“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:22,24).
Early in our ministry, we had need of everything. Not that we don’t have needs now, but I have learned how to pray specifically for those needs. Let me share with you how I learned.
One morning as I was praying (and I use that word loosely) I was actually agonizing over the bills and things we needed. I was not agonizing in intercession or faith, but trying to let God know what bad shape we were in! I was lying prostrate before the Lord in our bedroom with my face in the carpet, crying, “Oh, God…oh Lord…I don’t know what we are going to do…Oh God, help us…moan…groan….”
The Lord listened to me for awhile. Then all of a sudden He spoke to me. Yes, I heard Him audibly. I have since learned that it was the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking out of my spirit, but it sounded like He was standing right behind me (like God and young Samuel in the Old Testament).
He said, “My child, what do you want of me?”
Well, it so shocked me that I sat upright on my knees and my mind began to race. I had a million thoughts in a flash. He had asked me a question and He wanted an answer. What could I say? What do we need? The only word that came out of my mouth was “Money.” That seemed to sum it all up!
He then left as quickly and quietly as He came. He just wanted to know what I wanted! I was so excited that I got up and ran through the house saying, “He talked to me! God talked to me!” No one was there to hear me, but I had to tell somebody. So I told myself!
Godly Training
Later, the Lord began to reveal to me how to pray correctly, specifically, and effectively. First of all, you go to the Father in the name of Jesus and make your requests – prayer, supplications, petitions – know. Then you believe that you receive when you pray, and if you have ought against any person, you forgive them. You must know that you are righteous through Jesus and go to Him boldly.
He gave me the example of a lawyer going before a judge with a petition. I had once worked for an attorney, so I could understand His illustration. He said, “The lawyer makes his petition known. He speaks clearly and precisely, and he certainly doesn’t moan and groan. The judge then rules according to what he has heard.”
So it is with the Lord. He answers your prayers when you come to Him in faith, confessing His Word over your situation or problem. You don’t go to the Lord like you would your doctor, telling Him all of your problems, aches, and woes. He already knows what you need.
Stand on His Word in the area where you need help. Be specific. Make a prayer list and stick to it. Don’t pray a scatter-load prayer. Pray for what you specifically need and what you are specifically believing for, one thing at a time.
After you have prayed, you will need patience for the answer. You have to learn to wait on the Lord. Psalm 27:14a says to wait on the Lord. The Hebrew word for “wait” means, “be still, relax, be quiet.” As long as your prayer lines up with His Word, He will answer at the right time, His time. You might as well relax and let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (James 1:4)!
Most of all develop a love relationship with God, your Father. Get to know Him and you will have an unshakable confidence in Him and His Word.
I have been praying specifically for a number of years and can honestly say I have seen overwhelming results. For example, a few years ago I began confessing for an airplane. In the natural, there was no way we could afford a plane and we did not need one at the time, but I felt impressed to confess for one. I also prayed for a pilot.
Two years later an airplane was given to us. At the same time, a man and his family joined our church, and he just happened to be a pilot! Incidentally, he is still our pilot today.
Pray specifically and you will get specific answers. Let your petitions be made know to God, for He will fulfill them. Petitions are just requests or prayers. Always remember that He hears you, He lover you, and He wants to meet your needs. Then you must stand fast and not waiver. Wait on the Lord and He will bring your confession of His Word to pass.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Pastor Emeritus, founders and pastors of Agape Church from its founding in 1979 to 2014. Happy and Jeanne Caldwell.
In 1979 God spoke to Happy & Jeanne Caldwell to build a spiritual production center in Little Rock, in order to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the city, state, nation and world. Together, they founded Agape Church, a strong spirit-filled body of believers. Through a deep sensitivity to the Spirit of God, and anointed teaching - the lost are saved, the sick healed, and thousands have been blessed.
In 1988 Happy and Jeanne answered a direct call from the Lord to take His message beyond Central Arkansas. They founded VTN - the Victory Television Network. This network of 3 full power TV stations is carried on over 200 cable systems and is bringing the Gospel into more than 1.2 million households.
Through his own daily program, Arkansas Alive, and Sunday program, Happy Caldwell, Happy presents the Word in profound simplicity, making the character of God a revelation to those who hear. His ministry is known for instilling Christian principles in strategic leadership. He was honored for this in 2005 with an invitation to participate in the US Army War College Strategic Leader Staff Ride at Gettysburg, PA.
Happy Caldwell is a recipient of the Peter J. Daniels Caleb Encourager Award, which has been bestowed upon such notable names as Norman Vincent Peale, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Oral Roberts. He has been recognized by the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission with The Salute to Greatness Community Service Award. He also serves on the Executive Board for Christians United for Israel, and is a Regional Director for CUFI.
Jeanne's ministry transcends nationality, race, culture, and generation as her passion to see women transformed into ladies who are pruned, polished, and perfected by the Word of God and her down-to-earth presentation assist others to have a personal encounter with God's Word.
The same life changing anointing that flows through Jeanne's personal ministry is also be appreciated by everyone who hears her anointed CDs or watches her weekly television program, In His Presence. In addition to her music and teaching ministry, Jeanne is the author of Learning to Trust God's Faithfulness, a compelling and effectual account of her life of faith, including her dramatic testimony of God's healing after a car accident left her with a broken back.
Happy and Jeanne Caldwell continue to travel delivering the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in churches, conferences, and on VTN.