heaven's tree book club

What to Pray For
This chapter is essentialy pretty straight forward. It is the step one of praying for something. It comes down to figuring out what it is we are praying for and then finding out where in the Bible it promises what we ask for. The chapter goes into the different things we can ask for with particular examples. Emphasis on knowing the Bible is placed. For some reason the previous chapter felt more encouraging than this one even though he continues to mention that healing is promised in the Bible. Healing is something I continue to long and desire for. Today was not a difficult day, but it did have many moments of discouragement from physical symptoms. Yet, we are encouraged by the author not to talk about symptoms but rather give thanks to God for the fact God has healed us already in the spiritual dimension but it has not happened in the physical realm.
"Here is your assignment: go through the New Testament (we'll limit it to the New Testament for now) and underline every time you find the phrase "You have" or "we have" when it relates to the phrase "in Christ." What do we have, or what do you have, in Christ? You will be shocked to see how much we are promised. Psalm 84:11 said of God, "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." James said, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17).
In the Epistles of John we have a clear example of prayer that lists some of the blessings to which we are entitled. In 3 John 2, in a letter addressed to a fellow Christian and elder named Gaius, John said:
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
The apostle of the Lord was telling Gaius, a fellow believer, that his prayer for him was that he "prosper in all things? And to make sure we didn't miss his meaning, John wrote, "just as your soul prospers," indicating that he was praying for "things" apart from the spirit world. Some people try to claim that by "things," John meant spiritual things, but it is abundantly clear by this verse that this isn't the case. Note that John also prayed for Gaius's health. So if it was all right for John to pray for Gaius's prosperity, for Gaius's health, and for Gaius's soul to prosper, don't you think Gaius could also legitimately pray for those things for himself I do, and I'm sure Gaius did."
Conservative Christians and preachers are very hesitant to believe that God still heals and that we can pray for healing. Because of the name it and claim it movement, praying for prosperity seems wrong. But, here in this passage we find that we can pray not just for spiritual things. God is a God who cares for the totality of our being not just the spiritual. I grew up with the notion God only cares about spiritual things. It is a revelation to me that God cares for our health and financial state. Because of my health condition and financial difficulties, it is hard to imagine that God will come through. The major step of this chapter is to first find out if our prayer request is Biblical..
 "Decide what you want from God, then find out if Scripture promises you that. Let me be absolutely clear on this: if you have identified something that, without a doubt, is promised to you by Scripture—such as healing or prosperity—then no is not an answer from God. In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul wrote: "For all the promises of God in Him [Jesus] are Yes, and in Him Amen." How many promises are left out of "all?" None, right?
Do not be fooled by teachers who tell you, "Sometimes God says yes; sometimes God says no; and sometimes God says wait." The verse you just read in 2 Corinthians proves that if the question is godly, the answer can never, ever be no. Since God is only in the eternal present and does not have a past or future, neither can He say wait. There is only now for God. But there are reasons why what you possess immediately in the spirit world has not immediately been manifested in the physical world. Those reasons include your level of faith, the nature of the thing believed for, and the level of demonic opposition."
I was a little curious in the introduction when the author had mentioned about how it is wrong for people to say that God sometimes says yes and sometimes says no. God says yes so long as the prayer request is promised in Scripture. We must have confidence in His promises and in who He is. This faith issue is perhaps my weakest because I don't really see God come through recently. I can point to instances from years past but not recent. Right now, that is all I can hold on to. But, God does not say "no" if the request is Biblical. Healing is a Biblical request and according to this author and according to the word, we can pray for healing. I must believe that God can still heal. Today, I got a little tested. All day I had not fell well and was very slow. My dad had gone to San Francisco to take care of the house and he called in the afternoon. He asked if I can walk now, and I told him not only can I walk, I can run and jump. I said this not to be disrespectful to him, but I really needed to make a statement of faith to believe that God can heal me. In the past when my dad talked about my physical condition I would get very discouraged at my symptoms or frustrated that I am not getting better. I had been fairly calm all day and the perspective from this book is helping. I believe that God answered my prayer in the spiritual realm but it is not yet manifested in the physical realm. I must pray with thanks now that He has healed me and call the things that are not as though they are. Yet, my faith is incredibly weak.
 "There is another aspect to your prayer. You have to be definite. Gloria Copeland has a great line regarding this. She says, "If you want the dog, don't call the cat." You must be specific about what is promised to you in the Bible. If the promise is there, you are completely within your rights to ask for it in faith. How it is actually delivered, however, is usually through the hands of man. In Joshua 1:8, God tells Joshua: "For then you will make your
way prosperous " God did not say He would—even though
the verses we read in Deuteronomy show that He indeed will. He said, "You will."
Aside from the manna falling from heaven, God has never just dropped blessings on people. His blessings have always come through the hands of man. The blessings that He reveals in Deuteronomy are, for the most part, blessings that require your involvement, such as farming or working or "kneading." Jesus could have just taken thin air and fed all the hungry people on the mountainside, but He asked for the loaves and the fishes and multiplied them. How does money come into your storehouses!
It comes through money, salaries, and checks that people write to you.
We are not just leaves blown in the wind. We have something to do with our destinies. That is the whole point of the Law— "Thou shalt/Thou shalt not." It acknowledges that we have a role to play in the natural in getting our prayers answered. Contrary to what some people think, the phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is not in the Bible. But it does express a principle: in the natural, and in faith, you must do those things that reflect that you believe you have received your prayer request."

"In Matthew 4:7, Jesus said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." If you do not do in the natural what you should be doing, merely asking God to answer your need, in essence, you are tempting God. For example, if you pray to be delivered from debt, then quit your job that same day, you are tempting God. Nor would it be an act of faith to say, "Lord, please deliver me from debt," and then refuse to accept your employer's offer of six months' worth of overtime.
In other words, unless you have specific instructions from God otherwise, you need to do in the natural the things that are consistent with achieving your prayer request. Here is another example: you cannot pray for healing of cancer, then go home and say, "Well, God has that under control, so I'm going to start smoking and using drugs." Sorry, that's not faith; that's presumption, and it is tempting God."
Prayer:
Father, I thank You that You hear and answer prayer. I believe that You have healed me already in the spiritual realm. Today was hard for me physically. I felt pain throughout the day when I stood up. I want to believe in Your goodness and lovingkindness but it becomes hard sometimes like today. I know in Your word You heal and promise healing. I want to trust You for that. I believe one day soon I can get up and walk up the stairs, and be able to run and jump again. Thank You for the promises in Your word that remind us of Your provision and strength. Father, help me in my weak faith to trust You more.