Praising is prayer as well as it is declaring promises. We commune with God (prayer), in part, by praising His holy name and lavishing honor, glory, and love toward Him with thanksgiving. We speak the promises (declaration) in the face of demonic attacks and poor circumstances by telling the situation that God is faithful, longsuffering, and patient, our ally, etc, etc. Praising is a must. Many misquote the Word by stating that we were “born to praise God.”

On the contrary, we were born to love God and rule the Earth through loving Him. Praising Yahweh is merely an extension of that love. When you marry someone, you don’t praise him or her out of obligation, but as an offshoot of your unwavering love for them. Praise is the reaction to love, submission and commitment.

My latest book, Understanding Kingdom Prayer, is designed with more Scripture than commentary which is far more effective than anything I can add. Simply learning the difference between “praying and asking” compared to “declaring and praising” and then applying that knowledge to everyday life is all that is required to change everything about your life in Christ. Our standard way of praying just needs some adjustments.

We must keep in mind that there is a war between the flesh and the Spirit. Galatians 5:17 (KJV) reads, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” This is why we are called to “die daily” to the nature of the flesh so that we do not perform the sins of the fleshly nature.

With this in mind, please know that speaking the Word of God into a situation is never going to be the natural reaction. The flesh is eternally prone to speaking in response to the circumstances of what it sees instead of speaking the truth of the Spirit of God which is altogether supernatural.

The only way to combat this dilemma of “flesh vs. Spirit” is to understand that this relationship with Christ is not you and God as a couple or team, though many people refer to it as a “team effort”. Rather, it is God alone allowed to take charge as a replacement for your life (natural man). Christ did not come to change your life; He came to exchange your life for His. Only He remains. You don’t get to keep yours and take on His additionally. Living according to the Spirit is all God. It’s when we allow our old, natural, fleshly man to arise, trouble always ensues.

Praying according to the Spirit and decreeing God’s promises over negative situations can only happen when we allow Christ to completely rule. Again, it isn’t natural – it’s supernatural! For more information, I recommend reading the 2^nd edition of my first book, What was God Thinking? Why Adam had to Die.

Stay tuned for the next blog on “Understanding Kingdom Prayer.” If you’re interested in more information about The Fiery Sword Ministries or my books, please visit my website. Also, if you’d like to hear some of my teaching on kingdom prayer, go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kdmadvancematt2414

Peace and blessings,

 
Alexys V. Wolf
thefierysword@windstream.net
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