12/ How to pray
God, through a dream taught me how to pray. In my dream I was in the diningroom of my minister and his wife. I asked them why Satan attacks us. First one, than the other spoke. "If you are in the forefront fighting for Jesus, you will collect the most bullets."
"If you hang around people involved in the occult, the evil will rub off on you."
Having received those two answers, I stood up and left. I entered the adjoining room, which normally contained furniture, but was now empty. As I walked in one door, a well dressed and groomed middle-aged man walked in the other door. Although he looked very respectable, I knew instantly that he was a demon in man's form come to kill me. Frantically I called out to Jesus, but nothing happened. Jesus did not come to my aid.
My opponent and I were equally matched. He would have to retreat, or I would be forced to retreat. We battled on for some time and I was getting very tired, to the point where I knew I wouldn't be able to fight much longer and would be killed. As I looked down at the man's hand I noticed that the back of it had been cut and blood was oozing out.
At this stage God spoke to me. "The Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword." (Hebrew 4:12). I don't know what I had been fighting with, whether knife or sword. All I could see was his cut hand.
I stood still, looked the man in the eyes and said, "The Word of God says that demons must bow the knee before Jesus." I did not speak with my mouth, only with my thoughts. He in turn answered with his mind.
"Jesus isn't here."
Again I answered with my thoughts. "Jesus may not be here, but the Word of God says, demons must bow the knee before Jesus." At that point he dropped to his knees. Then I said with my mind, "The Word of God says demons must flee before the name of Jesus." At that stage he got up and ran away.
I woke up feeling that this had been more than a dream. I felt as if I had lived through every horrifying minute of the experience.
The dream taught me a few things. We did not speak actual words, but communicated by reading each other's minds. So much for people who say that Satan can't read your mind. Over the years I have learnt that praying in your mind is very powerful. Yes, the Word of God should be spoken out when and where ever possible, but it is not always possible to do so. The likelihood of being dragged to a mental institution could be the result. A perfect example would be an incident my daughter and I witnessed while visiting Rome in Italy. We were just leaving the Rome railway station when we came across a group of people. A young man only dressed in shorts had produced a baton which he was using to beat up the people around him. As my daughter ran away into the opposite direction I stood my ground and said in my mind. "I bind you foul spirit of violence." Instantly the man stopped, dropped the weapon and ran away.
The power of the Word of God is also evident when I pray for people in wheel chairs. Usually I move some distance from the person, then I pray in my mind. The result is instant and amazing. The demons which in some cases have caused the infirmity cause the person to react in a strange way. The person starts to make strange noises, or turns around. There is no way the person would react, unless the demons were reacting to the words being prayed. My I do digress, back to the dream!
I also learned that I had defeated the enemy using the Word of God. Luke 10:19 helped me understand why Jesus hadn't come when I called out to him.
"Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you."
Jesus wanted to teach me that there are times when I must act and if I don't, nothing will be done. God showed K. Hagin the same principle in the book, "I Believe in Visions". Yet it is not as if Jesus would leave me helpless; in that dream God clearly showed me that I must use the Word of God to pray. Revelation 19:13 tells us that the Rider of the white horse has a name and that name is "The Word of God". This mighty revelation has totally changed my prayer life. If anybody hears me pray, they will hear the constant repetition of the words, "The Word of God says ...". Speaking the Word of God is powerful, for God's word, is "alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword." (Hebrew 4:12).
If by the power of God's Holy Spirit, Ezekiel could command a whole valley of dry bones to come together and stand up and live, then how much more should we be able to achieve through the Word - Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit.
In order to pray according to the Word of God, you first have to become familiar with it. Also when will God answer prayer and when won't he? He hears us if we pray according to His will.
1John 5:14&15 says, "We have courage in God's presence because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will."
At this stage it is crucial to find out what God's will is. The only way to do that is to spend time with God and read the Bible.
Lambs without Tails
While speaking to a nurse working with mentally handicapped patients, I asked whether she ever prayed for them. She admitted to being a Christian, but said she was too shy to pray openly.
God, at this point reminded me that lambs are born with a tail, but for reasons, known only to the farmer, it is removed. Usually a rubber band is tightly wound around the tail; eventually due to lack of circulation, it drops off.
God caused me to explain to the nurse that if she prayed over the patients regularly, binding the cause, e.g dementia or schizophrenia, the demons would eventually drop off and the sick person would then be able to cry out to the Lord Jesus and become better.
Matthew 18:18 (King James version), "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
The Well of Bitterness
I was praying for a woman who was eaten up by bitterness. I asked God how I should pray. To my amazement the following words came out of my mouth.
After my children left Egypt they came to the bitter springs of Marah. I commanded my servant Moses to throw a branch into the water to sweeten it. Ask that the BRANCH would sweeten the well of bitterness in her life. (Exodus 15:23, Zechariah 3:6, 6:12, John 15:1-5)
I used the above prayer substituting the woman's name and a wonderful transformation took place. When I visited her a few days later she told me that an amazing thing had happened. One minute, while standing at the kitchen sink, she had felt unbelievable bitterness towards her husband; the next minute she felt tremendous compassion for him. She couldn't work out what had happened. Prayer knows no distance and based on the Bible, is powerful. Jesus is the BRANCH (Zechariah 3:8) and I thank him so much that he sweetened the well of bitterness in this women's life.
The Wall of Fire
Zechariah 2:5 The Lord has promised that he himself will be a wall of fire round the city to protect it and that he will live there in his glory.
Friends of mine, James and Ilse had told me on numerous occasions about demonic activity in their house during the night. Some of the events had been quite horrifying. Several times I had cast out the demonic forces. There would be peace for a few days, then the situation would be worse than ever. During prayer, just prior to Bible study at their place, God gave me a vision on how to deal with the situation. God told me to throw Satan out of the house again, but then to pray that a deep trench would be dug around the house (in the spirit), and that a mighty wall of fire would surround it. I was to tell Satan that if he, or his demonic forces would try to pass through this fire, they would be burned up. Praise God, from that prayer onwards, there were no more disturbances in the house.
Why Jimmy Swaggart Fell
Matthew 13:25-26. One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
26/ When the plants grew and the ears of corn began to form, then the weeds showed up.
When the news circulated the world that the evangelist Jimmy Swaggart had fallen, I was shocked. "Why?" I asked God. I didn't really expect an answer, certainly not immediately, however I saw a vision of a tangled mass of roots in the shape of a heart. (The principle being similar to a root-bound plant being pulled out of a pot.) I saw the roots in the shape of a heart, implying that the roots from the seed, the Word of God must be so totally root bound in our heart that there will be no more soil into which Satan can sow the seeds of sin.
The roots of God's word in our heart must strangle the weeds that Satan tries to sow, instead of the other way around. There had been enough soil -the flesh- in J. Swaggart's life to sow the seeds of pride and lust. Instead of the roots of the Word of God strangling the weeds, the weeds grew to the point where they strangled the roots of the Word of God.
Thus in order to stop both a baby or mature Christian from falling, we need to pray that the weeds of sin be uprooted in that life.
The Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ - a Spiritual filter.
There are many different religions in the world. Some denominations follow the teachings of God, many do not. Some churches are filled with the Holy Spirit, many are not. It is easy to become contaminated by false doctrine, or become ruled by a spirit of error and deception.
1 John 4:l My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.
6/ But we belong to God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever does not belong to God does not listen to us. This, then, is how we can tell the difference between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
One night as I closed in prayer after Bible study, these words came out of my mouth.
Ask God to install into you a filter, the filter being the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to filter out spiritual impurities.
People drift away from God without there being a reason. In fact, unknown to them, they could have become spiritually polluted.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (New International Version) Since we have these promises dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Hosea 4:12 (King James) My people ask counsel at their stocks and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
The Black Cloud Shaped like a Bird
As usual, I had gotten up early in the morning to seek God. I drew back the curtains facing the east. As I sat down again I saw, just outside the window, a large black cloud in the shape of a bird. The cloud gave me an uneasy feeling of an evil presence, so I closed the curtains. (Women are very practical.) The next morning I left the curtains closed and opened the blinds facing north. I saw exactly the same cloud again. Sitting there totally amazed, the words of a song, taken from Isaiah 61:3 came to my mind.
Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, lift up your voice to God, praise in the spirit and with understanding, oh magnify the Lord.
For several weeks I had felt weary and downtrodden. All of a sudden, I realised that it was Satan who had worn me out, so I rebuked him and told him to get lost in Jesus' name. Even as I was praying I saw the cloud break up, until within seconds it had totally disappeared. I felt a tremendous joy and strength return. I was able to do more housework that morning, before I left for work, than I had done in a whole week.
Rebuke the Symptoms
Many times we put up with prolonged illness simply because we don't pray in the early stages of the complaint. God showed me a vision of a mighty bird descending upon me. The vulture's claws were just able to touch me, but I immediately chased it away. Had I allowed the bird to embed its claws into my flesh, I would have had more difficulty getting rid of it.
Abraham had the same experience. Genesis 15:11 "Vultures came down on the bodies; but Abram drove them off." From experience I have learnt that if I rebuke the slightest bit of pain, whether it is a headache, stomach ache or pulled muscle, very shortly the pain and symptoms of sickness will disappear. If I think it's natural for me to have the flu, sore throat or whatever, then I'm stuck with it for many days. Jesus rebuked the fever and immediately it left Peter's mother-in-law. We need to do the same. Do not allow the vulture of illness to settle on you and take a hold.
A dream about two worlds
I don't have many dreams where I know God is talking to me. The dream where God taught me how to pray and this one, which is about praying for non-Christians, are the only two which stick in my mind.
I was in what looked like a mangrove swamp. The thick putrid mud reached up to the knees of the people who were wallowing in it. Everything in the picture was grey. There were people in the centre of the picture, wading through the mud and climbing over and around the thick roots. People were also feeling their way along a wall. I must have been one of those groping along the wall for I found a door. Upon turning the handle and opening the door I saw beautiful green rolling hills; everything was bright and colourful. Jesus was there. I ran up to him and he took me by the hand. As we joyfully walked up the hill I said to Jesus, "What about them back there? What are we going to do with them? I also said to Jesus, "You know some of them look like they don't want to leave that place. What are we going to do?" Jesus answered:
1/ First bind the strongman. Matthew 12:29
2/ Ask God to put a desire into their hearts to want get out of that kind of life.
(a) Bind the strongman
The strongman is he who is strong enough to rule a person's life. Satan is the strongman in people's lives, ruling them through alcohol, lust, gambling, greed, lies, unbelief and so on. So whatever stands in the way of worshipping God, needs to be bound in Jesus' name.
Matthew 18:18 Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then I asked Jesus why some Christians go back to the sordid lifestyle they escaped from? Jesus answered:
"They stand too close to the door and get sucked back in again. Pray that the seed of God will grow in their life so that they will go away from that door and start to walk away with me."
Like a Delicate Flower
My daughter brought one of her friends to me for prayer. God showed me that this person was like a delicate flower and I was to make the counselling and prayer as lighthearted as possible so as not to bruise her. God also showed me that no matter how hard a motor mechanic tries he still gets covered in grease. The in-ground dirt needs to be removed by several washes. If the person tried to remove the dirt in one go, they would scrape the skin off.
As I started to pray over her, God showed me that the spirit of imagination was causing the most problems. This spirit was whipping up the imagination to such an extent, it was causing her to be physically ill.
1 Corinthians 10:5 "Casting down imagination ...". God also showed me that lies and deception had a hold on her. Praise God once she had asked God to forgive her for these sins she was able to hand them over to God and be delivered from them.
E.S.P - Clairvoyance
Peter came to my home seeking help because of all the strange happenings due to his involvement in seances. It came to the point where only he could start a seance, when in a group of interested individuals. This was an indication as to how deeply he had become involved in the occult.
Besides cutting off the channel, which had been created through the seances, God told me to cast away from him the spirit of clairvoyance. The word vixen also came to me constantly. A vixen is a female fox, noted for its cunning. Cunning and lies were bound and cast away from him, as well as the hatred for his father. After Peter had been prayed for, the transformation was wonderful.
Since prayer, Peter has been able to hug his father and speak respectfully to him. Likewise his treatment of his mother improved tremendously. He no longer swears at her and is more loving. Several weeks later Peter admitted to no longer being cunning or deceptive.
Distorted Vision
When I moved into my new flat, I was really happy except for the bubbly film on the kitchen window. In some places it was distorting the vision. After two months of putting up with the distorted vision I finally asked the landlord to remove the film from the window.
Once clear vision had been restored, God spoke to me and told me that Satan had also put a film on my eyes, which was distorting my vision. Naturally I straight away rebuked the film, but nothing happened. Gradually I realised that I couldn't see things clearly from a distance, they were blurry. After a few months of battling against this attack of Satan, I finally won the victory and my eyesight once again became perfect.
Everything we want in life has to be fought for. We need to ask God to give us the strength to face each day.
Psalms 29:11 The Lord gives strength to his people and blesses them with peace.
Psalms 84:5 How happy are those whose strength comes from you ...
Isaiah 40:29&31 He strengthens those who are weak and tired. 31/ But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed.
The secret of our prayer life is not to sit back and expect the cherries to fall into our mouth, but to get up and work with God. Establish a relationship with God by reading the Bible and seeking his presence. Don't just ask for things, also remember to thank God for what he has done in your life. "Count your blessings name them one by one." As your walk with Jesus grows, you will realise the need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit more and more on a daily basis. There are those times when we need to wait upon God to act, but there are those instances when we must put the command of the Lord Jesus into practice:
"I have given you authority to overcome all the works of the enemy."
So if we won't get on with the job it won't get done.
1/ Fiji
2/ Egypt
3/ Israel
4/ Papua New Guinea
5/ Forgive or I cannot forgive you
6/ Jesus still heals today
7/ Suicide
8/ Long Bay Gaol
9/ Attempted murder
10/ Bathurst Gaol
11/ Angels
12/ How to pray
13/ Cords
14/ Counting the cost
15/ The heart condition
16/ Lorraine
17/ Dracula - fact or fiction
18/ If you love me
19/ Being gay
20/ Faith
21/ Roots
22/ Malaysia
23/ Fiji revisited - 1997
24/ What Jesus means to me
25/ My diary entries
26/ Conclusion