Class Notes 7

Week 7 Principles of Intercession – Class Notes – 10-30-16

What hinders a Christian from receiving answers to prayer? BELIEF problems.

(1) UN-belief, continued from last class.

In addition to refusing to believe (DIS-belief), there is an uncertain form of wishful, half-doubting, half-hoping attitude of unbelief, such as in Mark 9:23-24. The father of the demon oppressed boy came to Jesus after the disciples couldn’t help him. “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

Honoring the small faith the boy’s father did have, Jesus helped his unbelief – he healed / delivered the boy. (Jesus told the disciples, this kind comes only by prayer and fasting.)

(2) MIS-belief (mistaken belief), believing the wrong thing, such as:

• Miracles ceased with the apostles, not for today – but more miracles occur today than ever.
• Healing is not in the atonement, not always God’s will – but Jesus healed ALL that came to him. The word for healing is the same word for salvation. You can’t parse this word, it’s the same, single word (Greek sozo, soteria).
• “Whatever will be, will be” – but that’s Eastern religion, not a Christian principle.
• You can’t really know God’s will for sure – but He wants you to know his will more than you want to know it. See Col. 1:9.
• You don’t deserve answers to prayer because of past sins or not being good enough. But salvation by grace is not deserved, it is by accepted faith, and so are answers to prayer.

Heb. 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Current sinful practices may hinder answers, but it’s not because you don’t DESERVE answers. You are putting up a barricade to receiving answers by believing the wrong things.

(3) NON-belief, ignorance of who God is, his character, his love, his grace, his will.

Belief problems can be solved by the Word, since faith (belief) comes by hearing (present tense) the word of God, Romans 10:17.

DOUBT

Doubt may come first before faith. Doubt simply means trying to decide between two things. (The choice / decision is yours.)

Mark 11:23, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

Doubt is the Greek word diakrino, pronounced de-ä-kre’-no (diakrisis is the noun form of this verb; disputation; discernment). “Dia” meaning through or by means of, plus “krino,” to separate, pick out, select, choose; i.e. to examine in order to distinguish, make a determination, decide; judge, pass sentence. To doubt, judge, discern, contend, waver, misc; to separate, make a distinction, learn by discimination, to try to decide, to determine; also to be at variance with one’s self, hesitate, doubt. This word is translated doubt (5x), judge (3x), discern (2x), contend (2x), waver (2x), miscellaneous (5x).