But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:6–7 (NLT) If I announced that I had ten brand-new cars to give away, could you believe by faith that you would receive one of them? Let’s think this through. If 20,000 people are reading this and they all believe that they are going to get a car, 19,990 are going to be disappointed, right? On the other hand, if I say that every single person who is reading this is going to get …

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. Mark 11:24 (NKJV) Yesterday we introduced a new series to discuss the eight different types of prayer available to us. The first type of prayer I would like to cover is called the prayer of faith. Before we go any further, I want you to realize that all eight types of prayer can flow in and out of each other in one conversation with God. I don’t want you to worry about which type of prayer you are using, because it doesn’t really matter if you can name them. What matters is that you are aware of what is available to you. Our …

Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings…. Proverbs 22:29 (NLT) When my house needs a renovation, I hire someone who is skilled in the trades. First, they come in to unload their tools. They might spend an hour setting up compressors, nail guns, different kinds of power saws and drills, but that setup time is well worth it. Once they’re ready, they get the work done well and they do it fast. Because I’m not much of a handyman, I don’t have a garage full of tools, but I do own a hammer. If I were left on my own to put up a wall with only a hammer, I suppose I could get it done. I’d have to find a …

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. John 16:13 (NLT) Growing up, I somehow picked up the belief that Holy Spirit was the biggest nag on earth. I know my parents taught me differently, but somehow, I came to assume that Holy Spirit’s job was to point out all my flaws. During my prayer time, I thought that He was nagging me about every little thing I was doing wrong. As a result, I stopped enjoying my devotion time. Actually, I started to avoid it. Everything changed when I discovered that Holy Spirit’s job isn’t to condemn believers but to remind us of our right standing with God. I found out that God “has removed our sins as …

And behold, the Lord passed by…but the Lord was not in the wind… the Lord was not in the earthquake… the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:11–13 (NKJV) As we’ve been discussing over the past few days, there are two things you need to do every day to stay energized: feed on God’s Word and spend time in communication with Holy Spirit. When I say “feed on God’s Word,” I don’t mean read it, keep it on your nightstand, memorize it, or confess it out loud (although all of those are great). When you feed on His Word, take it one step further—meditate on it. For example, let’s say you read Psalm 119:105, “Your …