One of my teachings that consistently gets the strongest reactions from people is A Better Way to Pray. People either love it or they hate it. 
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The truths the Lord has shown me about prayer cut to the core of religious hypocrisy and are radically different than what most people are saying today. These truths have the potential to change your life. 
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One of the first steps to having a better prayer life is understanding the power of your words. In Mark 11:22-23 , the Bible says, 
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And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 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. 
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In this scripture, the word ~saith~ is used three times. Jesus emphasized that the way to release the supernatural is through your words. God Almighty used words to create the world. Words are a powerful force, and we`ve got to understand this concept: everything in the natural realm responds to words. 
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Sad to say, most Christians speak to God about their mountain instead of speaking to their mountain about God! The mountain represents whatever your problem is. Jesus declared, ~Speak to your mountain, and command it to be cast into the sea!~ 
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~God, I have this mountain. Would You please move it for me?~ This kind of prayer isn`t helpful. The Lord told you to talk to it, not to Him. Whatever it is - speak to it! This is a truth about prayer that most people miss. 
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The whole thing that caused Jesus to tell us to speak to our mountain was the dead, dried up fig tree that spoke to Him through its leaves in Mark 11:13 . In the next verse, we read, 
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And Jesus answered and said to it [the fig tree], No man eat fruit of you hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. - Mark 11:14 - brackets added 
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Jesus spoke to the fig tree, and it obeyed His command. Sometimes circumstances speak to us and try to convince us that our prayers didn`t work. When this happens, we need to follow Jesus`s example and answer with a positive statement of faith. When Jesus took His authority, 
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He called it believing, and He called speaking to the problem ~prayer.~ Jesus had faith. With Jesus living on the inside of you, you have that same faith! Don`t come to God with unbelief. Go to your mountain and take your authority! 
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Speaking to your mountain in faith will produce positive results. Take John Tesh, for example. When he was here with us in April and held a concert at our Auditorium, John said the truths he learned in A Better Way to Pray helped him beat cancer. 
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John testified that it was an understanding of Mark 11:23 that helped him to know his authority in his healing journey. After he had been diagnosed with stage three cancer, John and his wife, Connie Selleca, decided to stand together on the Word of God for his healing. John spoke to his mountain and it moved! Today John is completely healed.
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We need to recognize that God already knows of our every need. The purpose of prayer is not to inform ~poor, misinformed~ God. 
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Be not ye therefore like unto them [heathens]: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him - Matthew 6:8, brackets added 
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Telling God what the doctor said, how bad you feel, and that dear old Aunt Suzie died of it is speaking death and not life. 
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 Proverbs 18:21 says: 
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Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. 
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Use your words to speak life instead of death. Don`t just sit there griping and complaining. This is a whole other teaching, but the Lord`s already done it! By His stripes, you were healed ( 1 Pet. 2:24 ). That`s huge! You just need to speak to your mountain the way Jesus spoke to the fig tree. 
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Now, once you`ve spoken to your mountain, you may be wondering, What do I do next? Do I sit around and twiddle my thumbs? No! You praise God that your prayers have been answered! For instance, if you`re believing for healing, but haven`t seen the manifestation yet, you can thank God that it`s already done. 
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Praising and thanking God that He`s answered your prayers will build your faith and encourage you. Colossians 2:7 says that faith abounds with thanksgiving. Anyone who isn`t operating in thanksgivin - regardless of what is going on in their life - doesn`t really understand what God has done for them. 
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If you would start thanking God, your faith would rise up, and all of a sudden, things would start happening. Say, ~Father, I thank You that by Jesus`s stripes, I was healed. I receive it now by faith!~ 


