CHAPTER 1
Faith Without Sweat,Is Dead
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Get ready to Bring your prayer life to an entirelynew level. It is time, as odd as this may sound, to roll upyour sleeves and put some sweat behind those prayersof yours. Remember, the Bible says that faith withoutworks is dead. And so are prayers. So get ready to learnhow prayers backed by performance on your part willproduce tangible results, and even miracles, right herein the world in which you live. But before we go anyfurther, there's a couple things you'll need to do.
First, you'll need to open the windows of yourimagination and unshackle the full power of God'sWord. Why do I say this? Because the sad fact is, most"Christians" have never taken the time to actuallyread the Bible, so they don't even know what God'sWord says. Other Christians who have read it, pickand choose what they decide to believe, and thenassemble their chosen bits and pieces into an imaginarygod who doesn't even exist! Get real. Praying to animaginary god will produce manifestations that arejust as imaginary. No more! It is time to unleash thefull-power, full-throttle Word of God in your life! Thatmeans reading, discussing and accepting all of theBible's teachings, including those subjects that humanintellect, ego and even fears have caused Christiansto disregard. Subjects like faith healing, which manyChristians dismiss even though Jesus healed peopleevery day and said that you and I could perform evengreater miracles if we would only believe! Prayingin heavenly languages gets dismissed even though 1Corinthians 13:1 is read at almost every wedding! MostChristians also avoid tithing by dismissing it as purelyan Old Testament practice, which it isn't. And the"taking up" of the church gets dismissed even though1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 describes this as the mostawesome event of them all! Look at it this way. If youwant God to answer your prayers, you need to stoppraying to your watered-down imaginary god, and startpraying to the all-powerful real One. Sound reasonable?It is time to accept the full-gospel, full-throttle Word ofGod! Finally believing every Word of God to be truewill produce the greatest thrill ride you have ever taken.
The second thing we need to do before we begin iscalled "erasing the chalkboard."
Imagine an old country schoolhouse. Within the fourwalls of the schoolhouse is a single classroom. On thefront wall of the classroom is one of those old dustychalkboards. Can you picture it? Good. This is whereyou need to pay attention. Written on this old dustychalkboard is the name of every person who has everdone you wrong. Everyone who has ever lied to you,stolen from you, cheated on you or hurt your feelings.Take your time with this so every possible name ofevery possible person appears on the chalkboard. Thentake one last look at every one of these names so thisexercise fully sinks in.
Now, imagine picking up an eraser and erase everyname you see written on the chalkboard. Do it! This iscalled forgiveness. Mark 11:25 instructs us to forgivebefore we pray, so erasing the chalkboard becomes anecessary first step.
Next, imagine coming into the classroom with abucket of water, a sponge and a drying towel. Imaginesponging down the chalkboard with water and thendrying the chalkboard with a fresh, clean towel. This iscalled forgetting.
You have now learned to forgive and forget, which asyou know is divine. By erasing your chalkboard, youand your heart are now in a perfect position from whichto pray. So let's get started.
What exactly is a performance-based prayer? It isa prayer that is supported by corresponding action.Too many people have become derailed by thephrase "waiting on the Lord." Basically, they haveturned praying and waiting into praying and sitting.Performance-based prayer is the exact opposite ofpraying and sitting. Performance-based prayer means"praying and performing." It is about getting to workand earning your miracle. How do I know this type ofprayer produces results? Because of the prayer blessingsand manifestations that appear in my life almost everyday. Blessings that I will share with you as we go alongand that will increase the strength of your own prayerexpectations.
My personal walk of faith has been quite a journey.It has taken me from being the skinny, insecure littlekid who was picked last in gym class every day tothe blessings of racing NASCAR, flying jet airplanesand even a black belt in Shotokan karate. Theseblessings and the obedient endurance they required aresignificant on a number of levels. First, because they'veresulted in a lifestyle that is far outside the lines of themainstream image of what a Christian lifestyle lookslike. This benefits the Lord because it makes peoplesit up and take notice! Remember, we Christians aresupposed to let our lights shine! That means living alife so bright and exciting that others see somethingin us that they want for themselves! Can you think ofa better way to inspire God's children to come hometo their Father? But that won't happen as long asChristians accept the misguided teaching that we areto live quietly in the shadows like passive little churchmice. It is time for Christians to click their lights backon ... to put their gifts to use and perform at levelsthat non-Christians will thirst for! It is imperative thatwe cement this into our thinking and into our actions.We have the power of God in us! We are instructed toglorify the Lord through our good works! That meansdoing more than just talking. It means performing. Andperforming at the highest of levels.
Secondly, the blessings I've received throughperformance-based prayer provide undeniable evidenceof physical manifestation. These blessings prove whatcan happen when you mix corresponding action withyour faith. Make no mistake, when you pray andperform, supernatural things will happen. Period.
Finally and perhaps most significantly, theseblessings show how the outcome of our prayers areinfluenced by living the life we were created to live ...by getting to work and living the life we were designedand built for. Living this way requires both courage andobedience and is far more powerful than most peoplerealize. Unfortunately, it is a life that few people live.
In a survey of hospice patients that was released in2012, it was revealed that the number one regret of ahospice patient (someone who is dying) was that theywished they would have had the courage to live a lifetrue to themselves and not the life others expected ofthem. This is sad beyond description and a revelationthat we all need to learn from! The study revealed thatmost people, and probably even yourself, have a feelingdeep down that life was intended to be somethingdifferent than what it is. You must pay attention to this.A hospice patient is out of options, but you aren't! Yes,life can be filled with obstacles and distractions, butyou must find the courage to accept what God createdyou to be, and then put some sweat into it! Becauseas you will see, the manifestation of your prayers willbe significantly enhanced when you finally decide tobecome the real you.
CHAPTER 2
Fish Don't Climb Trees
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When it comes to being the real you, perhaps a bitof comedy from Albert Einstein will help show youthe way. Albert Einstein once wrote, "Everybody is agenius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb atree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid."
Consider the problems, challenges and difficultiesthat a fish would encounter while trying to live onland. The fish would quickly discover climbing trees isthe least of its worries. It would have trouble with itsmobility, trouble finding food, trouble drinking water,and trying to breath would be nearly impossible. Justimagine the frustrations and health issues the fishwould be suffering from! The poor little fish would bepraying up a storm! "Please, Father, help me with mymobility. Please, Father, help me to find water to drink.Please, Father, help me to find food to eat and air tobreathe. Please, Father, heal my body." But, if the fishwould just get back into the water where it belongs,all of its problems would be solved! All of its prayersand cries for help would be answered just by followingGod's plan for its life! Can a fish still have problemsunderwater? Sure, it can. But a fish is better equippedto handle the problems that occur underwater thanthe problems that occur on land. And because the fishis being obedient to God's plan, you can bet God willrespond to its prayers more quickly and with morefervency.
So many people struggle trying to discover God'spurpose for their life. But it's not that difficult once youlearn how to recognize it. We'll talk a little about thisnow, and then cover it in more detail a bit later.
For most people, their purpose for being here hasbeen in their minds since childhood. It's been therelike a heavenly GPS trying to point them in the rightdirection; they just haven't recognized it for what itwas. What I'm telling you is, pay attention to yourmind and the mental images that appear within yourimagination. Most specifically, those images that bringyou feelings of joy! Give merit to the pictures that puta twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face! Do this,and soon you'll begin to feel a "burning desire." Thisis usually the sign that God is trying to move you in aspecific direction. I say "usually" because a person hasto qualify why they're excited. If your excitement isbased on lust, greed or some other attribute with originsin darkness, obviously your visions are not from theenlightenment of God. They need to be disregarded.Conversely, a God-given vision is in alignment withthe talents and abilities God has blessed you with. Youcan bet it wasn't God who told the fish to leave thewater and climb a tree. God would never give you aburning desire for something without giving you theskills to achieve it! That would be setting you up tofail, and God isn't in that business. God-given visionsare designed to point you in the direction of God'spurpose for your life. Once you've accepted this andhave aligned your goals with God's plan for your life,a synergy between you and God is created, and in theworld of prayer, this becomes extremely powerful!
Let me share an example.
People often ask if I'm ever afraid of getting hurt inmy race car. Worse yet, they ask if I'm afraid of gettingkilled in the airplane. My answer is always the same,"Never." The reason for this is simple. Before everyrace, with my safety harness buckled and the race car'sengine running, I say a prayer. I say a prayer thankingGod for the ability to race automobiles. I ask that Hekeeps me safe, and that He helps me to race fast andclean and honor Him in all that I do. I pray a similarprayer before flying the jet. I thank Him for the abilityto fly airplanes, and ask Him to keep myself and thepassengers safe. When we're flying in bad weather, Ipray again, asking God to actually "keep the airplanein the palm of His hands." Having said these prayers,whether I'm in the race car or in the jet, I know in myheart that myself, and my passengers, will remainsafe. The secret behind this is that I also know in myheart that I am following God's plan for my life, andGod would never allow me to be harmed while doingsomething He has created me to do. Being enlightenedto this produces the confidence to speak prayers withunshakable faith. When you have faith this strong, yourprayers produce unlimited horsepower. But to praywith a true and confident expectation of an outcome issomething not all Christians are doing. For an exampleof this, let's consider the prayers of my friend, Jenny.
Jenny is a Christian who works as a dental hygienist.During my last dental visit, I mentioned to her thatI was writing this message on "prayer." I went on toexplain how I wanted to help build a faith so strongin people that when they prayed over something, theycould step back and literally watch the changes occur.At this point, Jenny was staring at me with a look ofskepticism, to which I replied, "I have photographicevidence to prove it can happen."
Jenny responded with a soft voice, "I guess when Ipray ... I pray and doubt."
"How's that been working for you?" I replied with agrin on my face.
"Not very well," she replied.
Jenny had failed to remember some of the scripturesfound in the New Testament. Scriptures such asMatthew 9:29, in which Jesus says, "According to yourfaith be it unto you." Or in James 1:6-8, where we'retold to "Ask in faith, never doubting, for the one whodoubts must not expect to receive anything from theLord." A person should never pray with doubt! It is aninsult to God, particularly to a God who is "Almighty."
Unfortunately, while many Christians may notadmit it like Jenny did, too many Christians share hersame thoughts and prayer habits. They pray and theydoubt, which is the farthest thing from praying withfaith. This practice has no basis in scripture whatsoever,and will only lead to prayers that go unanswered.
Praying with doubt is not how God wants us to beseeking His help! Think about it. How would you feelif one your own children came to you needing help,but deep down, they believed you either wouldn'thelp them or that you were incapable of helpingthem? Would it hurt your feelings? Would you bedisappointed that your child doesn't believe you? Ofcourse you would. When we pray and doubt, it makesGod feel the same way. I'll tell you how I know thisin the paragraphs to come. But in the meantime, tryputting some thought into aligning your goals withGod's!
CHAPTER 3
Apparently, GodDrives a Ford?
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Praying and douBting Has to stop. To help makethat happen, let's start thinking about prayer in terms ofa spectrum. We'll call one end of the spectrum, "prayingand doubting." We'll call the other end, "prayingand believing." Our mission today is to take you on ajourney from one end of the spectrum to the other,making praying and doubting a thing of the past andpraying and believing (a performance-based practice),the way of the future.
As we begin our journey through prayer, there'ssomething we need to eliminate right from the start.That something is the first of some clichés that have creptinto our speech patterns. The first of these clichés is theone that refers to how we've been "created in God'simage." To be clear, I'm talking specifically about thecliché and not about the teaching. In fact, today morethan ever, we need to accept and believe that we arein fact created in God's image! But as you're about tolearn, this reference to "image" goes far beyond thelimitation of just our physical appearance. It was thelimitation to physical appearance that caused the clichéin the first place, which is why a deeper examination ofthis teaching is required.
When God created us in His image, the design wentfar beyond what most people take time to consider. Thisreference to "image" refers to much more than just ourphysical bodies. In 2 Peter 1:4, we learn that we alsoshare God's "divine nature." Let that sink in a minute.That means we also resemble God with our emotionaland intellectual levels as well. We share His ability tothink and to make decisions. In the Old Testament bookof Isaiah, we learn we share God's ability to reason. Wealso know that God feels joy, just as we feel joy, andthat God even laughs! Can you imagine? God laughs?It makes me want to tell Him my best jokes just to seewhat He'll do! Can you imagine God sitting on Histhrone in heaven just cracking up, slapping His knee,laughing so hard He's got tears coming down Hischeeks? Wow, there's a sight!
Along with His laughter, we also know that Godfeels anger, just as we feel anger, and that God spokethe universe into existence with the sound waves ofHis voice, just as you and I have voice. A voice thatcreates sound waves that we know can break glass!Fascinating ... isn't it?
Understanding the similarities of how we think,laugh, reason and react just as God does providesinsight into how our behavior here on earth affects ourrelationship with God, and subsequently, affects theoutcome of our prayers.
The first situation that opened my eyes to thisoccurred back in the 1980s. It was just after I bought myfirst pick up truck, a Ford F150 half-ton. Granted, todaythere are sport utility vehicles parked in almost everydriveway. But living in the suburbs back in the '80s,if you owned a pickup truck, you had the only utilityvehicle for miles around. Herein lies the first lesson inhow relationships can impact your prayer life.
During the years I owned that first truck, I used toreceive phone calls that, even though the names wouldchange, the calls were pretty much the same. Theysounded something like this:
"Ring, ring ..."
Me: "Hello?"
Tim: "Hi Robert!"
Me: "Hi. Umm. Who is this?"
Tim: "Tim ... Tim Johnson, from the softball team.Tall, thin, blonde hair. I play right field."
