Unlocking Transformative Power: Faith and Prayer for July Breakthroughs

What if you could unlock the power of faith and prayer to transform every aspect of your life? This episode promises to guide you through a spiritual journey where you'll discover how turning to God in times of need can lead to incredible breakthroughs, especially during this transformative month of July. Reflecting on June's turnaround theme, we share insights and structured prayer techniques that renew your mind and spirit. We'll delve into key Bible verses like Hebrews 11:1-3, illustrating how a strong foundation of faith can bring you closer to God and spark significant spiritual growth.

Through the example of the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10, we highlight the importance of confidently presenting your petitions to God and expecting His favor. We'll explore the difference between self-reliant manifestation and faith-based trust in God's provision. Our strategic prayer meetings are designed to yield tangible results, and we encourage you to join our free prayer phone lines available on Thursdays for added support. Whether you're seeking emotional, mental, or financial breakthroughs, this episode is your invitation to experience the transformative power of faith and prayer. Join us, and let your spiritual journey flourish.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

no-transcript.

Speaker 2: 3:44

It's Thursday, come out of the wilderness prayer. I'm adjusting my music. It's Shelly hey, y'all. And today we're in the third week of breakthrough. So the month of July, as a prayer ministry, we're celebrating a breakthrough. So breakthrough in our lives, breakthrough in our spiritual lives, our emotional, mental, breakthrough in our finances. And the month of June for us, we really leaned into it being the turnaround month. So a lot of us have already been witnessing turning things around. If you're able to go back and watch the June series, every month there's a series that is specific and it's kind of laid out according to the Holy Spirit of the things that we study and we talk about.

Speaker 2: 4:28

So I'm not just up here running my mouth. We are very strategic in prayer and also on Thursdays we have our live phone call-in. You'll see the number on the screen below. You can call in on Thursdays at one o'clock and seven o'clock PM Eastern Standard Time. It's a phone line, y'all. So take the number down, it's free and just show up and we'll pray alongside you. So before I get any further, lord, I just thank you for allowing us to see another Thursday. Thank you for bringing us all here. Lord. God, I thank you for every person who is going to be either watching this on video or listening to this at the end of the week on the audio streets, that they will be blessed, and whatever they're standing in need of that, they'll receive it, and I thank you, lord, for just giving me this platform and using me as your vessel. I pray that you are glorified through me, so they'll see you and not me, amen. So now I want to get into the power of faith and prayer.

Speaker 2: 5:27

So, as I said, we're in our third week and I just want to remind you some of the things that we talked about the last couple of weeks. So, week one, we talked about overcoming obstacles and how we turn to God in times of dire need. Really, that was really important because, quite frankly, a lot of folks me included I don't do this as much anymore, but I'd run to my friends, you know, when things went down, when things, when there was a crisis, before going to God, and so we talked about the power of turning to prayer in times of need, you know, versus turning to friends right Friends first. Week two, we talked about the renewal of the mind and our spirit, and so we studied Ezekiel's vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. That's in Ezekiel 37.

Speaker 2: 6:14

Again, I urge you to go back and read the scripture for yourself, but it really the emphasis there was to encourage us who needed a spiritual revival, if you will, mental transformation, and I really wanted to inspire you guys to renew your own mind. A lot of us things that we think about. I mean, if you're thinking about yourself based on what somebody said to you 20, 30 years ago, it might be time to let that thing go because that is holding you back. So we talked about renewing our mind and some of the thoughts that were coming in, and this week now, we're talking about the power of faith and prayer, and so, again, it's really about how important it is for prayers and being in. I call it expectancy expecting God's favor. So I'm going to touch on a couple of Bible verses today that's going to help you. Again, it's really to motivate you to pray boldly for what you need, and you can't do that if you don't have faith, if you don't even believe God.

Speaker 1: 7:14

Amen.

Speaker 2: 7:15

You don't even believe that there is a God. If you're one of those, you might need to come back and we start over. We started a different point for you, but that's what we're talking about this week is the power of faith and prayer. Now, earlier in this week, before I go in, I'm going to share my screen. There's a couple of verses Bible verses and scriptures that I'm going to share with you guys. But earlier this week, in our live prayer call I want to say it was the Thursday, the Tuesday one, I'm sorry. So Tuesday replay of this week when you go in you'll see it we talked about faith and we I really I broke down. You know really what faith means. Just so, again, there's a lot of folks who watch who might not be believers, who might not know what I'm talking about, but there was a couple of things that I wanted to bring back again for those who might not understand what, when I talk about faith Now I'm talking about.

Speaker 2: 8:05

You know God, believing in God, jesus, holy Spirit. You know that that faith is is for me, it's, it's really trusting God, the assurance in him. This is when the word talks about. Faith is a substance. Faith is a substance. It's a thing, is a substance of hope, and when it talks about the evidence of things unseen. So I'm going to go into Hebrews 11 and bring that back, because for you to have a prayer that yields rewards, yields results, bring you closer to the Lord. You got to have faith, otherwise, what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing, right, all right. So I'm going to pull up my screen. I had to give y'all all that background so you know where I was coming from. So Hebrews 11, verses 1 through 3, this is the ESV version and I'm just going to release this word. It says again now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Obviously, the words change in different translations, for by it meaning faith, the people of old received their commendation. By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible, meaning it wasn't made out of you and me. We didn't create the universe, the world. And also another thing is when people say, when they worship the universe again, this is something that this has been my response all the time I do not worship the universe. I worship the God, the father God who created all of it. I don't worship creation. I don't worship sage, I don't do any of those things. I don't worship creation. I don't worship people, I worship God. So it's almost like, and again, this is where it's you're going to have to. It's almost like, and again, this is where you're going to have to.

Speaker 2: 9:58

If you haven't already come to a point where you believe or you don't believe, if you are still struggling whether you believe there is a God, then I challenge you to convince me that there isn't, Because we didn't create any of this right. But we know that it had to be born out of something. So I don't even want to go down that lane. But without faith, it's going to be very hard for you to believe. Let me stop sharing. Without faith, it's going to be very hard for you to believe that God's going to come through for you in very difficult situations. Without faith, you're really going to think that doing good works is just going to keep yielding great results and you're not going to have any hardship. Works is just going to keep yielding great results and you're not going to have any hardship right. Without faith, you don't understand that we really have to trust and lean on what God says about our lives.

Speaker 2: 10:48

If we don't believe, if we're not, when I say expectant prayers, when I pray for something, when I go to the Lord and I usually I pray through scripture because that's how I was taught by the Holy Spirit I have my thing, I go to the Lord. I usually start with confession, I start with thanksgiving, I go into confession Again. For those of y'all who are interested in how I do this and this is something again, this is just what he taught me I usually use Psalm 51 for confession, also when I'm going either into a fast or just one of those prayers when you look I'm going to need some help. So Psalm 51 is a prayer that is really a confession prayer, and then I present my case, plead my case. You know, this is what I'm asking God for. But when you're done like you know for those of y'all who have magnificent prayer closets what do you do? When you get off your knees and you close the door Like you come out, if you don't have faith, if you don't believe that God is actually going to answer, that even heard your prayer, you know, then you would have just wasted that time.

Speaker 2: 11:49

So, being in expectant, I'm expecting God to respond. I'm not only expecting him, I'm already thanking him for the response. I'm already thanking him for the guidance, for the divine help, for the protection, y'all. I'm thanking him ahead of time, but that is fueled by my faith because I trust that God is going to answer my prayer. So an example of this again because I'm on the streets, especially in the business community, a lot of folks who are business leaders and you know folks who have, you know, amazing titles and lots of education and all of those things Right. And so we think about from our perspective, even in our careers, and really trusting God. For, you know, maybe you're trusting God for the next job, maybe you're trusting God, you know, to help you through the next project. Or you know, maybe it's a bit whatever it is, but you're really you're trusting and believing God for that. So, as you're approaching him and that's your prayer, when you close that prayer, your expectancy is that he will respond, and sometimes you know this is where people get so disappointed. Sometimes the answer is no or not now.

Speaker 2: 12:59

So I hear pastors say this. You know a lot pastors, apostles, whatever they say that the answer is is yes and amen, but sometimes it's really that amen is what you ask God for isn't for you, but he's going to. If you ask him according to his will, for your life, he's going to give you what you need. Sometimes we don't get what we want, but we get what we need. So I want to encourage you, as you're trusting when we talk about faith, that you're trusting and being assured that what you're asking for that one, it aligns with what God's will is for your life, right? I don't want to ask God for anything that becomes a hardship. I don't want to ask God for anything that becomes a hardship. I'm not asking God for any relationship or friendship or business deal or anything opportunity. I don't want anything that's going to create hardship. I don't want anything that me or my family.

Speaker 2: 13:56

When I'm approaching the Lord in prayer, I'm believing that he also wants the best for me, because he does. That's what the word says right, and so I have faith that the things that I'm asking for in alignment with God's will. So when I pray to him, when I pray to God, I'm trusting, I'm assured, I'm believing that the things that I'm hoping for are in alignment with his will. And I also say if it's not your will, remove it. Right, remove it. And so it gives my prayer life. And again, I'm just trying to encourage y'all, right, it gives my prayer life something more than just a tick box. You know where you kind of roll over and you, you know, for two minutes, I'm very strategic in my prayer because for me now, for some, prayer might be, you know, a monologue, but for me it's very strategic.

Speaker 2: 14:46

Prayer for me, based on the grace, on my life, prayer for me is a weapon. So some of y'all, some of y'all, prayer might be an encouragement. Like the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want amen and you throw out some good things and you bounce. But prayer for me becomes a weapon because I know, I understand, because of how he's taught me how to use his words to do things in my life and in my environment and in the people around me. That's why he put me in charge in place of leading a prayer ministry, of all things right.

Speaker 2: 15:20

Prayer is a weapon. We use it to build up. We use it to build each other up. We use it to activate, doing good works. We use it to tear down attacks. We use it, you know, to help encourage each other. We use it to help build each other's faith, drawing people back to the Lord, not to us, right? We use it to serve the community, right, you know, we use it. Prayer for us is a weapon. We use it to cancel and shut things down. That's just what it is. But before all that, we have faith. We believe that God is who he says he is, so that when we're approaching him, right, we have an expectancy, we expect a response, we expect, and so we're pulling those things down as we pray.

Speaker 2: 16:08

But faith belief had to go before prayer.

Speaker 2: 16:09

Now I'm going to tell you there's another scripture. I'm just going to read this out. This is 1 Chronicles 4, verse 10. And it says Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying verse 10. And it says Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border and that your hand might be with me and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain. And God granted what he asked. So, before Jabez, before he got to the comma, and God granted what he asked, there was a position of faith. Jabez believed, first of all who God says he is the God of Israel, the God of all right. And then he trusted and he was assured that God was going to respond. That's why he was able to give his petition.

Speaker 2: 16:53

Just give me an example of a prayer. I'm using scripture, right. So imagine now, as you are, if you're in this position and you're releasing this because, like I said, I use scripture for prayer. So when I go to the Lord and I'm asking about something that is career related, if you will, or business related, if you will, and I will come in and say, father, in, know, in the same way you bless Jabez, you know, I pray that you will bless me and enlarge my border and that your hand will be with me and that you will keep me from harm so that there won't be any pain, that you'll protect me and, lord, I believe that you're going to grant what I ask. And then when I close that prayer that's an example, right? That's an example right.

Speaker 2: 17:35

When I close that very, very simple prayer, I walk away believing, accepting, knowing, receiving, and I start thanking God for what he's done. I thank you, lord, that you've enlarged my border, that you're sending me hell to do these things, etc. Right, but my faith, my, you know, I trust, I believe what he says. Right, the substance of hope is not just hope, like I hope he'll do it. I know my hope has been replaced by knowing, based on the evidence of God doing things around me. I have enough people in my life and circle experiencing God's breakthroughs, miracles, restoration. I have enough. And again, again, some of y'all have the same thing. You have enough people in your life who have experienced God in some mighty ways, right, some of y'all, you know, getting bills paid you never, you don't know where the money came from. Or some of you getting the unexpected good news, or or watching God, you know, move people out of your life. You know what I mean. That's a blessing, y'all, right, right. So having that belief, that that's a substance of hope, you know, really trusting, believing God for what he says, and then when you, when you're, when you're releasing your prayer, it's just more powerful. You know what happens is the more that you build up your faith and belief in God, you actually start to expect.

Speaker 2: 19:01

Now I know a lot of people on the streets, especially because I'm on YouTube. You know you can't, you can't not see a video where people talk about how they manifested their car, they manifested their home, and even with that, I'm like why can't you manifest world peace? We manifest things that we want, right, Meaning we think about it, we consider it, it becomes a part of our mind, our thoughts. We even start to speak these things, saying I have this car, I have this job, and so you end up creating with your mouth, you end up drawing these things to you. So the faith that they have a lot of folks again that are manifesting, it's not connected to the Lord. It's not that they're not asking God. They're trying to create it on their own terms, right, which means that now they are shifting and they're creating. The evidence of unseen. For them is it's working through building, speaking and manifesting through their mouth.

Speaker 2: 19:56

The difference here is that their faith is in their manifestation. The faith is that the words that they speak about, their situation is really not built on what God is going to do for them. Situation is really not built on what God is going to do for them is what they can do for themselves. That's the difference, right. So faith for you, for those of us who are believers, is we are resting assured that what we need. What we're asking for is coming. God is providing it for us. I can't do it for myself, otherwise I would and, quite frankly, things that I might ask for might not be the things that are the right things for me. So I have to rest on his word. I have to rest and trust that God is going to do the best for me. The word says all things are working together for my good. I have faith and I believe that. Absolutely believe that right. Absolutely believe that. Thank you, audrey. He says the Bible has amazing examples of what God will do if we have faith. So, again, if you want additional Bible study, check out Hebrews 11. That is literally littered with examples of what faith looks like and that's a great Bible study. Point Hebrews 11, for those of y'all who are looking for further study. But again, this is just one of those. You can't skip it y'all If you want to have an impactful prayer life that changes things right, that shifts the environment, that's powerful, where the Holy Spirit is demonstrated through your life because of your prayer, where you experience breakthrough.

Speaker 2: 21:24

This month, you got to have faith. You got to have faith. You got to have faith. You got to believe what God says about your situation. You got to receive that for yourself, amen. You got to receive that for yourself and I pray that this is not going to be a month where you're distracted. There's a lot of distraction happening, right? You notice that when you start to really focus on I want to live a life where I am, my spiritual walk is closer with God. I want to, you know, I want to do better, I want to be better, right, all of a sudden, the enemy starts coming up with these amazing distractions people, places and things. So I want to encourage you also don't be distracted. We're in the seventh month. We're going to be soaring. We were soaring for the rest of this year. Right, we talked about that in January. We want to close out this year. We only have a handful of months left. So we want to close out this year being very blessed, joyful. We're going to have love, joy and peace. We want to look back in December and say, man, look at how God worked things out for me. Do not be distracted by people, by places or things. Okay, stay focused, stay focused, all right.

Speaker 2: 22:41

So I thank you, lord, that you're just reminding us of the power of faith, of just believing, trusting in you and prayer, and when the word talks about you know, praying without ceasing that you're showing us. Show us, lord, how to be more strategic in our prayers so that we are not only speaking to you but we're also hearing from you and aligning what it is that you have for us. We want what you have for us, lord. God, I pray that every person who stands in need of a job or a relief or release or anything, a forgiveness or anything that they're standing in need of, that they will receive it if they believe, if they have faith. Your word says that all these things, if we ask, we will receive if we have faith. So I ask, lord God, that you'll build up the faith that we all have. Lord, god, that through your measure of grace and I bless every single person under the sound of my voice who needed an encouragement this morning to just be reminded that you are still God, you are still in existence, you are still in control and we still have the will it's still up to us to choose this day. We choose you, lord, and I thank you. Amen, all right, so I hope that. Bless you the power of faith and prayer. You cannot have one without the other.

Speaker 2: 23:54

If you're going to pray and have amazing prayers, prayers that yield results, not the prayers that you've been praying for 20, 30 years, I mean prayers that yield breakthrough in your life. Right, effective, strategic prayers. Right, and it's not that you got to sit and pray for an hour or 30 minutes, but it's just being more strategic. In your prayer. It has to start with faith. You got to believe, otherwise you're just talking to yourself. We don't want that, right. All right, don't forget, today is Thursday and we have the prayer phone line. It's free. Y'all Tell your friends and again, if you're at work, take a break, put it on your calendar schedule time with God. Come on and you can join us at either one o'clock during the day or seven o'clock after dinner. Y'all Just set some time apart. It's only a 30-minute prayer and I hope to see you there. God bless you and y'all take care. Bye.