Praying With Heaven and Earth at Your Disposal
Charles Spurgeon said, “He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal.” 1
Would you like to know how to pray God’s will with authority—and therefore have heaven and earth at your disposal, for the glory and the kingdom of God?
The Confidence We Have
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
When we ask God for something that is according to His will, we know that He hears us. And if He hears us, we know that He will answer!
That’s how we move heaven and earth through prayer. We find out what God’s will is in Heaven … and pray it into being on earth.
- “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19, AMPC).
- “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10, NKJV).
Not Limiting God
Your Father in Heaven is mighty. His power is unlimited. Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing! (Lu. 1:37, Mt. 19:26)
So be careful not to limit what He can do.
“Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, ‘above all that we ask or think’. Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how he delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ; and expect great things.”
— Andrew Murray
We prevail in prayer when we pray God’s will, not limiting Him by unbelief or low expectations—and we pray until the answer comes.
Your Causes for Fasting
If you’re like me, this week you’ve been able to focus more in prayer than you were able to last week because your body and food cravings have adjusted to the change in your diet. (Well, maybe not entirely adjusted, but you’re not constantly fighting cravings like last week…)
You spent last week praying through the Repentance Outline, confessing all known sins and putting them under the blood of Jesus. And you devoted more time to the Bible than you typically do each day. As a result, your hunger for God’s Word and His presence is increasing.
Perhaps this week you’re beginning to pray more intensely about your causes for fasting—your needs and concerns. As you do, remember these three things:
1. Find out what God’s will is concerning your causes for fasting.
Go to God’s Word with open eyes and keen ears sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice. When He breathes upon a passage and quickens it to your situation, pray with your finger on that promise from God. In other words, pray that word from God back to Him. With faith and expectancy, ask Him to do what He promised.
2. Be careful not to limit God by unbelief or by thinking you know what He can do.
As you’re praying your promise back to God, binding Him to His Word, beware not to limit God, not only by unbelief but also by thinking you know what He’s capable of doing.
“Now all glory to God, who is able,
through his mighty power at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Ephesians 3:20
God is able to accomplish infinitely more than you might ask or think!
3. Pray until the answer comes.
Wesley Duewel writes, “The secret of prevailing prayer is simply to pray until the answer comes.”2
The Week to Come
This week, the Holy Spirit permitting, I will be focusing more on prayer. As I mentioned before, there are over two-hundred fasting articles on the site to which you can refer for more information about fasting.
I feel led now, at least in the next few days, to focus on prayer. Much more could be said on this topic today. This post doesn’t even qualify as a full summary of the topic. But what I pray it will be is motivation! Something spurring you on to pray. Something that fills you with longing for your prayer closet … that makes you excited to get there as soon as possible … and that fills you with holy anticipation of what God is going to do as a result!
May this Moment of Worship below launch your prayer time with praise. May it be an invitation to God to come sit down beside you, have the highest place, and say what He wants to say.
Lord, as the lyrics say, “With just one touch, You make us new. With desperate hearts, we wait for You. There’s nothing impossible for You God…”
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Tweetables
- “He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal.” — C.H. Spurgeon
- “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” ~ 1 John 5:14-15
- “Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, ‘above all that we ask or think.’” ~ Andrew Murray
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A Moment of Worship: Come Sit Down
Come Sit Down by Big Daddy Weave
Written by: Jason Ingram, Marco Beltrami, Seth Mosley, Mike Weaver
From the Album Beautiful Offerings
Listen on Apple Music | Buy on iTunes
Listen on Prime Music | Buy on Amazon
Bible Reading: 1 John 5:14-15; Matthew 16:19, AMPC; Matthew 6:10; Ephesians 3:20
Focus Questions:
- Even though you’re fasting, have you found yourself wondering if you really can overcome with God in prayer—and have heaven and earth at your disposal?
- What are your causes for fasting? What is bound and what is loosed in heaven concerning them? That’s what you are to bind and loose on earth through your prayers. His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
- What is your confidence level as you approach God in prayer? Do you know whether or not what you’re asking from Him is His will? If it is, He hears you; you have what you’ve asked Him!
- Do you have a word from God concerning your causes for fasting? Are you praying with your finger on that promise?
- Are you being careful not to limit God by unbelief or low expectations?
FASTING DAY 9 FROM THE ARCHIVES
- Fasting Day 9: A Promise to Plead
- Fasting Day 9: God Answers Prayer
- Fasting Day 9: Brokenness, Part Two
- Fasting Day 9: Feeding Faith, Part Three
- Fasting Day 9: More Than Food
- First Fruits of the New Year by Jentezen Franklin
RELATED ARTICLES
- Get Alone With God: The Religion of the Closet
- Prayer Is a Two-Way Conversation
- Don’t Get in a Hurry in the Prayer Closet
- Prayer Is an Invitation to Experience God’s Boundlessness
- Satan Trembles When He Sees the Weakest Saint Praying
- Reigning Through Prayer, Part One: Jesus, the Interceding Ruler
- Reigning Through Prayer, Part Two: Joining Jesus at the Throne of Intercession
- Fasting Day 9: God Answers Prayer
- Fasting Day 10: The Power of Prayer
- Fasting Day 11: Persisting in Secret Prayer
- The Touch of God – Moses: Sermon by David Wilkerson
- Why Is It So Hard for Christians to Pray? (David Wilkerson Sermon)
- When God’s People Pray (by Jim Cymbala)
- Fasting Day 21: Kings and Priests—Praying with Authority
- Fasting Day 17: The Gospel of Prayer (by Leonard Ravenill)
- Come Up and Wait
- Fasting Day 20: Your Father Gives Good Gifts
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- Wesley Duewel, Mighty Prevailing Prayer: Experiencing the Power of Answered Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990), 19.
- Ibid., 17
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Hi Simone, thank you for your prayers!! They are MUCH appreciated! Thank you also for your gracious comments. It's a huge encouragement to know that God has used the fasting content to bless you. I am praying for you, my sister in Jamaica!