I am asking it as Jesus would ask a person, “do you want to be healed”? Do you want to be forgiven? I am asking it the way Moses says, “I have presented to you life and death,” now make a choice. I am asking it the way the bible personally addresses me with its promises and commands, telling me that I must respond to it.

The “will of God” is irrelevant for my salvation, because what God decrees and causes is irrelevant in my response to obey the command of God to repent. Paul in Acts 17 commands us to repent of our sins. It is not a choice or suggestion. When I evaluate how I should behave I only use the commands of God to do this, not God’s secret decrees or causality. For example, in Romans 5 Paul says God caused me to be born a sinner, with a sinful heart, because of what Adam did. If I were to use the “will of God,” as a relevant factor in my decision to repent of my sins or not, then I would recognize it was the will of God to decree and cause me to be born a sinner, thus I will choose to stay a sinner until God decrees and causes me to repent.

I will assume most will see the error of this.  It is obvious that God’s Will is irrelevant in my consideration if I should repent of my sins. The relevant issue is God’s command for me to repent.  If a person uses the “will of God” as a relevant issue to exempt them from having to repent of their sins, we would see this as an excuse to be rebellious and unbelieving.

The same is for healing and other various miracles and supernatural experiences.  Healing is provided by the same atonement that provided forgiveness. Both are already accomplished and both are received on the demand of faith. God is sovereign over our faith, but on the demand of faith God always does what He promises. Faith always receives, and God is sovereign over faith. However, even though God is sovereign over faith (God’s Will), we are never told to consider it as relevant knowledge when we choose to believe a promise or not.  When we are in the context of a “should” or “ought” the category is always about God’s command.

In John 15 Jesus uses God’s predestination as an encouragement to ask whatever we want and get it.  Peter does the same thing in Acts 2 about the baptism of the Spirit for power. And so the Will of God is relevant in the topic of valuing God’s encouragement and explanation. Even though God’s Will is used by scripture to encourage our confidence for miracles and answered prayer, yet, when dealing with the topic of the scripture commanding me to repent and commanding me to receive healing and the gospel (James 5:15, John 14,15, Gal.3, Acts 2) the only relevant category is God’s command, not God’s Will.

Thus, when we pray for healing, God’s Will is irrelevant. The Will of God, is a non-issue. To have the Will of God, pop up into your head when praying for healing, is like having the decree of God that made you a sinner(Rom 5), pop into your head as a relevant issue if you should repent or not, and question if God would forgive if you had faith in Jesus.  It is insane and delusional.

The Will of God is irrelevant when considering if God will save you if you repent in faith; it is a non-issue. The Will of God is irrelevant when considering if God will heal you if you command sickness to leave with faith; it is a non-issue.

“Oh, God, please forgive me. I am powerless. You have done nothing yet, but you could do something, Oh powerful and eternal God. You made me a sinner because of Adam’s sin, and so, I don’t know if You have decreed me to be saved or not, and so, If it is your Will, please forgive my sins.”

This insane prayer is how many pray about healing. They are stupid and sinful. The bible never tells us to pray like this. Such a person should not expect to be forgiven of their sin. And if they pray for healing like this, they should not expect to be healed. To pray, while using the Will of God as a relevant issue, will divorce you from being forgiven and healed; It is a prayer of death.

When Peter said, “What I have, I give, in Jesus Name, walk,” the Will of God never came up, because the Will of God is irrelevant. Jesus commanded His followers to heal the sick. This command is the relevant issue, not the Will of God. The Will of God is a non-issue in the context of my healing, or your healing. When you bring in the Will of God as a relevant issue for healing or forgiveness the end results in God’s command being negated. The category of God’s decree and command are different and so should never be used to void each other out, or mixed together.

“Oh God, by Your Will I was made sick, and so I don’t know if I should be healed or not, but please, heal me if it is Your Will.”

 This is a prayer of death. It is a prayer of insanity and disobedience. This prayer uses God’s decree as an excuse to avoid obeying God’s command to be healed.  To use God’s decree to excuse yourself from obeying any of God’s commands such as receiving forgiveness or receiving healing, is stupid and wicked.

Although, there is nothing wrong for a salvation prayer to “ask God into your heart,” yet there are more precise ways to describe it.  Peter in his Pentecost sermon gives direction for a salvation prayer. He instructs the audience to ““Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ.” Notice Peter did not instruct them to “ask” God to forgive them; rather, he tells them to repent in Jesus’ Name to be saved. Why? Because Jesus already died and was resurrected. The forgiveness already happened. We are not asking God to crucify His Son again to forgive us, because it already happened.  We are not asking God to do anything in the present tense to forgive us, because Jesus already accomplished it. Because it has been accomplished all we do is repent.  In this context we do not ask or beg. It is when a person has confidence in Jesus’ finished atonement, they repent of their sins in Jesus’ Name. Salvation in this sense is a confession, and not asking and begging. We confess our sins and that is all it takes. Faith is about God letting you know He has already forgiven you, and by repenting you are agreeing with God.  It is foundationally about agreeing and confessing and not asking.

Other gospel benefits such as a healing, and the authority to cast out demons and cast down mountains is the same. They have been accomplished by Jesus’ finished atonement. We do not ask and beg for them, because they have been accomplished by Jesus and given to us. It is irrational to beg for something that already belongs to you.  It was the stripes on Jesus’ back that healed us. And so, it is irrational to ask God to heal us, as if He needs to break out the whip again and start slashing Jesus in the throne room. God accomplished our healing in Jesus’ atonement. Thus, we don’t beg for it, because it is already ours.  As with salvation, we repent as a confession of confidence in Jesus finished atonement, rather than beg and ask forgiveness. The same with healing. It is the Will of Man to command sickness to leave. We confess and agree with God, rather than beg and ask. This is why Jesus tells us to “heal the sick, and cast out demons.” When we command healing and command demons to leave, we are giving a confident confession in the finished atonement of Jesus, which has given us the healing and authority to do such things.

My Power My Choice

Acts 3:4-6 NIV

Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 

….what I do have I give you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.

First. Peter said, “look at us.”  I thought we were to direct attention away from us and point to Christ? Why is Peter so focused on himself?

Second. Peter says “what “I,” have, “I,” give to you.” I thought it was, “what God has, He will sovereignly will or choose to give?” I thought it was God’s power, and God’s choice, not Peter’s power and Peter’s choice?

Peter said it was Peter’s power, “what I have,” and it was his choice, “I give.” Peter claims it was his power and his will. Why does Peter pray in a contradictory way as compared to the theologians? Who is right?

The Bible rejects pantheism. God is not what He creates; He absolutely and directly controls all things, but He is not what He controls. God gave his followers the power to heal the sick, and cast out demons. He did not give this power to Himself. Jesus commanded both the apostles and followers to heal the sick. Jesus commanded both is disciples and 77 others to “heal the sick and cast out demons.” Some stop at Matthew 10:7 when Jesus command them to “preach the kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus is commanding them, and us by extension, to preach the gospel. So far, so good. But Jesus continues by saying, “heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead.” Jesus was not going to do this; He was commanding them to do it. If someone was going to get healed, it was up to their power and choice.  Thus to heal the sick and raise the dead is as much as a command as it is to preach the gospel. If it was not clear enough Jesus after His resurrection, commanded them to receive power, Acts 1:8. Most of them were not apostles, because it had nothing to do with the apostles, but Jesus sitting as the right hand of the Power.  Not only did they have the power, it was their will or choice to administer it. It was not up to God’s power and will to heal, it was their power and will.

This is how Jesus spoke on this topic and it was how Peter spoke on it. However if I spoke like Jesus and Peter in most American churches I would be labeled a heretic.

Yes, on the ultimate level the power is God’s, just as the power in my hand to type this essay is ultimately God’s power and by His direct control. However, Jesus and the Bible rarely mention this ultimate level; they mostly speak on the human level. I will do the same.  Thus, it was not God who typed this, but it was I, who typed with my power and choice. Likewise , the sick are not healed by God’s power and choice, but my power and my choice.  Anyone who has a problem with this rejects a doctrine directly taught by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Cut such a person out of your life. They are servants of demons.

Peter sums this up by saying faith in Jesus name brought the healing. It was a person’s will to have faith that brought the healing, not God’s will. For more on this topic see, Vincent Cheung, “Healing, The Will Of Man.”

Also, Peter did not even pray, at least not in the traditional way. He simply commanded the healing. This is what Jesus told us to do. “You heal the sick.” It was the same with Moses and the Red Sea. God said, “You divide it.” Many do not pray by commanding and this is why their prayers go unanswered. This is why many have died before their time by sickness and troubles. Jesus commanded us to do the healing, not God.

Jesus’ faith doctrine is extreme. He does not instruct us to pray to God and tell Him about our mountain; rather, Jesus tells us to move the mountain by using faith and commanding it to move.  Jesus said, “it will obey you.”

This is not a suggestion. It is a command from our God. Because of this, when many pray they are in rebellion against God. Jesus commands us to move and heal. However, many respond back saying, “No, God, You do it, if You are willing.” By praying like this, they have ensured their sickness has already gained victory over them. On rare occasions God might still heal such a prayer, out of extreme pity, but it would be an exception. If you are sick and pray like a beggar, asking God to heal, you have already lost. You are a dead man walking. Sickness has already defeated you for the glory of Satan.

When some pray, they pray confessing unbelief rather than faith. If you are born-again then you are not a worm, not a beggar, not a nobody and you are not a sinner. James says the prayer of a righteous person is very effective; however, if your prayer is confessing how pathetic you are, then of course you will not pray knowing how righteous you are, and thus, your prayers will not be effective.  Prayer is a good confession of faith in God’s truths and promises; and yet, people often pray confessing who they were, before they were born-again. They say, “I am a worn and sinful and nothing, but God is everything and powerful.” This takes no faith; it is a coward’s way out. It is a religious maneuver to remove you from God’s command and responsibility. If you are nothing and sinful then you need to get born-again so that you become righteous and have privileges that come from being a son of God.

To illustrate this think about asking God for the forgiveness of sins, or a salvation type prayer. Although, there is nothing wrong for a salvation prayer to “ask God into your heart,” yet there are more precise ways to describe it.  Peter in his Pentecost sermon gives direction for a salvation prayer. He instructs the audience to ““Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ.” Notice Peter did not instruct them to “ask” God to forgive them; rather, he tells them to repent in Jesus’ Name to be saved. Why? Because Jesus already died and was resurrected. The forgiveness already happened. We are not asking God to crucify His Son again to forgive us, because it already happened.  We are not asking God to do anything in the present tense to forgive us, because Jesus already accomplished it. Because it has been accomplished all we do is repent.  In this context we do not ask or beg. It is when a person has confidence in Jesus’ finished atonement, they repent of their sins in Jesus’ Name. Salvation in this sense is a confession, and not asking and begging. We confess our sins and that is all it takes. Faith in this sense, is about God letting you know He has already forgiven you, and by repenting you are agreeing with God.  It is foundationally about agreeing and confessing and not asking.

Other gospel benefits such as a healing, and the authority to cast out demons and cast down mountains is the same. They have been accomplished by Jesus’ finished atonement. We do not ask and beg for them, because they have been accomplished by Jesus and given to us. It is irrational to beg for something that already belongs to you.  It was the stripes on Jesus’ back that healed us. And so, it is irrational to ask God to heal us, as if He needs to break out the whip again and start slashing Jesus in the throne room. God accomplished our healing in Jesus’ atonement. Thus, we don’t beg for it, because it is already ours.  As with salvation, we repent as a confession of confidence in Jesus finished atonement, rather than beg and ask forgiveness. The same with healing. We confess and agree with God, rather than beg and ask. This is why Jesus tells us to “heal the sick, and cast out demons.” When we command healing and command demons to leave, we are giving a confident confession in the finished atonement of Jesus, which has given us the healing and authority to do such things.

Some people are asking God to do things that He told us to do. They have it flipped upside down. And yes, we see examples of Jesus in John 14-16 telling us to ask in His name. However, in my experience it is only those who already know their authority in Jesus, who already are healing the sick, who are able to ask God for things in prayer, without asking as if they are a beggar or outsider.  Those how can heal the sick and cast out demons are better equipped to march boldly to God’s throne of grace and confidently ask for things as a son who belongs there.